Thursday

Related Verses
2 Pet. 1:7
7 And in godliness, brotherly love; and in brotherly love, love.

1 Pet. 3:8
8 And finally be all of the same mind, sympathetic, loving the brothers, tenderhearted, humble-minded;

1 Pet. 2:17
17 Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

Col. 2:19
19 And not holding the Head, out from whom all the Body, being richly supplied and knit together by means of the joints and sinews, grows with the growth of God.

Gal. 6:10
10 So then, as we have the opportunity, let us do what is good toward all, but especially toward those of the household of the faith.

John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 15:16-17
16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I set you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you.
17 These things I command you that you may love one another.

Related Reading
The Greek word rendered “brotherly love” is philadelphia, composed of phileo, “to have affection for,” and adelphos, “a brother”; hence, brotherly affection, a love characterized by delight and pleasure. 

The Greek word for love in 2 Peter 1:7 is agape, the word used in the New Testament for the divine love, which God is in His nature (1 John 4:8, 16). It is nobler than phileo, human love. It adorns all the qualities of the Christian life…It is stronger in ability and greater in capacity than human love (Matt. 5:44, 46), yet a believer who lives by the divine life (2 Pet. 1:3) and partakes of the divine nature (v. 4) can be saturated with it and express it in full. Such a love needs to be developed in brotherly love to govern it and flow in it for the full expression of God, who is this love. (Life-study of 2 Peter, pp. 47-48) 

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Peter’s thought in [1 Peter 1] is that the full salvation of the Triune God issues in holiness and brotherly love. Holiness is related to godliness. Hence, the issue of God’s full salvation is the expression of God and the love for the brothers. 

In quality and perhaps also in quantity, agape is greater than phileo. Sometimes we may love the brothers in a narrow, limited way with a certain amount of brotherly love. In our love we may have preferences and love certain brothers more than others…Because Peter was experienced and knew the situation among the saints, he did not stop with brotherly love but went on to speak of love, of agape, the deep and noble love with which God the Father loves all mankind, both believers and sinners. 

In Matthew 5:44-47 the Lord Jesus said, “I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become sons of your Father who is in the heavens, because He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?…” As God sends rain upon both the just and the unjust, so we should love not only our brothers but also our enemies. It does not take much strength or energy for someone to love his own brother. But it does take a special strength and energy to love our enemies. We all need to have this noble love. 

In the church life we may prefer a certain brother whom we regard as nice and love him, but we may not appreciate another brother as much. We may have love for both brothers, but that love is shallow. Therefore, we need a deeper, nobler love [agape]. When we have this kind of love, we love all the brothers the same, no matter what kind of brothers they may be. 

In 2 Peter 1:5-7 we have the development from faith to love. This development includes virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, and godliness. Eventually, we have the full development and maturity from the seed of faith, through the roots of virtue and knowledge, the trunk of self-control and the branches of endurance and godliness, to the blossom and the fruit of brotherly love and love. 

In verse 8 Peter goes on to say, “For these things, existing in you and abounding, constitute you neither idle nor unfruitful unto the full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The words these things refer to all the virtues covered in verses 5 through 7, from faith to love. Faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly love, and love should all exist in us. Nevertheless, these are only some of the “all things” that have been granted to us by the divine power. We need to see that all these things are included in the seed. This seed contains the root, the trunk, the branches, the blossom, and the fruit. (Life-study of 2 Peter, pp. 48-49) 

Further Reading: Life-study of 2 Peter, msg. 6