Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Romans 12:16

"Be of the same mind one toward another. Set not your mind on high things, but condescend to things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own conceits." — Romans 12:16 (ASV)

The material in these verses seems to describe a Christian’s relations to one’s neighbors and friends (including believers), preceded by one reference to their opponents (v.14, anticipating vv.17ff.).

Paul’s injunction to bless persecutors rather than curse them undoubtedly goes back to our Lord’s teaching (Matthew 5:44). The teaching was incarnated in the Savior himself and became clearly manifested during his trial and his suffering on the cross. Persecution can take various forms, stretching from verbal abuse and social ostracism to the use of violence resulting in death. Some form of persecution was so common in the experience of the early church that Paul can assume as a matter of course that his readers will suffer it. If such treatment is not encountered in our society, we can at least cultivate the readiness to meet it and so fulfill the injunction in spirit. To bless one’s persecutors involves praying for their forgiveness and for a change of outlook regarding the Christian faith. It can be done only by the grace of Christ.

One charge follows another without any apparent connection as Paul calls on his readers to share one another’s joys and sorrows (v.15; cf. 1 Corinthians 12:26). It has often been noted that it is easier to fulfill the second half of this command than the first, because our natural inclination is to feel genuine sympathy for those in sorrow, but to share their joy may present difficulty if another’s achievement or good fortune is viewed with envy. In general, people have less need for fellowship in times of joy than in times of grief, for if loneliness is added to sorrow, the trial is compounded.

Living “in harmony with one another” (v.16; cf. Php 2:2) dispels discord in the church. As a means to attaining this harmony, Paul stresses the necessity of rejecting the temptation to think superior thoughts about oneself and of coming down off the perch of isolation and mingling with people “of low position” or of a humble frame of mind. And lest one consent to do this while still retaining heady notions of one’s own superiority, Paul puts in a final thrust: “Don’t be conceited” (v.16). Conceit has no place in the life ruled by love (1 Corinthians 13:4).