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Christians are Brothers

Having looked this morning at the description of the Christian as a son or child of God it’s time to take a look at a different yet related word. Related because family relationships are still very much to the fore. The word is very commonly used in the NT to describe Christians in various parts of the then known world.

However this word is not only used of Christians in the Bible and we need to see briefly just how it is used.

Firstly the word is used in a very normal and usual way to describe those who trace their ancestry to common parents. Jewish usage would also describe close relatives such as cousins brothers. In the gospels and in the Acts we read of Jesus’ brothers and sisters and it refers to his flesh and blood relatives.

In the OT the word is used by the Jews to describe fellow Jews over against non-Jews. The word is not used in a universal way like our contemporary use of the “brotherhood” of man. The usage in the Bible seems to focus constantly upon a restricted group who have something special in common. And as we read through into the NT we find that this this practice continues – when Peter preaches on the Day of Pentecost, for example, we hear him addressing the crowds as “brothers” – this crowd is not yet constituted of Christians but of Jews many of whom by the end of the day will have become followers of Christ.

In the NT Jesus himself shows in speaking to his disciples that he didn’t consider all men to be brothers:

Mt.5:43-47 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

In the early chapters of the Acts the only Christians there were were Jewish Christians and not unsurprisingly we find that they are described and addressed as “brothers”.

Acts 6:3 “Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.” Here the church is troubled – two different groups of Jewish believers are in the church and yet problems exist. The apostles propose the selection of deacons to resolve the difficulties

In Acts 11:1 we read of Jewish believers who hear of the gospel being received by Gentiles – the Jewish believers are described as brothers: “Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.” It wasn’t easy for Jewish believers to accept the idea of Gentiles benefiting from the gospel without becoming proselytes as well

In Acts 14:2 Paul and Barnabas are referred to as brothers in contrast both to unbelieving Jews and to gentiles: “But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.”

In the following chapter I think for the first time gentile believers are called “brothers”. The context is one of dispute which makes the usage all the more striking:

Acts 15:1 “But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”” This led to an important discussion. The Council of Jerusalem was called to pronounce upon just how the church of Jesus Christ was to function and what criteria were necessary to be full members. And we have the lovely letter sent out from the Jewish Christians in the church in Jerusalem to the Gentile believers in Antioch:

Acts 15:22b-23 “They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.”

THUS IN CHRIST THE ANCIENT DIVIDING WALL OF PARTITION WAS AND IS BROKEN DOWN!

Eph.2:14 “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;”

1.       Family ties

·       End of isolation/loneliness – one of the biggest problems in our western world.

·       Considered a blessing in the Bible see Ex.1:21 “And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. »

Ps.68:6 “God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.” AV reads “God setteth the solitary in families »

·       Because of God’s grace I don’t have to try to become a member of his family – I am a member and therefore I belong!

2.       Family benefits

·       Love – there is the warm and support of loving relationships in a properly functioning family:

1Jn.2:9-11 “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

Cf. 1Jn.3:14 “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.”

1Jn.4:21 “And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

·       I’m not left alone to carry all my burdens of my own:

Paul in writing to the Christians at Philippi – he refers to them as brothers – thanks them for their behaviour towards him:

Phil.4:14 “Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.” And in v.16 “Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.”

And of course he tells the Christians in Galatia that they must bear one another’s burdens:

Gal.6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

3.       Family responsibilities:

·       As a member of God’s family I can no longer pretend that I am an island – what I do and how I behave affects others. Bad behaviour reflects badly of my Heavenly Father and hurts my brothers and sisters.

David knew something of this already way back when he penned his psalms: eg. Ps.73:15 “If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children. » at that time David was struggling with some serious questions – the apparent prosperity of the wicked - but as leader of God’s people he didn’t want to parade them before the people knowing that this would be a hindrance and not a help to them!

Likewise we should be thoughtful and considerate of other family members.

·       We should express love to one another: 1Th.4:9-10 “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, » This will include a genuine and real concern that the one who is stuggling be helped and restored: 1Th.5:14 “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

·       We should avoid behaviour that we cause a brother to stumble or fall:

Rom.14:21 “It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.” Or 1Cor.8:13 “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

·       We should avoid division :

1Cor.1:10-11 “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.”

2Cor.13:11 “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

·       We should careful how we speak about one another: Jas.4:11 “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.”

·       We should press on together: 1Cor.15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

To God be the glory!