BIG IDEA:
B. Submission to Civil Authorities is the Only Answer to Persecution and the Best Way to Glorify God (2:13b-17)
INTRODUCTION:
John MacArthur: As citizens of heaven, Christians submit wholly to divine authority, but the potential misapplication of that truth is that they can become indifferent and even disdainful toward the world in which they live, thereby forfeiting many opportunities for positive testimony. Believers’ detachment from the world must be balanced by proper respect for and humble submission to all the legitimate institutions of human authority.
In this passage, full of imperatives, six elements of Christian submission to authority emerge: the command for submission, the motive for submission, the extent of submission, the reason for submission, the attitude of submission, and the application of submission.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Holy Spirit declared the following:
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, “Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.” For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them, ” declares the Lord. For thus says the Lord, “When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you, ” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, ” declares the Lord, “and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, ” declares the Lord, “and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.” (Jer. 29:4–14)
Although that passage was primarily a message to the Jews concerning their conduct while captives in Babylon, it has overtones for Christians, who should promote the welfare of their society and government while waiting for their eternal home (cf. John 14:2–3; Heb. 4:9–10; 11:13–16; Rev. 21:1–4).
Nearly a decade before Peter wrote his letter, the apostle Paul had already taught concerning submission to government:
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. (Rom. 13:1–4)
Although Peter and Paul both lived in the openly sinful, decadent Roman Empire—a society infamous for evil (homosexuality, infanticide, government corruption, abuse of women, immorality, violence), neither apostle offered any exemption by which believers were free to defy civil authority. Jesus Himself had commanded, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Matt. 22:21).
Daniel Akin: The Bible teaches there are situations when the people of God must say no to the government in order to say yes to God. As Peter and the apostles said in Acts 5:29 when they stood before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court, “We must obey God rather than people.” Yet, the general teaching of the Bible points us in a different direction.
The Bible’s basic orientation is toward civil obedience, even when the governing authorities are ungodly and unjust. Nero (AD 54–68) was the emperor when Paul wrote Romans 13:1-7 and Titus 3:1-2 as well as when Peter penned 1 Peter 2:13-17. Peter will teach us that God’s rationale for such a command is theological and apologetic. It honors the sovereign providence of God, and it helps our witness to the lost.
Thomas Schreiner: How should believers respond to the social structures of the day? Since God is their Lord, should they ignore human and governmental institutions? Peter argues that believers should submit to the emperor and governing authorities appointed by him, showing from this that Christians are not “politically and socially subversive.” They are to submit themselves to governing authorities because of their relationship to God, for in obeying the government they carry out God’s will. Further, by doing good in the public square, they will contradict those who claim that believers practice evil. Peter does not see human authorities as ultimate. Christians obey governing authorities because such obedience is God’s will. The supreme authority for Peter was not the emperor but God himself. Further, in v. 16 believers are to defer to authorities as those who are free in Christ and as slaves of God, and not from a subservient spirit. The readers are cautioned that their freedom should not become a pretext for evil. The section concludes with four imperatives in v. 17. Believers are to show respect and honor to all people, show a special affection for fellow believers, and fear only God while still honoring the emperor.
Louis Barieri: Peter does not commend one form of government over another at this point. The principle is that the Christian should submit to the government under which he lives. Christianity has existed for almost two thousand years under all kinds of governmental structures. God has ordained the institution of government to provide order for society, and the Christian ought to fulfill his proper duties.
I. DESCRIPTION OF SUCH CONDUCT
A. (:13) Fundamental Responsibility is Submission
Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution,
Peter Davids: The first part of this instruction (“Submit … on account of the Lord”) is the general overriding command that will govern all that follows, for 2:18; 3:1; and 3:7 all contain participles that assume the main verb supplied here. Submission, then, will be the general characteristic of this public morality.
