Verse by Verse

¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

²⁰ Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

avenge not — tied to verse 18.

The wrath of God in Romans (1:18; 2:5, 8; 3:5; 4:15; 5:9; 9:22). It is God’s prerogative, leave it to Him.

Proverbs 20:22 — Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and He shall save thee.

Proverbs 24:29 — Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.

Showing kindness to an enemy may lead to his repentance and destroy him as an enemy.

The quote is from Proverbs 25:21-22 — If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: for thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee.

¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.

¹⁸ If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.

repay = recompense, render

evil for evil — on no occasion is a believer to retaliate. The stress is on “no man.” There is also stress on “all men.”

Matthew 5:43-48 — Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 — See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

By avoiding retaliation, we avoid justifiable suspicion and criticism.

The message in verse 18 is “see that it isn’t you who breaks the peace.”

honest = honorable, beautiful. Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men (2 Corinthians 8:21).

Don’t just do right period. Do right and think of how it appears to others.

The second phrase [of verse 18] talks about you: “As much as in you lies” — the emphasis on you — “live at peace with all men.” That does not mean peace at the expense of righteousness, but the point is this: you are never to be the one to break the peace. If the other fellow breaks it, even then you are to do all you can to keep the peace. When the peace is broken, don’t look at the other fellow, but look at yourself and see if you have done all you can do.

We are not to use this exhortation for simply giving in to everything that comes. For instance, when it concerns me individually, then it is right for me to give, give, give to the last drop, and never break the peace! But I also have a duty to others in my life, and when, by permitting somebody to run over me, I fail in my duties to others, then that is a different matter. — McClain, page 215.

¹⁶ Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

This is a continuation of the thought in the previous verses — literally “minding the same thing one toward another.”

high things — objects of pride that cause selfishness and promote self-esteem.

condescend = let ones self be carried along with

low estate = humility, in the sense of humbleness

Philippians 2:4 — Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Proverbs 26:12 — Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

¹³ distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

distributing = to take part with, to share

given to = pursue, earnestly seek. [Be] a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate (Titus 1:8).

Seek the welfare of those who do us injury.

Rejoice/weep — not just the absence of selfishness, but sympathy, sharing in feelings. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it (1 Corinthians 12:26).

Whenever (5 places) Paul encourages generosity, it’s always to saints. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).

¹² rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

Hope — Hebrews 6:19 — Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.

Hope = faith in the future

instant in prayer — immediate

Nowhere does Paul instruct us to pray for long periods of time.

Perseverance in prayer produces joy in hope and patience in tribulation. Communion with God is essential as a controlling influence in our joy and in our patience under trial. Otherwise joy may be mere ebullition of feeling and patience mere Stoicism. — Vine, page 181.

¹¹ not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

not flagging in zeal, whatever needs to be done

in spirit — those things that are guided by the Holy Spirit

This verse is speaking of our attitude when serving the Lord. Our diligence and fervency should be in service to the Lord.

¹⁰ Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

brotherly love = philadelphia — mutual affection. Should be “brother love,” not  love for a brother” but “brother love.”

Philippians 2:3 — Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

Outdo one another in showing honor.

⁹ Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

dissimulation (hypocrisy) — A hypocrite was a stage actor who played a part that wasn’t his real character.

abhor/cling — strong, direct opposites, referring to love. Be discerning.

abhor = hate

Verses 3-8 were about Christian service. Verses 9-21 are about Christian conduct.

Hate what God hates and love what God loves.

love — agape, the love between an husband and wife.

2 Corinthians 6:6 — By pureness, by knowledge, by long suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned.

1 Peter 1:22 — Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.

⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;

⁷ or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;

⁸ he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

prophecy = forth-telling (including revealing future events). This gift ended when the Bible was complete (1 Corinthians 13). Prophecy was a direct message from God and always in accord with earlier revelations. Teaching, in contrast, is based on the revelation revealed in Scripture.

according to the proportion (see verse 3) — in line with what grace God has given and with what faith it is received

ministry — service of any type — voluntary in contrast to slavery.

exhortation — appeal to the conscience and the heart

liberality — singleness of heart

leads — be over, stand in front

mercy — relieving distress

teaching — the art of making the unchanging divine message understandable to the unlearned.

⁴ For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

⁵ so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

Paul is talking about unity and harmony — and diversity of functions

function (office) — not a position but a function. The same word is translated “deeds” in Romans 8:13.

We are a common body because of our unity in Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:12 — For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.