3 John 1:5 (ASV)

Passage

Beloved, thou doest a faithful work in whatsoever thou doest toward them that are brethren and strangers withal;

Nearby Context

3 John 1:3 For I rejoiced greatly, when brethren came and bare witness unto thy truth, even as thou walkest in truth.

3 John 1:4 Greater joy have I none than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

3 John 1:5 Beloved, thou doest a faithful work in whatsoever thou doest toward them that are brethren and strangers withal;

3 John 1:6 who bare witness to thy love before the church: whom thou wilt do well to set forward on their journey worthily of God:

3 John 1:7 because that for the sake of the Name they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "faith", "beloved", "thou", "doest", "faithful", "whatsoever", and "toward". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "beloved", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "Greater joy have I none than this..." into verse 6's "who bare witness to thy love before...", so "faith" and "beloved" belong inside that flow. In 3 John context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "beloved" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.