Imagine Philadelphia

“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” -Romans 12:10

Paul clearly conceives of the gospel as creating a new humanity, one which will grow up alongside the old humanity, the wheat with the tares. And this new humanity can be conceived of as a new spiritual family all from the same father (Romans 8:15 Cf. Matthew 12:46-50), a family that is the model for the rest of the world. This does not mean the new family is perfect, but it is righteous and therefore expected to model redemption rather than perfection.

Believers are called to love all humanity genuinely, but here Paul is calling for more intimacy and affection among family members. Love toward members of our spiritual family must not only be genuine, abhorring evil and holding fast that which is good, but it must also, in particular, be done with φιλαδελφία (philadelphia), translated brotherly affection. Elsewhere he says the same: “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” -Galatians 6:10

The way this looks is to outdo one another in showing honor. The Greek verb translated outdo is προηγέομαι (proegeomai) and means to preside or show leadership in this calling. Another way to possibly render the verb is to say that each family member ought to be trying to lead the way in showing honor to what is honorable. In this case what is honorable is our brothers and sisters in Christ.

John Lennon wanted us to imagine a world where there was no religion, no heaven or hell. In contrast, Paul wants us to imagine a world where love for one another is genuine and all of us are striving to outdo the other in showing honor.