Growth by Addition
Brotherly Kindness
2 Peter 1:5-7 (NIV)
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
Last week we established “Godliness” as a complete separation and designation of our lives for God. To be Godly, is to live as God has called us.
*Key Point from last week: Let Your Actions do the Talking
Matthew 5:15-16 (NLT)
No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
I bring this up, because this very important area of spiritual growth is paramount in our growth in the final two we are going to study over the next two weeks: Brotherly Kindness and Love.
We have got to be pursuing Godliness if we want to excel in Brotherly Kindness and Love. Otherwise we will not have any motivation for either of these.
Today, I’d like to make today’s sermon part one of the two-part series finale. We do this because; as you’ll see these two are closely intertwined.
1. Ministry on the Inside
There are many ways to distinguish Brotherly Kindness and Love, but for the sake of simplicity for the next two weeks we’ll look at them in this light:
Brotherly Kindness extends to the members of God’s Family,
Love extends to the entire Human Race.
A. Brotherly Kindness
As I mentioned, today we are looking at what I would call “Love on the Inside”. I want to take a moment and clearly define what Brotherly Kindness is.
The Greek word used in 2 Peter 1:7 is “Philadelphia” which comes from two words: Philos and Adelphos.
“Philos” means friend, to be friendly, a companion. From this word we get the Greek word “phileo” which is the type of love we are most accustomed to. It is the kind of love we all know through healthy family relationships. This type of love is distinct, and is never used in relation to God or any type of erotic love.
“Adelphos” means a brother, or a fellow associate united to another by some form of bond (ie: blood, common interest, etc.)
So when we say “Philadelphia” it truly is Brotherly Kindness.
1 John 2:9 (NIV)
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.
When we are justified through salvation, we are adopted into Body of Christ, the Family of Faith. We are now a part of something greater, but as we clearly see in this verse, we cannot truly love God, and hate our brothers and sisters.
2. Be KOINONIA
There is an important Greek word that relates to God’s Church, and that is Koinonia. It’s difficult to translate to English, but it carries the idea of communion, fellowship, sharing and participation. It is used to describe the life the ekklesia, or church, is to share in Christ.
The idea I especially favor is that of fellowship. The fellowship that is highlighted here is more than just:
- a relationship of buddies
- participating in a potluck
- getting a long with you because we are like minded
- a programmed meeting or bible study
The Koinonia Fellowship we speak of is the type that brought Jews and Gentiles, enemies for centuries, together as the body of Christ. Those who’d separated each other, and wouldn’t even speak together were now united in worship together.
Koinonia is a oneness that is only possible through God’s supernatural power.
Koinonia is our participation together in the life of God through Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at some characteristics (byproducts) of the “Fellowship” of the Church, and in doing so use these as inspiration for further development of Brotherly Kindness in our own lives.
A. Light
1 John 1:6-7 (NLT)
So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Koinonia is hard to cover up. It directly violates self-centeredness, and people on the outside notice, and they will long to have it as well.
“The church is the only cooperative society in the world that exists for the benefit of its non-members.” — William Temple.
B. Acceptance
Signs of an Unfriendly Church:
When the sign out front says – For members only
When the parking lot has a sign that says – unauthorized vehicles will be towed at owners expense.
When the church lobby has a sign that says – no loitering
When you say “Praise the Lord” and the guy behind you says – we don’t do that here.
When the pastors message is entitled “The Theological Significance of the eschatological dimensions of the sanctified life in the pre-millennial view of predestination.”
When the church’s motto is – We’re getting smaller but purer.
Romans 12:10,16 (NIV)
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
When we judge others, we are denying Christ within us, and therefore denying Christ to anyone else.
C. Giving
1 John 3:16-19 (NLT)
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? 18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.
The fellowship supports one another in giving financially, through material goods or by giving time and energy. True fellowship feels responsible to give in support of God’s Church.
In a museum at Greenfield Village, Detroit, Michigan, there is a huge steam locomotive. Beside this complicated piece of machinery is a sign showing boiler pressure, size and number of wheels, horsepower, lengths, weight and more. The bottom line indicates that 96% of the power generated was used to move the locomotive and only 4% was left to pull the load. Some churches are like that. — Source Unknown. SermonIllustrations.com
Remember, giving is an act of worship that should flow out of the love of God in your heart!
D. Suffering
I promise I didn’t follow giving with “suffering” to make a point! But the Koinonia must share in the suffering.
Galatians 6:2-3 (NLT)
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
I can’t tell you how important this byproduct of koinonia has been in my life…
E. Unity
Philippians 2:1-2 (NLT)
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
The amount of disunity that we often see within the body of believers blows me away sometimes. The church splits, the back-stabbing, gossip and slander—all is rooted in one simple word: “ME”.
When I’m focused on “Me” I neglect the Love for the Brotherhood. It starts with Me, and the only way it’s going to stop is with me.
Psalms 133 (NLT)
How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! 2 For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil that was poured over Aaron’s head, that ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe. 3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.
Growing in Brotherly Kindness comes down to asking myself one very simple question, “Is my life adding to the Kingdom of God, or subtracting from it?”
The honest answer is the one that will promote change, and seek to show Brotherly Kindness.
-Prayer
Go Further! - Personal Study Questions
1. Read Ephesians 4:1-6. Make a list of the areas God is calling you to personally increase in Brotherly Kindness?
2. Create another list of all the gifts, talents, skills and passions that God has given you. Circle the ones that seem to go together. Now prayerfully consider how you can use these for God’s Glory within the body of believers.
