Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, a brother.
Truth to Learn
God wants us all to give liberally.
Behind the Words
“Host” is from the Greek word xenos, which literally means “a foreigner” or “a stranger.” It is often used to refer to “a friend who is not a family member.” By implication, it refers to “a guest” or “a host.” It is this latter sense in which it is used in today’s verse.
The word translated “treasurer” is oikonomos, made up of oikos, meaning “house” and nomos, derived from the verb nemō, meaning “to parcel out” or “to distribute.” It is, therefore, a reference to the one who distributes duties and wages within a household (see Luke 12:42 for an example given by Jesus). In other words, it refers to a house steward or a house manager. The fact that Gaius is said to be the oikonomos of the city implies that he is the steward, manager, or treasurer of the city of Corinth.
Meaning Explained
Paul has been including greetings from people with him in Corinth to the Christians in Rome. Today’s verse contains the final three people who send their greeting. The first of these three is Gaius. There are at least two people by that name mentioned in the New Testament. One of these was a Macedonian man who was with Paul at Ephesus (Acts 19:29) and another was a man from Derbe, in Asia Minor who accompanied Paul in his travels there (Acts 20:4). We are also told that Paul personally baptized a man by the name of Gaius. There is one more mention of a man named Gaius in the New Testament. He is the one to whom the Apostle John wrote a personal letter (3 John 1:1).
What we do know about Gaius is that he was a very benevolent person. We know this because Paul refers to him as his host, implying that he provided lodging and food for the apostle while he was in Corinth. It is very likely that this is the Macedonian mentioned in Acts 19:29 and the one who Paul baptized. Paul tells us that Gaius also hosted the entire Corinthian church, probably providing a meeting place and financial support for the church there.
The next person that Paul mentions is Erastus. Here we are told that Erastus was the city manager or the city treasurer of Corinth. This implies that he, like Gaius, was a fairly wealthy person. In Acts 19:22 we are told that Paul sent Erastus and Timothy ahead into Macedonia while he finished business in Ephesus. Paul also told Timothy that he left Erastus in Corinth (2Timothy 4:20), so it is likely that all three of these references are of the same person named Erastus.
The final greeting included here is from a man names Quartus (Latin for “fourth”). All we know about him is that he was a brother in the faith.
Application
We know from Matthew 19:23 that it is difficult for a rich person to get saved. Here we see how two men used their wealth to strengthen the church, but God expects the rest of us to give just as liberally of our time, talents, and financial resources. If the widow of Mark 12:42-44 was willing to give all she had, how can we desire to do anything less?
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2019 Will Krause. All rights reserved
