Answer: We should be devoted to one another in
brotherly love, honoring one another above ourselves, (verse
10).
MORE INFORMATION AND/OR OTHER SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
"Be
devoted to one another in brotherly love:"
Psalm 133:1: "How good and pleasant
it is when brothers live together in unity!"
Romans 15:7: "Accept one another,
then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to
God."
John 13:34-35: [Jesus said,] "A new
command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you
must love one another. By this all men will know that you are
My disciples, if you love one another."
1 Thessalonians 4:9-10: "Now about
brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves
have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you
do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you,
brothers, to do so more and more."
Hebrews 13:1: "Keep on loving each
other as brothers."
1 Peter 1:22-23: "Now that you have
purified yourselves by obeying the Truth so that you have sincere
love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the
heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed,
but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of
God."
2 Peter 1:5-9: "For this very
reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to
goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to
self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to
godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For
if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will
keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them,
he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been
cleansed from his past sins."
1 John 2:9-11: "Anyone who claims
to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the
darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and
there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever
hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the
darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness
has blinded him."
"Honoring one another above yourselves:"
Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing out
of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider
others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not
only to your own interests, but also to the interests of
others."
Colossians 3:12-14: "Therefore, as
God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear
with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have
against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And
over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together
in perfect unity."
Titus 3:1-2: "Remind the people to
be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready
to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and
considerate, and to show true humility toward all
men."
James 3:13: "Who is wise and
understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds
done in the humility that comes from wisdom."
1 Peter 5:5-6: "Young men, in the
same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe
yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God
opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may
lift you up in due time."
Comments
from The Book of Romans by Jim McGuiggan:
In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to
another [Be devoted to one another in brotherly
love--NIV]..."By this shall all men know that
ye are My disciples, if ye love one another," said the Master
[John 13:35]. Anyone who would follow Christ
must become a lover of His brothers and sisters. Read John's
first epistle at one sitting and see how central that issue
is. "Tenderly affectioned" speaks of family
affection. It is the absence of this affection that Paul
regards as bringing the wrath of God in Romans
1:31.
Family affection enables to work the other things out.
There are differences of opinion, likes and dislikes. Family
affection will not permit these things to become barriers to
fellowship or mutual acceptance. This family is the
Lord's, and everyone in it is in it by grace.
We've all been made acceptable in the Beloved. We must
receive one another in the Beloved. Most of our bitter brawls
in the brotherhood would have been quickly cured if we had had a
large dose of family affection.
In honor preferring one another [Honor one another
above yourselves--NIV]...When it comes to bestowing
honor, we are to take the lead (which is the meaning of
"preferring"). On the other hand (see
Philippians 2:3 [above]), he [Paul] may be
encouraging us to regard the other as more important than
ourselves. When you meet someone who lives this way, you
remember him. Such people are a rare breed.
Self-proclamation is a common thing. Self-importance is an
often-seen spectacle. "Pride," said Albert Barnes
somewhere, "is shoddy goods priced too high."
Whatever Paul means here, he is opposed to pride. Wilbur Rees
scathes the arrogance Paul wishes to kill here when he has one of
his characters to say: "I want to be a
"somebody'...It is no grace for a slob to be
humble. What else can he be? As soon as I am
vice-president, it will mean something when I tip the cabby and say
"good morning' to the cleaning lady. When I am
the chairman of the board, I will show the world how humble I am by
letting the little boy shine my shoes and the old man at the
fruit-stand sell me an apple. They will be proud to know a
"somebody' who is humble."
