ESTUDIO DEL VERSÍCULO
3 John 9-11 — Diotrephes and the Call to Imitate Good
The elder warns Gaius about Diotrephes's domineering and hostile behavior, then commands him to imitate what is good rather than evil.
Escritura
- 9.Yo he escrito a la iglesia; pero Diótrefes, al cual le gusta tener el primer lugar entre ellos, no nos recibe.I wrote somewhat unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
- 10.Por esta causa, si yo fuere, recordaré las obras que hace parloteando con palabras malignas contra nosotros; y no contento con estas cosas, no recibe a los hermanos, y a los que quieren recibirlos se lo prohibe, y los expulsa de la iglesia.Therefore, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his works which he doeth, prating against us with wicked words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and them that would he forbiddeth and casteth them out of the church.
- 11.Amado, no imites lo malo, sino lo bueno. El que hace lo bueno es de Dios; pero el que hace lo malo, no ha visto a Dios.Beloved, imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
Qué significa este pasaje
Verses 9-10 form a single accusation. The elder had previously written to the church about receiving traveling missionaries (compare the commendation of Gaius in verses 6-8), but Diotrephes—who 'loveth to have the preeminence' (Greek philoproteuō, 'to be fond of being first')—refused to receive these brothers. The elder states that when he arrives in person he will publicly 'bring to remembrance' Diotrephes's works: slanderous words against the elder, refusal to welcome the brothers himself, and active obstruction of anyone who tries to, including casting them out of the church. The list moves from speech (slander) to action (refusal) to enforcement (expulsion).
Verse 11 turns from a specific person to a general command addressed to Gaius as 'Beloved': do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The elder then grounds this with a theological test—he who does good 'is of God,' while he who does evil 'hath not seen God.' The two clauses are not merely descriptive (about behavior) but indicative of relationship: doing good marks a person as belonging to God, doing evil shows that such a person has no experiential knowledge of God. The 'seeing God' language echoes OT theophanous terminology (e.g., seeing and living) but here functions as a relational claim.
Read together, the passage moves from a concrete conflict (Diotrephes's behavior) to a categorical principle (the good/evil divide reveals one's relation to God). The elder does not simply denounce an individual; he uses the case to instruct Gaius. Hospitality, or the refusal of it, becomes a visible test of who is 'of God.'
Contexto
The letter is a brief personal note from 'the elder' to Gaius, commending his faithful walk in truth and his hospitality to traveling brethren (vv. 1-8). Within that warm commendation, verses 9-11 introduce a sharp contrast: where Gaius welcomes, Diotrephes resists. The conflict centers on the reception of brothers who 'went forth for the sake of the Name, taking nothing of the Gentiles' (v. 7)—missionaries whose gospel work the elder calls his readers to share in (v. 8: 'fellow-workers for the truth').
Immediately after the warning, the elder commends Demetrius, who 'hath the witness of all men, and of the truth itself' (v. 12), and closes with the expectation of a face-to-face visit. The book thus frames the verses 9-11 unit by two positive examples (Gaius and Demetrius) and an explicit exhortation to choose good over evil.
Preguntas frecuentes
Who was Diotrephes?
The letter names him only as someone in the church 'who loveth to have the preeminence,' who refused to receive the elder's representatives, slandered him with wicked words, refused hospitality to the brethren himself, and expelled those who tried to welcome them. The passage itself gives no biographical detail beyond these actions.
What is the relationship between verses 9-10 and verse 11?
The first two verses give a concrete example—Diotrephes's behavior as evil not to imitate—while verse 11 draws the general lesson: imitate good, not evil, because doing good shows one belongs to God, while doing evil shows one has not seen God. The specific case grounds the universal command.
Does 'hath not seen God' mean Diotrephes literally never saw God?
Within the language of this letter, the phrase functions as a relational statement about the one who does evil: such a person has no genuine knowledge of God. It echoes OT language about seeing God (which no one can do and live) but here describes the spiritual condition of the evildoer rather than a visual event.