1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 - Brothers

2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

Target Date: Sunday, 30 January 2022

Primary Preaching Point:

What does it mean to be a brother?

Building Points:

Brothers in Israel

Sons of the Father

Joint heirs with Jesus

Loving brothers to each other

Sermon Text:

Sometimes we look at a word of phrase in Scripture, and we are so familiar with it, we ignore it all together.

Not really intentionally – we just read past it because we are familiar with the concept.

But here, in this first paragraph of the written New Testament, each word, each term gains a magnified significance.

Because what has become familiar, even passé, to us, was new and fresh and stuffed with meaning when this epistle was written.

And it is in that light I would like to call our attention to the word used here to refer to the believers in Thessalonica to whom this letter is addressed: Brothers.

Now, ladies, I will say I am pleased that most of our modern translations of the last 30 years, have made at least some explanatory note that the use of the term “brothers” really includes the “sisters” also.

Many translations do it in a footnote or reference, while others add the words “and sisters” in italics to the text.

The inclusive for of this term term – the inclusive “brothers” – was always intended to be heeded by both sexes.

In Greek, as in proper English still, it was appropriate to use the masculine form of a word when referring to a mixed group rather than belaboring the sentence with inclusive language.

And we do have examples that when the sex of the people made some difference, it is specifically referenced.

Recall the event of the feeding of the five thousand in Matthew 14:21:

We are told specifically that the count of the people was not 5000 of all types, but:

There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

It doesn’t change the scope of the miracle that much (except that perhaps 10-15 thousand people were fed), but Matthew wanted to provide us with accuracy from that event.

So when Paul and his companions use the term “brothers” here, he is not excluding the women of the congregation – he is including them.

In fact, in nearly every case where we might see the word “brethren” or “brothers”, unless the meaning is specified otherwise, this word is generic for “Christian”.

Maybe that is why I really don’t like that old hymn, “Brethren We Have Met to Worship” – it’s that ridiculous third verse:

It begins with “Sisters, will you join and help us?”

I realize there is theology in there that might be important – it is just that the “Brethren” who have met to worship ought to and do include those very sisters.

And some might say to me that the roles of men and women in the church are not entirely interchangeable, and they would be correct.

There are certainly roles God reveals in Scripture He clearly requires men to accomplish.

But in Paul’s use here, addressing the members of the church as “brothers”, this would necessarily include those sisters as well.

We absolutely believe and teach the complimentary roles of men and women in the church,

but with regard to these people he addresses in this letter as “beloved by God”, there is simply no distinction between male and female in that statement.

And if we add that distinction, we introduce unwarranted confusion and erroneous doctrine by making the unfounded assumption that Paul wrote only to the men of the Thessalonian church.

Because any distinctions between sexes we find in the Bible have NOTHING to do with who may learn,

But only with those who may teach and lead.

No, this is much more an example of the statement he makes later in the epistle to the troubled Galatian church:

 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. – Galatians 3:27-28

In Christ and in the church, there is no distinction between male and female as to their worth in Christ and the message He has for them;

The difference comes in the use of just a few spiritual gifts and positions that God, in His sovereignty, has restricted to be accomplished by men.

But with all that as introduction, let us move on to the remarkable thing about this title of address.

Like I alluded to at the beginning of this message, the title “brother”, far from being surprising to us in our day, is so over-used many consider it old-fashioned.

Many of us, if we have been in other churches over time, have heard people referred to as “Brother such-and-such” or “Sister what-and-so”.

And let me be the first to say there is nothing inherently wrong with this form of address.

Many great and godly men in my life have called me “Brother”, and I have been honored to be counted in their heart as such.

But for each one of those, I have a dozen counter-examples where the word “Brother” was nothing more than a figure of speech.

In those cases it wasn’t an address of love but a habit, a hollow tradition.

For example, when I was a young man, I had a time-sensitive need for some posters to be produced for a church ministry event I was working with.

In the days before Yelp, Google, or even the Internet, I used the manual system for finding printers – the Yellow Pages.

And I found one who, in their ad, prominently displayed the Ichthus (the fish symbol for Christ), so I went there.

They required payment of half the order up front, so I placed my deposit, and we agreed upon a date the work would be complete.

When I returned on that day, the owner of the company came out and told me he had some larger orders come in after mine, so he had not started on my order.

When I asked him to refund my deposit so I could find another printer since he could not begin mine in time, he put his arm over my shoulder and began with “Well, brother…” and proceeded to explain to me why Christians shouldn’t consult attorneys about other Christians.

All that to say, when he used the word “brother”, it felt dirty because it was just a word.

For that man, the word “brother” had no meaning except to manipulate someone else.

But when Paul and his companions use the term “brothers” here in 1 Thessalonians, it carries a remarkable meaning.

This is a new relationship among God’s chosen people that has no basis in family or blood.

Throughout the Law, when we see the Jews refer to each other as brothers, we know that is primarily because they are all children of a common ancestor, Jacob.

But after the Resurrection of Jesus, as Gentiles from outside Israel came into the church, this idea of “brothers” was given an entirely new, far superior meaning.

No longer based on mere flesh and blood, the brotherhood of believers was based on the relationship to our heavenly Father.

Put another way, brotherhood was no longer based on your birth, but it was based on the new birth in Christ.

It is based on the birth that Jesus explained to Nicodemus in the night:

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. – John 3:3

Many people view the church as simply a:

Collection of like-minded people.

Or a place of fellowship with other believers.

Or as a place of training in righteousness.

Or as a place where the gospel is proclaimed.

And it is all these things.

