Is 3 John 2 a Proof-Text for Health and Prosperity Messages or a Form of Salutation?

One Scripture that faith teachers or prosperity teachers have abused so much is 3 John 2. The text says, "Dear friend, I pray that you enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well." The false Bible teachers use this text to teach that all Christians are guaranteed perfect health and prosperity only if they believe and confess to them. However, this Scripture read within its context is just a way of greeting in ancient times. Paul will begin his epistles or letters with, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." The ancient epistles began with salutations from the writers to the recipients.

I often begin my official letters in modern times with, "I hope this email or letter finds you well." When I write these words, I do not intend for my recipients to take them as commands to be obeyed or as normative conditions or principles. It is just a way of greeting. So the apostle John or the writer of 3 John, following the letter-writing class in antiquity, started his greeting with the above words.

Let me start by saying that I am a Pentecostal Christian who believes in divine healing. I have often received God's divine healing, grace, and mercy. I have also ministered healing to several people in my ministry. However, like the Apostle Paul, I believe that healing is not dispensed at will by any man or woman but by God's sovereign will. In his final days and hours, the great apostle lamented his inability to heal his closest colleague and companion, Trophimus. In 2 Timothy 4:20, the great apostle writes, "Erastus has remained at Corinth, and Trophimus I left sick in Miletus."

Paul would have indeed healed his associates if it was within his power. This is the same apostle who raised Eutychus from death and healed the disabled person at Lystra, yet had to leave his trusted friend sick at Miletus. In Philippians 2:27, he said, "Epaphroditus was sick to death. Moreover, in 1 Timothy 5:23, he advised his associate Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach and frequent ailment.

In his book, 'The Cult of Prosperity, the eminent Pentecostal scholar and New Testament exegete, and a Minister of the Assemblies of God (USA), Gordon Fee, writes, "American Christianity is rapidly being infected by an insidious disease, the so-called 'wealth and health' Gospel- although it has very little of the character of the Gospel in it. In its brazen forms … it simply says, 'Serve God and get rich … in its more respectable – but pernicious forms, it builds fifteen million dollar crystal cathedrals to the glory of affluent suburban Christianity."

The goal of Biblical interpretation is to discover the original writer's intent. What was the writer trying to say or accomplish when he put pen to paper? So, we need to answer this question: What was the apostle's intent when he wrote these words to his friend Gaius? Was Apostle John giving all Christians a perfect health and prosperity formula, or was he following the conventional writing classs of antiquity?

First, this is a personal letter from an elder to one of his beloved friends, Gaius. John might have received information about Gaius' growth in the Lord: walking in truth and righteousness, and was writing to motivate and encourage him. The words we read in 3 John 2 were a standard form of opening address in letter writing in antiquity.

In antiquity, private letter writings also employed conventional phrases for health wishes, affirmations of prayers and offerings, and the assurance of well-being to the gods on the recipient's behalf. Nowadays, expressions such as "I hope this letter finds you well" are common. But we also start our letters with "Dear so-and-so" and close with "Sincerely so-and-so." These are conventional classs of letter writing today.

So, when the apostles were writing letters to individuals in antiquity, they employed the known letter-writing conventions of their days. If one were serious about consulting extra-biblical writers from antiquity, one would find that these were standard greetings. One needs to compare the introductory address or salutation of a letter written to Apollos from his son.

"Dearest father, I pray to God that you are whole and doing well and that we might receive you in good health. “Another correspondence from Claudius Terenitianus to his father reads, "Very many greetings. Before all else, I pray for your health and success, which are my wish, and I make obeisance for you daily in the presence of our Lord Sarapis and the gods who share his temple." Therefore, the introductory portion of 3 John was a formal greeting or salutation in antiquity. It was not instructive or didactic teaching for Christians.

Dr. Gordon Fee, whom I referenced earlier, has this to say in his 2006 book, "The disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels": "When people read texts like today's Scripture through a selfish, worldly lens, one result is the toxic thinking known as the prosperity gospel. The biblical greeting must be understood simply as hoping that his reader is doing well and in good health despite the varied circumstances of life, just as his soul is well because He is in Christ. Nowhere does God promise those who follow Him that life will be rosy and filled with riches. Sadly, many believe this pipe dream in the USA has spread overseas, so as I prepare to teach in places like Seoul and Manila, I need to refresh my thinking to help students who wrestle with how to counteract prosperity gospel thinking where they minister."

When a Pentecostal scholar like Gordon Fee writes, I read and trust it. I pray that Christians who want to know the truth and sound exegesis will read the Scripture for all its worth. While the book contains didactic teachings, 3 John 2 is not didactic but a salutation for Gaius. The book of 3 John is a letter written by the apostle John to a man named Gaius, in which he expresses his concerns and commendations regarding Gaius and his fellow believers following an ancient Greco-Roman letter writing class. While the letter is not primarily didactic, that is, instructive or educational; it does contain some teachings and instructions for the community.

Didactic teaching is instructional, primarily transmitting information or knowledge from the teacher to the learner. Didactic teaching often involves direct instruction, lecture, and memorization and is designed to convey specific information or concepts to the student. They are instructions to be obeyed or followed. One example of didactic teaching in 3 John is found in verses 5-8, where John praises Gaius for his hospitality towards other believers traveling and teaching in the area. John uses this example to encourage other community members to show hospitality towards these teachers, as they are doing the work of God. He also warns against supporting false teachers who do not adhere to the truth of the Gospel.

An additional example of didactic teaching in 3 John is found in verses 9-10, where John condemns a man named Diotrephes, who was causing trouble in the community by refusing to accept John's authority and speaking maliciously against him. John instructs the community to reject Diotrephes' behavior and follow the example of Gaius, who supported the teachers who were spreading the truth. Some Biblical scholars argue that the original Greek word for "prosper" in this verse means "to have a good journey" or "to be successful on a journey." They suggest that this verse is not necessarily referring to material prosperity but rather to the success and well-being of one's spiritual journey.

Other scholars point out that the verse may be interpreted as a prayer for Gaius' spiritual well-being rather than a promise of material prosperity or physical health. Building a theology on the salutations of ancient letters is a dangerous undertaking that must be discouraged since it endangers other people's health and puts their lives in danger.

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