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“Brotherly Love” Is No Empty Phrase

The apostle Paul’s concern for restoring a wayward brother, is only one example of the mutual concern which he describes as “bearing one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2). No faithful Christian can rightly divorce his own spiritual life from his life in the body of Christ (cf. Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:15-16; Ephesians 5:23). Nor can he ever congratulate himself on his spiritual superiority over his erring brother (cf. Luke 18:11-12).

Paul tells us that love never “rejoices in wrongdoing” (1 Corinthians 13:6 ESV). The application of brotherly love is found in 1 Corinthians 12:24-26:

“But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism [division] in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

“Brotherly love” is no empty phrase (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10). Wherever God’s Spirit is, a community of believers [the church] can be found that bears each other’s burdens (cf. Romans 16:1-16).

An environment of loneliness, which some Christians find themselves living in, makes it more necessary than ever, that we find a caring community of fellow Christians. Many of us live in large cities, where we may not know the names of our neighbors, and are removed from close relatives by distance. We have nothing which can be called our own special community.

A church which lives by the power of God’s word (Romans 1:16), is the one place where we can find a sense of intimacy with a caring fellowship. There’s no question that there are still too many churches that “bite and devour one another” (Gal. 5:15).

One of the messages to the churches of Galatia, is that they be challenged to overcome the natural inclination for discord. Brotherly love for our fellow Christian, must be one of our primary concerns (1 John 4:20-21; cf. John 13:34-35).