Christian Brotherhood

Romans 16:23 ‘…and our brother Quartus…’

In this series on Christian Brotherhood we focussing on men who were companions of Paul, but this should not make any women who read it feel excluded. In this chapter, Paul makes reference to a number of women whose Christian service he greatly appreciated and for whom he had the highest regard. So please read this chapter for yourselves and see who they were and what they did.

We begin by looking at a man called Quartus to whom Paul refers as ‘our brother’. Quartus was a Christian, possibly in Corinth and was a valued member of the church there. He joins Paul in sending greetings to the church in Rome. Perhaps Quartus was valued as a brother in the local church because he was first a brother in his own family. His name means ‘Fourth’ and tells us that he had three older brothers. He may also have had sisters and younger brothers. This means that he grew up knowing about family life with its fulfilments and frustrations, its tensions and possibilities, its joys and sorrows and sibling rivalries. Significantly, when Jesus chose his disciples, he chose two pairs of brothers; Peter and Andrew, James and John. Thomas also had a twin. Jesus knew that what these men had learned in family life would stand them in good stead for the rough and tumble of Christian discipleship. Jesus did not come to promote universal brotherhood. He says quite clearly in Matthew 10, 34-36 and Luke 12, 49-53 that his coming will mean strife and division, but he does promise fellowship and brotherhood within the context of faith.

When we look at Paul and Quartus we learn certain things about Christian brotherhood:

I. It can exist between Christians of different nationalities

Paul was a Jew and Quartus was a Roman. It would have been impossible for Paul in his pre-Christian days to have had Quartus as a brother but because they were both Christians brotherhood was a wonderful reality. This is still so today. At the General Assembly we welcome and greet Christians from other countries. In the Presbytery of Buchan we have Christians from at least four countries. Perhaps you can think of instances in which barriers of race and nationality are broken down in Jesus.

2. It can exist between Christians with different callings

Paul was a missionary and evangelist travelling from place to place. Quartus was by contrast a member of the local church worshipping and witnessing there. Yet they were brothers. This still happens today. We have our different callings in Jesus. They may involve teaching and preaching, exercising pastoral care, organising and administration, and much more. These callings may involve our travelling from one place to another or they may keep us in the one place. We should see them as complementary and recognise that they are partial service to the same Lord and done in the spreading of the same gospel.

3. It can exist between Christians who attain different degrees of prominence in the Lord’s service

Paul is known worldwide as a missionary and evangelist. His letters have been collected and form a substantial part of the New Testament. Many books have been written about his life and thought. Countless sermons have been preached about his work. By contrast, Quartus is mentioned only once. Yet they were brothers in Christ. This again still holds good for today. If our Christian service has brought us prominence let us accept this with humility and never despise those who work faithfully day by day without recognition. If like Quartus we never attain prominence let us not resent this but accept it as part of our calling, in the assurance that God who sees in secret will one day openly reward all faithful work.

Rev. Billy McMillan

This meditation was written by the Reverend Billy McMillan and was published in Life and Work, the magazine of the Church of Scotland. We are grateful to Mr McMillan and Life & Work for granting us permission to post them on the HTC website.