1 Peter 2:18-25

1 Peter 2:18-25

Peter moves from the general truth to the specific application of this truth. He addresses servants, which would be better translated as “house slaves.” A large part of the early church came from the slave class. The difference Christ made in their lives was a powerful witness to the watching world. The lessons they learned and lived out have great application for those of us who have more freedoms and greater rights. The word “submit” means “arrange yourself under.” When it comes to authorities, we are called to “order our lives under them.” The idea of asserting our rights is not so much Biblical as it is part of the godless Enlightenment. Peter points out that by doing this we are to be agents or actors of grace. We do not submit only to those who have earned submission by their goodness but also even, or especially to those who uniquely do not deserve such submission. If we have a disrespectful and bad attitude and we suffer for it, how is that unique or a witness? But noble suffering in the face of injustice has a profoundly powerful impact. Indeed, such suffering of injustice actually finds favor or grace before God. In other words, this suffering really counts for something.

Peter does something, along with Paul, that was unheard of in the ancient world: he places moral obligations and responsibilities on the individual slaves. Nowhere else in the ancient world were slaves seen as being morally culpable. That was because slaves were considered subhuman without the capacity of moral responsibility. Christian scripture did not attack or ban the institution of slavery from the outside. Rather, it destroyed the foundation and the core, by recognizing the moral responsibility of all men, thus identifying their equality. When we remove from a person their moral responsibility, we do not absolve them of guilt, but rather we rob them of their full dignity.

Peter says something that is likely a bit challenging to us. After saying we will suffer unjustly, he goes on in verse 21 to say, For you have been called for this purpose. We hate suffering so much that we sometimes fail to recognize its redemptive value. But Christ is our example. His suffering not only shows us how to conduct ourselves under pressure but also that suffering, righteous suffering, can be part of God's greater redemptive plan. This helps us to have a bigger picture or understanding of hardship.

“Lord, help me see and live righteously in the hardship of suffering. AMEN”