Speaker:
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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.
