It is no wonder that D. M. Panton said, “The movement of the brothers and its significance is far greater than the Reformation.” W. H. Griffith Thomas said, “Among the children of God, it was they who were most able to rightly divide the word of truth.” Henry Ironside said, “Whether among those who know the brothers or those who do not know the brothers, all those who know God have received help from the brothers directly or indirectly.”
This movement was greater than the movement of the Reformation. Here I would like to say that the work of Philadelphia is greater than the work of the Reformation. Philadelphia gives us the things which the Reformation did not give us. We thank the Lord that the problem of the church is solved by the movement of the brothers. The position of the children of God has almost been recovered. Therefore, both in quantity and in quality you can see that it is greater than the Reformation. Yet we must note that the movement of the brothers is not quite as famous as the Reformation. The Reformation was brought about with sword and spear, while the movement of the brothers was brought about by preaching. For the cause of the Reformation, many lost their lives in the wars in Europe. Another reason the Reformation is famous was its relationship to politics. Many nations, through the Reformation, threw off the power of Rome politically. Anything that is not related to politics is not easily known by men. Furthermore, the brothers saw two things: One is what we call the organized world, that is, the psychological world; the other is what the brothers called the world of Christianity. They left not only the psychological world, but also the world of Christianity, which is represented by the Protestant churches. That is why they were not even advertised in the Protestant churches. They have come out not only from the world of sin, but also from the world of Christianity.
From their time, men knew that the church is the Body of Christ, that the children of God are one church, and that they should not be divided. Their emphasis was on the brothers and the real love for one another. The Lord Jesus says that a church will appear whose name is Philadelphia.
Now let us look at Revelation: “And to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write” (3:7). Philadelphia is brotherly love. What does the Lord praise Philadelphia for? He says it is brotherly love; the mediatorial position has been completely abolished. I will take this opportunity to say a few more words. In Christ there is neither male nor female. In Christ there are no sisters. We are brothers, not sisters. Now our sisters will ask, “Who are we?” We are all brothers. We are brothers because we all have the life of Christ. Today there are many men in the world, but they are not our brothers. A man is a brother not because he is man, but because he has the life of Christ in him. Since I also have the life of Christ in me, we are brothers. When the Lord resurrected and was about to ascend to heaven, He said, “I ascend to My Father and your Father” (John 20:17). In John 1 He is the only begotten Son of God; in John 20 He is God’s firstborn Son. In chapter one God had Him as the only Son; in chapter twenty His life is imparted to men; thus, He is the firstborn Son and we all are brothers. Through death and resurrection God’s only begotten Son became the firstborn Son. We can be brothers because we have received His life. Because we have all received the life of Christ, we are all brothers. A man is a brother because he receives the life of Christ; a woman is a brother because she receives the life of Christ. Both men and women all receive the same life; therefore, all are brothers. All the Epistles were written to brothers, not sisters. Individually speaking, there are sisters, but in Christ there are only brothers. Because of that life, we have become the children (teknia) of God. All the “sons and daughters” in the New Testament should be translated as “children.” Besides 2 Corinthians 6:18, there is no mention of daughters. Do you see? In Christ everyone stands in the position of a brother. Once when I was in Shanghai, there was a brother who was a mason. I said to him, “Go and ask some brothers to come in.” He replied, “Do you want me to ask the male brothers or the female brothers?” This was a man taught of God. We address sisters when we address individuals, but in Christ there is no distinction between male and female.
In the church there is also neither bond nor free. It is not that one receives more life because he is a master, or that one receives less life because he is a slave. In the past a certain brother told me that the meeting places were usually in poor condition, and that it would be best for us to prepare a place especially for preaching to the government officials. I replied, “What would you put on the signboard?” It would not be the church of Christ, but the church of the officials and gentry. When we come to the church, there are no officials or gentry. In the church all are brothers. When our eyes are opened by the Lord, we will see that being above others is a glory in the world, but that there is no such distinction in the church.