3 John 9-10 He Refuses to Welcome the Brothers

3 John 9-10 He Refuses to Welcome the Brothers

Introduction

As we continue through John's third letter, we come to a section that, like the first eight verses, does not contain any direct commands. John does not stop and give us an instruction to obey. Instead, he gives us something to observe. He places before us the actions of a man named Diotrephes and allows us to see how a false believer can harm the church by distorting obedience to the Lord.

In the opening section of this letter, we were reminded that God's people should receive, support, and partner with those whom God the Father, through the Son and by the Spirit, has called and equipped to publicly minister to the church for its edification and maturity. These brothers had gone out for the sake of the Name. They were laboring for the advancement of the gospel. Gaius was commended because he received them and supported them faithfully.

But now John shows us the opposite.

Diotrephes was associated with this local church, but he was working in direct opposition to the work of the Great Commission. He did not receive the brothers. He did not acknowledge apostolic authority. He slandered those whom Christ had sent. He stopped others who wanted to do what was right. He even put faithful believers out of the church.

This is not simply a first century church problem. This is a pattern God's people must learn to recognize. Diotrephes shows us how the enemy works through self exalting people to undermine God's truth and separate God's people.

That is the heart of this passage. The enemy attacks God's truth, and he attacks God's people. He seeks to weaken confidence in the Word of God and dissolve the fellowship God has given for the perseverance of His people. Diotrephes becomes a specific example of that larger and older conflict.

So as we look at this passage, we are not simply looking at a difficult church member from long ago. We are being trained in spiritual discernment. We are being taught to recognize how selfish ambition, slander, false authority, and fear can be used to damage the church from within.

The Enemy's Work Within the Church

John writes, "I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority" (3 John 9).

The first thing John tells us is that Diotrephes refused to acknowledge apostolic authority. This was not a small matter. It was not merely a disagreement between two strong personalities. It was not simply a difference of opinion concerning how things should be handled in the local church. John was not a self appointed man who had forced his way into a position of influence. John had been called, taught, and commissioned by the Lord Himself.

When Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew casting a net into the sea and called them to follow Him. Then He saw James and John in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them also. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him (Matthew 4:18-23). John did not appoint himself to ministry. Christ called him.

Later, Jesus went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. When day came, He called His disciples and chose from them twelve, whom He named apostles. John was among those chosen men (Luke 6:12-16). This means John's authority did not come from John. It did not come from popularity. It did not come from a vote. It came from Christ.

This matters because rejecting John was not merely rejecting John. When Diotrephes refused to acknowledge John's authority, he was refusing to submit to the authority of the One who called, taught, and sent John. On the surface, it looked like Diotrephes had a problem with a man. Underneath the surface, he had a problem with the authority of God and His Word.

This is often how rejection of God works. People may say they only have a problem with the messenger. They may say they only have a problem with the preacher, the teacher, the correction, or the person who brought the concern forward. But many times, the real issue is the message itself. If God has spoken, and someone refuses to listen, the problem is not ultimately the messenger. The problem is submission to God.

That is why John's authority is so important in this passage. The apostles were not delivering their own opinions. They were witnesses and messengers of Christ. To reject their teaching was to reject the truth Christ entrusted to them. Diotrephes may have been acting within a local church, but his actions revealed something far deeper. He was standing against the authority of Christ.

This is also why his actions cannot be treated as ordinary weakness. A true teacher may sin. A true brother may stumble. A true believer may need correction. But a man who rejects apostolic authority, slanders the apostles, opposes gospel workers, prevents others from receiving them, and expels faithful believers is not merely struggling. His actions teach. His influence teaches. His rebellion teaches. He is leading others away from the truth he claims to belong to.

Diotrephes shows us that false teaching is not determined only by what someone articulates with their mouth. A person's life, actions, influence, and refusal to submit to the truth can also teach falsely. In this passage, Diotrephes is not just speaking against John. He is living against the truth John represents.

Servants of Selfishness

John also tells us something very important about the heart of Diotrephes. He says Diotrephes "likes to put himself first" (3 John 9). Before John describes the slander, before he describes the rejection of the brothers, and before he describes the expulsion of faithful believers, he identifies the root. Diotrephes loved to be first.

This is not new. Throughout Scripture, we find people in religious positions who should have been serving others but instead used their position for themselves. They were supposed to help people worship God, understand God, and walk faithfully before Him. Instead, they became self serving and self exalting.

The enemy works through willing human sin. Diotrephes was not innocent. He was not a helpless pawn with no responsibility for his actions. His love of being first became an open door for destruction within the church. The enemy's strategy and Diotrephes' selfishness were not competing realities. They worked together. The enemy used his self exaltation to attack God's truth and God's people.

The sons of Eli are a clear example of this kind of corruption. They were in a position connected to the worship of the Lord, but they treated the offering of the Lord with contempt. They used their role to take for themselves what did not belong to them. They were not helping the people worship God rightly. They were using God's people and God's worship for their own gain (1 Samuel 2:12-17).

At first, they at least allowed the sacrifice to be made incorrectly before taking for themselves. But then their contempt grew. They began demanding what they wanted before the sacrifice was even offered properly. That is what selfish ambition does. It does not remain still. It grows. It becomes bolder. It becomes more destructive.

Jesus also confronted this spirit in the scribes and Pharisees. They sat in places of religious influence. They taught others. They were seen by the people as spiritual guides. Yet Jesus exposed that many of them loved honor, recognition, titles, and the praise of men. They wanted the best seats. They wanted to be noticed. They placed heavy burdens on others while not lifting a finger to help them (Matthew 23:1-12).

Jesus said, "The greatest among you shall be your servant" (Matthew 23:11). That is the difference between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of self. Christ calls His people to humble service. The enemy uses selfish ambition to corrupt those who should be serving.

This is what we see in Diotrephes. He was not acting like a servant. He was not acting like one who cared for the glory of Christ or the good of the church. He was consumed with being first. His concern was not the glory of the Lord. His concern was not the good of God's people. His concern was himself.

That kind of selfishness is not harmless. When people in positions of influence become consumed with themselves, truth is often compromised, fellowship is damaged, and faithful believers are harmed.

This is why believers must develop spiritual discernment. We must learn to recognize this pattern. Not everyone in a religious position is serving Christ. Not everyone who speaks with confidence is faithful. Not everyone who holds influence among God's people uses that influence for God's glory.

There comes a point where we need spiritual street smarts. We need heavenly wisdom. The Scriptures have been recorded for our maturity so that we would not be misled or deceived by those who do not know God. Diotrephes failed the test. His life showed that he was not submitting to Christ, but serving himself.

The Tools the Enemy Uses

John continues, "So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church" (3 John 10).

Here we see that selfishness does not remain private. It produces actions. Diotrephes' desire to be first eventually expressed itself in ways that harmed the church. John tells us what he was doing. He was talking wicked nonsense against the apostles. He was refusing to welcome the brothers. He was stopping others who wanted to welcome them. He was putting faithful believers out of the church.

These actions show us two tools the enemy uses to attack and weaken the church.

First, he attacks God's truth by attacking those who bring God's message.

Second, he attacks God's people by isolating believers from fellowship.

Those two things matter because God has given His people truth and fellowship for their strength and perseverance. His Word teaches us. His people encourage us. When truth is undermined and fellowship is broken, believers become easier to discourage, confuse, intimidate, and isolate.

The enemy understands this. A believer who knows the truth and is surrounded by faithful brothers and sisters is harder to move. So the enemy attacks both. He attacks the Word, and he attacks the fellowship of the faith.

Shut the Mouth of Prophets

John says Diotrephes was "talking wicked nonsense" against him and the apostles (3 John 10). This was not harmless criticism. It was slander. He was trying to weaken confidence in those who had been called and sent by Christ.

This is a pattern we can see throughout Scripture. When people do not want to obey God, they often attack the one who brings the message. The issue is not always the messenger. The issue is that people do not want to hear what God has said.

King Amaziah shows this clearly. After God gave him victory over Edom, he brought back the gods of the people he defeated and began worshiping them. The Lord sent a prophet to confront him, but Amaziah did not want correction. He told the prophet to stop speaking and threatened him with death (2 Chronicles 25:14-16). Amaziah did not reject the prophet because the prophet had done him wrong. He rejected the prophet because he did not want to submit to God's correction.

Zechariah also records this kind of response. The Lord commanded His people to show true judgment, kindness, mercy, and justice. But the people refused to pay attention. They turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears so they would not hear (Zechariah 7:8-11). God had spoken clearly, but the people did not want to listen.

Stephen faced the same pattern. As he testified to Christ and declared that he saw the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God, those who opposed him cried out, stopped their ears, rushed at him, cast him out of the city, and stoned him (Acts 7:56-60). Again, the issue was not merely Stephen. The issue was the message he bore witness to.

This helps us understand Diotrephes. His slander against John was not merely a personal attack. It was an attack on apostolic truth. If he could discredit John, he could weaken the message John carried. If he could cause people to doubt the apostle, he could cause them to doubt the apostolic teaching.

This is why God's people must know the Scriptures. We miss so much, and we rob ourselves of maturity and strength, when we do not know what God has recorded for our instruction. This is not meant as looking down on anyone. It is meant as an encouragement to lean into the Savior more deeply and to grow in the truth He has given us.

Every part of life has foundational skills. If an electrician does not know how to ground a wire, what kind of work will be done in your home? If an accountant cannot do basic math, how well will they handle a checkbook or a corporate account? If a basketball player cannot dribble, how well will they run an offense?

In the same way, if a Christian does not know the Scriptures, how well can they be expected to faithfully follow the Christ revealed through them?

That is why the attack on truth matters. The enemy has always sought to silence God's message. Sometimes he does it by deceiving. Sometimes he does it by threatening. Sometimes he does it by slandering the messenger. But the goal is the same. He wants God's people to stop listening to what God has said.

Isolation of Those Who Believe

John then tells us that Diotrephes refused to welcome the brothers, stopped those who wanted to welcome them, and put them out of the church (3 John 10). This is not only an attack on truth. It is also an attack on fellowship.

This is one of the most successful attacks in our own day. The fellowship of believers has been weakened, minimized, and treated as unnecessary. Many people speak as if they can have Jesus without the church, or belong to Christ without belonging to a local congregation of believers.

But this is not how Christ has designed the Christian life.

Jesus did not save His people so they could live in isolation. He gave us fellowship as a gift. He gave us one another for encouragement, correction, strength, and perseverance. The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone.

The fellowship John is concerned with is not bare attendance or empty religious routine. It is the shared life of believers who receive one another, encourage one another, correct one another, and stand together in the truth. It is not merely sitting in the same room. It is belonging to one another under Christ.

That is why Diotrephes' actions were so serious. He was not simply refusing hospitality. He was working to isolate believers from the fellowship and partnership they should have shared. He was creating fear. He was making faithfulness costly. He was punishing those who wanted to support the brothers.

We see this kind of fear during the ministry of Jesus. In John 7, people were speaking quietly about Jesus, but no one spoke openly because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders (John 7:12-13). In John 9, the parents of the man born blind would not speak plainly about Jesus because they feared being put out of the synagogue (John 9:20-23). In John 12, some even believed in Jesus, but they would not confess Him openly because they feared the Pharisees and loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God (John 12:41-43).

Even after the resurrection, the disciples were gathered behind locked doors because of fear (John 20:19-22). Fear is not a small thing. It can silence people. It can isolate people. It can make obedience feel too costly.

But Acts shows us a better response. When the early church faced threats, they gathered and prayed. They did not ask God for comfort first. They asked for boldness. They asked the Lord to help them continue speaking His Word, and God answered by filling them with the Holy Spirit and strengthening them to speak with boldness (Acts 4:27-31).

This is why fellowship matters. Believers standing together in truth are harder to move. A Christian who knows the Word and is surrounded by faithful brothers and sisters is not as easily shaken. But a believer who is isolated, afraid, and separated from the encouragement of the church becomes more vulnerable.

The enemy understands this. That is why he attacks fellowship. He wants believers separated from one another. He wants them afraid. He wants them silent. He wants them disconnected from the gifts God has provided to help them endure.

Be Bold in the Face of Fear

After seeing all of this, we should not be surprised that opposition comes. God's people have always faced opposition in some way, in some shape, and in some form. The question is not whether opposition will exist. The question is whether fear will stop us from being faithful.

The Lord told Jeremiah that opposition would come. Jeremiah was commanded to speak everything God commanded him to say. The Lord warned him that kings, officials, priests, and the people of the land would fight against him. But God also promised that they would not prevail because He would be with Jeremiah to deliver him (Jeremiah 1:16-19).

Notice what God did not promise. He did not promise Jeremiah a life without conflict. He promised His presence in the middle of conflict.

