Chapter 1

¹ The older man, to the loved GaiUs, whom I truly love.

² My loved one; I pray that you’re doing well in everything, and that you continue in good health as the inner man prospers.

³ I was so happy when the brothers came and testified to the fact that you’ve continued to walk in the truth. ⁴ Nothing brings me greater joy than to hear that my children keep on walking in the truth!

⁵ Loved one; You’re doing a faithful work by helping the brothers… even those who are strangers. ⁶ And they’ve testified about your love before the congregation. So, it would be a fine thing if you’d send them off in a way that is worthy of God; ⁷ because, they’ve gone to people of the nations in [His] name and didn’t take anything from them. ⁸ As the result, we’re obligated to welcome such ones hospitably, so we can be fellow workers for the truth.

⁹ I wrote something to the congregation, but DiOtrephes (who likes to be the most prominent) refused to welcome us. ¹⁰ That’s why, if I come there, I’m going to remember the way he acted and all the wicked rumors he spread about us. And even that wasn’t enough for him, because, not only does he fail to welcome the brothers, but he also prevents those who wish to… and he even throws them out of the congregation!

¹¹ Loved ones; Don’t imitate their bad things, but do what’s good. Because, whoever does what’s good comes from God, but the one who does what’s bad hasn’t seen God. ¹² Everyone has testified about this matter to DeMetrius, so he knows the truth. And now we’re telling you about this, and you know that what we’re saying is true.

¹³ I have many other things to write about, but I don’t wish to write them with pen and paper. ¹⁴ I hope to see you soon, and then we’ll talk face to face.

May you have peace.

The friends send you their greetings. Give my greetings to the friends by name.

Notes

Soul

The Greek word psyche (as in psychology) has been translated many ways, including soul, life, etc. However, psyche actually means something that breathes. It is used in the Bible to describe both breathing animals and breathing humans. So by definition, a soul cannot leave the body, because a soul is what the living body (whether human or animal) is (see Genesis 2:7).

In ancient Greece, philosophers eventually added another meaning to psyche: The inner person (as opposed to the person that others see and come to know). And with time, the pagan religion of Greece started to teach that this inner person is its own entity and can never die (is immortal). Over the centuries, this pagan Greek doctrine thereafter crept into the Christian religions. Please see the link Soul for more history of the word.

However, such Greek philosophical thought never influenced Jesus and his Apostles. So, they consistently used psyche to indicate a living person or animal. Therefore, the later teaching that the soul is immortal stands in direct conflict with Jesus’ promise of a resurrection, because, if a person is immortal (can never die) he/she can never be resurrected (brought back to life).

In addition, the teaching of the immortality of the human soul is totally without support from the Bible. For the word immortal(ity) (Gr: athanasia or undying) is only mentioned in the Bible in two places, and it isn’t used with or applied to the word soul in either case. Both of these scriptures show that immortality is only given by God as a reward for righteousness. And as Ezekiel 18:4 says, ‘The person (gr. psyche or ‘soul’) that is sinning will die (gr. apothaneitai).’

Of course, there are places in the Bible where the word soul means more than just a living, fleshly body. For example, God is recorded to have spoken of ‘My Soul’ in several places. Obviously, God is much more than just a ‘soul’ as most people think of that term, and He surely wasn’t talking about His having a human body. So we must conclude that what He was referring to is His life.

Then there are Jesus’ words found at Matthew 10:28, which read, ‘Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the person (psyche or soul). Rather, be afraid of him who can destroy both the person (soul) and the body in the garbage dump.’ Here, Jesus is using the word psyche (soul) to refer to the value of life that remains with God until the resurrection. And he obviously isn’t referring the soul as immortal in this instance, because he says God will destroy (gr. apolesai) the [unrighteous] soul or person.

Unfortunately, no single word can be used to translate psyche in every possible Bible application, so various terms are used herein, depending on the circumstances, but always in an attempt to harmonize with the meaning.

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