Euodoo: How Is It Going?

Word of the Week

June 27, 2026

 

Euodoō: How Is It Going?

 

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

3 John 2 NASB

 

“How is it going?”

“Well, I just had my annual physical, and the doctor says I’m doing well.  And my banker says that my investments are earning good returns, so I think things are looking good.”

“That’s great!  Have you asked God lately how things are going with your soul?”

A probing question, one that we seldom hear – but an important one nonetheless.  We are grateful for good reports from the doctor and the banker, but it’s even more crucial to get a good report from the Lord.

The apostle John thought about all three kinds of success when he wrote a letter to his friend Gaius, and he used a colorful Greek word to make his point.

The word is euodoō [yoo-aw DAW-oh], which comes from the combination of two shorter words:  eu means “good, well” and hodos is “path, way.” It naturally paints the picture of following a good path to your goal.  It is most often translated as “to prosper, to succeed.”

In secular Greek, it meant “to lead or guide on a good path, to bring someone onto the proper path.”

In the Greek Old Testament, it often showed up in passages making the point that God Himself is the one who puts you on the path to success.  God promised Joshua, for instance, “be careful to do according to all that is written in [the book of the law]; for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success” (Joshua 1:8).

Euodoō occurs only three times in the New Testament, and each appearance is in the passive voice, a reminder that we don’t achieve a successful life by our own efforts.  When things go well, the hand of God is always involved.

1. The apostle Paul had completed three wide-ranging campaigns to spread the gospel to Galatia, Macedonia and Asia Minor, and now he was dreaming of an even bigger project. His vision extended all the way to Rome and beyond.  He wrote a letter to the church of Rome to pave the way for his future arrival.

One of the top items on his prayer list was the request that God would guide him to a path that would lead him to Rome.

Always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you (Romans 1:10).

He was literally asking for a successful trip to the imperial capital.  And God granted his request, even though the route included two years in a Jewish jail, weeks at sea, a shipwreck, and house arrest in Rome.

2. Paul used our word to describe a different kind of prosperity in his first letter to the church at Corinth. Word had reached him of the financial difficulties that hampered the Jewish believers in Jerusalem, and he determined to take up a collection from the Gentile churches to help their fellow-believers in Judea.   He was getting ready to tour the territory, receiving funds from each congregation, and he concluded his letter to Corinth by urging them to set aside money regularly so that they would have the funds ready for his arrival.

 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come (1 Corinthians 16:2).

Here the word describes financial success.  Each believer would look at the way God had provided for that week, and put an appropriate amount in savings.

3. Finally, the apostle John uses the word as part of a striking prayer for his good friend Gaius.

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).

He pays Gaius the great compliment of assuming that his soul is doing well, that his walk with God is strong – it is prosperous.  Now, he says, I pray that your physical health will be as good as your spiritual health, and that your success in every other area of life will match your spiritual attainment.

Would you want someone to pray such a prayer for you?  If spiritual vitality was the benchmark for our physical health, many of us would be limping along, wheezing and wobbling through life.  And if our checkbook was a reflection of our soul’s prosperity, many of us would be operating in the red.

Gaius sets a great example for us as a man who maintained a close walk with God – the secret of a truly prosperous life.  When someone asked, “How is it going?” he could be confident that the most crucial aspect of his life was going well.

 

Study Hint:

The etymology of our word for this week – the history of how it was originally formed – leads us to visualize someone guiding you to a pathway.  That’s a literal use for the word.  But words also develop figurative meanings, and this one is no exception.  In two of our passages, no one is traveling.  The word is used with the metaphorical meaning of a pathway through life or an avenue to success.  How do you tell when a figurative meaning is in play?  Just look at the context.  If a literal meaning makes sense, go for it.  If not, look for a figurative meaning.

 

Coming Up

As we move through the New Testament, looking for a significant Greek word from each book, we have arrived at the book of Jude.  One word stands out above all others to catch the flavor of Jude’s epistle, and that’s the one we will examine next week.  It’s appropriate for the Fourth of July weekend when we remember the struggles that were required to gain the freedom we celebrate on the Fourth.

©Ezra Project 2026