1 Thessalonians 5:26-Paul, Silvanus and Timothy Request the Thessalonians Greet One Another with a Holy Kiss

1 Thessalonians 5:26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. (NET)

1 Thessalonians 5:26 Each of us solemnly requests each and every one of you greet each of your brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. (My translation)

Like 1 Thessalonians 5:25, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy present another solemn request of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community here in 1 Thessalonians 5:26, which required that each one of them greet one another with a holy kiss.

It is a solemn request because it is extremely important as an expression of the love of God in their lives and promotes unity and intimate fellowship with one another.

The casual reference to greeting one another with a holy kiss strongly suggests that the Thessalonian Christian community was already aware of greeting each other in this manner indicating that they were taught this manner of greeting by Paul and Silvanus when they were in their presence.

This request is also an impassioned plea or request from these three men.

This is indicated by the fact that in this verse, the noun adelphos, “brothers and sisters” is functioning as a vocative of emphatic emotional address.

This word is used to describe the member of the Thessalonian Christian community as being spiritual brothers and sisters since they have all been declared justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and thus regenerated by the Spirit.

It denotes that the recipients of First Thessalonians are related to each other and the Lord Jesus Christ through regeneration.

Therefore, this term emphasizes the equality of those sinners declared justified through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior (cf. Gal. 3:26-28; Col. 3:11).

Thus, the word refers to a “fellow-believer, fellow-Christian, spiritual brother or sister” emphasizing with the Thessalonians the common familial relationship that possess with each other and every believer throughout the world.

The prepositional phrase en philemati hagio (ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ), “with a holy kiss” indicates that the holy kiss was the means by which each member of the Thessalonian Christian community was to greet one other in their gatherings and worship.

“Kiss” (philēma) was used as an expression of greeting, affection, appreciation, intimate fellowship and unity among the members of the Thessalonian Christian community.

The kiss was a common form of greeting in the ancient world but also was employed in Judaism and Christianity.

In western civilization in the twenty first century, this kiss would be equivalent to a hug or handshake.

“Holy” (hagios) indicates that this kiss is reserved exclusively for members of the Christian community as expression of the love of God and affection among these spiritual brothers and sisters and produced by the Holy Spirit.

The prepositional phrase en philemati hagio (ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ), “with a holy kiss” was an expression of greeting, affection, appreciation, intimate fellowship and unity among the members of the Thessalonian Christian community.

It was also a reminder to remove any hostility that might exist between the members of this community harkening back to the command in 1 Thessalonians 5:13 for the Thessalonians to continue to make it their habit of living in peace with each other.

This prepositional phrase en philemati hagio (ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ), “with a holy kiss” which appears here in 1 Thessalonians 5:26, also appears in Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, and 1 Peter 5:14 with the same meaning.

Romans 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. (NET)

1 Corinthians 16:20 All the brothers and sisters send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. (NET Bible)

2 Corinthians 13:12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. (NET Bible)

1 Peter 5:14 Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ. (NET Bible)

Warren Wiersbe writes “The ‘holy kiss’ was not a sensual thing. Usually the men kissed the men, and the women kissed the women (see Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 1 Peter 5:14). Often when ministering on mission fields, I have had the saints greet me in this way; and I have never been offended or suspicious. J.B. Phillips in his paraphrase solves the problem by saying, ‘Give a handshake all around among the brotherhood.’”[1]

Thomas Constable writes “It was common in Paul’s culture as in many cultures today, to greet friends with a kiss on the cheek. The men greeted other men this way, and the women did the same with other women. Such a kiss communicated personal affection, not romantic love. By urging this practice Paul was encouraging an outward physical expression of true Christian love in a form that was culturally acceptable in his day. The kiss was to be holy, not passionate or fleshly. An acceptable alternative in Western culture today might be an embrace, a pat on the back, or a handshake.”[2]

Gordon Fee writes “The imperative to greet all God’s people occurs only occasionally in Paul’s letters,[3] and with the modifier “with a holy kiss” only in one other instance (2 Cor 13:12). But it is especially noteworthy that it occurs in this letter, where friendship is what drives so much that is said, since a ‘kiss’[4] in Greco-Roman culture was a natural greeting between friends, and especially within families, which is now the assumed relationship in the preceding vocative, “brothers and sisters.” Thus this word is a reminder to the whole community to keep their internal friendship alive and demonstrate it regularly with the kiss that denoted such friendship. What would be most remarkable about this expression of mutual Christian love within the believing community is the radical crossing of social boundary lines that would have been involved, not only between Jew and Gentile but also between rich and poor, slave and free.[5]”[6]

This “holy kiss” was an expression of affection between believers.

In Romans 12:10, Paul commands the Romans believers to continue to make it their habit to be affectionate with one another.

Romans 12:10 Concerning affection among spiritual brothers and sisters, all of you must continue to make it your habit to be affectionate with one another. Concerning honor, all of you continue to make it your habit to regard one another more highly than yourselves. (My translation)

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 190). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[2] Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Thessalonians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 710). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

[3] See 2 Cor 13:12; Phil 4:21; cf. Rom 16:3–16.

[4] The “kiss” in this case would not have been on the mouth, but on both cheeks, as it still is in some Eastern European countries.

[5] See further W. Klassen, “The Sacred Kiss in the New Testament: An Example of Social Boundary Lines,” NTS 39 (1993), 122–35.

[6] Fee, G. D. (2009). The First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians (p. 232). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.