WHAT IS BROTHERLY LOVE
The word Brotherly kindness in the greek is Philadelphia meaning “love shared between a biological brother and sister,but in the christian faith it is the love shared between one christian brother or sister to another christian brother or sister.”
As christians we are all members of one family,we have one father and one God and one faith and one spirit,so in christ we are blood brothers and sisters,the blood of Jesus is our connection and his love is our bond.If you are in Christ,then you are my brother or sister,no matter the physical location,tribe,country,family,we are a family in christ Jesus,the blood of christ is our bond of connection.
Here we are not talking about agape love,which is the love of God which is the foundation of the christian faith,but we must realise that we are actually spiritual brothers and sisters,we are not trying to be,you are actually my brother and sister,to tell you how serious this is,in the scriptures;
when Jesus was teaching,he was told that his mother and brothers want to see him,"But He answered and said to the one who told Him, 'Who is My mother and who are My brothers?' And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, 'Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.' "Matthew 12:46-50.
Jesus said whosoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother,its that serious,we are not just colleagues in the lord but brothers and sisters in christ,for real.
To prove to you that it’s the same meaning,when Jesus spoke about his brothers he used the word Brethren and it shares the same greek word and translation when he referred to his disciples as well.The word brethren is the same thing as the word biological brothers in meaning and the greek is Adelphos which is brother or sister of the same parents or different father or mother.
WHAT SHOULD MY ATTITUDE BE TO MY BROTHER
The bible teaches us how we are to behave to our brother,what sort of attitude I should put up when dealing with my brother,the bible teaches us the following;
- BE KINDLY AFFECTIONED,ONE TO ANOTHER WITH BROTHERLY LOVE – Romans 12:10;1Thessalonians 4:9
The word kind means to be considerate,generous and friendly.kindness is a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22,the king James uses the word goodness,which means same thing as kindness.
The word affectionate means readily feeling or showing fondness and tenderness.
I wouldn’t want to see my younger brother hurt,I would give all to make sure he is okay,I love him that much and that is the same love I give to my family.The same love and affection that we show to our blood brothers and sisters that is the same kindness and affection that is demanded of us toward our christian brother.
The greek word for kindly affectioned is Philostorgos which means the mutual love of parents and children and wife's and husbands,God wants us to show that kind of affection to our brother and sister,that closeness that generosity and fondness.
How can we do this,the bible further says “in honor,preferring one another” ; the words in honor and preferring one another are very important words,so lets look at them.
For us to fully comprehend the words in honor we need to understand the greek word used is time,which in translation means,the following;
A valuing by which the price is fixed; the value of the price paid for a person or thing bought or sold.
That means that we place value according to the price fixed on the person,that takes us back to redemption,the bible say that we were redeemed by the blood of the lamb,the price paid for our lifes and salvation was the blood of christ,what can be more valuable than that,what can be more expensive than the blood.1Peter 1:18-20.
So I should value my brother according to the price paid to redeem him or her,the blood of christ was the price,that means he is priceless to God,I should treat him as such.
The word preferring in greek is proegeomai which means to go before and show the way;to go before as a leader.So in honor preferring one another would mean,be the first to show kindness and affection,brotherly love,don’t wait for it to come before you show it,show it according to the value on your brother.
I would think the bible is saying be proactive in helping others,don’t wait for them to ask you first,In honor preferring one another,be the leader in brotherly love,be the first to show it.
Sometimes we want to be at the receiving end,we want to receive first before we reciprocate,no the bible says be the leader,lead the way in showing affection and kindness,knowing that your brother is as valuable to God as you are.
LOVE ONE ANOTHER WITH A PURE HEART FERVENTLY – 1PETER 1:22.
Firstly lets see what 1John says about loving one another,so important and profound this subject is,our faith walk is to please God and without faith its totally impossible to please God.
Our love for God is measured by our love for our brother whom we can see;
The bible says “if a man says he loves God and hates his brother,he is a liar” I am very curious and I checked the word liar in the greek,it is Pseustes - meaning a liar; one who breaks faith,a false and faithless man.
This is so serious,if you claim to love God and yet hate your brother,you are a liar,you are one who breaks faith,you are false and a faithless man,this is serious,cause without faith its impossible to please God,so you cant love God and hate your brother,there is no justification to hate your brother,when we live by the law of love and forgiveness,so when you walk outside of love with your brother,you are a false and faithless man,you have broken faith and God will not be pleased with you.
Your proof of Gods love or love for God is on the basis of love for your brother,you can’t fool God,so when you cry out “Lord I love you” and hate your brother,God is saying hey,you don’t love me stop lying,you are walking outside of faith and I am not happy with you,you are false and faithless.
God is a smart person,you have not seen me and you say you love me so much,but the brother,I sent my son to die for that has received me,the guy you live with,worship in the same church with,you hate him? common,God can not be deceived,you cannot outlove God,he has done much more than you can ever do,you can’t impress him,he already loved you even when you were totally bad and away from him,so start loving your brother,if you think you want to ever please God.
The commandment is “if you love God,you love your brother also”1John 4:21.
There is not an argument,it is something that just flows,I don’t have to struggle to love my brother,I just love him,I may not like his attitude but I just love him,if we love God,yes loving God is a choice,we must love our brother also,if we really love God,then loving our brother is not a choice,it is not an issue for contemplation,it’s a command,its an order and its meant to be obeyed,love ye one another.
This is the commandment we have received,that he who loves God shall love his brother also,no question about it,if you don’t like it you can quit,it’s a command,that implies,if you cannot love your brother,then you better quit at loving God,because your love certainly counts for nothing,this is deep,I must say.
I would then like to admonish conclusively,like Paul said in Hebrews 13:1 “let brotherly love continue”,let it abide,let it remain,lets stop hating one another and think we got excuses or reasons but we are making God sad,we are brothers and sisters in Christ.
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