George France’s Blog

2 Peter 1:1-10

2 Peter 1:7
And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Today, we are going to talk about the last two ingredients Peter taught we need to be partakers of Christ’s divine nature; brotherly kindness and charity.
Both of these are different kinds of love; brotherly kindness (philadelphia – strong’s no.5360) and charity or love (agape – strong’s no.26) which describes more of a general affection to all.

Philadelphia means love of brothers or sisters, brotherly love
in the NT the love which Christians cherish for each other as brethren

Paul also describes beautifully how we ought to know the love of Christ in Ephesians 3

Eph 3:17
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
The heart (Greek word Kardia:strongs no.2588) is that organ in the animal body which is the centre of the circulation of the blood, and hence was regarded as the seat of physical life.
It denotes the centre of all physical and spiritual life the vigour and sense of physical life. It is the centre and seat of spiritual life the soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavours.

It is of the middle or central or inmost part of anything, even though inanimate.
When Christ is in the centre of our innermost being, that is where love will be found.
3:18
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
Here Paul is talking about the dimensions of the kind of love we need to understand and have. What is the breadth of Christ’s love, how long is it? How wide, high and deep is it? What does it include? Who does it include?

3:19
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

It is only when we understand the dimensions of his love beyond our natural knowledge (gnosis) that we become filled with all the fullness of God.

Now notice the distinctions here between the brotherly love (used of one christian to another) and general affections for all. In Jesus’s prayer in John 17, he made clear distinctions in the kind of prayer he offered to God for the disciples specifically and to all believers generally.
John 17:9
I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 

John 17:20
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

For those who berate ministers for making special prayers for various groups (eg those who give tithes and special offerings), this verse (John 17) supports their actions. You can make distinctions without being discriminatory.

Let us study the word to know the dimensions of love we need to be filled with all the fulness of God and to be partakers of his Divine Nature.

Stay blessed