Wayne Grudem: The word translated institution is ktisis, which usually means ‘creature, thing created’. The context (vv. 13b–14, 18–20; 3:1–6) makes it clear, however, that it is not every human being in the world to whom we are to be subject (a meaning that the verb hypotassō could not bear in any case, since it refers to subjection to an authority), but rather every ‘institution’ or ‘establishment of authority’. This sense for ktisis would not be puzzling to Peter’s readers, for the word is used frequently in extra-biblical literature to refer to the act of creating a governmental body or founding a city. Josephus uses ktisis to refer to ‘settlements’ which the Jews established after leaving Babylon (Ant. 18.373); Plutarch (c. ad 50–120), Moralia 4350, says the Delphic Oracle brought many benefits to the Greeks ‘both in wars and in the founding of cities’ (ktisesi poleōn; cf. BDAG, p. 573, 3; also the helpful discussion in Hort, pp. 139–140).
For the Lord’s sake or ‘on account of the Lord’ gives a theological basis for this submission. Our submission to authority should imitate and thus glorify God the Son (Peter makes this latter point explicit in 2:21–23). Moreover, since God has established these structures of authority (cf. Rom. 13:1–7), he is pleased for us to submit to them.
B. (:15) Danger to Avoid is the Misuse of Our Spiritual Freedom
For such is the will of God that by doing right
C. (:17) The Special Honor We Give to Civil Authorities is Consistent With Our General Obligation to Honor All
Daniel Doriani: Structurally, honor comes first and last, while love and respect (literally, fear) stand in the middle. (Thus the commands have the simplest chiastic structure: ABBA. The first and last commands are cooler, commanding honor. The interior imperatives are warmer, requiring love and fear.) First, we “honor all men,” treat everyone with a respect they deserve, if only because they bear God’s image. Second, we love the brothers, showing affection and offering aid to all within the family of faith. Third, we fear God. This is affectionate fear, not cringing or servile terror, that we owe to a person we respect. We revere the Almighty. Fourth, we honor the king—or the emperor, president, or prime minister.
- General Obligation to Honor All
Honor all men;
- Specific Obligation to Love the Brotherhood
love the brotherhood
- Specific Obligation to Fear God
fear God
Peter Davids: Peter makes it clear that only God is to be reverenced or feared, for God alone is ultimate, a belief that was not shared by non-Christians of that age, who honored the Caesar (or other monarch) as at least semi-divine.
- Specific Obligation to Honor Civil Authorities in a Special Way
honor the king.
Peter Davids: In contrast to the reverence to be accorded to God, Peter ends on a lower note with “honor the king.” Jesus also made a distinction between God and Caesar (Matt. 10:28; Mark 12:13-17), but this did not mean a disdain for Caesar. While Caesar is only put on a level with “everyone” here, he still receives his honor. The Jews were aware that God controlled history and used even pagans to do his will. This did not mean that God approved of their means or would not punish them, but it did mean that they were not outside his purpose (Isa. 1:20; 5:23-29; 10:5-11; 45:1; Jer. 5:15-17; 16:3; 21:4-7; 25:9; 27:6; 43:10). As a result, even though the Jews in general believed that the Messiah would come and destroy their Roman rulers, they offered sacrifices and prayers for the Emperor (Philo, Legatio 157.355-56; Josephus, Wars 2.197; C. Ap. 2.77). Even Roman order was better than anarchy. Christians also followed this pattern, as Matt. 22:21, 1 Tim. 2:1-3, and Tit. 3:1 show. But, while due appropriate honor and rightly to be prayed for, the Emperor was human and therefore neither to receive blanket approval nor ultimate reverence, both of which were reserved for God alone. This balance made the church of the next few centuries refuse both revolution (e.g., the Jerusalem church fled Jerusalem rather than take part in the war against Rome in A.D. 66-70) and participation in the army; she would also both speak respectfully and appreciatively of Roman order, and refuse to give even a pinch of incense to the Emperor in worship (their equivalent of the practice of saluting the flag in the United States). Pagans would think them foolish for their obedience to law in general (which they often tried to avoid), and more foolish for their disobedience to the command to take part in a simple and relatively meaningless patriotic ceremony of worship. But it was that balance that Peter felt best expressed the truth to which Christians bear witness.
Daniel Doriani: In a democracy, governors themselves say that we need not adopt every policy or yield to every government plan. We can resist. Civil disobedience is even an option, although we must bear the consequences of rebellion. Indeed, our governments often invite us to get involved, individually and collectively. This is a right that Peter’s poor and powerless people never enjoyed, a right that should increase our desire to honor our governors. Sadly, in democracies, too many people (even Christians) take pleasure in the harshest criticism of the authorities.
II. REASONS FOR SUCH CONDUCT
A. (:14b) Ideally, Submission Should Be Pleasing to the Authorities
whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.
Peter Davids: The Emperor was not the only one deserving submission, but also “governors,” that is, the legates or procurators (of imperial provinces) and proconsuls (of senatorial provinces), who were the highest authority with which people normally had to deal in their lives. Since they at times had a direct effect on daily life and since their various evils were often well known, they would be much harder to submit to than the distant unknown Emperor. But one should submit because
(1) they represented the Emperor (i.e., were “sent by him”) and
(2) their purpose was “to punish those doing evil and to commend those doing good” (i.e., to keep the public order).
Erland Waltner: In principle, this recognizes both a negative or restraining function of civil government, as well as an encouraging or positive one.
B. (:16) Always, Submission Will Be Pleasing to God
Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil,
but use it as bondslaves of God.
Erland Waltner: He introduces the great paradox that the Christian is truly free (in Christ) even while being a servant of God. He cautions that this freedom is not to be abused as a pretext for evil. In the divine pattern for the Christian life, freedom in Christ is not simply for self-expression or enjoyment but for the service of God. To silence the foolish who bring false accusations, freedom acts in the service of divine love.
Daniel Doriani: There are many ways to abuse freedom. In Peter’s day, some wanted to rebel against Rome, an idea that was doomed to fail and lacks biblical warrant. Others simply wanted to follow their own ideas or desires. Some Corinthians adopted the slogan “All things are lawful for me” (1 Cor. 6:12a ESV). They considered themselves liberated from all laws and plunged into an array of sexual sins (1 Cor. 5–6). Paul retorted that even if, in some unusual sense, “all things are lawful,” it is also true that “not everything is beneficial” (6:12b). Some “freedoms” hurt others. Some freedoms enslave the one who exercises that freedom (6:12c). We must use our freedom correctly: to love neighbors and to serve God. He brought us out of slavery for something more than self-indulgence.
Wayne Grudem: Because his readers might think such extensive submission to authority would be oppressively restrictive, Peter explains that true freedom is consistent with obedience to God’s will. He assures them that they are able to live as people who are free. The kind of freedom meant is not specified, but certainly the great freedoms of the Christian life are freedom from the impossible obligation to earn merit before God by perfect obedience (Gal. 5:1–14; Acts 13:39; Rom. 6:23), freedom from guilt (Gal. 3:13; Rev. 1:5b) and freedom from the ruling power of sin (Rom. 6:6–7, 14, 17–18, 20–23; John 8:31–36).
None the less, Christians do not have freedom to do evil! Though free in a greater way than anyone apart from Christ can ever be, Christians are still in another sense servants of God or ‘bondservants of God’, for they owe him their whole lives and their entire beings. True freedom, true ability to choose and do what one really wants to do, comes paradoxically in entire submission to God as his obedient servants (cf. Jas 1:25; 1 John 5:3). Therefore, as God’s ‘free servants’, Christians should never use their freedom as a cover-up for evil: freedom must result in the great joy of doing good.
C. (:15b) Hopefully, Submission Will Be Preventing to our Slanderers and Protecting to Ourselves
you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.
John MacArthur: The word rendered silence (phimoun) means “to restrain, muzzle, or make speechless” (cf. Matt. 22:12, 34; Mark 1:25; 4:39; Luke 4:35). It denotes the gagging or stopping of someone’s mouth so as to render that person incapable of response.
The word Peter used for ignorance (agnōsian) means more than merely a lack of knowledge. If that meaning were all he wanted to convey, he would have used a form of agnoia. But agnōsian indicates a willful, hostile rejection of the truth (cf. 1 Cor. 15:34). It is a settled lack of spiritual perception that the apostle further characterized as foolish (aphronōn). That term means “senseless, without reason” and may express a lack of mental sanity.
Integrity, impeccable moral fiber, and purity of life are all effective character tools to muzzle the enemies of Christianity.