"But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another."
1 Thessalonians 4:9
“But as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you.”
Paul has been teaching the Thessalonians how to live right and get along with people all through this book. The last place Paul talked about treating people correctly, was in verse six.
“That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified” (1 Thessalonians 4:6).
The man who defrauds his brother knows nothing of brotherly love. He is living for himself and his own selfishness. Paul doesn’t need to give them his teaching on brotherly love at this time. They are doing well loving each other.
In the ancient days, “brotherly love” was considered to be only the relationship between blood kin. In the New Testament, this is all changed, and brotherly love is the relationship between brothers and sisters in Christ. We, believers, are related to each other because we are related to Jesus.
Brotherly love is the “peculiar charity and affection which one Christian owes to another” [1] (Doddridge).
His reason for not needing to teach them more is,
“For ye, yourselves are taught of God to love one another.”
Paul said the Thessalonians were God taught in how to love each other. As believers, they have the Holy Spirit living within them. He does a great job of teaching our hearts essential lessons. Paul knew the importance of reminding the brethren about the right behavior, such as loving each other. We all have the tendency to forget, even the things that we know are important to God. But deep down, each believer knows loving his brothers and sisters is crucial, and he/she is taught this by the Lord.
“Brotherly love is love to the ‘brethren,’ i.e., to Christians, who had received the spirit of adoption and power to become the sons of God. As the great motive of Christ’s coming was love for us, so the great object of His coming was to enable us to love God and one another; to set us right with God and men.” [2]
Believers, we need to remember that Jesus is our example in loving others.
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
May these words help us to remember our duty and privilege to be loving to others.
[1] Doddridge, as quoted by Albert Barnes. Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Popular New Testament, A Popular Commentary on the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword.