1 Corinthians 16:20

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. This is the apostle's salutation in all his epistles, and is a token of the truth and genuineness of them; See Gill on Rom 16:20; and is a wish for a supply of all grace from Christ, and an increase of it in the saints; that they may have the communications of it to them, to quicken, invigorate, and draw forth into exercise the grace they have received, and to enable and assist them in the discharge of every duty.

1 Corinthians 16:24

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

16:20 a sacred kiss: A kiss on the cheek was a common greeting.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Co 16:20. Ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ, with a holy kiss) in which all dissensions might be swallowed up.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_16:20

All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with a holy kiss.

As all the brethren in this verse are distinguished from the church in the house of Aquila and Priscilla, mentioned in 1Co_16:19, it may be inferred that only a portion, and probably a small portion of the Christians of Ephesus were accustomed to meet in that place. The apostle exhorts them to greet one another with a holy kiss, Rom_16:16; 2Co_13:12; 1Th_5:26. This was the conventional token of Christian affection. In the East the kiss was a sign either of friendship among equals, or of reverence and submission on the part of an inferior. The people kissed the images of their gods, and the hands of princes. In the early church, the custom was for Christians when they met to kiss; and in their assemblies, especially after the Lords supper, this token of Christian brotherhood was interchanged. Paul seems here to request, that when his letter was publicly read, the members of the church would give to each other this pledge of mutual forgiveness and love.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

holy kiss--the token of the mutual love of Christians, especially at the Lord's Supper (compare Rom 16:16; Th1 5:26), "in which all the dissensions of the Corinthians would be swallowed up" [BENGEL].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. With a holy kiss.] The ancient patriarchs, and the Jews in general, were accustomed to kiss each other whenever they met; and this was a token of friendship and peace with them, as shaking of hands is with us. The primitive Christians naturally followed this example of the Jews. See Clarke on Ro 16:16.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(20) An holy kiss.—The kiss was the ordinary form of affectionate greeting in the East. The Church adopted it; and when thus interchanged between those whose bond of friendship was not earthly, but spiritual, it was designated “the holy kiss.” (See Rom_16:16; 1Th_5:26.) The practice was given up in the Latin Church in the thirteenth century, but is still used in the Greek Church on certain great occasions, such as Easter Day.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. All the brethren] i.e. “the whole Ephesian Church.”—Alford.

with a holy kiss] The word holy is added to guard against misconception in an impure age. The spirit in which it was to be given was that which was to regulate the intercourse of Timothy with the other sex. (1Ti_5:2.) The kiss of peace (see Rom_16:16; 2Co_13:12; 1Th_5:26; 1Pe_5:14) once formed a prominent part in the ritual of the Church. It is still retained in the East, where the men and women sit, and salute each other, apart. In the Roman ritual the pax, a small piece of metal or wood, which the priest kissed, and afterwards sent round for the congregation to kiss in turn, was substituted for it In our own Reformed Liturgy it has been abolished.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20 All the brethren greet you. Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.

Ver. 20. With a holy kiss] Not hollow, as Joab and Judas; not carnal, as that harlot, Pro 7:13. See Rom 16:16.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All the brethren ... - All the Christians with whom Paul was connected in Ephesus. They felt a deep interest in the church at Corinth, and sent to them Christian salutations. “With a holy kiss; see the note on Rom 16:16.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This proveth no more, than that as it is in use with us to salute one another with a kiss when we meet; so it was in use in those times and countries to do the like, in token of love and friendship. It is called the kiss of charity, 1Pe 5:14. The apostle requireth, that in these salutations they should have chaste and holy thoughts. This seemeth to be all meant by the

holy kiss, mentioned Rom 16:16; 2Co 13:12; 1Th 5:26, and here.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. All the brethren—The body of the Ephesian Church sends, from Asia to Europe, to the body of the Corinthian Church, its fraternal Christian greet.

Holy kiss—Rom_16:16. Justin Martyr says: “At the close of our prayers we salute each other with a kiss.” The “Apostolic Constitutions,” 2:57, says: “Then let the men salute each other, and the women salute each other, with the kiss in the Lord—and after that let the deacon pray for the whole Church.” It was simply the adoption into the Christian ritual of an eastern and Old Testament custom. Stanley says: “On Good Friday it was omitted, in commemoration of the kiss of Judas. Down to the fifth century it was given after baptism, and was afterwards superseded by the (verbal) salutation, ‘Peace be with thee.’ It was technically called η ειρηνη, ‘the peace.’” Grotius says, “He rightly enjoins the kiss of peace on those who were in danger of being rent to pieces by schisms.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All the brethren. The Ephesian Church in general. With a holy kiss. The kiss of peace is mentioned in Rom_16:16; 2Co_13:12; 1Pe_5:14. It was a sign of the reconciliation of all dissensions. But the abuse of the practice and the hideous heathen calumnies which it helped to perpetuate, led to its abolition. In the Roman Church a shadow of it still remains in the custom of the congregation kissing the pax after the priest has kissed it. The custom still continues in the Christos voscress of Easter Day in the Greek Church, when