That matters for us. We should not assume that faithfulness means we will never face pressure, rejection, criticism, or discomfort. If Jeremiah was opposed, if the prophets were opposed, if the apostles were opposed, and if Christ Himself was opposed, we should not be shocked when obedience brings conflict.

But we must not allow fear to stop us.

Gideon is a helpful example. When the Lord told him to tear down his father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it, Gideon obeyed. But he did it at night because he was afraid of his family and the men of the town (Judges 6:25-27).

That detail matters. Gideon was afraid, but he still obeyed. Fear was present, but fear did not get the final word.

Sometimes Christians speak as if fear should never be present in the life of faith. But that is not honest to the way Scripture shows God's people. Fear may arise. Fear may be felt. Fear may be real. The issue is whether fear becomes our master.

Faithfulness does not always mean the absence of fear. Sometimes faithfulness means obeying Christ while fear is still present.

That is important because Diotrephes created the kind of environment where fear could flourish. If people supported the brothers, they could be put out of the church. If people acknowledged John's authority, they could be opposed. If people did what was right, they could face consequences.

That is where many believers are tested. Not always in whether they know what is right, but whether they will do what is right when obedience creates conflict.

So we must hear the warning clearly. Do not allow fear to stop you from obeying Christ. Do not allow the pressure of people to make you silent. Do not allow the threat of rejection to separate you from the truth of God or the people of God.

The goal is not to become combative. The goal is not to go looking for conflict. The goal is to remain faithful to Christ when conflict comes because of obedience.

Conclusion

Diotrephes was a real man in a real church, but the danger seen in him has not disappeared. Through him, John shows us a pattern that God's people must learn to recognize. The enemy works through self exalting people to undermine God's truth and separate God's people.

He does this by attacking the authority of God's Word. He does this by slandering those who faithfully proclaim the truth. He does this by raising up selfish people who use religious influence for themselves. He does this by creating fear and isolating believers from one another.

But God has not left His people without help. He has given us His Word. He has given us the fellowship of believers. He has given us examples throughout Scripture so that we would not be naïve. He has shown us that opposition will come, but He has also shown us that fear does not have to stop obedience.

Diotrephes refused to welcome the brothers because he loved being first. Christ welcomed sinners by humbling Himself, serving His people, and giving His life. Diotrephes used influence to push people away. Christ uses His authority to gather, cleanse, keep, and preserve His people.

So do not imitate the evil of self exalting religion. Imitate the good of Christlike faithfulness. Receive the truth. Receive the brothers. Remain faithful even when fear comes.

Hold fast to the truth.

Remain connected to the people of God.

Do not be surprised by opposition.

Do not allow fear to silence faithfulness.

And above all, keep your eyes on Christ, who is worthy of obedience, worthy of worship, and worthy of our perseverance until the end.

Scripture References

Matthew 4:18-23 Jesus personally called John to follow Him, showing that John's authority originated with Christ and not with himself.

Luke 6:12-16 Jesus chose John as one of the twelve apostles, commissioning him as an authorized witness and messenger.

1 Samuel 2:12-17 The sons of Eli used their position for selfish gain and treated the worship of God with contempt rather than reverence.

Matthew 23:1-12 Jesus rebuked religious leaders who sought honor, recognition, and status instead of serving God's people with humility.

2 Chronicles 25:14-16 Amaziah rejected God's correction and attempted to silence the prophet who confronted his idolatry.

Zechariah 7:8-11 God's people refused to listen to His Word, choosing stubbornness over repentance and obedience.

Acts 7:56-60 Stephen faithfully testified about Christ and was killed by those who refused to hear the truth.

John 7:12-13 Fear of religious leaders kept many people from openly speaking about Jesus.

John 9:20-23 The parents of the man born blind feared being removed from the synagogue because of their association with Jesus.

John 12:41-43 Some believed in Jesus but refused to confess Him publicly because they valued human approval more than God's approval.

John 20:19-22 The disciples gathered in fear after the crucifixion, yet Jesus came to them with peace and encouragement.

Acts 4:27-31 The early church responded to threats by praying for boldness and continuing to proclaim God's Word faithfully.

Jeremiah 1:16-19 God warned Jeremiah that opposition would come but promised to be with him and deliver him.

Judges 6:25-27 Gideon obeyed God's command despite his fear, demonstrating that faithfulness can exist even when fear is present.