3 John 1:13,14 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

I had many other things to write To communicate to thee concerning the affairs of your church, and concerning Diotrephes; but I will not I am not minded; to write unto thee with ink and pen Meaning, probably, lest this letter should fall into hands who might make an improper use of it. But I trust I shall shortly see thee Lardner conjectures that John did actually visit Gaius; and adds, I please myself with the supposition that his journey was not in vain, but that Diotrephes submitted and acquiesced in the advices and admonitions of the apostle. Peace be to thee And every desirable blessing, from God our Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord. Our friends salute thee Our translators have inserted the word our in this clause without any authority. The apostle's words are οι φιλοι, the friends, an expression nowhere else found in Scripture; but it applies excellently to the primitive Christians, as it denotes, in the strongest manner, the love which, in the first ages, subsisted among the true disciples of Christ. Greet the friends by name That is, in the same manner as if I had named them one by one. The apostle, by sending a salutation to the faithful disciples of Christ, who were in the church of which Gaius was a member, and who were living together in great love, showed his paternal and affectionate regard for them, and encouraged them to be steadfast in their adherence to the truth and grace of the gospel, and to walk worthy of it.