Demetrius, Not Diotrephes

If you read the book of III John, which is only one brief chapter, you will see two men are mentioned by the Apostle John: Demetrius and Diotrephes. John had two very different opinions of these men. Demetrius was well-liked by John and by his fellow Christians, but Diotrephes was not.

Both men were converted from paganism into Christianity. We can tell this by their names and what their names mean. Both names refer to a pagan god or goddess, so we know they were not converted Jews. Demetrius means Belonging to Demeter, who was the goddess of agriculture. Diotrephes means Nourished by Jupiter. So, neither man could boast of prior knowledge of the Jewish scriptures or of any prior background that would set them apart from other believers. However, Diotrephes, according to John’s letter, loved the spotlight. Apparently, he had a serious problem with John, likely envious of the attention paid to John and the honor given to him.

I have already written you once about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be in charge and recognized as first among you, does not acknowledge our authority. So if I come, I will address what he’s doing—spreading his malicious slander against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome our brothers, and he stands in the way of those who want to receive them and show them hospitality by throwing them out of the church! Delightfully loved ones, don’t imitate what is evil, but imitate that which is good. Whoever does good is of God; whoever does evil has not seen God. III John 1:9-11 (The Passion Translation, TPT)

John mentions that this is not the first time he has mentioned it. He is telling the pastor of the church that he needs to address the problem with Diotrephes or John will. That means there was a serious problem with this guy. By the final sentence of the passage above, we can see that John even questions Diotrephes’ salvation. We’ve all seen people who are like this. They like to be the boss of the church and even try to manipulate and control the pastor. They want their way and do not honor the pastor’s office or his calling by God as the leader of the congregation. We could call them sons (or daughters) of Diotrephes. If that describes you or someone close to you, then some serious repenting needs to happen.

As for Demetrius, everyone speaks very highly of him, and even the truth itself stands by his side. We too wholeheartedly endorse him, and you know that our recommendation is reliable. III John 1:12 (The Passsion Translation, TPT)

Demetrius, on the other hand, had the approval of John and of the members of the church. It is indeed a blessing when your fellow believers and those in leadership have a positive opinion of you. As we honor and obey God, and those he places in authority over us, we establish a good reputation.

Let us all keep the contrast of Demetrius and Diotrephes in mind so we can be Christians that honor God and others. Let’s choose to be Demetrius over Diotrephes every time!