1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 - Excel in Brotherly Love

9 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, 10 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, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

Target Date: Sunday, 8 January 2023

NOTES:

Word Study/ Translation Notes:

9 – Taught by God - θεοδίδακτος thĕŏdidaktŏs, theh-od-id´-ak-tos; from 2316 and 1321; divinely instructed:— taught of God.

This appears to be a word invented by Paul here; there is no evidence of this word prior to its usage here.

This is the only occurrence of θεοδίδακτος in the NT and its earliest extant occurrence in Greek literature.

θεοδίδακτος (“taught by God”) appears to be a Pauline coinage since there are no known instances of the term prior to Paul, and outside Christian circles there are virtually none after him (Koester, “I Thessalonians,” 40.n.14).

The idea (although not the word) is found in Isaiah 54:13: All your sons will be taught of the Lord; And the well-being of your sons will be great.

This is a clear passage about the Messianic age.

10 – do this more and more – excel - περισσεύω pĕrissĕuō, per-is-syoo´-o; from 4053; to superabound (in quantity or quality), be in excess, be superfluous; also (tran.) to cause to superabound or excel:— (make, more) abound, (have, have more) abundance (be more) abundant, be the better, enough and to spare, exceed, excel, increase, be left, redound, remain (over and above).

10 – urge – our old friend “exhort” - παρακαλέω parakalĕō, par-ak-al-eh´-o; from 3844 and 2564; to call near, i.e. invite, invoke (by imploration, hortation or consolation):— beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, (give) exhort (-ation), intreat, pray.

To call someone alongside

2:11, 3:2, 3:7, 4:1…

11 – aspire – φιλοτιμέομαι philŏtimĕŏmai, fil-ot-im-eh´-om-ahee; mid. voice from a compound of 5384 and 5092; to be fond of honor, i.e. emulous (eager or earnest to do something):— labour, strive, study.

11 – quietly – ἡσυχάζω hēsuchazō, hay-soo-khad´-zo; from the same as 2272; to keep still (intr.), i.e. refrain from labor, meddlesomeness or speech:— cease, hold peace, be quiet, rest.

11 – to mind – πράσσω prassō, pras´-so; a primary verb; to “practice”, i.e. perform repeatedly or habitually (thus differing from 4160, which prop. refers to a single act); by impl. to execute, accomplish, etc.; spec. to collect (dues), fare (personally):— commit, deeds, do, exact, keep, require, use arts.

11 – your own affairs – ἴδιος idiŏs, id´-ee-os; of uncert. aff.; pertaining to self, i.e. one’s own; by impl. private or separate:— × his acquaintance, when they were alone, apart, aside, due, his (own, proper, several), home, (her, our, thine, your) own (business), private (-ly), proper, severally, their (own).

Thoughts on the Passage:

9 – concerning brotherly love – this is an exclusive love, reserved for those within the family of God. Agape is for each person, but this philadelphia is for the community of faith in Jesus Christ.

The force of this love is more intimate, more personal.

It is a love of loyalty that encompasses agape, but moves beyond it into a deep relationship: mutual agape in community together.

It is more than compassion, more than fondness; it is BLOOD.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. – 1 Corinthians 10:12

11 – This doesn’t mean that we should be unhelpful or oblivious to the needs of our brother; far from it.

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. – Matthew 7:3-5

11 – WORK with your hands; do not simply extend them to have them filled by someone else.

Sermon Text:

This morning, I would like for us to take a look at the subject of this passage: brotherly love.

And often we pride ourselves, like the Thessalonians did, in that we are a very friendly congregation.

Even loving.

But if you think about it, when was the last time you heard a church advertising itself as anything but loving?

“Come to First Church, filled with the surliest people you will ever meet!”

Probably not a way to encourage people to attend.

And, in the defense of those that do advertise themselves as such, most churches I have been in are very nice and welcoming places to visit.

Most churches, even the cults and false churches, excel in making new families feel welcome and valued.

If you walk in as a family with a few children in tow, know you are the very people most churches have designed all their programs for.

And while we are on the subject, I would suggest to you a good rule of thumb if you are visiting a church and wondering if they are as friendly as they seem.

It works with individuals and businesses also, but can be quite telling in a church:

How do they treat those who serve there?

For individuals, you can tell how legitimate their care is by how they treat people who are serving them, or who have nothing except service to offer.

A waiter at a restaurant or a beggar on the street.

In a church, you can most often tell how friendly they are by how they treat their staff.

Let me be quick to say, I do not speak from want or need here.

I have always felt honored and supported here in this congregation.

But all of us, I think, know of churches that have had “trouble” with more than one pastor, with people often talking behind his back to each other.

If they will kick those who serve them, or disrespect or undermine or speak against them, I assure you, their “brotherly love” is nothing more than a façade.

But why is brotherly love so important?

After all, the word is used only a handful of times in the New Testament, and almost nowhere in the Old Testament.

And isn’t this the “lesser” love, a love that is not as strong as the sacrificial love that is called in Greek agape?

Many of us were taught this, were we not?

Agape is the “best” kind of love, and brotherly love (phileo) is below that.

After all, John 3:16 doesn’t say that God “had brotherly love” for the world, but he had agape.

So why would we waste our time looking at this “inferior” kind of love?

We should be talking about agape.

