greet – Ministry of Grace Church

Tag: greet

Romans 16:16 – A Holy Kiss?

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Will

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Truth to Learn

The early church employed a kiss as a customary greeting.

Behind the Words

“Greet” is from aspadzomai, meaning “to enfold in the arms” or as we would say, “to hug,” which we learned in verse three. It can also mean “to salute,” “to welcome,” or “to greet.”

The word translated “kiss” is philēma, which is based on the verb phileō, meaning “to love as brothers or best friends.” Philema refers specifically to a kiss as a token of friendship or love.

Meaning Explained

After sixteen verses of sending greetings, or hugs, to various people in the church in Rome, Paul now tells them to greet one another with a holy kiss. Many of us in the Western churches would respond with, “A what?!” Some of us are real huggers while others will only give or accept a hug from a close friend. But a kiss? To most of us, a kiss is a sign of affection that goes beyond just being friends and we wouldn’t even think of kissing those who occupy the pews or chairs around us on Sunday morning. Not so in the early church. They often greeted each other with a kiss, lip to lip.

To us a kiss on the lips carries a notion of a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. We might consider a kiss on the cheek, but only with someone with whom we have a close familial relationship. Those of us used to a small intimate church family might consider such a kiss on the cheek as acceptable, but those of us in large congregations would never even think of it.

In the Jewish faith at the time of Christ there was a very strict separation of men and women in both temple observances and synagogue services. It was very common for men to kiss men and for women to kiss women as a sign of friendship and brotherly love. This custom carried over into the Christian church in which men and women worshipped together. Christian commentaries over the past two to three centuries, however, have been very careful and very explicit in their description of this type of holy kissing as being only a kiss on the cheek. But, there is sufficient evidence to believe that the holy kiss that Paul was referring to within the church was a kiss on the lips, male to male, female to female, or male to female.

Also, to the first century Christians there was a difference between a brotherly kiss and a romantic kiss. One ancient source even goes so far as to declare, “No erotic kissing in church; instead, one must kiss with a closed and chaste mouth.” Another writer warns against those who kiss a second time because they enjoyed the first kiss so much.”

Does that mean that we have to adopt lip to lip kissing as a greeting in church in order to be a completely scriptural church? No! It means that a customary church greeting in Paul’s day was a kiss on the lips, whereas today it is our custom to give a hug or a handshake.

Application

It is important to greet brothers and sisters in Christ as fellow members of the family of God. It is a sign of acceptance and fellowship. A firm handshake or a familiar embrace can lift the spirits of both parties involved. So, next Sunday morning, greet one another with a holy hug!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 16:9 – Hugs and Kisses

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Will

Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved.

Truth to Learn

Family members greet one another with signs of affection.

Behind the Words

The word “greet,” which we looked at back in verse three, is aspadzomai, which refers specifically to greeting a person with a hug. There are two other Greek words that carry roughly the same idea, that of a greeting or a salutation. They are philema, meaning “to greet with a kiss” and enagkalizomai, meaning “to embrace or hug.”

“Urbanus” is a common Roman slave name. It means “city-born.”

“Fellow worker” is the word sunergos, which we looked at back in verse three. It refers to someone who works together with someone else.

The name “Stachys” is a fairly rare Greek name. It means “an ear of corn.” There was a person of this name who was a member of the household of Caesar. Whether or not this is the same person cannot be verified.

Meaning Explained

Paul continues with his salutations to various people in the church at Rome. The two individuals in today’s verse are Urbanus and Stachys. Urbanus was quite possibly a slave owned by a Roman citizen and Stachys may have been a domestic servant in Caesar’s household. This is plausible since Paul greets the two brothers in Christ in the same verse, although we don’t know for certain anything about these two other than what Paul tells us here.

Notice how often Paul has used the word “greet” in this chapter. He continues to use this word repeatedly up through verse sixteen. As we pointed out in “Behind the Words” above, this is one of several Greek words that were commonly used to express a greeting. Two of the words imply a hug or an embrace and the other one implies a kiss. It was very common in the first century church to greet fellow Christians with hugs and kisses. There are many Churches today in which believers greet each other with a hug; however, few churches greet one another with a kiss. In the first century church is was very common for men to greet men with a kiss and for women to greet women with a kiss.

Later, in verse sixteen, Paul will suggest that the members of the church in Rome greet each other with a holy kiss, as he also does to the church in Corinth (1Corinthians 16:20 and 2Corinthians 13:12) and the church in Thessalonica (1Thessalonians 5:26). Likewise, the Apostle Peter in his first general epistle says to “greet one another with a kiss of love” (1Peter 5:14). Because of this common practice of hugging and kissing in the first century church, Christians were often characterized by outsiders as being incestuous.

Application

Since all Christians are part of the body of Christ and we all have a common Heavenly Father, we refer to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. And, since we are all part of the same family, we should feel comfortable greeting one another with an affectionate hug.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 16:3 – Secular Saints

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Will

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

Truth to Learn

Just because you work at a secular job doesn’t mean God doesn’t want to use you in building up the church.

Behind the Words

“Greet” is translated from aspadzomai, which is made up of a, denoting union and probably a form of spaō, meaning “to draw.” Basically, aspadzomai means “to enfold in the arms” or as we would say, “to hug.” Just as it is today, a hug was a form of greeting, especially within the body of Christ.

The name “Priscilla” literally means “little Prisca.” It is like a person today named Bill being referred to as Billy.

“Fellow workers” is from sunergos, which is made up of sun, meaning “together” and a form of ergon, meaning “work or labor.” So, sunergos means “a fellow laborer.”

Meaning Explained

Paul met Priscilla and Aquila on his first trip to Corinth (see Acts chapter eighteen). Paul’s commission from God was to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles but his occupation was that of a tent maker. In large cities in the Roman world, the various trades gathered together around the marketplace. Likewise, in the Synagogue the various trades sat together in “guilds.” Therefore, it is not unusual that Paul would have met a fellow tent-maker when he first arrived in Corinth. Because Paul and Aquila were both tent makers and both Jews who believed in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, Aquila and Priscilla apparently asked Paul to live with them when he first came to town.

And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome); and he came to them. And because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for their occupation they that of tentmakers. (Acts 18:2-3)

From this passage in Acts, we also learn that Aquila and Priscilla originally lived in Rome, but they had to leave when Emperor Claudius kicked all the Jews out of Rome. At the time of the writing of this letter, Paul was again in Corinth, but by this time Aquila and Priscilla had moved back to Rome.

Paul remained in Corinth for about a year and a half, then he sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila sailed with him. On their way to Syria, however, they stopped in Ephesus where Priscilla and Aquila stayed behind.

So Paul remained a good many days. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him… And he came to Ephesus, and left them there… (Acts 18:18-19)

It is quite likely that Paul worked side-by-side with Aquila making tents, but Priscilla was likely more involved in helping Paul in his preaching ministry. That is probably why in both Romans 16:3 and 2Timothy 4:19, when Paul mentions this couple he refers to Priscilla first.

Application

God may have called you to work full-time in a Christian organization. Even if He didn’t, though, you can have a significant impact in building the body of Christ. If you are not serving God in a local church, you may be missing out on one of the greatest blessings God could bestow on you.

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Peter 5:13 – Embracing the Faithful

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Will

She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son.

Truth to Learn

A greeting may come in many forms. The early church used a hug.

Behind the Words

The word translated “elect together with” is suneklektē, which is a feminine noun. It is made up of sun, meaning “together” and a feminine form of eklektos, meaning “selected one” or “chosen one.” The case of this noun indicates that it is the subject of the sentence. The definite article (the) is also present in regard to this noun. It is expressed as a singular feminine article, thus our translation of “She.”

“Greets” is from the Greek word aspadzomai, which is made up of the particle a, implying “union” and a presumed form of spaō, meaning “to draw” or “to pull.” Hence, it literally means “to pull into an embrace.” This “hug” was used as a common salutation either in greeting or bidding farewell to guests.

Meaning Explained

Today’s verse is one of those that looks innocuous enough but which has been discussed and argued over almost since the day it was written. None of these issues concern any particular doctrinal view, so they become nothing but a tempest in a teapot. Nonetheless, here’s some of the discussion.

The verse literally reads (with the word order of the original Greek): “greets you the in Babylon together-elect one and Mark the son of me.”

The first thing you will notice is that there is no mention of “the church” at all in the original (some translations say “the church in Babylon …”). Hence, we get, “The together-elect one in Babylon greets you.” Some have argued that Peter is referring to his own wife who is one of the elect, as are the people to whom Peter is writing this letter. Others, however, argue that it makes no sense for Peter to single out a particular woman and, since “church” is a feminine noun in Greek, he must be referring to the church which is in Babylon. We leave it to you to decide for yourself. Either way, she offers you a greeting in the form of a warm embrace.

