Greet one another with a holy kiss commands the customary Christian greeting of Paul's day, expressing fellowship, affection and the distinctive love of believers for one another with warmer feeling than an ordinary handshake. It closes a farewell call to be complete, to be comforted, to be of one mind and to live in peace, with the promise that the God of love and peace will be with those who do so. That unity is permanent and scriptural union in sentiment, speaking the same thing with no divisions, perfectly joined in the same mind and judgment, having the same love in one accord and glorifying God with one mind and one mouth in the oneness that exists between the Father and the Son. Such unity has not existed since the days of the apostles and must exist just before the Second Advent among God's scattered people, completed by the latter rain when the Comforter is poured out in fullness. The greeting is proper to practice, with brethren greeting brethren and sisters greeting sisters in the home and in pure Christian fellowship, not in ordinary society or romantic courtship, and it never justifies promiscuous kissing. It should reflect real interest and feeling that communicates Christian love and helps a stranger feel welcomed, while some hold that the verse does not make the custom mandatory and note health risks like those of a shared communion cup.
Meaning and Early Practice
The verse commands a customary Christian greeting in which believers greet one another with a holy kiss, expressing their fellowship and affection. It expresses the distinctive love that Christians have for fellow believers, including willingness to acknowledge one another even before enemies. It calls for a warm and sincere expression of fellowship that reflects real interest and feeling and communicates Christian love, and in Paul's day this greeting expressed warmer feeling than an ordinary handshake.
The practice was used in the early church and could be used in public around prayer, love feasts, or the Lord's Supper as a sign of unity and love and of freedom from prejudice, jealousy, and malice. It was later obscured or altered.
Unity and Fellowship Required
The verse closes a farewell call to be made complete or perfect, to be comforted and encouraged, to be of one mind, and to live in peace, with the promise that the God of love and peace will be with those who do so, and to express that fellowship in holy greeting. It places the holy greeting among the instructions for the church to be of one mind and to live in peace, as the outward expression of fellowship among believers. The call sets the highest standard of Christian unity, requiring likemindedness, shared love, one accord, and peaceful life together.
Gospel unity is permanent and scriptural union in sentiment, not mere union for outward objects while holding confusion of views and separate interests. It means speaking the same thing with no divisions, being perfectly joined together in the same mind and judgment, having the same love in one accord, and glorifying God with one mind and one mouth. The church is to share the same oneness that exists between the Father and the Son, so that oneness of mind and peaceful fellowship glorify God.
This unity has not existed since the days of the apostles and must exist just before the Second Advent. It will be found among the scattered and torn people who will witness the time of trouble and the coming of the Son of Man, and will be completed by the latter rain and refreshing from the presence of the Lord when the Comforter is poured out in fullness. Believers who expect soon to stand before the Son of man keep this call with humility and heavenly conduct. They keep it by rejoicing in tribulation and temptation, by rejoicing when opponents use falsehood and evil speaking, and by willingness to suffer affliction with the people of God without being moved, following Jesus who suffered before them.
The command carries Christ's authority because it was given by Christ through His apostles, whom He authorized to teach, so that hearing their words is hearing His words. The greeting is one of the commands repeatedly given to the apostolic churches, used as an example of a New Testament practice some may regard as a custom peculiar to the apostolic age, while challenging selective obedience to divine commands. Yet the verse does not make the custom mandatory. Like sharing a communion cup, kissing may pose health risks to some people, though the danger may be less when the kiss is on the cheek.
Proper Practice Today
Greeting one another with a holy kiss is proper to practice, with the time and occasion left to those who practice it. To avoid jealousy, brethren greet brethren and sisters greet sisters. The kiss belongs in the home and in pure Christian fellowship between men and between women, not in society or in ordinary social and romantic courtship. It does not give a young man a right to kiss a woman he is courting.
The verse does not justify promiscuous kissing, and such conduct should be avoided even to avoid the appearance of evil. The greeting should reflect real interest and feeling and communicate Christian love. In Paul's day the customary greeting expressed warmer feeling than an ordinary handshake, and so practiced it can help a stranger feel welcomed rather than finding the church cold.
Greet one another with a holy kiss commands the customary Christian greeting of Paul's day, expressing fellowship, affection and the distinctive love of believers for one another with warmer feeling than an ordinary handshake. It closes a farewell call to be complete, to be comforted, to be of one mind and to live in peace, with the promise that the God of love and peace will be with those who do so. That unity is permanent and scriptural union in sentiment, speaking the same thing with no divisions, perfectly joined in the same mind and judgment, having the same love in one accord and glorifying God with one mind and one mouth in the oneness that exists between the Father and the Son. Such unity has not existed since the days of the apostles and must exist just before the Second Advent among God's scattered people, completed by the latter rain when the Comforter is poured out in fullness. The greeting is proper to practice, with brethren greeting brethren and sisters greeting sisters in the home and in pure Christian fellowship, not in ordinary society or romantic courtship, and it never justifies promiscuous kissing. It should reflect real interest and feeling that communicates Christian love and helps a stranger feel welcomed, while some hold that the verse does not make the custom mandatory and note health risks like those of a shared communion cup.
Meaning and Early Practice
The verse commands a customary Christian greeting in which believers greet one another with a holy kiss, expressing their fellowship and affection. It expresses the distinctive love that Christians have for fellow believers, including willingness to acknowledge one another even before enemies. It calls for a warm and sincere expression of fellowship that reflects real interest and feeling and communicates Christian love, and in Paul's day this greeting expressed warmer feeling than an ordinary handshake.
The practice was used in the early church and could be used in public around prayer, love feasts, or the Lord's Supper as a sign of unity and love and of freedom from prejudice, jealousy, and malice. It was later obscured or altered.
Unity and Fellowship Required
The verse closes a farewell call to be made complete or perfect, to be comforted and encouraged, to be of one mind, and to live in peace, with the promise that the God of love and peace will be with those who do so, and to express that fellowship in holy greeting. It places the holy greeting among the instructions for the church to be of one mind and to live in peace, as the outward expression of fellowship among believers. The call sets the highest standard of Christian unity, requiring likemindedness, shared love, one accord, and peaceful life together.
Gospel unity is permanent and scriptural union in sentiment, not mere union for outward objects while holding confusion of views and separate interests. It means speaking the same thing with no divisions, being perfectly joined together in the same mind and judgment, having the same love in one accord, and glorifying God with one mind and one mouth. The church is to share the same oneness that exists between the Father and the Son, so that oneness of mind and peaceful fellowship glorify God.
This unity has not existed since the days of the apostles and must exist just before the Second Advent. It will be found among the scattered and torn people who will witness the time of trouble and the coming of the Son of Man, and will be completed by the latter rain and refreshing from the presence of the Lord when the Comforter is poured out in fullness. Believers who expect soon to stand before the Son of man keep this call with humility and heavenly conduct. They keep it by rejoicing in tribulation and temptation, by rejoicing when opponents use falsehood and evil speaking, and by willingness to suffer affliction with the people of God without being moved, following Jesus who suffered before them.
The command carries Christ's authority because it was given by Christ through His apostles, whom He authorized to teach, so that hearing their words is hearing His words. The greeting is one of the commands repeatedly given to the apostolic churches, used as an example of a New Testament practice some may regard as a custom peculiar to the apostolic age, while challenging selective obedience to divine commands. Yet the verse does not make the custom mandatory. Like sharing a communion cup, kissing may pose health risks to some people, though the danger may be less when the kiss is on the cheek.
Proper Practice Today
Greeting one another with a holy kiss is proper to practice, with the time and occasion left to those who practice it. To avoid jealousy, brethren greet brethren and sisters greet sisters. The kiss belongs in the home and in pure Christian fellowship between men and between women, not in society or in ordinary social and romantic courtship. It does not give a young man a right to kiss a woman he is courting.
The verse does not justify promiscuous kissing, and such conduct should be avoided even to avoid the appearance of evil. The greeting should reflect real interest and feeling and communicate Christian love. In Paul's day the customary greeting expressed warmer feeling than an ordinary handshake, and so practiced it can help a stranger feel welcomed rather than finding the church cold.