Racial, cultural, and societal barriers must give way to humility, love, and concern for others (Eph. 2:18–19). The ‘Sons of God through faith’ are those who have been ‘baptized into Christ’ (Gal. 3:26–27), who have been incorporated into the church of God. Every NT writer except Jude refers to Christians as ‘brothers’. Paul does so 133 times. ‘Brother’ is a word of deep personal affection denoting friendship, love, and fellowhip in the work of Christ (1 Cor. 8:11; 1 Pet. 5:9; 19 times in 1 Thessalonians).
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