#diotrephes

March 8, 2024:

Abyss Secondary, Imperial, Sarcophagus.

3 John 1:9-10. I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. One of the things I respect…

Here in America, we think being famous is cool. We watch TMZ or read People Magazine to keep up with all the “stars”. We get all gaga if we meet Lady Gaga or somebody else that’s famous, and if we were honest, a lot of us would love to BE famous. Andy Warhol said over FORTY YEARS AGO, that with the advent of media technology, “In the future, everybody is going to be world-famous for fifteen…

11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. 13 I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to…

9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 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 1:9-10 ESV After praising Gaius for his…

Famous People May Not Always Be Famous for the Right Reasons

Here in America, we think being famous is cool. We watch TMZ or read People Magazine to keep up with all the “stars”. We get all gaga if we meet Lady Gaga or somebody else that’s famous, and if we were honest, a lot of us would love to BE famous. Andy Warhol said over FORTY years ago, “In the future, everyone is going to be world-famous for fifteen minutes.” In Third John, we get some good advice…

9 Ἔγραψά τι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· ἀλλʼ ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων αὐτῶν Διοτρέφης οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται ἡμᾶς. 10 διὰ τοῦτο, ἐὰν ἔλθω, ὑπομνήσω αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα ἃ ποιεῖ λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμᾶς, καὶ μὴ ἀρκούμενος ἐπὶ τούτοις οὔτε αὐτὸς ἐπιδέχεται τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τοὺς βουλομένους κωλύει καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκβάλλει. 

My translation: 

9 I wrote something to the church; but the one loving to be first among them, Diotrephes, does not receive us. 10 On account of this, if I come, I will call to mind his works which he does, with evil words uttering nonsense about us, and not being satisfied with these things, he himself neither receives the brothers and those wishing to he hinders and he casts them out of the church. 

Notes:

1:9 

The direct object of the aorist ἔγραψά (from γράφω) is the indefinite pronoun τι, and τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ is the indirect object (NASB, HCSB, NET: “I wrote something to the church”). NIV, NLT omit τι; it is also absent from some manuscripts. UBS Committee gives it a {B} rating. The article with ἐκκλησίᾳ marks it as a church well-known to Gaius, if not his own church. 

ἀλλά indicates strong contrast. 

The hapax legomenon φιλοπρωτεύω is “I wish to be first, like to be leader” (BDAG), from φιλέω “I love” (not in NT) + πρῶτος “first”; NASB, NIV, NET: “loves to be first”; HCSB: “loves to have first place”. The substantival present participle ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων is the subject of the main verb ἐπιδέχεται below. Διοτρέφης (“Diotrephes”) is in apposition to the participle. The genitive αὐτῶν after the participle is partitive or perhaps a genitive of subordination (“among them”, NASB, HCSB, NET).

ἐπιδέχομαι (2x, both in this passage) is, “receive, welcome” or “accept” (BDAG); context may allow for a meaning such as “acknowledge”; CGT: “‘admits not our authority,’ or ‘ignores our letter.’” The participle ὁ φιλοπρωτεύων above is the subject of the negated present οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται. The present-tense is iterative. ἡμᾶς is the direct object of the verb. NRSV, NIV, and NET translate both occurrences of this verb in verses 9 and 10 as “welcome”; others perceive a slight difference of meaning between them (NASB: “accept”/”receive”; ESV: “acknowledge our authority”/”welcome”; HCSB: “receive”/”welcome”). 

1:10 

διὰ τοῦτο is causal (“on account of this”), modifying the main verb ὑπομνήσω below. 

ἐὰν + aorist subjunctive ἔλθω (from ἔρχομαι) forms the protasis of a third-class conditional statement. The force of ἐὰν may be temporal (“When I come”, NIV, NLT) and not meant to imply any doubt. 

ὑπομιμνῄσκω (7x), from ὑπό + μιμνήσκομαι, is “remind”, “call to mind, bring up” (BDAG); most translations: “call attention to”; CGT: “direct public attention to the matter”. The direct object of the future ὑπομνήσω is τὰ ἔργα. αὐτοῦ is best taken as subjective modifying τὰ ἔργα, although HCSB takes it as a genitive direct object of the verb (“remind him”). 

The antecedent of the relative pronoun ἃ is τὰ ἔργα. ἃ is the direct object of the present ποιεῖ (from ποιέω). Diotrephes is the unexpressed subject of the verb. 

The hapax legomenon φλυαρέω is literally, “talk nonsense (about)”; figuratively, “disparage” (BDAG); HCSB: “slander” (cf. cognate adjective φλύαρος, 1x, “gossipy”). The present participle φλυαρῶν indicates manner with ποιέω, or is perhaps epexegetical. The present-tense is iterative. ἡμᾶς is the direct object of the participle. The dative λόγοις πονηροῖς is instrumental (“with evil words”) modifying φλυαρέω. Most translations paraphrase the clause λόγοις πονηροῖς φλυαρῶν ἡμᾶς (“disparaging us with evil words”) into a single idea (NRSV: “spreading false charges against us”; NIV: “spreading malicious nonsense about us”; ESV: “talking wicked nonsense against us”). 

ἀρκέω (8x) is, “it is enough, sufficient, adequate”; in the passive, “I am satisfied/content” (BDAG). The negated present passive participle μὴ ἀρκούμενος is attendant circumstance or perhaps causal with the main verb ἐπιδέχεται below. The use of the preposition ἐπὶ is ‘unusual’ (CGT); ἀρκέω usually takes a dative with no preposition. ἐπὶ + dative denotes basis (BDAG), “with”. The antecedent of τούτοις is the slandering of the previous clause. 

οὔτε is usually found in the NT in a οὔτε ... οὔτε construction (“neither ... nor”). Here, οὔτε pairs with καὶ to mean, “not only ... but” (HCSB, NET). 

αὐτὸς is the emphatic subject (“he himself”, NASB) is the subject of the present ἐπιδέχεται (“welcome”, most translations; see note on v. 10), referring to Diotrephes. The direct object of the verb is τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς (NRSV: “the brothers and sisters”; most translations: “the brothers”; NIV: “other believers”), which probably refers to the itinerant ministers mentioned in verses 5–8 (although Findlayson suggests that here the phrase refers to delegates sent by John). The present-tense of the verb is iterative. 

3 John: Hierarchy's Harm one of Christianity’s distinctives was eroded to mere words, tucked away here and there among the gospels and epistles. #3John #Diotrephes #Gaius #JohntheElder #organicchurch

John the Elder had gotten to the issue he wanted to discuss with Gaius: Diotrephes’ usurpation of authority over the assembly. Diotrephes had refused to receive John, Apostle of the Lord, and his love of being “first in rank” was causing harm in the Body of Christ. Diotrephes was taking advantage of a movement among the Christian communities to battle the influence of Gnosticism by bringing in a…