At one time or another we have all seen one person in charge of everything. Logical thought would provide us with the hope that we, as human beings, had grown beyond the idea that one person is capable of all things to the superiority of all others with whom we associate, but it is not true.

In fact, the idea of, “I am better than the rest of you,” is as old as humankind on the earth because it is prompted by our sinful thinking and often grasped also by an ancient evil spirit.

In the New Testament Book Of Third John, which is only one chapter, and one gets the drift of why when we read what the Apostle John was addressing. John actually addresses the writing to only one man, his beloved friend Gaius, and whom John considers to be a truthful man.

John is one of the original Disciples of Jesus and who was now a ruling Elder of the newly established Church of the ascended Jesus Christ.

In all of Scriptures we are provided with the organizational structure of authority of the home, the government, and the Church, and we are commanded to observe that established line of Authority.  John was certainly a man with high authority over the area in which one man named Diotrephes, had a congregation of believers in his charge.

John make short mention of a group of men, perhaps of the servant encouragment gifts, that were trying to bring help and encouragement to the newly formed Churches in different areas.  John reports that he had written a letter to the “Diotrephes Church” but that Diotrephes refused to read it to the congregation; and further neither would he permit any of the persons showing up in person to come into his congregation.  In fact if any of “his congregation” fellow-shipped with the traveling brothers, Diotrephes would excommunicate them from his congregation.

John mentions that if he personally gets to travel there he will remember how Diotrephes has been gossiping about him and spreading malicious rumors. This is John that watched Jesus and received first, before any of us, the Authority, from Jesus, to cast out devils. This is the John that they tried to boil in oil and they could not kill him. WHO really, did Diotrephes think he was?

John’s admonition to Gaius and to us is that we are not to fellowship with this type of person, and yes we do continue to have them among us.

This type of behavior is not that of a Christian Pastor.

The organizational structure of the Christian Church is to have all the five leadership assignments active in a body of believers, BECAUSE those five gifts are for the training of the congregation according to the God given assigned gift of each one of the congregants, who is NOT forever to be just a congregant, but to be trained to go and give their gift in the future training of others. The Church is not to be a, “One Man Show.”

As Christians, neither are we to support this spiritual problem of superiority. It will do no one good of any type, including to the arrogant one who thinks THEY are all that is needed.

John, sums his brief statement about Diotrephes by saying that, “in all things he loves to have the Preeminence.”

Sometime that spirit has so blinded and comforted the victim, which Diotrephes was, who was fulfilling a flesh appetite for superiority and domination over others.  The "Diotrephes" of any group will never be delivered of that spirit IF the brothers and sisters of the group permit such behaviors. Further none of the sheep of the congregation will grow to maturity.  It is evil. John advises us to not allow ourselves to be in such an environment.

A little information on the name, “Diotrephes.” The name means, “nurtured by Jupiter.” Due to the size of Jupiter, largest of the see able Planets to the Romans, Jupiter was considered to be The King of The Roman gods.

We can dislike the personality of any Diotrephes with which we come into contact whether it is in our home, our government, or our Church, but we also need to remember that it is a bad spirit that is in control and we are not to accommodate it by being submissive to it.  We also do not strike out to harm that person, we have different weapons of warfare, called Prayer and Proclamation against the evil spirit, and for the one in it’s grasp. But we are not to bow to it. We remove ourselves from it’s demands.

My recent experience:

1. Recently I joined such a Church and soon had to leave. There was a Pastor and a Finance Officer. No Financial Reports had been made in 2 years. There was a Reader for the Congregation and beyond that there was the Pastor.  He preached.  There were no prayer meetings, no Sunday School therefore, no teachers.  He lead the Choir with his microphone ON, so that the Choir was barely heard and he could be admired for his musical ability; he alone played special music, for the regular worship service if there was any.

   HOW did he fall into such a pattern of un-Scriptural “Leadership?” I have no idea what his reasons were, but I do know the pattern of his Leadership is not according to Scripture.

Read your Bibles and you will find all the texts that support that we are to also be correctional to wrong, and supportive of right, as the Scriptures give instruction and defines what is right in God’s sight.

Ramona: 07/30/2024

Ramona,  Master in Ministry Arts, BA in Biblical Studies, I am an Ordained Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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