Taught by God to Love

“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, 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, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 ESV)

Now this “brotherly love” isn’t just for “brothers” (men only), but this has to do with a family type of love like siblings would have for one another, or it is like a friendship kind of love involving a proper (moral) affection for one another because we care about one another as though our spiritual brothers and sisters were members of our own family. 

But when the word “love” is used for the second time in verse 9, this is agape love, which has to do with preferring what God prefers, which is what is holy, godly, morally pure, honest, upright, faithful, and obedient to God. So when we love with this kind of love we are going to do what is right by one another and not what is wrong by our fellow Christians.

And so this also means that we are going to say and to do for each other what is spiritually beneficial for each of us, and what is good and kind, and not what is against each other unless we are having to correct wrong behaviors, which even that is for them and not against them, for against them would be to do what is evil and immoral and that which would cause them harm. And agape love does no willful harm to anyone.

Now, with that subject in mind, when this says next that we are to aspire to live quietly, and to mind our own affairs, this is not saying, “Stay in your own lane” and shut up and keep your thoughts to your own selves if the Lord Jesus is leading you to speak the truth in love to a fellow Christian with regard to matters of Christian conduct and walks of obedience to the Lord. For, as the body of Christ, we are counseled that we are to exhort one another daily so that none of us are led astray by sin’s deceitfulness.

For God has gifted each one of us with Spiritual gifts which we are to be using within the universal body of Christ to encourage and to exhort one another in our walks of faith to walk in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord and no longer in sin. And we are to warn one another, too, of the consequences of walking in sin and not in obedience to the Lord, and that includes walks of idleness where we have no regard for God and for his will and purpose for our lives and to where we chart our own life course, instead, and we live however we want to please ourselves and not God.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

So, when this says that we are to live quietly and to mind our own affairs, this is speaking of us not getting into other people’s business that is not our own business. We are not to be busybodies nosing our way into other people’s private business that has nothing to do with us and that has nothing to do with our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. But the Scriptures teach that the spiritual condition of our fellow believers in Christ is our business, for we are all one body, and we are to have equal concern for one another, and so we are to help one another to walk in holiness and in righteousness and no longer in sin. For that is one of the ways in which we show them love.

Open My Heart  

An Original Work / July 2, 2013

“Be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil” (Rm. 16:19b).

Open my heart. Let Your truth in.

Make of me a servant, pure within;

Sing of Your praise all of my days. 

Let Your Spirit transform all my ways.

Jesus Christ died on a cross to

Save me from my sin.

“Repent of sin. Be cleansed within.

Obey all of His commands today.”

“Why do you doubt? Why do you fear?

Jesus Christ will wipe away your tears.

He cares for you. He feels your pain.

Die to sin, and life with Him you’ll gain.

Follow Him where’er He leads you.

Talk with Him each day.

Then you will know what He has planned

For your life before your world began.”

“Come unto Me, weary in heart.

Let My love and grace to you impart.

Believe in Me. Trust in My care.

Take your burdens to the Lord in prayer.

He will meet all of your needs, 

And give you peace within.

Rejoice in Him! Tell of His love.

He will give you comfort from above.”

https://vimeo.com/116072845