3. The Law of Christ (12:9–21)
3. The Law of Christ (12:9–21)
The injunctions in this section to deep, unaffected and practical love are particularly reminiscent of the Sermon on the Mount. Mutual love, sympathy and honour within the brotherhood of believers are to be expected, but something more is enjoined here—love and forgiveness to those outside the fellowship, and not least to those who persecute them and wish them ill.
9. Let love be genuine. Greek anypokritos, lit. ‘without hypocrisy’ (NEB ‘in all sincerity’).
10. Outdo one another in showing honour. Cf. Philippians 2:3, ‘count others better than yourselves’; also Ephesians 5:21, ‘be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.’
11. Be aglow with the Spirit. The same Greek expression is used in Acts 18:25 of Apollos (‘fervent in spirit’); whatever the force of ‘spirit’ may be there, here the reference is most probably to the Holy Spirit.
Serve the Lord. NEB margin ‘meet the demands of the hour’ represents an inferior Western reading which replaced the dative kyriō (‘Lord’) by kairō (‘time’, ‘opportunity’).
14. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Cf. Luke 6:28, ‘bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.’ In the present passage there is some ancient evidence (including that of P46) for the omission of ‘you’ after ‘persecute’; in that case Christians may be exhorted to call down blessings on persecutors, whether they themselves are the victims of the persecution or not. For Paul’s own practice in this regard cf. 1 Corinthians 4:12b–13a; Acts 28:19b.
15. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. This is no Stoic teaching, according to which an impassive detachment was essential to the good life; it is consistent, however, with the way of Christ.
16. Live in harmony with one another. Cf. 15:5–6; see also Philippians 2:2–5, where the injunction to be ‘of the same mind’ (not the same thing as ‘seeing eye to eye’) is followed by a statement of the only way in which this is possible in a Christian context: ‘Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.’
Do not be haughty. Cf. verse 3; also 11:20, ‘do not become proud.’
Associate with the lowly. Or (taking the adjective tapeinois as neuter, not masculine) ‘give yourselves to humble tasks’ (mg.).
Never be conceited. As in 11:25 above, this is a quotation from Proverbs 3:7a.
17. Repay no one evil for evil. For the Christian principle of non-retaliation see Matthew 5:38–48. (Cf. 1 Thess. 5:15; 1 Pet. 3:9.)
Take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. ‘Let your aims be such as all men count honourable’ (NEB). A quotation from Proverbs 3:4 (LXX).
19. Leave it to the wrath of God. The genitive ‘of God’ is implied, but not expressed in the Greek text (cf. 5:9). Make room, the injunction means, for the law of divine retribution to operate whether now or ‘on the day of wrath’ (2:5).
‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay.’ A quotation from the Song of Moses: ‘Vengeance is mine, and recompense’ (Deut. 32:35, MT LXX has ‘in the day of vengeance I will repay’). The present form of the text, found also in Hebrews 10:30, appears in the Aramaic Targums and was probably current in a Greek version not now extant. The point of the quotation here is that, since vengeance and requital are God’s prerogative, their exercise should be left to him. So in the Qumran community private vengeance was forbidden on the ground that, according to Nahum 1:2, it is God alone who ‘takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies’.1
20. ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.’ A quotation from Proverbs 25:21–22; Paul omits the concluding clause: ‘and the LORD will reward you.’ The original force of the admonition may have been: ‘Treat your enemy kindly, for that will increase his guilt; you will thus ensure for him a more terrible judgment, and for yourself a better reward—from God.’ Another view is that the proverb refers to an Egyptian ritual in which a man testified publicly to his penitence by carrying a pan of burning charcoal around on his head. In any case, by placing the proverb in this context and omitting the last clause, Paul gives it a nobler meaning: ‘Treat your enemy kindly, for that may make him ashamed and lead to his repentance.’ In other words, the best way to get rid of an enemy is to turn him into a friend, and so overcome evil with good (verse 21).
21. The series of short clauses which now comes to an end may have been given this form so as to serve as an easily memorized catechesis. Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:14–22.