See! the bearded faces kiss each other: Every Russian Christian loves his brother. Serf or noble, each today may claim Friendly kiss in that all friendly Name.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. “Salute one another with a holy kiss.” The original meaning of phileoma, translated “kiss,” is “a love-token.” This gives it a considerable latitude. The cordial grip of the hand or embrace in the arms is a love-token, as well as a kiss with the lips. Some Holiness people are very explicit in this commandment to salute with a holy kiss. That is all right. These love- tokens are well pleasing to the Lord, who wants us all to love one another. The only point to be guarded is that you do not run into bondage over this or anything else. The Lord does not want you to legalize, but to enjoy perfect spiritual freedom. When He sanctified you wholly, He broke every yoke which Satan, sin and self had ever put on your neck. Now be sure that you abide steadfast in this glorious freedom. The devil will use Holiness people to put a yoke on you if he can, now that you have gotten out of the reach of sinners and dead churches. Keep your eye on Jesus, follow Him only, and He will keep His hand on you. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,” is a maxim as true in religion as in politics.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

All the brethren [in Ephesus] salute you. Salute one another with a holy kiss . [See commentary on Thessalonians, page 27. "He rightly enjoins the kiss of peace upon those who were in danger of being rent to pieces by schisms."--Grotius.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. Greet ye one another with a holy kiss. See note on Romans 16:16.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

20. οἱ ἀδελφοὶ πάντες, i.e. ‘the whole Ephesian Church.’ Alford.

ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ. The word holy is added to guard against misconception in an impure age. The spirit in which it was to be given was that which was to regulate the intercourse of Timothy with the other sex (1Ti 5:2). The kiss of peace (see Rom 16:16; 2Co 13:12; 1Th 5:26; 1Pe 5:14) once formed a prominent part in the ritual of the Church. It is still retained in the East, where the men and women sit, and salute each other, apart. In the Roman ritual the pax, a small piece of metal or wood, which the priest kissed, and afterwards sent round for the congregation to kiss in turn, was substituted for it. In our own Reformed Liturgy this custom has been abolished.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20.] Salutations.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. ἀσπάζονται ὑμᾶς οἱ ἀδελφοὶ πάντες. ‘All the brethren salute you,’ with some emphasis on ‘all’ as in 15:7. He means all the members of the Church in Ephesus. The Corinthians are not to think that only Aquila and Priscilla with their circle take an interest in them. St Paul can answer for every Christian at Ephesus. “One feels, in reading such salutations, that the history of nations is coming to an end, and that of a new nation of a wholly different kind is beginning” (Godet). Comp. 2Co 13:13.

ἀσπάσασθε ὰλλήλους ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ. ‘The affection which the Christians in Ephesus and Asia manifest towards you must kindle in all of you affection for one another, which shouid be expressed by a hallowed use of the common mark of affection.’ Like v.14, this is an exhortation to get rid of their unhappy divisions and jealousies. The solemn kiss was a token of the love for one another which all Christians ought to regard as a debt (Rom 13:8). This φίλημα ἅγιον (1Th 5:26; Rom 16:16), or ἅγιον φίλημα (2Co 13:12), or φίλημα ἀγάπης (1Pe 5:14), very soon became part of the ritual of public worship. Justin (Apol. i:65) calls it simply φίλημα. Tertullian (De Orat. 14) calls it osculum pacis, and also signaculum orationis (18), and asks whether any prayer can be complete cim divortio sancti osculi. Later he calls it pax, and in the Church Order known as The Testament of the Lord (1:23, 30; 2:4, 9) it is simply ‘the Peace.’ But in the East the more common term was ἀσπασμός. Conybeare (Expositor, 1894 i:461) shows that the ‘kiss of peace’ may have been customary among the Jews. If so, it is unlikely that the kiss was ever promiscuous in Christian worship, for in the synagogue men would kiss men and women women; and this was certainly the custom at a later date in the Church (Const. Apost. ii. 57, vii. 11; Canons of Laodicea, 19; comp. Athenagoras Legat. 32; Clem. Alex. Paed. iii. 11, p. 301 ed. Potter). See Suicer, ἀσπασμός and φιλημα; D. Chr. Ant. p. 902; Kraus, Real-Ency. d. Chr. Alt. i. p. 543. It is said that in some parts of Greece a kiss is still given with the Paschal Salutation, “Christ is risen.” Chrysostom (on 2Co 13:13) compares the later custom of kissing the entrances of Churches; “We are the temple of Christ. We kiss the porch and entrance of the temple in kissing one another”; and he contrasts the kiss of Judas, which was not ἅγιον. From England the custom spread in the thirteenth century of passing round a tablet (pax, instrumentum paccis, tabella pads, asser ad pacem, oculatorium) to be kissed as a substitute for the kiss of peace. The passing of this through the congregation led to so much confusion that at last it was confined to the clergy (Kraus, 2. p. 602).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.