The Epistle of Diotrephes

[An Expose' of Contemporary Theology]

Acts 20:26-27:
“Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood
of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole
purpose of God.”

What did the Apostle Paul mean when he said that he was innocent of the blood of all men? He simply meant that he had a clear conscience before God and men because he did not forsake preaching any truth of Scripture for fear of persecution or rejection. Paul ’s ministry in the 1st century church was therefore an uncompromising ministry of truth - no matter the cost.

But what if Paul were here with us today? would his ministry be any different? After all, it would appear that we live in a dramatically new kind of world that is filled with many progressive technologies and ideologies. Many in our day have argued that our present world is so new, so different and so complex that what is needed for the 21st Century Christian is a newer and better battle strategy. But is our modern culture really so different from the past? If you were to strip away the laptops and cell phones would the descendents of Adam and Eve be any different? This important consideration establishes the very heart of The Epistle of Diotrephes. What the modern church needs to face is this central question: "Is there anything of which one might say, 'See this, it is new'?" (Ecclesiastes 1:10). The Scriptural answer to this question is clearly, no. But churches that ignore this important fact will run the risk of entering dangerous and presumptuous territories in an effort to keep up with our “changing world.” Thus, one could almost say of the modern church that "wherever the world goes, so goes the church!" But this dangerous game of cat and mouse is beginning to reveal its true color: Bloodguilt red. By adapting itself to the world, the professing church in America is concurrently nominalizing the preaching of the whole purpose of God and as a result many of the Master’s fields of wheat have become wholly infested with the enemy’s tares. The Epistle of Diotrephes offers a critique to these very pressing issues in our day by showing that no matter how complicated our culture may ever become, the Christian’s powerful armor never changes.

The Epistle of Diotrephes is a fictional letter designed to confront many of the doctrinal errors in the church today by affirming the truth of Ecclesiastes 1:9-10, that nothing is new under the sun. While the teachings of Diotrephes are presented as fiction, the history of his day is accurate and crucial for the reader's understanding of the culture of 1st century Rome.

Copyright Year: © 2005

~ Prologue ~
Prologue to a Nightmare

~ Chapter 1 ~
Greetings from Diotrephes

It is 96 A.D. and a new emperor has come to power - Nerva. The legalized persecution of Christians, authorized by Domitian, has come to an end; and from this basis of political change, Diotrephes asserts that a hope for the empire has arrived. With 33 years of persecution behind them, Diotrephes warns his audience against the reckless habits of the earlier generation of Christians. Public proclamation of the Gospel, bold expressions of evangelism, and unflinching devotion to ancient texts should no longer be pursued with such zeal in view of the dangers that they possess. Diotrephes therefore counsels his audience to present a less controversial Christianity, one that is more appealing to the masses, and one which would lessen the likelihood of another persecution.

~ Chapter 2 ~
Seeking the World's Friendship

Diotrephes takes a moment in order to refute the Apostle John's statement in 3 John 9:

I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say.

Diotrephes reminds his readers of his acceptance of most of what the Apostles had to teach, but that in keeping with true wisdom, he also embraced the wisdom and teachings of many other philosophers. By maintaining a broader base of "wisdom," Diotrephes boasts of having suffered less conflict with the world - unlike the Apostle John who was boiled in oil and exiled to the island of Patmos for his dogmatism. Diotrephes then queries:

"...how can we expect to foster a cultural and religious change unless we do more to increase our influence among men, and make the Christian faith more appealing to the un-churched?  Such a change will require preaching and preachers of a new stripe, whose ministries are of a different pattern than that of the past."

Overall, Diotrephes seeks to school his audience in the delicate art of seeking out the world's friendship.

~ Chapter 3 ~
Doctrine Divides

In this chapter Diotrephes warns against the dangers of emphasizing doctrine over relationships, as in the case of Hymanaeus and Philetus, whose beliefs were rebuked by the Apostle Paul who lacked a more generous spirit. Rather than rebuking them, Diotrephes argues that Paul should have given them "greater freedom and forbearance in their ministries." According to Diotrephes, even "John’s influence as a pastor, preacher, and apostle would go so much further if he would relax his hold on some of these views of his. It would be a profitable change."

~ Chapter 4 ~
A New Family for a New Age

It is here that Diotrephes calls for the end of the ancient and archaic ways of the 1st century church, and reveals the need to embrace a new era of freedom and liberation. The old and stale doctrines of the roles of men and women must be replaced with teachings that conform with the changing culture around them. In order to realize this brave new world, Diotrephes calls upon his readers to transform the family unit into a more democratic, free thinking, and spiritually liberated institution - one that is free from the outdated mandates of the Apostles.