My Brother

Q: What does the Bible say about Christ being our brother?

The Bible emphasizes that Christ is our brother through adoption, making us heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. The Song of Solomon 8 expresses the bride's desire for an intimate relationship with her beloved, which reflects believers' longing for fellowship with Christ. In Matthew 12:50, Jesus declares, 'For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother,' highlighting the familial bond established through faith and obedience. As believers, we are adopted into God’s family, making Christ our elder brother, and this relationship assures us that we are heirs with Him, blessed by God's grace.

Q: How do we know that we are joint heirs with Christ?

Our joint inheritance with Christ is affirmed in Scripture, signifying that believers share in all His spiritual riches. The concept of being joint heirs with Christ is rooted in Romans 8:17, which states that if we suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified together. This is a profound truth for Christians, pointing to the intimate relationship between believers and Christ. As Christ's brother, believers receive all the benefits of salvation, including eternal life and an inheritance in heaven. This encourages believers to seek a closer relationship with Christ, acknowledging Him not only as Savior but also as a family member who intimately understands our struggles.

Q: Why is fellowship with Christ important for Christians?

Fellowship with Christ is crucial because it deepens our relationship with Him and strengthens our faith. Fellowship with Christ is vital to the Christian life as it nurtures spiritual growth and intimacy with our Lord. The bride in Song of Solomon expresses a longing for closeness, reflecting the believer's desire to abide in Christ's presence. This relationship is sustained through prayer, the reading of Scripture, and the assembly of God's people, which facilitates the hearing of His voice. John 15:4-5 emphasizes, 'Abide in me, and I in you,' teaching us that our strength and sustenance come from remaining connected to Christ, who is our source of life and purpose.

Q: What does it mean to be an heir of God?

Being an heir of God means that believers share in His promises and blessings as part of His family. As heirs of God, believers can rejoice in the assurance that they are part of His eternal family. Galatians 4:7 states, 'Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.' This inheritance includes all the spiritual blessings given to us through Christ, such as redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life. Understanding our identity as heirs encourages us to live in a way that reflects our gratitude and commitment to God, allowing His grace to flow through us as we share this message with others.

