Romans 12:9-13 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. So far in Romans 12, we have been reviewing Paul s challenge to the church in Rome concerning the responsibility of the believer. So far, we have the following logical expectations of the believer: 1. Stand ready in service for God 2. Stop having the same mental attitude as the world 3. Transform your mindset (worldview) a. This is initial not perpetual b. May need to be redone (if regressed) 4. Think properly about your place in the body a. No one is more important b. No one is less important 5. We need to have a mental reset concerning gifts a. I am convinced that this is a list of ministries b. The word gift (charisma) means that which results from grace c. This can refer to either opportunities to serve or provisions of God Now we come to verses 9-13 where Paul puts forth additional information as to a general life perspective. If you are wondering whether this list is a continuation from the previous list or not (good question), it is not. It appears that Paul changes formats in order to change contexts. This gives the reader a natural break in thought. In verses 3-8, it is obvious that Paul is giving instruction and challenges concerning the working within the local church. Verse 9 seems to be a hinge verse in which the conversation switches from living in the body to the principles of love. Verse 9 is set up differently than verses 6-8 and is different than 10-13. Verses 10-13 follow one format that is very emphatic as to the nature of love. This is an expansion of the understanding of love in the form of a description. The overwhelming part of speech in this text is a form of adjective, not verbs. Now, the two forms of adjectives in this section are a regular adjective and a participle.
Grammatical Analysis: 1. The adjectives and the participles are the subject of the sentence (Nominative Plural Masculine) 2. This indicates that Paul is describing the readership in respect to love 3. There are no verbs, so these are axiomatic absolute truth 4. Because the description is of the readership and is the ideal character of love, this is normally understood as imperatives. 5. If in reviewing the description and finding that we fall short, we should take this as something that we need to do Beginning in verse 9, the first phrase is Let love be without hypocrisy. Notice that the Let be is in italics. This demonstrates that translators are taking the adjective without hypocrisy as an adjectival imperative. But the description here is not of the readership but of love. Now the translation states this, but having this as a command misses the intent. With this translation, we can infer that one can love with hypocrisy and Paul is instructing them to not do that. What this is actually saying is that love is un-hypocritical. Now we have not defined this word as of yet, but for now we will draw from this emphatic statement and not diminish love but give it its proper understanding. Love is without pretense. The word for love is ἀγάπη agapē. Now most place levels of love depending on which word is used. They identify agapē as a superior to phileō which is superior to storgē which is superior to eros. In the Bible, only agapē and phileō are used. Most refer to phileō as brotherly love. But this can be shown to be untrue in Romans 12:10 where the term brotherly love is used and is translated from φιλαδελφία philadelphia. Without getting into all the discussions, we define agapē as The supernatural mental attitude wrought by God the Holy Spirit coupled with the believer choosing to intently and compassionately desire and to actively seek to do that which is in the best interest of another in light of eternity s values, even if it means he must sacrifice his own desires, wants, and needs in order to do what is best for another person in light of eternity s values. Phileō is defined, within the confines of the Bible, as agapē reciprocated. The difference is one-way or two-way (relationship). Without hypocrisy is the Greek word ἀνυπόκριτος anupokritos. This is a tri-compound word. The first part is the alpha negative coupled with the prefix ὑπό hupo which can mean under, subject to, or can be an intensifier. κρίνω krinō means to distinguish, decide, judge (non-condemning), etc. ὑποκρίνομαι hupokrinomai meant that one was unable to distinguish. In Classical Greek, this was used for actors in a play.
The character they portrayed was not true to the real person but most could not decide who the real person was. The word came to mean exaggerate or represent dramatically. The English understanding of hypocrite means that you hold another to a moral standard to which your own behavior does not conform. But this is not what the intent is here. This context indicates that Paul is going to lay out the character of love as it should be characterized within a believer. This characterization is represented throughout the rest of the letter (Romans 13:10; 14:15; 15:30). We can also review some of the characteristics of love in 1 st Corinthians 13 and 1 st John 4. Therefore, we will conclude that this first phrase states Love is not pretentious. What we will see is that if a person does not have these traits then love is not complete. One thing that has not been pointed out as of yet is that there is a definite article with love. The love (of God/Christ) is not pretentious. Now this is the Christ-like goal and our responsibility is to emulate this in our lives. Failure does not make us hypocritical; it is opportunity if the standard is Christ and not self-contrived. The first characteristic of the believer who has the love is abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. Again, this is translated to sound like commands, but the words that appear to be verbs are actually participles. LCV Being ones who abhor the evil, being ones who cleave (to) the good. ἀποστυγέω apostugeō is an intensified word for hate. Some have suggested that this means to hate vigilantly. This is active hate, not simple avoidance. Some have suggested that evil must be sought out and destroyed. Nowhere in Scripture is this encouraged. But this is more than simply an inward rejection. This falls under the heading of love, so this must be expressed outwardly. Evil is πονηρός ponēros. This word can mean wicked, bad, evil. Both in secular Greek as well as biblically, this word implies harm something that presses against someone so that they do not do what is good. This is the only use of this word in Romans, but Paul does use it in other writings (Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 5:16; 6:13,16). Thus, we can conclude that the evil is either the system of Satan or actions that are actively oppressing the believer to not do good. This may be persecution or moral distraction (1Cor 5:1-2; 9-13). Therefore, being ones who abhor the evil indicates that, in love, we are to actively resist oppressive forces (externally and internally) that can harm ourselves or other believers. The contrast is being ones who cleave (to) the good.
