Dear Friends,

I hope you can join us tonight for Bible study as we study Hebrews 13:1-4. Notes are attached. 

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

MAY 27, 2026

Hebrews 13:1-4

Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have

entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and

those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and

let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

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vv 1-2 – “Let brotherly love …”

more lit. “brotherly love, let remain; of hospitality [to strangers], do not be forgetful …”

“brotherly love” – philadelphia, from philos, loving friend + adelphós, a brother

“hospitality to strangers” – philoxenia, from philos + xenos, a stranger

So, “philadelphia let remain, of philoxenia, do not be forgetful ...”

“keep showing friendship to one another, and don’t forget to show friendship to strangers …”

philadelphia appears 6 times in the New Testament (agapé appears 116 times).

They are not synonyms.

“and [supplement your] godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with

love”—2 Peter 1:7

agapé, the sacrificial love of God, is the most important of all character attributes; it is a fruit of

the Spirit—perhaps the fruit of the Spirit.

philadelphia is the quality of being brothers and sisters in Christ with the affection and

encouragement and help and humor and patience and forgiveness and all the other attributes

that make for loving each other “like a brother” or “like a sister”

philoxenia – appears 2 times in the New Testament

“to the needs of the saints, contributing; hospitality [philoxenia] practicing” – Romans 12:13

the adjective, philoxenos, “hospitable,” appears 3 times

This includes qualifications for elders, 1 Tim. 3:2, Titus 1:8

We don’t know all of the contexts in which this was practiced

This would often have been hospitality to Christians who were traveling or were refugees

from persecution; there was little “infrastructure” for travelers

We must also be mindful of Jesus’ teaching of the “good Samaritan” and the kind of

hospitality which he practiced

Corrie ten Boom, the Kelemens in Hungary

To host, in various ways, those we do not know, as the Lord gives opportunity

“for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”

“entertained” – xenizó, to lodge/give lodging; can also mean to seem strange, to surprise

Although we still speak of “entertaining” guests, a better word is probably “hosted” or

“lodged”

We know that angels help us—and we may not know that it was an angel. It is also the case that

some who have helped “strangers,” have actually “helped” angels. Perhaps as a test of our

faith and obedience—an opportunity.

And not to forget: “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of

the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”—Matthew 25:40

2

v 3 – “Remember those who are in prison ..”

more lit. “Remember the prisoners, as being bound with them …”

This would primarily be referring to Christians who were in prison—we are not to forget them,

but to care as if we were there with them. But the call to caring and empathy could have

wider application.

Out of fear, it is easy for Christians to do the opposite—to try to distance themselves from those

who are in prison.

In our own times, culture, and even our own country, Christian persecution exists—think, for

example, persons arrested for praying outside abortion clinics, or a man refusing to bake a

cake for a same-sex “wedding”—and the Christian community does not always rise to their

aid.

“mistreated” – a strong word in Greek, sometimes translated “torment”

“since you also are in the body”

possible meaning, You have a body. How would it be for you, if this were happening to

you?—and it could!

But this line could also be translated “and those who are mistreated as [if] you also were

in [their] body”

Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

v 4 – “Let marriage be held in honor …”

more lit. “honored [be] marriage among all”

honored — precious, valuable

Such a simple truth—but foundational to our faith and the God’s design for humankind

Christian, Biblical marriage was anything but the norm for the first century Roman empire—let

alone being honored and treasured. We are in those times once again.

Marriage is not some burdensome, restrictive rule that God came up with—it is a beautiful gift,

the first human institution, and to be a picture of Christ and his church

We are to treasure it. It is to be precious to us. We are not to support God’s gift in a half-hearted

or apologetic way.

And we are not to make changes to or compromise his design of marriage.

more lit. “honored marriage among all, and the bed undefiled”

Plain speech, needed then and now. Also counter-cultural, then and now.

How radically our entire society would change, were this rule followed.

“for God will judge …”

sexually immoral – pornos, a general term regarding sexual practices outside of marriage;

translated in numerous ways

“adulterers” – regarding sexual infidelity among the married.

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already

committed adultery with her in his heart.—Matthew 5:28

“For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is

covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no

one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon

the sons of disobedience.”—Ephesians 5:5-6