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A Look At The Character Of Diotrephes

We know very little about Diotrephes other than what we read in 3 John 9-11. Although John addressed this letter to Gaius (3 John 1:1), it is obvious that Diotrephes was a representative of authority in the church. It is not known what his spiritual responsibilities were.

It is possible that he could have been an elder or preacher. In any case, Diotrephes was taking complete control of the church. Although we do not know his motives for wanting this control, one thing is for certain. He did not want those who were not under his control to come into the church — especially those who were preaching the truth. Note 3 John 10, “he himself does not receive the brethren” — possibly the brethren John speaks of in 3 John 5-7.

John says in 3 John 9, “I wrote to the church,” and he records that “Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence,” to the extent he would not allow even recognize John as an apostle nor his companions in the faith — thus John’s observation regarding Diotrephes — “does not receive us.”

Why Diotrophes would not allow John or the other evangelists to communicate with the brethren of the church, is not specifically told. However, from these brief passages, we can learn at least seven things regarding the character of Diotrephes, which John instructs us to be aware of and not to follow (he calls these characteristics “evil” in 3 John 11).

1) Ambition — Diotrephes loved preeminence — trying to be equal with Christ — In Colossians 1:18, we are told that Christ has “preeminence” in the church and all things.

2) Self-exaltation — He exalted or lifted himself over the other brethren — something Christians should never do (cf. Proverbs 3:7; Proverbs 25:27; Romans 12:3; Romans 12:16).

3) Slanderous — “Prating against us with malicious words” (3 John 1:10). The word “prate” (Strong’s No. 5396) is from the Greek — phluareo — “to babble, to accuse idly and falsely.”

4) Inhospitable — “He himself does not receive the brethren”? (3 John 10). The Scriptures teach contrary to this idea (cf. Acts 18:27; Romans 14:1; Philippians 2:29; Colossians 4:10; Philemon 1:12; Philemon 1:17).

5) Hypocrite — Seeks after his own will rather than the Lord’s will — a philosophy that is condemned (Colossians 2:20-23 KJV; cf. Matthew 6:1-8). Our attitude should be the same as our Lord (Luke 22:42b).

6) Judging or discipline without cause – Note the idea in 3 John 10b ….”casting those out of the church who accept other brethren” (cf. Matthew 7:1-5).

7) Complete control — Lording his will over the church (3 John 10b). The Scriptures teach contrary to this idea as well (1 Peter 5:1-3).

In 3 John 1:11, any individual with a similar mindset as Diotrephes, is called “evil,” not knowing God. The word “imitate” in this verse, is a present active imperative, which admonishes us to “keep on imitating that which is good,” rather than to “keep on imitating that which is evil.”

A question we might ask is, “How can one man gain complete control of a congregation? To this writer, it’s obvious that the congregation allows it to happen. Christ warns us in Matthew 7:15, to beware of false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing.

Note that these folks act like Christians; they preach and teach like Christians, but their true design and motive is to become part of the sheepfold. And when the time is right, they become ravening wolves preying on the true sheep.

Conclusion:

Brethren, we need to be aware of brethren who have the same designs and ambitions as Diotrephes, taking immediate action before any harm can come to the church of our Lord (cf. Acts 20:29-31; Romans 16:17-18; Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 2:8; 1 Timothy 1:18-20; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 2:18-19; 1 John 4:1-6).