The Hospitality Paradox
I was recently reading 1 Peter 4 while studying the different “one another” (allēlōn) phrases throughout the New Testament that appear to all point back to Jesus’s statement in John 13, “love one another: just as I have loved you.” It was during this study that I came away with a whole new perspective on 1 Peter 4:9 and what it means to “Show hospitality to one another.” While the idea behind it is artfully weaved all throughout scripture, it’s really the only passage that talks about showing hospitality to “one another” directly.
One way to look at these passages is to show hospitality towards those within the household of faith, and those who are outside of it. It’s maybe most often looked at as having people in your home involving food and sometimes a guest needs lodging. I wouldn’t fault anyone for looking at these passages that way. After all, those are very biblical concepts. It’s how I originally went into the study looking at it, but consider the bigger picture Peter was trying to get across to the Church. The hospitality we show towards one another is different from what we show towards those outside of the faith.
The Paradox
I think one of the reasons why I struggled so long with this scripture is because if you were to really break down 1 Peter 4:9 you’ll quickly see that it’s a paradox. It literally contradicts itself both by the English and Greek definitions. One another (allēlōn) brings with it a meaning of togetherness or belonging to the same body or organization. In contrast, Hospitality (philoxenoi) in the Greek means “loving strangers.” What does it say in the previous verse v8? “Above all, keep loving one another.” It re-emphasizes John 13, and then says “Show love to strangers” or is it “one another”? But then the next v10 goes on to say “serve one another.” I found it very difficult to understand why it would randomly sandwich a love for those outside of the body of Christ between two commands to love and serve those within the body. Maybe showing hospitality to one another really is two sides of the same coin?
Who are the strangers?
I decided to dig deeper into the context again, hoping it’ll help me better understand what Peter was trying to say. I went backwards starting with chapter 4, then 3, 2, and finally ending with the beginning of the book. I couldn’t believe the blind spot that I had. What I discovered earlier in the book, but not until I ended with 1:1, is he references the beloved, or household of faith as sojourners and exiles to the world. He’s writing to the “strangers”. By the time we get to 4:9 we are to show hospitality to strangers meaning those who belong within the same household of faith. In other words “one another”. Earlier in chapter 4, the gentiles are surprised that we won’t participate in their debauchery, so they malign us because we elect to be strangers. He’s addressing the household of Faith as strangers because that’s how the gentiles see us.
Adding an additional layer of depth, have you noticed that just about every time the New Testament uses the phrase “one another” (allēlōn), it's usually in the context of the body of Christ analogy? As I was studying this earlier on, I didn’t find it at all odd that Peter broke this pattern as he talks about loving one another. In chapter 1, Peter introduces the idea of a spiritual house, and that we are all built up as living stones to make this house. He changed his analogy to a house, and then really drives home the point in 1 Peter 4 that we are to love one another. Where do we express and demonstrate that love? In God’s house that is made up of each other.
More Hospitality (philoxenoi)
If I’m not mistaken the only other passages in the Bible that use the Greek word (philoxenoi) for hospitality are Hebrews 13:2, Romans 12:13, and the qualifications of elders in Titus 1:8 and 1 Timothy 3:2. While not directly using the “one another” label, I would suggest they are all saying the same thing as 1 Peter 4:9. Check out the context. Romans 12:13 is a good one to start with because it's mentioned in context leading up to it.
Hebrews 13:2, on the other hand, says, "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers." We don’t see the same paradox here, but the Hebrew writer just finished talking about all of these amazing men of faith who were, what? “they were strangers, and exiles on the earth.” - Hebrews 11:13
For Titus and Timothy think of this. Where does the Hebrew writer go after v2? Where does Peter go after v9? They both go right into talking about the elders in context. I might consider that the qualifications for elders aren’t necessarily talking about being hospitable to those outside of the church and within the community in these contexts. It’s similar to 1 Peter 4. Do these men love those within the household of faith, and do they show that love towards one another?
Wrapping this up, my study of “one another” was eye-opening for me. 1 Peter in general was challenging, but it reignited this passion in me to study and allowed me to see the beautiful Words of God in a larger context. Maybe you still don’t see it the way I came to understand the topic, or maybe I’m just late to the party and you already understood it this way. At a minimum, I hope you were stirred up to love, and maybe this demonstrates the importance of studying with context in mind. In the end, we are all striving for that love and submission towards one another in our relationship with God.
- James Dow
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