The second point of contention is whether Peter is referring to the literal Babylon on the Euphrates River (in modern day Iraq) or whether he is using this as a code word for Rome itself. There was a fairly large population of converted Jews in Babylon at that time and Peter, as the apostle to the Jews, could certainly have been there. Given that there is no obvious reason that he would have been trying to conceal his presence in Rome from other Christians (if he were there), it doesn’t make a lot of sense for him to use a code word. The vast majority of Biblical scholars believe that Peter was actually writing from Babylon on the Euphrates.

The final discussion point in this verse is over who Peter is referring to as “Mark my son.” Most scholars are in agreement that this is John Mark, the author of the second Gospel. It is believed that Mark wrote his Gospel account based on what was told to him by Peter. He is referred to as a son, perhaps because Peter had a significant part in Mark’s conversion.

Application

Regardless of what you believe about the contentious portions of this verse, it is clear that the early church considered hugging a proper way both to greet and to say good-by? Hugs to you!

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Thessalonians 5:26 – A Holy Kiss?

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Will

Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

Truth to Learn

The early church employed a kiss as a customary greeting.

Behind the Words

“Greet” is from aspadzomai, meaning “to enfold in the arms” or as we would say, “to hug.” But, it can also mean “to salute,” “to welcome,” or “to greet.” It is expressed here in the imperative mood, indicating a command.

The word translated “kiss” is philēma, which is based on the verb phileō, meaning “to love as brothers or best friends.” The word philēma refers specifically to a kiss as a token of friendship or love.

Meaning Explained

One of Paul’s final commands to the Christians in Thessalonica is to greet one another with a holy kiss. Many of us in the Western churches would respond with, “A what?!” Some of us are real huggers, while others will only give or accept a hug from a close friend. But a kiss? To most of us, a kiss is a sign of affection that goes beyond just being friends and we wouldn’t even think of kissing those who occupy the pews or chairs around us on Sunday morning. Not so in the early church. They often greeted each other with a kiss, lip to lip.

To us, a kiss on the lips carries the idea of a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. We might consider a kiss on the cheek, but only for someone with whom we have a close familial relationship. Those of us used to a small intimate church family might consider such a kiss on the cheek as acceptable, but those of us in large congregations would never even think of it.

In the Jewish faith at the time of Christ there was a very strict separation of men and women in both temple observances and synagogue services. It was very common for men to kiss men and for women to kiss women as a sign of friendship and brotherly (sisterly) love. This custom carried over into the Christian church even though men and women worshipped together. Christian commentaries over the past two to three centuries, however, have been very careful and very explicit in their description of this type of holy kissing as being only a kiss on the cheek. But, there is sufficient evidence to believe that the holy kiss that Paul was referring to within the church was a kiss on the lips, male to male, female to female, or male to female.

Also, to the first century Christians there was a difference between a brotherly kiss and a romantic kiss. One ancient source even goes so far as to declare, “No erotic kissing in church; instead, one must kiss with a closed and chaste mouth.” Another writer warns against “those who kiss a second time because they enjoyed the first kiss so much.”

Application

In God's service, for His glory,

1 Thessalonians 5:26 – A Holy Kiss?

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Will

Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.

Truth to Learn

The early church employed a kiss as a customary greeting.

Behind the Words

Meaning Explained

In the Jewish faith at the time of Christ there was a very strict separation of men and women in both temple observances and synagogue services. It was very common for men to kiss men and for women to kiss women as a sign of friendship and brotherly love. This custom carried over into the Christian church even though men and women worshipped together. Christian commentaries over the past two to three centuries, however, have been very careful and very explicit in their description of this type of holy kissing as being only a kiss on the cheek. But, there is sufficient evidence to believe that the holy kiss that Paul was referring to within the church was a kiss on the lips, male to male, female to female, or male to female.

Also, to the first century Christians there was a difference between a brotherly kiss and a romantic kiss. One ancient source even goes so far as to declare, “No erotic kissing in church; instead, one must kiss with a closed and chaste mouth.” Another writer warns against "those who kiss a second time because they enjoyed the first kiss so much.”

Application

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 16:16 – A Holy Kiss?

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Will

Romans 16:16 – A Holy Kiss?

Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.

