Romans 12:10

τῇ φιλαδελφίᾳ = in point of brotherly love, i.e., your love to each other as children in the one family of God. Cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:9; 1 Peter 1:22; 2 Peter 1:7; 1 Peter 3:8. ἀδελφὸς in the apostolic writings does not mean fellow-man, but fellow-Christian; and φιλαδελφία is the mutual affection of the members of the Christian community. In this they are to be φιλόστοργοι, “tenderly affectioned”. The moral purity required in Romans 12:9 is not to be the only mark of Christian love; since they are members of one family, their love is to have the characters of strong natural affection (στοργή); it is to be warm, spontaneous, constant. τῇ τιμῇ ἀλλήλους προηγούμενοι : “in honour preferring one another”. This, which is the rendering of both our English versions, is a good Pauline idea (Philippians 2:3), but gives προηγούμενοι a meaning not found elsewhere. Hence others render: “in showing honour i.e., to those whose χαρίσματα entitle them to respect in the Church giving each other a lead”: each, so to speak, being readier than the other to recognise and honour God's gifts in a brother. In this sense, however, προηγούμενοι would rather take the genitive (see Liddell and Scott, who seem, nevertheless, to adopt this rendering); and probably the former, which involves only a natural extension of the meaning of the word, is to be preferred.