Gjestfrihet - 3.Joh 11

Speaker: 00:00:01

Bibelglimt med mediepastor

i P7, Ingvald Korve.

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3 John 11.

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Dear you, you must not ignore

the evil, but the good.

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He who does good is of God.

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He who does evil has not seen God.

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The letter of St.

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John is probably one of the letters

in the New Testament, one of the

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scriptures in the Bible, which is rarely

quoted, especially rarely spoken of.

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I will at least admit that I have never

heard a speech about the letter of St.

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John.

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Maybe you have?

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In that case, I am glad

to hear that you have.

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But even though it is a small letter,

and often a translated letter, it is a

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letter that to the highest degree has

something to say to us today as well.

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It's probably written by the

apostle John, and this letter is

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addressed to a person called Gaius.

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Who exactly is this Gaius?

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We can't be 100 percent sure, but the

name Gaius was mentioned in different

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contexts in the New Testament as well.

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Especially connected to Paulus.

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Paulus killed someone called

Gaius, and Paulus is also someone

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who, when he writes the letter of

Rome, he writes it for Corinth.

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And then it looks like Gaius has been

a kind of wealthy person who has,

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with his hospitality, made it possible

for the congregation to gather there

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and celebrate his birthday with him.

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And then we meet Gaius on

one of Paulus missions.

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So maybe it's the same person we're

meeting here in 3 Johannesbrev.

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We don't know for sure.

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But this thing with the backdoor

to guest freedom can still

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be important to keep in mind.

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Because the person Paul had

to deal with was called Gaius.

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He showed the guest freedom by

opening his house to the public.

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And through 3 Johannesbrev,

guest freedom is a central theme.

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Gaius is a person who shows

Christ's love to man by opening

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his mouth, by inviting man in.

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And the Letter of St.

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John is therefore, in many ways, a letter

inviting us today to show hospitality.

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In contrast to this Gaius, there is

another person in the same letter.

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His name is Diotrephes, and he

was the leader of the Church.

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And Deuteronomy, he seems to

have made a deal with John.

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He seems to have rejected the Apostle,

when his teacher claims that it is Taupe.

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But it is not only that

he is content with that.

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No, it also says right before, when

we read today's Bible, that he himself

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refused to receive our brethren.

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And when others want to do it, he hinders

you and pushes you out of the assembly.

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Amen.

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In this atmosphere of evil lived

Gaius, the recipient of this letter.

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And it is in this context that

he receives John's commandment.

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Gaius, my dear, you must not

follow the evil, but the good.

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Perhaps it would be easy to think

that he would follow the leader of

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the church, even when the leader

of the church went a wrong way.

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But the Bible reminds us that when

you are in pain, you should not

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follow a leader or someone else.

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No, you should not follow

the evil, but the good.

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Because the one who

gives the good is of God.

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Whether it is recognized, whether

it is put, whether it is something

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that people around you actually

enjoy, or whether it can actually

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have negative consequences for you.

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It is always good to do

good, for it is of God.

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So Gaius was encouraged, persuaded,

and shown the way, and he continued

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to do good, as he had done.

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For you and for me today, the

same words are written there.

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If you have been born again by the Holy

Spirit, If you believe in Jesus Christ

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as your Lord and Savior, if you belong to

God, yes, then you are called to do good.

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Do good, you who are born of God.

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And among the good things that

the letter of John 3 lifts up is

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precisely the freedom of guest.

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Maybe you should take the time to read

this whole short letter today and think

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about what can happen to you and your life

when it comes to the daily life with the

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Lord and not least the daily life with the

Lord in the world where you are placed.

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Let's read the Bible verse one more time.

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Dear you, you must not pursue

the evil, but the good.

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The one who gives the good is of God.

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The one who gives to

evil has not seen God.