3 John 9-10-John Condemns Diotrephes For Rejecting His Apostolic Authority By Listing Four Charges Against Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday October 6, 2013
Third John: Third John 9-10-John Condemns Diotrephes For Rejecting His Apostolic Authority By Listing Four Charges Against Him
Lesson # 6
Please turn in your Bibles to Third John 1.
3 John 1 From the elder, to Gaius, the beloved, whom I myself divinely love by means of the truth. 2 Beloved, I myself make it a habit of praying that you would be prospered with regards to all things as well as that you would be in good health just as your soul prospers. 3 For I was prompted to greatly rejoice during the time when brothers and sisters arrived as they testified to your truth because you make it your habit of living by means of the truth. 4 I never experience a greater joy than this, namely that, I regularly hear about my own spiritual children because they are making it their habit of living by means of the truth. 5 Beloved, you continue to act faithfully with regards to whatever you work hard accomplishing on behalf of your spiritual brothers and sisters even though this is on behalf of strangers. 6 They testified to your divine-love in the presence of the church. You will act correctly by sending them on their way in a manner of the one and only God. 7 Because for the sake of the Name, they went out while accepting absolutely nothing from the heathen. 8 Therefore, we are, as an eternal spiritual truth, obligated to make it our habit of supporting such individuals in order that we would become co-workers on behalf of and in association with the truth. (My translation)
3 John 9 I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. (NASB95)
“I wrote something to the church” speaks of John communicating in writing to the churches in Ephesus that they should support financially and materially certain itinerant communicators of the gospel which he has checked out and considered worthy of such support.
“The church” refers to the church which was led by a man named Diotrephes.
“But Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say” presents an emphatic contrast with the apostle John’s instructions to Diotrephes to exercise hospitality to itinerant communicators of the gospel which he approved of.
“Who loves to be first among them” is expressing the fact that Diotrephes existed in a state of loving to be first in the sense of desiring to be prominent and preeminent in the church.
“Them” refers to those Christians who were attending the church Diotrephes was leading or was seeking to be the leader of.
“Does not accept what we say” reveals that Diotrephes emphatically rejected the apostle’s authority over the church and also indicates that he was acting in his own interests by rejecting the authority of the apostles.
“We” is the first person plural form of the personal pronoun egō which is referring to the apostle John’s authority over the church and the first person plural form of this word is an “editorial” plural meaning John is referring to himself.
3 John 9 I wrote something to a certain church but instead Diotrephes who loves to be first over them never recognized our authority. (My translation)
Here in verse 9, John now begins to reveal his purpose for writing Gaius in the first place.
The fact that Diotrephes is censured in this epistle and John informs Gaius that he will confront this man indicates that he was a Christian since the apostle would have no authority over a non-believer but only over the church.
On the basis of John’s statements here in verses 9-10, it would appear that Diotrephes was in fact a pastor of a church in Ephesus.
These instructions which John sent regarding hospitality to certain itinerant communicators of the gospel would have been sent directly to the pastors of the local churches in Ephesus to see that they were carried out to the letter.
Secondly, John says that Diotrephes did not himself accept these itinerant communicators and also forbid others to do so and put out of the church those who did obey the apostle John’s instructions.
Therefore, because John’s instructions would have been sent directly to the pastors of the churches in Ephesus and Diotrephes contradicted these orders and rejected them, we can infer that Diotrephes was a pastor of a particular church in Ephesus.
The issue for John is not that Diotrephes was wrong in exercising his authority as a pastor over the church but rather that Diotrephes was rejecting John’s apostolic authority which made Diotrephes the subordinate to John.
3 John 10 For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church. (NASB95)
“For this reason” denotes the basis or reason for the previous statement in verse 9.
“If I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does” is a third class conditional statement which indicates that John will as a certainty call attention to Diotrephes’ evil actions because he rebelled against his apostolic authority.
“His deeds” is referring to the actions of Diotrephes which are identified by the apostle John in verse 10.
“Unjustly accusing” is the verb phluareō (φλυαρέω), which means “to bring unjustified charges against someone” or in other words it means “to slander” someone in the sense of uttering false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation.
Here John informs Gaius that Diotrephes “slandered” him in the sense that he made false charges against him or misrepresented John so as to defame and damage the apostle’s reputation.
The participle form of the verb is a participle of means which indicates that Diotrephes continued to perpetrate actions, which rejected John’s apostolic authority “by” slandering John with evil assertions.
“Us” is the first person plural form of the personal pronoun egō means “us” referring to the apostle John’s authority over the church and the first person plural form of this word is an “editorial” plural meaning John is referring to himself.
“With wicked words” indicates that Diotrephes slandered John by means of or with evil words or statements.
“He himself does not receive the brethren” refers to Diotrephes refusing to welcome into the fellowship of his church the itinerant communicators of the gospel, who John approved of and ordered to be supported materially and financially.
“The brethren” is the noun adelphos which means “spiritual brothers and sisters” and refers to those itinerant communicators of the gospel and their families who John approved and had ordered the churches in Ephesus to exercise hospitality toward by supporting them financially and materially.
“He forbids those who desire to do so” refers to Diotrephes exercising his authority as a pastor in an unjustified manner.
“And puts them out of the church” expresses the fact that this action on the part of this man Diotrephes is out of the ordinary or unexpected and is expressing John’s shock at Diotrephes’ action.
3 John 10 Because of this, when I arrive I will call attention to his actions which he continues to perpetrate by continuing to slander us by means of evil assertions. Furthermore, while not being satisfied with these, he himself for his own benefit continues to not welcome these spiritual brothers and sisters and also continues to forbid those who desire to do so. He even expelled them from the church! (My translation)
John tells Gaius that because Diotrephes was rejecting his authority, he would call attention to this man’s actions which he continued to perpetrate when he arrived at this man’s location.
This means that he would confront Diotrephes and administer church discipline with regards to him.
This discipline would take place in stages.
First John would confront Diotrephes personally in private and if he is unrepentant, he will bring two or more witnesses against the man and if he doesn’t repent at this point, Diotrephes’ sin will be brought before the entire church (Matthew 18:15-16).
If he doesn’t repent as a result of this action, then he will be expelled from the fellowship of the church until he repents (Matthew 18:17).
The apostle then informs Gaius as to how Diotrephes rejected his apostolic authority.
John presents four specific charges against Diotrephes.
The first is that Diotrephes was slandering him in the past and was continuing to do so up to the time he wrote this epistle to Gaius, and he did this by means of evil assertions.
The second charge against Diotrephes is that for his own benefit he refused to welcome into the fellowship of the church those itinerant communicators of the gospel and their families.
The third charge involved Diotrephes forbidding those in his church to aid these itinerant communicators and their families.
Lastly, Diotrephes shockingly expelled from the fellowship of the church those who desired to aid these itinerant communicators and their families, which itself was in violation of the protocol for administering church discipline.
In the first place, he had no basis whatsoever for expelling these believers from the fellowship of the church since they were living in obedience to John’s apostolic authority.
This man used no legitimate witnesses against these Christians because he had none and yet, he kicked them out of the church.
He was living in disobedience to John’s apostolic teaching and ultimately rebelling against the Lord Jesus Christ Himself who delegated John authority.
He violated the protocol of church discipline instituted by the Lord Himself by expelling believers without evidence or witnesses.