Truth to Learn

The early church employed a kiss as a customary greeting.

Behind the Words

Meaning Explained

Application

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to:

Romans 16:9 – Hugs and Kisses

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Will

Romans 16:9 – Hugs and Kisses

Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved.

Truth to Learn

Family members greet one another with signs of affection.

Behind the Words

“Urbanus” is a common Roman slave name. It means “city-born.”

“Fellow worker” is the word sunergos, which we looked at back in verse three. It refers to someone who works together with someone else.

Meaning Explained

Later, in verse sixteen, Paul will suggest that the members of the church in Rome greet each other with a holy kiss, as he also does to the church in Corinth (1Corinthians 16:20 and 2Corinthians 13:12) and the church in Thessalonica (1Thessalonians 5:26). Likewise, the Apostle Peter in his first general epistle says to “greet one another with a kiss of love” (1Peter 5:14). Because of this common practice of hugging and kissing in the first century church, Christians were often characterized by outsiders as being incestuous.

Application

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to:

Romans 16:3 – Secular Saints

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Will

Romans 16:3 – Secular Saints

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

Truth to Learn

Just because you work at a secular job doesn’t mean God doesn’t want to use you in building up the church.

Behind the Words

“Greet” is translated from aspadzomai, which is made up of a, denoting union and probably a form of spaō, meaning “to draw.” Thus, aspadzomai means “to enfold in the arms” or as we would say, “to hug.” Just as it is today, a hug was a form of greeting, especially within the body of Christ.

The name “Priscilla” literally means “little Prisca.” It is like a person today named Bill being referred to as Billy.

“Fellow workers” is from sunergos, which is made up of sun, meaning “together” and a form of ergon, meaning “work or labor.” So, sunergos means “a fellow laborer.”

Meaning Explained

And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. (Acts 18:2-3)

So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him… And he came to Ephesus, and left them there… (Acts 18:18-19)

Application

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, send an e-mail to:

1 Peter 5:14 – Hugs and Peace

Posted on March 23, 2009 by admin

1 Peter 5:14

Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Truth to Learn

Peter encourages brotherly love and offers peace to all Christians.

Behind the Words

“Kiss” is translated from the Greek word philema, which is derived from phileō, meaning “to be a friend to.” Hence, in its original form, this represents a kiss of friendship, not a sensual kiss. Some people have wondered whether this is a kiss on the cheek or a kiss on the lips. Both of these customs were practiced by the early church and still exist in parts of Europe and Asia today, although most of us in Western countries think it odd for two men or two women to kiss on the lips.

The word which modifies “kiss” is agapē, which means “love.” But, again, it does not represent sensual love, rather the type of self-sacrificing love that only comes from God. In human terms this type of kiss is most exemplified by the love a father or mother has for his or her children.

Meaning Explained

Peter closes this letter with a command and a benediction. He tells us to hug one another (as explained in the previous verse) with a loving kiss. There is a similar expression from the Apostle Paul in the last chapter of Romans:

Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you. (Romans 16:16)

Peter then proclaims peace unto all those who are in Christ Jesus. This, it is said, was Peter’s standard way of parting. He may have been following the example set by Christ himself to declare peace upon those whom he knew and loved. In John 14:27 Christ expressed it this way,

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

After all, what greater blessing could anyone have than to be at peace! Remember that this letter was sent to Christians who were being persecuted and who were suffering simply because they had claimed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. What better blessing could they receive than the peace that passes all understanding in a time of trial and suffering?

There is a variant reading at the end of this verse. Some Greek texts have “in Christ Jesus. Amen” while others have “in Christ.” Once again we see that even though there are differences in the various Greek texts, there is no doctrinal confusion created by the different readings.

So concludes the Apostle Peter’s first general epistle to the churches in Asia Minor and, subsequently, to all Christians everywhere. It is an encouraging letter given to all of us for those times when we are undergoing suffering for righteousness’ sake.

Application

If you are undergoing persecution or are suffering because of your faith in Jesus Christ, take some time to open your Bible and read through this first general epistle of Peter again from start to finish, and be encouraged that you are not alone. God knows of your suffering and will use it to bring glory to Himself. Give Him thanks, and endure your suffering patiently.

Peace be unto you!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If this message or this link was forwarded to you by a friend and you wish to receive future verses directly to your inbox, you can call the church phone (618) 614-3070 and leave a message telling us your name and e-mail address or you can send an e-mail to: