Let brotherly love continue. (Hebrews 13:01, NKJV).
The final chapter in the incredible New Testament epistle of Hebrews is a comprehensive presentation of godly exhortations to those who are in Christ Jesus.
The world does not readily understand what it means to be a true follower of Christ, partly because it is a state of being spiritually discerned - and without the indwelling Spirit of God it remains an opaque designation at best. And partly because the visible church is rife with professing believers who are, in tragic reality, unsaved.
One of the most amazing hallmarks of soul-deep Christian conversion is the glorious expansion of family through faith in Christ. This is a real phenomena based on what the Bible calls koinonia, rendered in English as fellowship.
Perhaps this is best defined as profound community, that real-time experience of deep and abiding affection (brotherly love) for those whose spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. This often happens instantaneously; a sense of commonality and fundamental unity that bonds deeper than the blood ties of earthly family.
It is inexplicable, surprising, even irrational, outside of faith in Christ, but is an essential sign of a transformed heart. Consider these verses:
So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, “who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Luke 18:29, 30, NKJV).
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. (1 John 3:14, NKJV).
In addition to being a signpost of true faith, it is a source of supernatural strength, and gracious encouragement. That is why the exhortation above is to let brotherly love continue. Many a Christian throughout the centuries has found support and overflowing love in time of need from groups and individuals who, from the human perspective, are complete strangers. Yet, from the spiritual perspective, these same people are more intimately related than congenital twins.
That is one of the reasons behind the earlier exhortation in this letter to …let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25, NKJV).
In a gathering where love of Christ and love of one another abounds, amazing things occur, and a sweetness of fellowship is present that nourishes the heart and strengthens the soul. It serves as a bulwark against a hostile world - a world that increasingly hates Christ, and views Christian virtue as evil or regressive.
Even the Apostle Paul, who suffered so much for the sake of Christ without wavering from or doubting his calling as evangelist and church planter, greatly desired the fellowship of like-minded believers, as he writes in Romans:
For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established-- that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. (Romans 1:11, 12, NKJV).
The true church is an aggregation of powerful relationships in Christ that transcend socio-economic background, ethnicity, and even language. It is an organism much more than an organization, which is why the church, the true church, is likened in Scripture to the body of Christ.
One final point. Note the explicit assumption that brotherly love already exists, and that the encouragement is to simply let it continue. Like all things truly Christian, brotherly love can't be a result of gritted-teeth effort. It is a byproduct of surrender to the Spirit of God. Anything else is a human work, doomed to failure.
