I think the key to understanding John's three letters is to understand the deception that was assailing those to whom he wrote the letters, all of which were written around the same time period (85-90 AD). It appears that some who were trying to lead God's people, were, in fact, leading God's people astray, among whom was Diotrephes, whose actions and heart motives were indicative of the seduction that God's people were facing at that time, which reached its climax in Papal authority, and filtered down to us in Protestantism. It is the same seduction that God's people face today, in this last hour, when there are many antichrists.
If you would read John's three letters over and over in different translations, I believe that you too would begin to "hear" the other side of the conversation. You would begin to see what the issue was that John was addressing in his letters, and truly seeing the issue they were facing is like flipping on the light switch that illuminates a roomful of truth for us today, the room being the three letters written by the apostle John, and the truth being the error of modern ministry in light of the true.
In 1 John 2:26, John wrote, "I have thus written to you concerning those who are leading you astray" (WNT). This is one of the main reasons for John's letters: to address the issue of ministers who were leading God's people astray, and today's ministry is almost exclusively patterned after that which John saw as a danger, and which proved to be so destructive to God's people in succeeding centuries. In this hour of restoration, let us look at what we've erroneously embraced as God's way, let us understand its seductive nature, and let us restore true ministry that will bless, strengthen, and equip God's people in this last hour.
Those who were seeking to lead God's people astray were men like Diotrephes, and their lives and ministries were marked by some key indicators that we can use to discern ministry today. These indicators will help us to see what type of ministry will help keep us on the straight and narrow, and what type will lead us astray. Let's look at one of those key indicators.
One key indicator that Diotrephes was a danger to God's people was this: Diotrephes "loved to have the preeminence" (3 John 1:9). He loved to be forward, foremost, up front, first, preeminent, and seen. He was ambitious for distinction. Perhaps having a teaching gift, he wasn't content to be one of the brethren that quietly and humbly received from other ministry gifts to the body, and then shared his part of what God had given him when the need or the unction arose. No, he believed he had something that others did not, and his attitude was indicative of those who were leading God's people astray.
He wasn't content to be a small part of the body universal, but wanted to be a big part of something much smaller, and that is an attitude that pervades today's ministry. Ministers today can't see this mysterious or theoretical body of Christ, and therefore do not feel compelled to find their place as a member (body part) of that mysterious living organism that exists without walls, neatly defined parameters, or organizational structure. They do feel compelled to be the head of something, and that something is often called "a ministry" or "a church", and it's usually an organization, rather than an organism. Rather than finding their place in the body, with macroscopic vision, seeking the health and well-being of the whole, they become extremely microscopic in their vision. They can only see, and therefore are supremely concerned with, their ministry, their church, or their organization. They are often too focused on building their ministry to really build the body of Christ.
So, Jesus is the head of this theoretical thing we call the body, but our leaders have led us to believe that in practice, Jesus can't really lead His people, so we need a flesh and blood leader who claims to be led by Jesus, and since we have many leaders, we need many churches. Remember that in John's vision, Jesus saw and addressed only one church per city, not four hundred. Why do we have, in every city and town, a multitude of competing and isolated organizations that we call churches, each of which differing vastly in beliefs, focus, and vision; each of which being supremely concerned only with their own personal success? In large part, because Diotrephes loves to have the preeminence.
Rather than a single body with a single head, much of the church is a disconnected conglomeration of subparts, all with their individual leaders - a multi-headed religious monstrosity. I believe that Jesus can lead His people without a religious hierarchy. I believe that we all can be one, even as Jesus and the Father are one, and I believe that Jesus is to be, and can in fact be the only Head of His body, and I believe the first place to start is to reject Diotrephes and every one like him that seeks to rule God's people, or fulfill an ambition or personal need for significance, under the guise of ministry. I believe the place to start is to begin to look rather warily upon those who love to have the preeminence, and especially upon the system that forces that preeminence upon men who would not choose it for themselves, had they but known that what we've seen as church leadership for centuries is not God's will after all.
The Spirit of Antichrist Series