“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.” (III John 9-10)
I fear that many of our brethren have not paid much attention to the story of Diotrephes. Our brotherhood has been plagued for years with “finger pointing” publications, those that feel the need to try and point out every speck in everyone else’s eye. Brother maligning brother, filling their pages with venom instead of ink. I guess what really saddens me is to see the pleasure that some brethren take in finding error in others. It seems so ungodly.
Another sin of which Diotrephes is accused is refusing to welcome the brothers. It’s sad to say, but this has been seen in our brotherhood. One congregation refuses to accept another because they have a fellowship hall. Or have a paid preacher. Or have Sunday school. Or use multiple cups to take the Lord’s Supper. Or support orphan’s homes. Or… well, you probably know the stories better than I. Some brothers take pride in drawing ever more exclusive circles, bragging about being part of one of the few “faithful congregations that are left.” I’ve never talked to anyone who was a member of one of those “faithful congregations” who didn’t also claim to be one of the dwindling number of truly faithful Christians within that congregation. It was said of one brother: “He only fellowshiped the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost… and he had his doubts about the Holy Ghost.”
Diotrephes is also described as wanting to prevent others from fellowshiping certain brethren and for putting them out of the church for doing so. I was reading something recently on the Internet in which one brother was denouncing several others for having appeared on a lectureship with “false teachers.” The writer said that if these men didn’t repent, they should also be marked as “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Diotrephes would have been proud.
I fear that the spirit of Diotrephes is alive and well in our brotherhood. It brings discord and division. It also distracts us from our main mission of seeking the lost. Our eyes turn inward instead of outward, and we waste precious energy fighting amongst ourselves instead of fighting for the Kingdom. There are false teachers around, and we need to beware of them. But we also need to beware of the spirit of Diotrephes, the divisive, judgmental spirit that ravages churches across our land. If we allow it to take root in our congregations, it will destroy the body.
May God grant us the desire to fight for the unity of His church. For it is a godly fight.
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)