Turn with me to the book of Song
of Solomon, chapter 8. Song of Solomon, chapter 8. This chapter, the
last chapter in Song of Solomon opens with the bride's desire
for His fellowship, His love, His presence. The bride has a heart for Him
as He is revealed in the holy Scriptures And she says, ìOh, that thou
wert as my brother that sucked the breast of my mother.î The
Hebrew of that first line is this, ìWho will give you for
a brother to me?î I know this. Men can give a lot of things. to other men. They can give them
words of advice. They can give them a little bit
of comfort. But only Almighty God can grant
or give unto me the brotherhood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It
is by grace that He has given Himself to His people, that He
would give Himself to me. A believer has a desire, a longing
for more than just a nominal, a head knowledge of Christ. She wants to know I must possess
Him as a brother, heartfully. If He is my brother, I just encourage
you as I do myself right now, just stop for just a moment and
just ask. I ask now, Lord, would You teach
me something? of what this Scripture means. Oh, that thou wert as my brother. If He's my brother, my elder
brother, then that means that I have been adopted by Almighty
God and I'm an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. Now, I could just stop and muse
on that thought and be lost in the wonder of
what was just said. I say those words. I hear them. But oh, that I might by His grace,
by His Spirit, enter into them. I'm a joint heir with Christ. I'm an heir of God. My mom is with us this evening. I'm thrilled that she's here. This is my parent. And I can
say that I am of her and my dad, I have an inheritance. But to say that I am an heir
of God, that God Almighty in His infinite
mercy and grace indescribable. There are no words that would
ever describe the wonder of being an heir of Almighty God that
God would show mercy to me, Bob. If Christ is my brother, then
Christ's Father is my Father. Mercy. and all the promises to
the Son are promises to me being in the Son. He is my brother.
Matthew 12.50, the Lord said, For whosoever shall do the will
of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, my sister,
and my mother. If Christ be my brother, then
I have been given a heart, truly, that desires the will of the
Father which is in heaven. And in Christ does the will of
God that is in heaven. The Scripture says, Whosoever
shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven. What is the
will of the Father? This is the will of the Father.
What? That you believe on Him whom
He has sent. That is His will. Whosoever doeth
the will of the Father. The comfort of knowing that He
who is my elder brother is also my surety. He stands for me. Right now, before Almighty God,
I have, if He be my brother, I have an intercessor. I have
an advocate. I have a high priest who enters
in to the holy place and there on His merit intercedes for me. That is comforting. If He be
my brother, if Christ be my brother, Then God Almighty has chosen
me to salvation before the foundation of the world, that I should be
holy and without blame before Him in love, if He is my brother.
The bride says, O that thou wert my brother. But then she says,
He that sucked the breast of my mother. The mother of the church. The mother is the church. Galatians 4.26 says, But Jerusalem, which is above, the free Jerusalem,
which is the mother of us all." Now, this is spiritual language. The church, the bride, is the
means by which God Almighty calls out His people through the preaching
of the gospel. We are assembled here. This is
a mysterious thing. We are here tonight assembling
ourselves together at an appointed time, and this is the way that
God has ordained that it will be. God raises up a pastor, and
that pastor has a responsibility to seek after, to ask after the
Word that God Almighty would have him preach. And he truthfully
asks. And then ask, Lord, would You
bless this Word to our heart? I need to hear this. The bride's
brother is him who, according to this Word, that sucked the
breast of the mother, the milk of the mother, the mother that
births a child and nourishes that child and feeds that child,
the milk of the Word Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ, when She
said that, O that thou wert My brother that sucked the breast
of My mother, means He Himself was made flesh and dwelt among
us. As a man, the One that sucked
the breast, we are here tonight drinking of the milk of the Word. This is our food. This is our
nourishment. This is life to us. got to eat
spiritually. But she said, my brother, he
that fed upon, that longed after, that enjoyed and partook of the
food of the saints, he was made flesh and learned or experienced
obedience in that he suffered. He came into this world. and
learned obedience. Not in that he didn't know it
before and then became acquainted, but it means he experienced obedience
in that he came into this world as a man. He sucked the breast
of my mother just like we did. In Psalm 119, you've heard this
before, but these words, Psalm 119, look at it
there, 119.97 to 105. These are the words of our Lord. Now, I understand that a believer,
one regenerated by the grace of God, by the Spirit of God,
can truthfully say these words being found in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ and having a heart after Him. But these
words can only be said by one. saying them of Himself, saying
them of His obedience and of His longing after the Word, that
is, sucking the breast of the mother. Psalm 119, 97, these
are the words of our blessed Lord, O how love I Thy law! It is my meditation all the day,
though through Thy commandments has made me wiser, than mine
enemies. Let me read that again. Thou
through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies
for they are ever with me. That is they meaning the commandments
of God. I have more understanding than
all my teachers for thy testimonies or my meditation. I understand
more than the ancients because I keep thy precepts. I have reframed
my feet from every evil way." Who could say that but Christ?
Who? "...that I might keep thy word.
I have not departed from thy judgments, for thou hast taught
me. How sweet are thy words unto
my taste, yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through thy precepts
I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light and to my path." Those words are the words of
our blessed Lord who sucked the breast of our mother. The Word
of God Himself. Luke 4.16 says He came to Nazareth
where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, this wasn't
an isolated event. This was His custom. He went
into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. He was there. He sucked the breast. He was a man. He came into this
world. Oh, that thou wert my brother,
one that was acquainted, that acquainted himself with my frailty,
who was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. The bride desires the familiar
fellowship with Him who has honored His own Word. He made His Word,
the Law, honorable. And oh, what great honor He gave
to the public means of grace, the preaching and the hearing
of the Word of God. His custom was. He was there. Here He taught through His example
that we are not to lightly forsake the assembling of ourselves together.
It's a great honor to be able to come together and to hear
the preaching of the Gospel. Then the Scripture says in that
first verse, When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee,
yea, I should not be despised. The bride knows that the Lord
her brother the One who was made in the form, in the fashion as a
man. She knows that He is found only
by grace. But I like this, but He is found.
He is found. She said, "...when I should find
thee without." Jeremiah 29, 13 says, "...and ye shall seek Me
and find Me." I think about when the Word says, No man seeks after
God. That is, of himself, but of his
people. The Lord says, Ye shall seek
Me and find Me when you shall search Me with all your heart,
or that is, with a whole heart. Finding the Lord by seeking Him
is always in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He sought
in sincerity. The bride will have His presence. She longs after it. She says,
I should. She says, I should find thee.
But look where she finds him. Without. I should find thee without. That is to say, in the fields. That's why I looked up that word,
without. It says, in the fields, in the
streets. Without. That is to say, without
the camp of this world's religion. That's where he's found. Without.
without the ability with my own will to come to Him except He
were to give me a will to come. I'll find Him, but I'll find
Him without. And then she says, and I would
kiss thee. I'll find thee without. Psalm
212 says, Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you perish from
the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. And then she says, I should find
thee without, I would kiss thee, yea, I should not be despised. Or if you look in your margin,
it may say, they should not despise me. Now, the insinuation here
is that the bride is no more ashamed. Paul said, I'm not ashamed
of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of it. It's the
power of God and the salvation. And the bride is no more ashamed
of her Lord her husband, her brother, than a sister would
be of her brother. Not ashamed of her. Not ashamed
of her at all. I stand by my mom being not ashamed
of her. Proud. This is my mother. Proud. And a believer is not ashamed
of the Lord Jesus Christ. She says, I will own Him. I will acknowledge Him. I will
embrace Him publicly. devoting myself in the hearing
of His Word and the obedience of assembling myself with His
people where Christ is proclaimed. And she's bold in the professing
of her brother, her husband, her Lord, her surety, her Savior. And she's convinced of the way
that she shall learn more of Him and learn more of Him intimately Brother Scott was speaking a
moment ago. It made me think of something
he said about this second verse in that she desires to have Him
where she is. Now, I know this. I know that
without the drawing of the Lord, no man cometh to Father lest
the Father which sent me draw Him, effectually draw Him by
His Spirit. I know that. But I'm going to
tell you something. The Bride longs after Him coming
with her. Coming to Him and Him coming
with her. The Bride in the last chapter
of Revelation says, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. He's the
one that comes, but she desires. She says, I would lead thee. Verse 2, "...and bring thee into
my mother's house, who would instruct me." I would lead thee. The word instruct there is goad
me, teach me, prod me, instruct me in your precepts. The reason we make much of the
Word of God is, as I said a while ago, it is the power of God. Does it seem too unnatural to
you to say, Lord, would you honor us with your presence? Now, He's
the one that said, where two or three are gathered together
in my name, I am in the midst of you. And I know that we have
no power whatsoever over directing Him where He shall be and where
He shall not be. I know that. But I'll tell you
this, we ask And we beseeched, Lord, would you grace us with
your presence? Lord, would you teach us? He's
the teacher. What do we do? What can we say?
He's the teacher. But we ask Him, Lord, would you
teach? We know this, without Him, we can do nothing. But we'll
ask Him, Lord, would you have mercy? He's the one that has
mercy. But she says here, I would lead
thee and bring thee into my mother's house, the bride herself, one
that longs for his presence, knows that he shall grace her
with that presence. But still, she asked, his presence
is comfort to her, it's peace to her, it's assurance to her.
He said, fear not, I'm with thee. Be not dismayed, I am thy God. Surely the Spirit of God, the
Holy Spirit, teaches the regenerate soul through the private reading
of Scriptures. But I'll tell you, there is something
concerning the assembling of God's people together that is
ordained by the Lord Himself for instruction. Our assembling
is by His command and His direction. I encourage you, Paul said to
those we read last week, he said, pray for us. that I might know
what to speak, what I ought to. We ask the Lord. I'm supposed
to be down in Rocky Mount this Sunday. My daughter's graduating
Saturday, and we're going down to, well, Scott's going to be
preaching for us this Sunday morning. I'd encourage you, pray
for him, ask the Lord, speak through him, speak to you, and
speak. Lord, would you speak? He's the
one that speaks. She said, I would lead thee and
bring thee into my mother's house who would instruct me. Lord,
I need to be taught. This is where His voice is heard. He said, My sheep hear My voice. Now here is the way He speaks.
He speaks through a preacher. Here is the voice. Blessed by
the Spirit of God to the heart. And God's people hear His voice. These are not my words. These
are not Brother Scott's words. These are the words of God. This
is His voice, His word, His instruction. The gospel is the voice of the
shepherd. God's people hear Him speak. And then the bride longs to give
back unto Him praise and honor for His mercy and His grace to
her. I would lead thee and bring thee
into my mother's house who would instruct thee I would cause thee
to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate." My
pomegranate. That's the fruit that the Spirit
of God, the fruit of God's Spirit, the fruit that has been produced,
not by my own works, but by His grace and mercy. Psalm 116, verse
12. She says, while you're turning to Psalm
116 verse 12, she said, I would cause thee to drink of spiced
wine of the juice of my pomegranate. What she's saying is, I long
to give unto you that which you are due. Now, in Psalm 116 verse
12, the Scripture says, What shall I render? unto the Lord
for all His benefits toward me." This is the question. What shall
I give unto the Lord because of what He has done for me? What
shall I give unto Him? The next verse, verse 13, tells
us what we can give unto the Lord. Nothing. Nothing. It says, I will take the cup
of salvation. and call upon the name of the
Lord. I will accept and lift up the
cup." That word cup there is the lot. The lot of salvation. This is the lot that God Almighty
has determined to give to His people. What shall I give? Render
unto the Lord for all of His benefits toward me. Nothing I
will take of the cup of salvation. deliverance, and I will call
or address in thanksgiving Him who has called me by grace to
Himself. I will pay my vows unto the Lord
now in the presence of all His people." Hebrews 13, verse 15
says this, ìBy Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of
praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving
thanks to His name." You know, you'd be surprised
what a thank you to us. What thank you. Now that wasn't
that much. Thank you. Does it ever aggravate
you if you hold the door open for somebody and they just walk
past you and they just, you know. You want to say to them, thank
you. Thank you. That's all. What can I give?
What can I render unto the Lord? Nothing. I will take of the cup
the lot of salvation, and I will pay my vows unto the Lord now
in the presence of all His people. This is what we say. Thank you. And that in itself, I don't know
how to say thank you as I ought. The bride says, I would cause
thee, I would. I would. That's my desire. Cause thee to drink of spiced
wine of the fruit of my pomegranate. My pomegranate. I said that fruit
produced by the Spirit within the believer. And the spiced
wine of the fruit of my pomegranate is the exercise by the grace
of God of that fruit, the evidence of it, the thanks of it, giving
unto the Lord, paying the vows. What can we render unto Him?
What can I give unto Him who is Almighty? What can I give
unto Him, a poor, helpless sinner? What can I do? Nothing. The response of the new heart
toward Him, the belief by faith in Him, our love toward Him is
pleasurable to Christ. That He would give me a heart
and I in my heart would offer the sacrifice of my lips. This
is what it is. Thank you. A heart. I know anybody can say
thank you. I thank the Lord that He saved
me, but I'll tell you this, a believer heartfully says it. Song of Solomon
4.10 says, How fair is thy love, my sister and my spouse! How
much better is thy love than wine, and the smell of thine
ointments, than all spices. And then the bride desires no
support or protection from the evil of Satan and self and sin,
but Him. That's it. Verse 3 says, His
left hand should be under my head, and His right hand should
embrace me. This is where I long. I long to be protected by, kept
by, Deuteronomy 33, 27 says, The eternal God is thy refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms, and He shall thrust out
the enemy from before thee, and shall say, Destroy them. And
then the last verse. I mulled over that verse. This
