My Thoughts on Diotrephes in 3rd John 9-11
Sometimes, some people in the Bible are mentioned only once or a few times and never again. Who can remember Mattias who replaced Judas Iscariot? He was only mentioned a few times and we know nothing of him in contrast to the Apostle Paul. Paul has mentioned a couple of names in his epistles and we never see them again. John himself has also mentioned names too such as Gauis, Demetrius, and Diotrephes in his third epistle. 3rd John mentions the wicked man Diotrephes.
9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. 11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. (KJV)
9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. 11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. (ESV)
9 I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10 So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. 11 Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. (NIV)
We can see the translations are done to refer to Diotrephes as a man who was arrogant and would not acknowledge the pastoral authority of the apostles. At this point, it's possible Peter and Paul have already been martyred since it's said that John wrote them during the reign of Domitian, not Nero. the very term preeminence is translated as "likes to put himself first" and "who loves to be first". Receiving them not is also translated as "does not acknowledge our authority" and "will not welcome us". The ESV translation of "does not acknowledge our authority" seems to stand out in showing the kind of person Diotrophes is. Diotrephes as John would cite it loved the spotlight.
The five charges against Diotrephes can be summarized as follows which would reveal the huge possibility that he's an apostate:
- He has an attitude of arrogance and not humility.
- He refused to receive John and the brethren.
- He is making false accusations against the apostles.
- He refused to entertain the missionaries wanting the spotlight for himself.
- He excommunicated those who did entertain the same missionaries.
Obviously, Diatrophes doesn't meet the qualifications of what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 on the qualifications to be a bishop.
1 Timothy 3:1-7
3 This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; 3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; 4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; 5 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) 6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Diotrophes is the opposite of being blameless. Although there's no record of marital infidelity - we can see what he lacks. He obviously lacks self-control, good behavior, hospitality, ability to teach, he was a striker, and the possibility of being guilty for gain and covetous. Why do you think he wanted to be in the position of preeminence? Greedy pastors want the spotlight because it easily gains them money.
In Bible Tools, we also read this description of Diotrephes:
Who is this Diotrephes? Perhaps a better question is, "Who does this Diotrephes think he is?" Was he an apostle? Was he an evangelist? Was he a pastor? Was he a leading man in the congregation? Was he an "ordinary" member? John does not say, but it is interesting that John mentions that Diotrephes just loved to have the preeminence among them. It almost sounds as if he was only a member of the church or perhaps an elder. We do not know.
One of his most marked characteristics is he liked to be "Number One." He had to be the important guy, the one everybody came to for answers to their questions, the one to make the big decisions. He even went so far as to say malicious things against John - one of the original twelve apostles. He prated against him with malicious words. He spoke down on him.
John was the disciple that Jesus loved, and here some little man, probably in the church at Ephesus, was talking against the apostle who had put his life on the line for the church many times, who had spent years in exile on the Isle of Patmos, who (tradition says) was put in a vat of boiling oil and was not harmed a bit, a man whom God was obviously with - and this Diotrephes thought he was so important that he could point out John's flaws to the rest of the congregation.
Then he started disfellowshipping people because they did not agree with him. He kicked people out of the church who wanted to fellowship with their brethren whom he had put out. John promised, "When I get there, I'm going to take care of this. I will call to mind all these things and make what this man is apparent."
Given the way he treated the congregation, Diotrephes was a "Satan in the flesh." What he did was evil, which is what John writes in verse 11: "Beloved, do not imitate what is evil." He is warning, "Do not imitate the actions of this man, Diotrephes. He is doing exactly what Satan did."
Diotrephes just reminds me of Korah in Numbers 16. Korah's rebellion against Moses and Aaron was proof of the said person and those who perished with him are apostates. The rebellion led by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram showed that they wanted to have the preeminence so they decided to rebel against Moses and Aaron even if God didn't give them their positions. The end result was very ugly. Korah and his men all fell into Hell alive when the ground swallowed them. Those who protested for their sake were also struck with a plague. You can see that God doesn't play any games especially with false teachers!
Not to mention, false preachers today can also have the mark of being like Diotrophes - an attitude of arrogance. One reason why I decided to stop endorsing the story of the late Alberto R. Rivera by Chick Publications after so many years was that he turned out to be a Diotrephes himself. This is not to discredit any truth Rivera said but to discredit him as a man of Satan pretending to be a man of God. Those who disagreed with him were victims of his malicious gossip. It was also revealed in the book "Alberto Rivera: The True Story" by the late Roy Livesey that Rivera had also done malice against the late Bartholomew Brewer - a real former Roman Catholic priest. Rivera himself was also fond of half-truths and fables to get your attention. Moreso, interviews with two real former Jesuit priests Bob Bush and Victor Affonso have revealed Rivera was a real fraudster.
Maybe, I can also compare the Pope to Diotrephes. Caiaphas would have qualified as the "first Pope". Now, we've got Diotrephes as another "Pope". Hasn't the Pope himself also shown to usurp apostolic authority? Peter never elevated himself above the apostles. Hasn't the Pope also shown that he himself elevated himself above his bishops by calling himself the Vicar of Christ - a title Peter never even called himself? That's why I reject Roman Catholicism as well as anyone who puts themselves above others. The same goes for the anti-Catholic cults with their own papacies such as the Mormons and the Iglesia Ni Cristo cults where they've got their council leaders claiming such positions too.
See also: