Suffering Rightly: Christ is Our Example

1 Peter 2:11-25

Part six of an expositional series on 1 Peter. Click HERE to read the previous article.

As we have seen before, the theme of Peter’s first epistle is an encouragement of persecuted believers and an appeal for them to live in righteousness in the face of that persecution. The latter half of chapter two represents Peter’s clearest statement of his main theme in the book.

The book has, up to this point, developed a cadence between exposition of the wonders of God and exhortations of the responsibility of believers. Peter’s first discourse on righteous living (1:13-22) follows his description of God’s work in salvation (1:3-12), showing that our lives should reflect the gift bestowed on us—we should strive after holiness because we have been bought by a holy God. The next, an exhortation to long for the Scriptures (2:1-3), flows from a reminder of the power of the word from Isaiah 40 (1:23-25). He continues with a stunning depiction of God’s plan for His people (2:4-10) which leads us to his description of how this “holy nation” and “royal priesthood” should comport themselves in the present reality (2:11-25).

At the outset of this section, Peter again refers to his readers as “aliens and strangers” (as in 1:1), again using the word parepidēmos and adding paroikos—both words used to describe resident foreigners—to emphasize that though their residence was on earth, their citizenship was in heaven. Bearing their position in mind, he urges them “to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul,” and to “keep [their] behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them glorify God in the day of visitation” (2:11-12).

In the midst of this exhortation, he introduces a new motivation for righteous living—for the benefit of the unsaved, to see God glorified. This idea is not unique to Peter; he seems to be echoing Jesus’ teaching of Matthew 5:13-16, with added emphasis on living righteously amid persecution and slander. These parallel passages send a clear message that living according to the Lord’s precepts can bring Him double honor by drawing unbelievers, even those who violently oppose the faith, to Christ as they observe Christians’ responses to their actions. A life above reproach augments the truth of the Gospel we proclaim, preaching a living message to a watching world. Because of that witness, when God calls to them (a likely interpretation of the “day of visitation”), they will respond and praise His name.

Verses 13-20 flow from Peter’s injunction as he gives examples of the type of godly behavior to which he calls his readers. He urges his readers to submit to human authorities (vv. 13-15), to exercise their spiritual freedom wisely (v. 16), to honor all men (v. 17), to be good servants (v. 18), and to patiently endure suffering for Christ’s sake (vv. 19-20).

His first instruction, deference to the government, is particularly prescient to the contemporary Western Church that is often quite politically active. Peter deftly explains the purpose of government authorities (though not explicitly reminding us that their authority comes from God as Paul does in Rom. 13:1) and urges his readers to live within the law of the land so that they might “silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

This was written to the subjects of a very real “evil emperor” (Nero) who had no reason whatsoever to trust the authorities. How much more, then, should those of us who live in democracies with laws that, on balance, strive to preserve justice and freedom live at peace with the authorities? I do not believe that Christians should abstain from all political activity—a large part of submitting to the authorities in a democratic society is voting and otherwise participating in the political process. However, when we publicly dishonor and show lack of respect for those in authority over us or when we flout the laws we disagree with, our attitudes send a very mixed message to the world.

In verse 16, Peter tells his readers to, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” Paul devotes a lot of time to this in his letters, especially Romans 6 and 1 Corinthians 8-12, but again, Peter is quite succinct—he either has taught his readers in more detail about this previously or assumes that a reminder will suffice because of their maturity as believers. In both Peter and Paul’s writings, we are exhorted to use our freedom to pursue the highest and best road of righteousness, never as an excuse to shirk responsibility and engage in activities that bring shame to the Lord. In context, this fits with the previous directive to submit to the authorities—in Christ, we are under His authority, and our treatment of the earthly authorities He has placed over us should reflect our true allegiance. We are free to be the best citizens and neighbors we can be as God’s servants on earth.

Peter further extends our submission for authority to respect for others. He writes that we are to, “Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king” (v. 17). This short list leaves no one out of the scope of the Christian’s esteem, but it is interesting to note the different actions he commands. We are to timaō, meaning to prize or to value, mankind in general and the king—as fellow humans created in God’s image, they are worthy of our care and honor. We should agapaō (love, particularly a deep, selfless love), however, our fellow believers—we owe to the family of God an allegiance that goes far beyond the general goodwill toward mankind. We are to phobeō (to fear or reverence) the Lord—His power is the impetus and enabler for our dealings with all men and our first loyalty. Peter also singles out servants, urging them to “be submissive to your masters with all respect,” even to “those who are unreasonable” (v. 18)—given what we know of conditions for servants and slaves in the first century, this is a high calling, and one that we should call to mind whenever we are tempted to grumble against those who oversee our work.

Why should we live this way (aside from the more-than-sufficient “because God said so” and “for the benefit of the unsaved”)? Because to do so “finds favor with God”—particularly when we respond to persecution with dignity and grace. There is nothing special, Peter says, about patiently enduring just punishment for sin, but God is greatly honored when “a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly” (v. 19). There is no shame (in fact, there is great honor) in being persecuted for your faith, but do not give persecutors reason to punish you because of sin (v. 20).

There is one man who perfectly modeled this lifestyle for us, patiently suffering the most vile treatment man could offer—the God-man Christ Jesus. Peter writes, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, ‘Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;’ and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (vv. 21-23).

In quoting from Isaiah 53, he reminds his readers that their persecution was foreshadowed in the suffering of Christ, who gave His life voluntarily and went to His cross with the poise that comes from trusting wholly in the Father’s plan. This same suffering, and yielding our rights and demands to those who would torment us for His name’s sake, is the calling of every believer, a theme which Peter revisits frequently for the remainder of the book.

Christ is so much more than just a good example, however. Peter continues, “He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continuously straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls” (vv. 24-25). He is worthy to be followed not just because of His actions, but because His actions were undertaken in the power of God to break the power of sin and redeem us. It is only in Him and by His power that we are able to keep from straying and attain to His calling for us.

As is the case throughout Scripture, Peter’s epistle does not issue empty commands or give us a list of actions to follow for the sake of morality—the call to righteousness he conveys is firmly grounded in what God has done for us through Christ the Savior. In carrying out His eternal plan in a moment in time some 2,000 years ago, He has become also our ultimate role model. Once we have been redeemed, following Christ is our call, but as Peter so directly reminds us, it is a call to suffering before it is a call to glory.

Justin Lonas is the editor of Disciple Magazine.

Click HERE to read the next article in the series.