κολλάω kollaō is defined as to glue or to cement together. The idea is to be inseparable. This word is used to quote Genesis 2:24. In the Bible, this can refer to a close personal or spiritual relationship. Paul uses this word to distinguish between immorality and cleaving oneself to the Lord. The good is ἀγαθός agathos. This is good as defined by God, which is distinguished from καλός kalos, which is morally upstanding, advantageous, useful, or valuable (Romans 12:17). To translate both words as good is disingenuous. There is a stark difference. In consideration of this verse, we must look at this in regard to worldview: divine (biblical) vs worldly (natural); the evil vs the good. This indicates that we must be able to recognize or discern between the two and take appropriate action in love. This is why it cannot be simply a matter of will. This ability is obtained through growth and spirituality. It is easy to distinguish in our own lives if we are looking honestly. But this can be difficult when we are attempting to help in the lives of others. This is why the entire context Romans 12:10-21 must be understood prior to acting on this principle. The next verses complete the picture and focuses on the needs of others, individually as well as corporately. Within the corporate body, it is important to be in agreement about how an oppressive situation is to be handled. Verse 16 states being ones who think the same thing toward one another. Now to the how. How do we abhor the evil and cling to good? What are the principles we can apply to our own lives, looking internally and dealing with what oppresses us (suppress the good)? But we need to remember that this context is corporate. We are called one body and we are to help one another. Let us remember a previous understanding. Our culture is one of privacy. We limit ourselves in what we share about ourselves. Our battles are not normally displayed for all to see and when someone shares a battle we normally treat it as too much information. But the New Testament Church seems to have much more community involvement. Within the entire biblical context, we have more clear instructions on how to deal with sin and the evil: 1. 2 nd Corinthians 2:4-8 Once a situation is dealt with, it is over. Forgive and comfort. 2. 2 nd Thessalonians 3:14-16 Confront through biblical warning remain scriptural 3. Hebrews 12:12-13 The discipline (uncomfortable learning) of the Lord is normally in the form of admonishment from fellow believers.
4. James 5:19-20 Error here probably refers to an inconsistent life in regard to the doctrines of God. 5. Galatians 6:1 The spiritual ones are to restore (make whole, mend, put into proper condition) the one with care and control in a proper view of themselves. Doctrinal error can be oppressive and destructive to the one or to the body. It is the responsibility of the body to bring him back into doctrinal alignment. Next, in verse 10, there are two more phrases. In this verse, the be devoted is an adjective and give preference is a participle. Again, this just points to the fact that participles are descriptive (adverbial or adjectival). This first phrase loses its wordplay in English. The word for be devoted is φιλόστοργος philostorgos. This is a compound word, φιλέω phileō and στοργή storgē. Earlier, phileō as discussed as being agapē reciprocated with the emphasis on relationship. storgē is another word for love but is natural love that family has for one another, specifically parents to children or siblings (verb stergō). Placed together the adjective, it describes those who have a close love relationship as being siblings. This co-cherishing of one another as one s kin is toward one another in φιλαδελφία philadelphia. The wordplay here is obvious. The spiritual ties, being siblings in the Lord due to God s adoption of each of us, indicate the close-knit relationship that we are supposed to have. It is not based upon blood or similar likes but based upon our relationship with God through Jesus. The second phrase is give preference to one another in honor. This phrase has been disputed by almost every lexicon and word study. προηγέομαι proēgeomai is a compound word with the prefix προ pro (before, in front, prior) and ἡγέομαι hēgeomai. This is where the confusion comes in. This word can either mean to lead or guide or it can mean esteem, think, or count. The two choices are being ones who guide one another in honor or being ones who think of one another first in honor. This is what we have and there is very little external information on this word. The term ἡγέομαι hēgeomai is always used in reference to leadership. Because all are not leaders, this word should be understood as being ones who think of one another first. A couple translations state outdo one another is showing honor. This does not seem to be supported by the context or word usage.
Honor is τιμή timē and indicates respect, placing a high value upon. This word is normally translated honor and is a good translation. A rendering of this phrase may be, being ones who think of one another first, placing a high value upon one another. Conclusion 1. Love is the ultimate goal 2. Not love as we know it or can express it 3. The love is the love of God in Jesus 4. This is understood as the believer s ideal a. Does not mean not to hold to that standard b. Does mean to continue to improve 5. These characteristics help us identify what the love is 6. This helps us identify areas for improvement