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How Are Faithfulness and Grace Connected to the Right Hand of Fellowship? #690 · Scripture Central

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  And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars,
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  perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me
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  and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go
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  unto the heathen and they unto the circumcision.
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  Hey listeners, this is Nick from Scripture Central and today's
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  podcast addresses the question, How are faithfulness and grace
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  connected to the right hand of fellowship when recounting to
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  the new members of the Church in Galatia the recent events of a
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  general leadership conference of the Church held in Jerusalem,
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  Paul mentions that James, Cephas and John, who seemed to be
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  pillars, perceived that Paul, a former persecutor of the Church,
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  had truly received grace from the Lord.
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  Because of this, they gave Paul and Barnabas the right hands of
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  fellowship preparatory to their mission to preach to the
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  Gentiles. In addition to linking this
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  concept with grace, Paul moves to discuss how he now lives by
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  the faith of the Son of God, closely linking his receipt of
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  grace with his reciprocal faithfulness.
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  The symbol Paul used of the right hands of fellowship would
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  have been familiar to an ancient audience in the context of
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  connecting grace and faith. This would be especially true
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  for Paul's Greco Roman audience, who viewed Faith Pistus in Greek
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  and Fides in Latin in a high regard, even worshipping a
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  goddess by the same name. Interestingly, Brent J Schmidt
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  has recently noted that the goddess Pistus and Fides were
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  both connected with the use of ritual right hand clasps in
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  Greco Roman culture and religion.
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  According to Roman legend, Fides established Rome through
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  reconciliation, peace and unity using balanced means, oaths and
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  institutions. In contrast to the violent
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  Romulus, Fides and Pistus became so honored that they were seen
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  by some to equal Zeus in power and authority.
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  These Hellenistic Covenantal communities utilized a right
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  hand clasp to represent these same means whereby Fides
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  established Rome, seeing this ritual action to be a fitting
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  action or symbol for unity, reconciliation and becoming God.
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  Like this ritual, hand clasp connected with Fides ultimately
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  would be seen as a link of devotion connecting the human
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  and the divine, as seen in many surviving classical sculptures.
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  A hand clasp was also similarly employed in marriage ceremonies,
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  which included the hope that the husband and wife would be
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  reunited in the afterlife. It was also used in temples in
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  connection with making covenants, each with a related
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  oath and curse for those who broke their promises to the
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  gods. Similar mentions of a right hand
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  clasp are found throughout the Bible in the Old and New
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  Testaments. Throughout the Psalms, for
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  instance, the King and Psalmist describe taking the Lord by the
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  right hand in his temple. This is done as power and
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  authority are given to the temple petitioner or the
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  petitioner is raised into the presence of the Lord.
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  These symbols have been studied by many Latter Day Saints,
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  including Hugh Nibley, Stephen D Ricks, David Rolf Seeley, and
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  David Calabro, demonstrating how the right hand clasp was an
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  authentic and original aspect of Israelite temple worship.
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  Such a ritual hand clasp was continued in early Christianity,
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  which relied heavily on the Israelite temple and its great
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  High Priest Jesus Christ. For example, a hand clasp was
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  used by the Apostle Peter as he healed a lame man at the gates
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  of the temple in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
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  John used Jesus's right hand throughout Revelation as a
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  symbol for people's faithful relationship with him, and early
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  Christian writings and traditions linked this hand
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  clasp with Jesus leading the righteous souls from the dead.
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  Early Christian art likewise depicted righteous Saints
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  ascending into heaven by taking the Lord by the right hand,
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  having extended his hand through a heavenly veil.
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  Christian tradition also depicted marriages using this
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  same hand clasp. For example, a 5th century
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  mosaic depicts the wedding of Moses and Sephora in which
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  Jethro, the high priest, brings the two together as the bride
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  and groom clasp right hands. The blessings received in this
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  ritual right hand clasp are given through God's grace to all
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  who are true and faithful to their covenants.
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  By closely connecting the right hands of fellowship with the
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  concepts of faith, Pistus and Grace Charis, Paul's audience
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  would have been able to better understand the significance of
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  such an authority giving ritual event as well as other correct
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  ordinances of the gospel that had been closely mirrored
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  through their previous religious traditions.
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  Having received any gift from a superior person, all people
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  living in the world of the New Testament naturally felt bound
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  and obligated to the one who bestowed the favor.
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  They reciprocated that favor by being faithful and loyal to that
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  person. Thus the Greek word Pistus faith
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  was deeply connected with ideas of faithfulness, unity, and
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  reconciliation, and as a right hand clasp had been used in
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  connection with expressions of Pistus in both the Greco Roman
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  and Jewish religious traditions, this word readily conveyed a
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  whole new set of meanings within the early Christian Church, and
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  still today, fully faithful and loyal members would be given
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  power and authority to become like God, enter into His
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  presence, and enjoy the blessings of an eternal family.
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  Through the ordinances of the temple, including this ritual
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  hand clasp, the hand clasp could be employed between two parties
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  to enter into a mutually beneficial relationship, similar
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  to how a firm handshake still today expresses unity and mutual
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  support among all who labor together in Zion.
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  This is perhaps seen in the mention of right hand of
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  fellowship by Paul. As Paul and Barnabas were given
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  the power and authority to spread the gospel to the
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  Gentiles, Peter, James, and John took their mission to the areas
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  still surrounding Jerusalem and Israel.
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  Each mission would benefit each other and the entire church as a
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  whole. Paul's audience, who are already
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  familiar with how a right hand clasp could unite people
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  together and to the divine, would have found in Christian
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  ordinances a true pattern that they had only known as it were
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  through a glass darkly. Having been introduced to the
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  gospel of Jesus Christ, been baptized, and made covenants
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  with the Lord, they and we experience the true blessings of
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  embracing the right hand of fellowship in and through the
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  grace of Jesus Christ. The Lord has declared through
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  Joseph Smith that in the ordinances of the Kingdom of God
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  the power of godliness is manifest.
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  As we serve the Lord and make covenants with Him, we can be
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  blessed with this knowledge that we will be secure in His love
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  and one day enter His presence once more, never again to leave.
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  Thank you for listening to this presentation from Scripture
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  Central. For more information, please
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  visit scripturecentral.org.