2 Pet. 1:5-7 "Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue; and in your virtue knowledge; and in your knowledge self-control; and in your self-control patience; and in your patience godliness; and in your godliness brotherly kindness; and in your brotherly kindness love."
In most of our discussions of love of the brethren, we've been discussing love as defined by the Greek word agape. This is the word defined in 1 Cor. 13:4-7 and is the most common word for love in the New Testament, but clearly Peter has something else in mind as he differentiates between love and brotherly kindness. The word used here for brotherly kindness is philadelphia (which helps explain why the city in Pennsylvannia is referred to as "The City of Brotherly Love"). See, in Greek there are four different words for what we think of as love. Eros is physical love and passion. Storge is the natural, almost chemical love parents have for children. The first time you held your child and were overwhelmed with the need to protect her you were feeling storge. This word is rarely used in the NT, primarily as a condemnation against those who didn't feel it. Rom. 1:31 "without natural affection". Then agape is the love of action. There is very little emotion attached, rather this is love shown by doing what is best for the one loved. It is the love we can show close friends and dire enemies. The fourth love is phileo, a tense of which is used in Peter to become philadelphia. This is family love. There is some emotion involved, some affection, but there is also a strong sense of duty or obligation. After all, brothers fight like cats and dogs sometimes but when one brother sees the other being bullied we suddenly hear, "Hey! I'm the only one allowed to pick on him!" and the erstwhile adversarial brother is suddenly allied with the tormented one to face the world together. That is philadelphia. It is the idea that blood is thicker than water. It is the concept of dropping everything else and running to help because that is what family does even if I sometimes get so angry at them.
There are two points that I want to make from Peter's use of brotherly kindness. The first is that it emphasizes the family bond. We don't just agape each other, we philadelphia. While we are told clearly that we cannot allow our earthly families to come between us and Christ, that Christ must always come first (Matt. 10:37, 19:29), here is our true spiritual family. This is family as it should be. I am aware that I have been very lucky with my family. My father was not only present, which would have automatically made him better than about half of fathers, but he actively tried to be the best father he could. I know that not everyone is so lucky which is why the church as the family of God should be so inviting. Again, family as it should be. A family where we truly love each other. After all, if earthly blood is thicker than water how much thicker still is spiritual blood? This means, of course, that all those feelings of duty and obligation we normally feel towards our families we ought to be feeling towards our brethren in Christ. If there is need, we drop everything and run to help, because we're family. If others are attacking, we jump in to defend, because the only one allowed to pick on my spiritual brother is me! Brotherly kindness demands that our spiritual families are now our priority.
The other point to make about how Peter uses brotherly kindness in this passage is that he shows that we can grow in our love for each other, whether agape or philadelphia. Peter says we are to "give diligence" to grow in all of these areas. He later says that if these "are yours and abound" we will not be unfruitful. Diligence is the concept of earnest, continuing effort. To abound means to fill to the overflowing. We can improve, in fact, one of the most dangerous things a Christian can say is, "that's just how I am". No, it's not. We can grow. The inspired Apostle Peter said so. And no matter how good we are at something there is still room for improvement. In 1 Thess. 4:9-10 Paul tells the church there that they are excellent at brotherly love. He holds them up as an example of how to do it right to other churches. After this praise Paul then urges them to continue growing in that area. 'You are the best at this that there is, keep on getting even better'. Rom. 12:10, often translated "in honor preferring one another" is translated in the English Standard Version as "outdo one another in showing love". If that latter translation is the most correct one it means that while love does not envy, vaunt itself or seek its own, there is one area in Christianity where there is room for friendly competition: love. I can almost hear the trash talk: "Hey, Bob, I'm going to show you up in love for the brethren"; "Keep dreaming, pal, everyone knows I'm the best at brotherly love in this church!"
No matter how good or bad we are at brotherly love at the beginning of our walk with God we can continue to grow in those areas. As we grow in our faith, meekness, humility, godliness and righteousness our love for our brethren will continue to improve as well. We will recognize God's love not only for us but them as well. We will recognize our own failures and make allowances for others. Our patience and long-suffering will grow the more we recognize our own struggles, which will lead to better love of the brethren. The closer we come to Christ, the closer we will feel to His family and the more we will make them a priority. After all, His blood is thicker than water.
1 Thess. 4:9-10 "Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more"
Lucas Ward