And what a wonderful picture of the fellowship that believers in Jesus have with one another: to be brothers and sisters of the same family! Our relationship to one another is not based upon common interests or shared hobbies. We’re not merely a social club or a political organization linked by superficial commonalities. We are objectively united to one another, by virtue of the electing work of the Father (Eph 1:5), the redemptive work of the Son (Gal 4:5), and the regenerating work of the Spirit (Rom 8:15). We’re a family.

“Therefore, my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.”
– Philippians 4:1 –

Before Paul arrives at the crescendo of his exhortation to stand firm in our battle against sin, he couches that exhortation in a flood of the most warmly affectionate and tenderly endearing language found in any of his letters. And the first term of endearment that Paul uses to designate his relationship with the Philippians isbrethren. Most fundamentally, Christians relate to one another asbrothers and sisters. At the most basic level of our relationships with one another, we are marked by a unique, familial bond.

This designation dominates Paul’s thinking throughout his letters, especially in this letter to the Philippians. He addresses them as brethren six other times (1:12; 3:1, 13, 17; 4:8, 21). Although it’s well-used, it’s anything but just some sort of filler-word for the Apostle Paul. Sometimes I get the impression that we’ve begun to treat the term “brother” or “sister” as a sort of throw-away word, evacuated of all of its meaning. “Hey brother.” “What’s going on, brother?” But it wasn’t like that for Paul. He used the term purposefully, knowing that it would engender tenderness and affection from his readers by reminding them of their spiritual union in belonging to the family of God. On the basis of the atoning work of Christ on behalf of His people, all those who are united to the Son by faith have been adopted into the family of our Heavenly Father (cf. Gal 3:26; 4:5).

And what a wonderful picture of the fellowship that believers in Jesus have with one another: to be brothers and sisters of the same family! Our relationship to one another is not based upon common interests or shared hobbies. We’re not merely a social club or a political organization linked by superficial commonalities. We are objectively united to one another, by virtue of the electing work of the Father (Eph 1:5), the redemptive work of the Son (Gal 4:5), and the regenerating work of the Spirit (Rom 8:15). We’re a family. And a family is not merely a group of people with some shared interests and a subjective appreciation for one another. No, brothers and sisters are bound together by something much deeper than that: by the objective union that exists as a result of the love shared by their parents. And that objective reality that binds us together means that we will always be there for one another. I have two younger brothers, and we’ve had our share of tensions and arguments (and all-out fights). But no matter what happens in our lives, we will never stop being brothers. That objective bond is unbreakable.

And the same is true within the family of God. There may be tensions and disagreements that exist between us and our brothers and sisters in Christ. But just as nothing can separate us from the loving union that we share with Christ individually, neither can anything separate us from the union that we share with one another, corporately. And so whatever subjective disunity exists between us, we can fight for unity, and reconciliation, and oneness with one another, standing on the solid foundation of our objective unity as children of God.

One of the greater blessings during my time in seminary came when there was a potential conflict in my life.

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