Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
Truth to Learn
Christians are to treat other Christians in a special way.
Behind the Words
The word translated “kindly affectionate” is found nowhere else in the Bible. It is philostorgos, which is made up of philos, meaning “a friend” and a form of storgē, which refers to “natural family love” or “the kind of love that a mother has for her child.” It is that intimate fondness that binds members of a close family together no matter what happens.
The Greek word translated “brotherly love” is philadelphia. This is made up of philos, signifying “a kind of love signified by fondness or friendship” and a form of adelphos, which means “brother.” Thus, we see that philadelphia refers to “brotherly love” or “the kind of fondness and friendship that exists between good friends.” This is a completely different word than the one translated “love” in the previous verse. That word is agape, which is self-sacrificing love in action, the kind of love that God has for His redeemed children.
“Honor” is translated from timē, which is derived from tinō, referring to “the value or the price paid for something.” With regard to people, timē denotes “esteem, respect, or honor.”
The word translated “giving preference” is the Greek word proēgeomai, which is made up of pro meaning “before or in front of” and hegeomai, which means “to lead the way.” So literally it means “to lead the way before others” and could be interpreted as “setting an example.”
Meaning Explained
Paul now focuses on how Christians should treat each other. We are to have a brotherly love for each other. But Paul makes a special distinction about this brotherly love. He describes it as “kindly affectionate.” That is, the kind of fondness that we are to have for fellow Christians should be more than just friendship, it should be a binding love, the kind that exists in close families. I think if I were to paraphrase the first part of this verse it would say, “Make your love for your Christian brothers and sisters be like that which binds a parent and a child.”
In the second part of this verse, Paul tells us that we are to give preference to one another in honor. As we pointed out in “Behind the Words,” he is telling us that we should set an example of each other in honor. Therefore this phrase could be translated as, “setting an example in honoring each other.’
In other words, Paul is telling us in this verse that we should feel so personally attached to each other in the church that we will gladly set the example of seeking for others to receive honor before ourselves. In the opening verses of this chapter, Paul told us to present our living bodies as a sacrifice, to be used as God determines. Then in verse three he said:
For I say … to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,
In the body of Christ, we should all consider the good of others more important than our own good, and we should be giving honor to others, not seeking it for ourselves.
Application
If every member of the church obeyed this verse, there would be no strife or dissention in the church and God would be truly glorified! Who wants to go first in being an example?
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved