Here is an imaginary letter that I wrote from Gaius to Diotrephes. It is my hope this will be of use to those congregations who might have a Diotrephes or two among them.
Dear Brother Diotrephes,
Dearest brother in CHRIST. I greet you in the name of our blessed SAVIOR who has redeemed us with HIS own precious blood. You are indeed most highly esteemed for your works sake and your faithfulness in many things. Your good works are widely known and your charity towards others has been well reported. The great talents which GOD has given you are very evident and have been a blessing to many. You have indeed been an encourager to the weak and a constant source of strength to many who find themselves cast down. But dear brother my heart is heavy as I take pen in hand. I have received a report that I would surely dismiss as false or at best hearsay, except that it has come to me, written by one whom I hold in the highest regard. Dear Bro. John the Elder, that disciple whom the LORD loved and appointed an apostle, has reported that you would not receive him and even spoke words against him in the hearing of the church. Surely there must be some misunderstanding or mistake. For how could one who has been fed and nurtured in the gospel of our gracious LORD, by this dear saint, turn against him? Even common dogs don’t normally bite the hand of those that feed them. Has not GOD used his wisdom to teach us? In fact not long ago he wrote to us that we are to love the brethren, yea he even went so far as to say that the proof of our sonship in CHRIST was set forth in that very act of love. Please write to me and tell me that this report is somehow in error. He mentioned that you not only spoke against him to some of the brethren there but refused to receive those who are associated with him and even went so far as to exclude brethren from your fellowship who did receive them. Are these not your brethren in CHRIST? Had they committed some foul deed of the flesh would you not have gone to them with weeping, desiring that they might be given a place of repentance that you might restore them to your midst? Yet you send them away because they dare to associate themselves with a brother who you yourself have held in high esteem in time past. This ought not to be so. Are you concerned that they are preaching some other gospel? Have they ceased to preach the unsearchable riches of CHRIST? Do they point men to hope in some other SAVIOR? Has your knowledge of the deep mysteries of GOD so far outstripped them that you hold their message in contempt? Hasn’t our beloved brother Paul taught us to seek out our brethren’s good above our own. Shouldn’t our desire be more weighted towards inclusion than exclusion?
Dear brother, I have pondered these things for some time now and I have come to the conclusion that Bro. John’s assessment of your motive in these actions is correct. It seems to me that you desire some place of exaltation among the brethren, I believe Bro. John put it like this; Diotrephes loves to have the preeminence in the church. Brother this is a serious error, do you not understand that CHRIST alone is to have the preeminence in that church which HE purchased with HIS own blood. We are to esteem one another more highly than we do ourselves. We who have been called as elders are not in any way lords over GOD’s heritage. Rather the dear apostle Paul has plainly said we are to be examples to the flock. How can you be an example of brotherly love when you cast brethren away from you without even an attempt to restore them? You seem to be driven to seek out reasons to exclude brethren even as Saul went about making havoc of the church before his conversion. In fact I don’t understand where you think you received any authority to scrutinize anyones actions other than your own, let alone exclude anyone from the body. Is not this the sole right of the assembly? Who made you the judge and jury? I have heard that you have stated that your reason for such action is because you desire to maintain the purity of doctrine and practice in the church. The apostle Paul did warn us that grievous wolves would enter the church not sparing the flock, but he gave us that warning that we might set a watch over ourselves and our doctrine and not that we might ride out on a high horse as some great inquisitor. Is there some church practice that needs to be preserved that HE can’t preserve without our help? Is it possible that your own convictions are more rooted in tradition than truth? Did we learn the necessary things we hold to from GOD or men? Does not the LORD know those that are HIS? Is HE not able to keep them from falling? Can HE not preserve the church which belongs to HIM without the aid of puny men such as us? Has HE not called HIS own and preserved HIS truth in every generation? I predict that HE can even preserve the purity of HIS word two thousand years from now when you and I are forgotten. Hopefully by that time such division and strife over such things will be a thing of the past since by that time; GOD’s faithfulness to preserve that which is HIS will have been demonstrated many times over.
Dear brother it pains my heart to say it, but it appears that your love of exaltation causes you to exclude those who differ with you in various matters. Whatever happened to rejoicing in the various gifts that GOD has given to the church? You seem intent on surrounding yourself only with those who are in exact agreement with you. That arrangement is comfortable for the flesh but circumvents the natural purifying effect of the proving of doctrine. Is it not necessary that there be heresies among us in order that those who are approved of GOD may be known? Doesn’t truth love scrutiny. It seems to me upon great reflection that you like to surround yourself with elders of like mind so that you might each one give the others different opportunities of ministry. Like the old saying “I’ll scratch your back if you’ll scratch mine.” Or I’ll let you preach if you’ll let me preach. I fear that you have become too fond of your usefulness in the kingdom of GOD or that perhaps you have an inflated view of it. Can HE not raise up the stones to praise HIM? Is HE not able to open doors for the ministry that HE has given us? Perhaps the ground you are plowing is overworked now. It almost seems as though you desire to dwell on an island of your very own. The Kingdom of GOD is a vast expanse; it appears that you desire to be a big fish in a little pond. I have heard you ridicule those who like liturgies and formality yet you have demanded the same by your very actions. Dear brother I urge you to seek out ways and means to restore fellowship with those with whom you have parted. Inclusion and not exclusion is a humbling experience, even more so than the time honored practice of washing one another’s feet. Pride must be swallowed and love must be exhibited. Neither of which the flesh is very fond of.
You can continue to look for reasons to part company with brethren and you are apt to find quite a few. The people of GOD are, in general, a poor lot fraught with many failings. Those who are called as elders come from that group but we must keep in mind that we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the excellency of the glory might be HIS. It would seem a more CHRIST like endeavor to seek out reasons to embrace brethren with whom we have had fellowship, who love the LORD JESUS CHRIST and seek to exalt HIM above all others than to seek their disfellowship. If we must part ways with brethren let it be because they cease to preach JESUS CHRIST and HIM crucified. Or that they adopt some other creed than sola scriptura and grace alone. Dear brother at the very best we see through a glass darkly. Don’t destroy a brother for whom CHRIST died because of your desire to have a place of great importance. Rome is full of politicians; let them stay there and out of the church.
O my brother Diotrephes my heart yearns for you. May HE give you a place of repentance that the love and fellowship of the brethren might be restored. You have so many admirable gifts, they should be used for the building up of many of the saints rather than a select few. How sweet and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
Your beloved brother, Gaius