EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/8/2025 7:40 PM
My Worship Time PT-3 Focus: “Diotrephes’ Perverted Actions”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 3 John 10
Message of the
verse: “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.”
Now from yesterday’s SD, and even the day before I
have stated that in MacArthur’s commentary he stated: John indicted Diotrephes on four counts.” Yesterday I quoted from MacArthur’s
commentary the first one, and will look at the last three in today’s SD.
“Second, not satisfied with merely assaulting
John, Diotrephes defiantly did not receive the brethren, the traveling preachers who proclaimed
the apostolic message of the gospel.
Seeing the preachers as a threat to his own power in the church,
Diotrephes refused to extend hospitality to them. Since Scripture commands such hospitality
(Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:2; 1 Peter 4:9), Diotrephes was also guilty of rejecting
the Word of God. As one commentator
explains,
Not
only are Diotrephes’ words vicious; his deeds are equally reprehensible. He willfully breaks the rules of Christian
hospitality by refusing to receive missionaries sent out to proclaim the
gospel. By denying them shelter and
food, he hinders the progress of the Word of God. In brief, Diotrephes is thwarting God’s plans
and purposes and consequently he faces divine wrath. (Simon J. Kistemaker, III John, New Testament Commentary
[Grand Rapids: Baker, 1986], 9-10)
“Not only did Diotrephes personally refuse to extend
hospitality to the brethren; he also forbade forbids those who desire[d] to do so. He further abused his power by obstructing or
preventing others in the church from showing hospitality to the itinerant preachers.
“Those who defied
Diotrephes and showed hospitality were put out of the church. So threatening was Diotrephes that he had the
clout to excommunicate anyone he perceived as an apparent threat. Perhaps that had actually happened to Gaius,
which could explain why John had to tell him about what was going on in the
church. If he was still in the church,
Gaius was facing hostility and opposition from Diotrephes, prompting John to
encourage him not to give in, but to continue to show hospitality in the
future.” We went over this when we
looked at 3 John 5-8 in an earlier SD.
“Like most conflicts in the church,
this one stemmed from pride. It was
pride that caused Diotrephes to slander John, snub the missionaries, and eliminate
those who defied him. His arrogance led to ambition, which resulted in false,
slanderous accusations, defiance toward apostolic authority, and the crushing
of any opposition to his power. Sadly,
there have always been people like Diotrephes in churches. Even more tragically, many churches, either
because they are fearful of them, or in the name of tolerance, refuse to deal
with their own Diotrephes types. The
apostle John, however, had not hesitation in confronting such a sinner for the
good of the church and the honor of Christ.”
I
don’t think that the Bible tells us what happened to Diotrephes, but if I had
to guess I would say that the Apostle John may have gotten rid of him from that
church, which if it did happen that way was certainly the right thing to
happen. However an even better thing
would have ben for Diotrephes to confess his sinful ways and repent asking God
to forgive him.
Lord willing we will be looking at “Demetrius’
Commendable Contrast” in tomorrow’s evening Spiritual Diary.
6/8/2025 8:06
PM
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