is the third time that this verse is somewhat stated in this book. I charge you, O daughters of
Jerusalem, that ye stir not up nor awake my love until he pleads." I truthfully believe, after looking
at that verse, searching out the words carefully studying
the structure of those words. I do understand and I can see
where the bride would desire to maintain peace with her husband,
the Lord Jesus Christ. But I can tell you this, I do
not believe that this is the bride speaking. I believe these
are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. that the bride has been
found in verse 3 in His arms, in His protection. His left hand
should be under my head and His right hand should embrace me.
Held. The Lord says something to the
daughters of Jerusalem. And as we've said before, I truthfully
believe that these daughters are not as many that I've read,
I do not believe that they're young believers because my question
always has been, then, if the bride is speaking to a young
believer, then she's speaking to herself. Because if she is
speaking to a young believer, then that's the church too. But
the bride is speaking. Someone is being spoken to here
other than the bride. And Song of Solomon 2.2 says,
as the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. The lily among thorns, that's
the way my love is among the daughters. So the daughters of
Jerusalem are, in my searching and thinking, their nominal professors,
their name only, their tares among the weak. And this charge,
it says, I charge you. The phrase, I charge you, means this. It means a seven
times declaration. Now let me explain what I mean
by that in closing. Seven is the number of perfection.
Seven is the number of completeness. So when this phrase, I charge
you. It is the words of authority.
It is a complete swearing is what the definition says. A seven
times, a complete, perfect, sovereign declaration. The charge of God
Himself. I charge you. I say to you, O
daughters of Jerusalem, Only the Lord Himself knows who are
His in electing grace and who are false professors. God sees
the heart. So when the Lord speaks, He says,
I charge you, that is a seven times declaration or a perfect,
complete, authoritative word. I charge you, O daughters of
Jerusalem, that ye stir not up nor awake That phrase right there
means to not lift up yourself or master over. That's what it
is. Don't lift up yourself. Don't
master over. My love. Someone would say, well,
isn't the Lord Jesus Christ the love of the bride? Yes. Yes,
He is. And yes, she is to Him. But that
word there, or that combination of words, my love, right there,
is a feminine word. So I know this. The my love there
is spoken of as one that is feminine, the bride. Until he please, or
that is, until it please him, until he be pleased. Now here
is what is actually said in that phrase. The bride's desire for
Him and His instruction and His presence and His protection is
evident from her words. She said, Oh, that you were my
brother, that sucked the breast of my mother. When I should find
thee, I'd kiss you. I won't be despised. I should
not be despised. I would lead thee into my mother's
house, who would instruct me. I would cause thee to drink of
my spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate. Here, she
says, is my protection. His left hand should be under
my head, and his right hand should embrace me." And the Lord said,
speaking concerning her, to all that would touch His anointed. He is jealous. over his heritage,
over his people, that they would be watched over by himself and
kept from the world and the evil thereof, that is, the world of
self-righteousness. And as she rests in his arms,
he warns all that would touch his own and do them harm or attempt
to usurp His authority or to lord over His bride. This is
a warning from God Himself. These are my people. She has
entrusted herself to Him because He has revealed to her that He
called her, keeps her, longs after her. And He warns. This
is a warning. When the Lord Himself and called
Saul of Tarsus on his road to Damascus. He had letters of authority
in his hand. And he was going to get those
of the way and imprison them, cast them in prison. When the
Lord struck him down and called out his name, shone about him
by a light, a bright light at noon. He said, Saul, Saul, what? Why persecutest thou me? You
are persecuting me. Who are you? He said, I am Jesus
whom you are persecuting. You are going after these. These
are mine. And when you've done it unto
the least of one of these, my brethren, you've done it unto
me. You do it unto me." When a man or woman speaks against
God's people, disrespectfully of God's people, they speak disrespectfully
of God Himself. He said, you do this unto the
least of one of these, you've done it unto me. And here He
says, I charge you a seven Time's charging. I charge you, O daughters
of Jerusalem, don't stir yourself up, don't touch, don't awake
mine own, my love, my beloved, until I be pleased to accomplish
my purpose in them. That's His Word. That's His Word.
All right. Here you go.

My Brother

What does the Bible say about Christ being our brother?

How do we know that we are joint heirs with Christ?

Why is fellowship with Christ important for Christians?

What does it mean to be an heir of God?

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My Brother

What does the Bible say about Christ being our brother?

How do we know that we are joint heirs with Christ?

Why is fellowship with Christ important for Christians?

What does it mean to be an heir of God?

Sermon Transcript

About Marvin Stalnaker

Comments

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