1 Thessalonians 5:26

“Salute all the brethren with. holy kiss”

“Salute”: Embrace, greet, welcome. “Holy kiss”: “Sacred kiss” (TCNT). Compare with Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Peter 5:14.

Fields notes, “In this verse Paul did not say that we had to kiss every time we met or said ‘good-bye'. Neither was he instituting. new church custom or ordinance. Since kissing was. form of greeting common in the world of that time (and for centuries previous), he could not have meant to institute. new practice, but he is here purifying an old one, insisting that the greeting be holy. This instruction applies to all our greetings, whether they be by handshake, embrace, or kiss” (p. 155). “This kiss was given on the cheek, the forehead, the beard, the hands, the feet, but not (in Palestine) the lips. There is reason to believe that, as. rule, men only thus greeted men, and women greeted women” (Fields p. 154). Jesus placed this form of greeting in. context with other customs of the time (Luke 7:45). This verse reminds us that all our brethren should be dear to us. Fields notes, “The people we associate with on Sunday ought to mean much more to us that the people with whom we mingle during the week. It is good to see churches where the members greet and talk freely to one another” (p. 154). “The custom among early Christians indicated their belief that the church of Christ formed. real brotherhood” (Erdman p. 72). This verse also tells us that there is no place in the church for insincere, cold, distant or unfriendly attitudes among faithful brethren.