definite article “tes” points to “the brotherly love.” How wonderful it is for brethren to love, be friendly one toward another, walking in unity, and in honor preferring one another (cf. Rom. 12:10; Heb. 13:1; I Peter 3:8). Christians are enabled to love one an other because we are bom of God (John 1:13) and united to the Lord Jesus Christ, head of the new creation (II Cor. 5:17). Outside the New Testament the word Philadelphia almost invari ably denotes the love binding together the children of one father. In the New Testament it is without exception used for the love uniting Christians to one another. Agapao, “love,” is God’s love (John 3:16). Phileo, “love,” speaks of human affection, fondness, a non-ethi- cal, though perfectly legitimate, form of love. Since the word phileo (“love”) is compounded with adelphos (“one from the same womb”), the basis of their Christian fondness and love for each other, the source of their Chris tian fellowship, is the fact that they all come from the same source, having one Father, God Himself. Something which should give mod em Christians much food for thought is the way in which the early church was characterized by love. “Behold how these Christians love one another” is hardly the comment which springs spontaneously to the lips of the de tached observer nowadays. But if our manner of life was based on the New Testament picture something like it would be inevitable. The characteristic Christian attitude as we see it there is a profound faith in God, a faith which spills out into all of life in the form of self-denying, self-giving love. Paul has had occasion to remark on the way the Thessalonians displayed this virtue (1:3, 3:6). They showed that steadfast love to others which can only come about in a man he has been transformed by the power of the divine agape, and has come to see men in a measure as God sees them. But there is something else than this. Morris, “When this miracle occurs in a man he finds himself in company with oth ers of like mind, and he will naturally
be drawn to them. His soul will be knit to theirs. Thus, in addition to agape, that self-denying love toward all men, he should practice Philadel phia, the love of the brethren.” This is often insisted upon, and it has always been a hallmark of vital Christianity that love of those within the brother hood has abounded. John, indeed, gives this as the criterion whereby a man may know that he really has “passed out of death into life” (I John 3:14, cf. 3:10). It is this that is in mind when Paul praises his friends. He gladly acknowl edges that there is no real need for him to write on such a subject to peo ple so well taught as they. Yet, in the spirit of v. 1, he does write. He is never satisfied. While he is mindful of their very real achievement, he yet knows that the Christian must look ever onward. So he urges them to “abound more and more” (v. 10). He makes their well-known love for one another the basis of an appeal that they would go on to ever new heights of love. When he later wrote II Corin thians he praised the practical expres sion of their love in making a sub stantial gift for the poor saints in Jeru salem (II Cor. 8:1 ff.). It is this kind of thing he has in mind here also. The passage in II Corinthians may in dicate how well his remarks were heeded. Paul gives as his reason that he need not write to them the fact that they were “taught of God.” He uses a very uncommon word. It occurs here only in the New Testament (though a very similar expression is found in John 6:45). In I Cor. 2:13 there is a refer ence to being taught of the Spirit. This is relevant to our present passage because Paul has just been speaking of the Holy Spirit given “into” the Thessalonians. So his thought is that God within them shows them the right way. While this is all true, yet love is something which can grow and can be manifested ever more widely. There fore, Paul adds, “But we exhort you, (Continued on next page) 23
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