9, 10a. ‘ And so again with regard to love of the brethren, that is a subject on which it is not necessary to say much, seeing that as those who are filled with God’ s Spirit you have already been taught to love: and not only so, but you are actively practising what you have been taught towards all Christian brethren throughout Macedonia.’ 9. Περὶδὲτῆςφιλαδελφίας] For πρεὶδέ introducing a new subject cf. 5:1. In profane Gk. and the LXX. φιλαδελφία is confined to the mutual love of those who are brothers by common descent (e.g. Luc. dial. deor. 26:2, 4Ma 13:23; 4Ma 13:26; 4Ma 14:1) but in the N.T. the word is used in the definite Christian sense of ‘ love of the brethren,’ of all, that is, who are brethren in virtue of the new birth: cf. Romans 12:10, Hebrews 13:1, 1 Peter 1:22, 2 Peter 1:7 ἐνδὲτῇφιλαδελφίᾳτὴνἀγάπην. The last passage is interesting as showing how readily this mutual love amongst believers passed over into the wider ἀγάπη, love for all mankind (cf. 3:12 note). οὐχρείανκτλ.] not an instance of paraleipsis, or a pretending to pass over what in reality is mentioned for the sake of effect (Chrys.: τῷἐπεῖν, οὐχρείαἐστί, μεῖζονἐποίησενἢεἰεἶπεν), but a simple statement of fact. The use of the act. inf. (γράφειν) for the pass. (γράφεσθαι, cf. 5:1) is too amply vouched for in similar combinations to cause any difficulty: see WM. p. 426, Buttmann p. 259 n.1. θεοδίδακτοι] The word is ἅπ. λεγ. in the N.T. (cf. Barn. Ep. 21:6, Tat. Orat. c. 29 p. 165 b θεοδιδάκτουδὲμουγενομένηςτῆςψυχῆς, Theoph. ad Autol. 2:9 οἱδὲτοῦθεοῦἄνθρωποι ... ὑπʼ αὐτοῦτοῦθεοῦἐμπνευσθέντεςκαὶσοφισθέντεςἐγένοντοθεοδίδακτοι), and like the corresponding phrase διδακτοὶτοῦθεοῦ points not so much to ‘ one divine communication’ as to ‘ a divine relationship’ established between believers and God (see Westcott on John 6:45): hence it is as those who have been born of God, and whose hearts are in consequence filled by God’ s spirit that the Thessalonians on their part (αὐτοὶ ... ὑμεῖς) can no longer help loving; cf. Isaiah 54:13, Jeremiah 38. (31.) 33 f., Pss. Sol. 17:35. Calv.: ‘quia divinitus edocti sint: quo significat insculptam esse eorum cordibus caritatem, ut supervacuae sint literae in charta scriptae.’ Beng.: ‘ doctrinae divinae vis confluit in amorem.’ On εἰςτὸ as here acting for the epexegetic inf. see Moulton Prolegg. p. 219.