1. Praise for showing hospitality (1-8)

This is Apostle John's letter to Gaius, who was an elder in the early church. John praises Gaius for welcoming brothers and sisters in Christ into his house, even though Gaius did not know them personally. Gaius honored them as people who were doing God's work. When believers show hospitality to each other, the work of God can advance.

2. Do not imitate what is evil (9-15)

There were also bad examples in the church. One of them was Diotrephes, who would not welcome the elders when they visited and who spread malicious gossip. He did it because of self-glory seeking. Diotrephes' actions needed to be pointed out so that others would not follow his example. In the Christian life, actions must match words. Anyone who does evil demonstrates that he does not know God.