Summary
In 3 John, ESV Expository Commentary, Ray Van Neste helps us preach a letter about ordinary faithfulness, showing how gospel truth shapes friendship, leadership, and support for mission. Volume 12.
We are helped to read the personal names and situations as pastoral instruction for the church.
Why Should I Own This Commentary?
We should own this volume when we want help applying Scripture to the texture of church life, where encouragement and correction are both needed.
It supports us in handling difficult leadership themes with sobriety, and in commending quiet faithfulness that the Lord sees.
It also helps us preach about partnership in the work of the gospel, without turning the text into a fundraising talk.
Closing Recommendation
We recommend 3 John, ESV Expository Commentary for pastors and teachers who want a practical, text driven aid for preaching and discipleship.
As pastoral next steps, we can visit the Bible Book Overview, browse Top Recommendations, and use the Reformed Commentary Index to build a wiser working library.
Ray Van Neste
Ray Van Neste is an American New Testament scholar of the contemporary era, writing within conservative evangelicalism with a pastoral heart.
He has taught and written on the General Epistles and pastoral ministry, aiming to help churches cultivate faithful worship, doctrinal steadiness, and durable Christian character. Van Neste’s work is marked by clarity, careful engagement with the text, and a concern to strengthen ordinary congregational life.
He remains valued because he writes as a scholar who loves the local church, and because he helps teachers handle short letters with depth and proportion. Recommended titles include his work on 1 to 3 John in the ESV Expository Commentary, Forgotten Songs, and his writing on oversight and pastoral care.
Theological Perspective: Baptist