Do You Know A Diotrophes?

Do You Know A Diotrephes?“I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church” (3 John 9-10). Did you know that the name “Diotrephes” means “nourished by Jove”? Jove was the poetic name for Jupiter, king of the Roman gods. He controlled everyone, and took credit for everything. The expression “by Jove” became a cliché for the control by false gods over the lives of men. The verses above prove that Diotrephes was true to his name – a controlling figure who was blinded to the truth of God and nourished by a false god. He loved the place of power and prominence in the church. John’s letter exposed four seeds of division being planted by this heretic. First, Diotrephes controlled the communication with the local church. That’s why John wrote his letter to Gaius. Second, he refused to receive those who threatened his position. Third, he made false accusations against them. Fourth, he singlehandedly excommunicated those he did not approve of. Nourished by a false god, he became an opponent of the Word of God, the Spirit of God, the way of God, and the man of God. This is the spirit of Diotrephes in a nutshell. If it is evident in your church, there is hope. John contrasts Diotrephes’ evil character with the godly character of Gaius and Demetrius, two down-to-earth (that’s what their names suggest) representatives of Christ. While Diotrephes shows us the worst among brethren, Gaius and Demetrius are models for all who seek to serve the Lord according to His Word. Both are known for their relationship to the truth: one as “faithful to the truth,” the other as “well spoken of by everyone – and even by the truth itself.” To combat the spirit of Diotrephes, be like Gaius and Demetrius: “Do not imitate what is evil but what is good” (3 Jn. 11). By Larry Ondrejack