1 The Elder. John uses the same term for himself as he did in 2 John 1. The term probably has reference to his age, his apostolic eyewitness status of Jesus’ life and also that he had an official position of authority in the church. the beloved. The term “beloved” is only used of Christians in the NT (Col. 3:12; Philem. 1, 2; 2 Pet. 3:14; 1 John 4:1). Gaius. Nothing is known of Gaius beyond the mention of his name in the salutation. The name was one of 18 common names from which Roman parents usually