But our greatest calling, our highest duty, is to gather to love one another – brothers in our very souls.

In John 17:20ff, as Jesus prayed for the church, the most important thing for Him was not that we escape adversity, or that we become the most polished and eloquent speakers and teachers.

He prayed:

I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

It is this in this unity that we carry out the new commandment Jesus gave in John 13:34-35:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This is not a matter of merely changing the way we address each other – Brother Patrick or Sister Lucy – it is about having that brotherly love, that phileo, that kind affection, for each other.

If saying the word “brother” helps us to remember our affection, that is fine,

But the love we have for one another from the depths of our hearts is more important than any words we use.

We are, each of us, if we are in Christ, adopted into the family of God, brought together as surely and permanently as the Holy Spirit can.

The selection of your brothers and sisters in Christ was just as much a sovereign act of God as His choice of YOU.

Those who the Spirit of Christ has brought even to this fellowship is His choice.

We are being built together, a family, a unified family.

And please hear this – if there are brothers or sisters in the church that you have difficulty loving or in some way fail in your affections – the problem is not in them, it is in YOU.

If you fail in your love for someone else, it doesn’t make you more mature – it proves you to be immature, even petulant.

Maturity in Christ is measured first of all by the enduring strength of our love – even in the face of unkind behavior.

But beware if you feel like you have just cause to act unlovingly toward a brother or sister –

This could be the indication of YOUR immaturity, even if you object to their immaturity.

Most fights between church members amount to little more than two little children going at it, each one proclaiming their own maturity.

Your failure to love adequately is in NO MEASURE a result of their un-loveliness,

For each one of us, our failure to love is a failure due to our own selfishness.

There is NOWHERE in God’s entire revelation where love, even brotherly affection, begins with the other person EARNING it.

We don’t love because the other person DESERVES it;

We love because God loved us when WE didn’t DESERVE it.

We love, because He first loved us. – 1 John 4:19

I have often seen that verse misquoted, turned into “We love HIM because He first loved us…” – but that is simply not what it says.

The very next verses prove the meaning:

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. – 1 John 4:20-21

What 4:19 means, then, is WE LOVE EACH OTHER BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US.

The world simply doesn’t have that kind of love for one another – the love based on the true love of God.

In my life, I have sat in sermons and lessons that talk about the abiding acceptance of the world for sinners.

Many of these morality tales go something like this:

A fellow walked into church, but immediately felt the judgment of the people on his sin;

Afterward, he went to a bar, where he was welcomed in with no judgment at all.

Ironically, this story is often used in relation to Matthew 7:1ff – Judge not, lest you be judged…

But this teaching is embedded in the complete restatement and sharpening of God’s Law in the Sermon on the Mount.

And – it is just plain wrong. It gets so much wrong about the church and about the world.

1st – Acceptance of sin, or even assistance in it, is NOT a characteristic of love.

I said this, I believe, a couple of Wednesday evenings ago, but I would like to repeat it now:

If someone you consider a friend will help you conceal sin, or will encourage you in sin, or will enable you to sin,

That person is not a friend – they are a recruiter for Satan.

The ridiculous example of the man going to the bar for acceptance simply demonstrates the shallowness of the world’s acceptance.

Folks, even a drug dealer will be nice to you as long as you are buying his product.

The Pharisee will approve of you as long as you are towing their line of man-defined virtue and judgment.

Love, true brotherly love, encourages you to do the right thing AS GOD DEFINES IT.

Sometimes it comes as a rebuke;

Most often, in a kind word or question spoken to wake you from the deluding influence of sin.

In either case, the goal of that loving word is to bring you back to the obedience of Christ, which is the place of the greatest good for you.

2nd – The acceptance of the world is far more dependent on earning it than the love of God and His people.

The world knows nothing of unmerited love.

All love, all acceptance, all affection in this world is earned.

Perhaps the most dangerous words in the mouth of a pagan are “If you love me, you will…”

By this, they tell you that you will earn THEIR love by your actions.

But when Jesus says, in John 14:15:

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

His unmerited love is already declared; and your action doesn’t earn more of His love – it helps you to realize the depth of your love for Him.

The peoples of this world will accept you as long as you are like them,

But the love of Christ, even as expressed through imperfect believers, accepts you even when you aren’t lovely or loveable.

“Love your brother” compels us to love each other ESPECIALLY when we are not at our best.

Brothers and sisters – this body – the church of Jesus Christ – must be the place where we can be honest about our struggles,

Candid in our failures,

Truthful in our doubts and confusion,

And redemptive in our response to all of the above.

Because 3rd – Loving your brother is not about remaining silent, but in about seeking the best for your brother.

One of the great failures of the church in our time is that we do not speak the truth to one another.

We tend to leave each other alone.

And while that sounds like something we might ask for “Leave me alone.”,

When we leave someone alone spiritually, it is very much like abandoning them in the middle of a desert.

It is not a credit to us that we leave each other alone;

It is a shame that can be traced back to our own selfishness.

We are never told to remain silent toward our brother, or to leave them alone.

We are told:

we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ - Ephesians 4:14ff

A loving brother or sister speaks the truth in love.

Note – not our OPINION in love, but the truth in love.

We are not children, clutching to our pet opinions or prejudices,

But growing up in maturity in the word of God,

And seeking to gently, relentlessly help each other to do the same.

Brothers and sisters, we have been brought together by Christ, to abide with and love each other as much as our maturity will allow.

We bear with each other, and in that vein, I remind you of what we saw last Wednesday evening:

Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint. 10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God - 1 Peter 4:8-11