Bible Studies

Making our Calling and Election Sure (to ourselves & to the world 🗺) Part 3

2 Peter 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. KJV Note: NKJV=New King 👑James Version The Apostle Peter now reaches the crescendo of his exhortations to us in adding to our gift of faith given to us by our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ at our birth into His Family and Heavenly Kingdom as he declares with these words in 2 Peter 1:7, "And to godliness brotherly kindness;" This is the wonderful affection we must show towards those souls who have the same like precious faith as we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. The English phrase 'brotherly kindness' is translated by the Greek word philadelphia which means fraternal affection: - brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren. Our brothers and sisters 'in Christ' are to have the best from us always, not with standing that when and if we offend one another (which will occur sometimes as we sojourn home to Heaven) we are to earnestly seek reconciliation with them that the Body of Christ does not suffer, for the Apostle Paul tells us with these words how connected we are in Christ Body, "And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it." (1 Corinthians 12:26) (NKJV). The Body of Christ is just like our human bodies, for when we break a hand or a leg or a foot, the rest of the human body is affected by such a thing, so it is with us as sons and daughters of God/Abba. You see our first priority must be always and at all times to seek the good of one another (physically and spiritually), this is why Paul told the Corinthians to expel someone in their fellowship who was living (unrepentantly) in sexual immorality (until that brother repented and turned back to the Lord), for the Corinthian Church ⛪and every true Church ⛪of the Lord Jesus Christ is one lump and if something corrupt is present it will corrupt the whole lump/Church ⛪. This is why Paul wrote these words to them later on in his first letter ✉ to them, "Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.'" (1 Corinthians 15:33)(NKJV). Brotherly kindness seeks the good always of those belonging to our Lord Jesus Christ because of our individual great love each of us should have for Him and so we should have for one another because we all are a part of Him. Our Lord Jesus Himself told us how we must deal with any brother or sister who sins against us and likewise how we are to be dealt with when we sin against them, as it is written, "'If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the Church. Then if he or she won't accept the Church's decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector." (Matthew 18:15-17) (NLT). This is true love and brotherly kindness one to another, for the goal is to be in loving and truthful fellowship with our brothers and sisters 'in Christ' not to let lies, lewdness, or lasciviousness run free in the fellowship and it be overlooked or ignored. Lastly, when we truly love our brothers and sisters 'in Christ' we will most assuredly have the desire Paul wrote with these words to the Church ⛪@Rome confronting those who were judging one another for eating meat or eating only vegetables, "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way." (Romans 14:12-13) (NKJV). Here is the litmus test that declares whether we are truly walking in love to our brothers and sisters 'in Christ', when we never want to do anything, to say anything, to teach anything, to affirm anything that might cause one of them to fall into sin or be caught in any sin. Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of brotherly kindness, "We must add brotherly-kindness, a tender affection to all our fellow-Christians, who are children of the same Father, servants of the same Master, members of the same family, travellers to the same country, and heirs of the same inheritance, and therefore are to be loved with a pure heart fervently, with a love of complacency, as those who are peculiarly near and dear to us, in whom we take particular delight, Psalms 16:3."

Finally, the Apostle reaches the very peak of what we must add to our gift of faith with these words in 2 Peter 1:7, "And to brotherly kindness charity." This English word 'charity' is translated by the Greek word agapē which means love, that is, affection or benevolence; specifically (plural) a love feast: - dear love or to put it plainly God's love. This love no human being is born with nor can any human being work it up within them nor can any human live out this love in their human strength. This love of God comes only to those of us who have been born of God (John 1:13), for this love is the love that God has for all of humanity (even those who hate Him and even corrupt Him and His Word). God's love made manifest or revealed in us causes us to want the highest good (not only for those whom we love and whom love us) for those who even hate us and want to harm, hurt, or harass us even when we have done nothing offensive to any of them. It is the love of Christ within us that compels us to want to see the highest good for them and the highest good is that they too be 'born again' and be brought out of darkness (Colossians 1:13-14) into Christ Jesus our Lord and His marvelous light. Paul said this to the Corinthian Church ⛪, "For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;" (2 Corinthians 5:13-14) (NKJV). All human beings are born dead to God and only by the Power of the Holy Spirit working through the dead sinner hearing the Gospel of Grace can they be made alive to God and brought supernaturally out of their enslavement to sin and death, as it is written, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) (NLT). There is nothing within us to want the good of those who hate us, but when we come to Christ that desire is given to us by Him and so we declare the Gospel to all who will listen, then we pray for them to be awakened from spiritual death and given eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Everyone of us fall short of being like our Lord Jesus Christ in showing this love to world 🗺, that is, the people still of the world, but we must strive, scrap, and struggle to keep moving toward Him and His love for us and His love in us so that He will be glorified forever from even one soul that repents and is born again because we declared the truth to them without compromise. When we do good to all men 🚹and women 🚺(Galatians 6:10) and return not our own evil back to them for their evil against us (1 Thessalonians 5:15) then we are making visible God's agape love poured out into our hearts when He birthed us into His family as Paul wrote with these words to the Church ⛪@Rome, "And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love." (Romans 5:5) (NLT). Amen!!! Here is what Matthew Henry had to say of God's agape love, "Charity, or a love of good-will to all mankind, must be added to the love of delight which we have for those who are the children of God. God has made of one blood all nations, and all the children of men are partakers of the same human nature, are all capable of the same mercies, and liable to the same afflictions, and therefore, though upon a spiritual account Christians are distinguished and dignified above those who are without Christ, yet are they to sympathize with others in their calamities, and relieve their necessities, and promote their welfare both in body and soul, as they have opportunity: thus must all believers in Christ evidence that they are the children of God, who is good to all, but is especially good to Israel." "Often Divine Holiness and love are set over against one another, but in Scripture this is never the case. This is best seen in the context of the affirmation, 'God is love' (1 John 4:8). John, in this context, does not view the love of God as mere sentimentality or a blind overlooking of our sin; rather, he views Divine love as that which loves the unlovely and undeserving. In fact,the supreme display of God's love is found in the Father giving His own dear Son as our propitiatory (Intended to reconcile or appease) sacrifice that turn back God's holy anger against us and satisfies the demands of justice on our behalf (1 John 4:8-10). Thus, in the Cross of Christ we see the greatest demonstration of both the holiness and love of God fully expressed, where justice and grace come together, and God remains both just and the justifier of those who have faith in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:21-26)." (Holman's Bible Dictionary).

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...