After all, that word, agape, is found in this ninth verse as well:

for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another

That “love” is the word agape.

That is the “real” love here, isn’t it?

That whole first part about “brotherly love” must have been just introduction, right?

We are looking at brotherly love here primarily because it ISN’T a secondary kind of love – it is just as crucial as agape.

And you can see in the passage today, the problem being addressed in Thessalonica was not because their agape had failed;

It was because they were having problems, perhaps even problems they didn’t recognize, with their brotherly love.

Let’s look at that first today.

Paul and Silas tell them in verses 9 and 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 [agape] one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia.

The Thessalonian church was having no problem reaching out with true and complete love to the people and brothers around them.

We saw earlier in this letter that they were carrying the gospel with them all over the place:

so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth - 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8

They were concerned about the world around them; they loved people enough to carry to them the gospel.

The apostles even tell them that this love has been “God-taught”:

you yourselves have been taught by God to love [agape] one another

God-taught.

It is such a unique idea that they literally had to make up a word to describe it: God-taught.

The word literally was never used before they wrote it in this letter.

We see the thought in Messianic chapter, Isaiah 54:13: All your sons will be taught [disciples] of Yahweh…”

But in this passage, an entire phrase is used to say this, not merely a single word.

Why do the apostles say that the love of the Thessalonians was “God-taught”?

Because the Thessalonian believers had gone BEYOND what the apostles and Timothy had been able to teach them in the short time they had with them.

As the apostles looked at the results of their faith and love, it exceeded everything they had expected from these young Christians.

Only God, through His Holy Spirit and the Scriptures, could have carried on their sanctification so successfully to this point.

And that is one of the reasons we see that the apostles were so encouraged about this congregation; God had continued to bless and teach them even after the apostles were forced out of town.

Sounds really good so far: why do we think there is any problem at all in this church?

The very next word is “But…”

But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more…

Verse 11: AND…and then three instructions to build up this brotherly love.

Then finishing the sentence in verse 12: 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

They were doing very well in their agape, but they had some way to go in solidifying their brotherly love.

We can understand that, can’t we?

You love someone completely, sacrificially.

You love them so much that if their life was in peril, you would give them anything at all that they needed to save them.

You would defend them, even take a bullet to save them.

After all, Jesus described that kind of love in John 15:13:

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

We love them enough to die for them!

But when their life is not in peril, when their safety is not in question, we get annoyed with them.

The habits they have grate on our nerves.

They don’t talk about the things I want to talk about.

They don’t see things in the same way I do.

Or perhaps, I look at that person who says they love me, and I constantly TEST it.

Asking constantly for things, but never offering anything to them.

Always needing, but never supplying.

Brothers and sisters, it is not enough simply to be willing to DIE for each other; we must be willing to LIVE with each other.

THAT is what Jesus was telling His disciples in John 15:13:

The GREATEST agape IS BROTHERLY LOVE.

He could have said “Greater love has no one than this, that he DIE for his friends…”, but He didn’t.

Because for all but the tiniest percentage of cases, the call of love, the call of agape, is to lay down your LIFE for your brother or sister.

Lay down your rights rather than defending them against your brother.

In 1 Corinthians 6:1, Paul asks that church:

Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints?

And after he has chastened them for taking their squabbles to the Roman courts, he then says this:

Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? – 1 Corinthians 6:7

Actually, then…

After he had suggested that if something was severe enough for outside judgment, that it come before some wise saint to help work out,

He goes backward and speaks to the aggrieved: Why not simply let your rights GO?

Why not give up gracefully, mercifully, what has been taken from you?

Is it “laying down your life” if you charge your brother, whether the court is secular or the church?

Laying down your life also means laying down your convenience for the sake of a brother or sister’s need.

We will see, God willing, in the coming weeks that this may have been part of the problem in Thessalonica.

But brotherly love willingly puts itself out for the sake of the loved one.

You sacrifice your convenience, or plans, or desires, for the sake of the one with a need at the moment.

Not to make that person dependent on you, but to help them in their time of need.

God gives each of us resources that He intends for us to spend on others rather than simply on our pleasure and comfort.

If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? – James 2:15-16

Brotherly love is powerful love; it is agape in a relationship, rather than in theory.

Brotherly love is not secondary; it is an enhancement of that self-sacrificing love.

It is the love that allows us to work together,

And live together,

And serve together,

And grow together,

And STAY together.

That is what the apostles are saying here in verse 12:

so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

While many have been chosen by God to give their lives to the death for their faith,

They and EVERY OTHER BELIEVER have been called by God to love one another – with brotherly love.

And this love is unique to those in fellowship with Jesus Christ.

What I mean is: you cannot have brotherly love for someone who is not, in some way, your brother or sister.

So the other distinguishing characteristic of brotherly love is that it is special to the church.

We can agape everyone; we can only love brothers and sisters with brotherly love.

With that special bond that declares that, no matter what comes, we are family together.

Brotherly love is more intimate, more personal, than the deep love we have for all people.

It is a love of loyalty that encompasses agape, but moves beyond it into a deep relationship:

mutual agape in community together.

Brotherly love is not simply compassion or fondness or concern;

It is BLOOD.

We, followers of Jesus Christ, are, in a very real sense, BLOOD kin – through the blood of Jesus Christ that has brought us all into the family of God.