Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
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Good morning, Bereans. We are continuing our study of 1 Peter this morning, looking at verses 13—17 of chapter 2. Please keep in mind that Peter is writing to exiles who are being persecuted for their faith.
In verses 11 and 12, he noted that they are aliens and strangers. We have to see ourselves in that way as well, because, like them, our citizenship is in heaven. Then in verses 13 to 17 he explains to them that even though they are aliens on the earth and as believers, they live in another dimension, they are still citizens in this physical world and, as such, must conduct themselves properly.
The point of the whole section of exhortation is that we as Christians are to live in such a way that by our exemplary lives will stop the mouths of those who criticize our faith. The entire section on Christian lifestyle falls under the heading of 2:12, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable.”
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:12 ESV
How believers live and react to the common struggles of life are loud witnesses to all who know them. Christians need to maintain a reputation so that there is absolutely no reason for people to criticize and condemn them. People may criticize and condemn believers anyway, but it will be unjustified.
Each of the following paragraphs is introduced by “be submissive”:
This subject of submission is very important and very often misunderstood. There are many different views on what this passage teaches, so I beg you to be a Berean and study this out for yourself. But one thing is clear in this text: Our testimony before the lost is dependent on our submissiveness.
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 1 Peter 2:13 ESV
“Be subject”— is from the Greek hupotassō which is a military term used for the chain of command. It literally means "to arrange oneself under authority." The basic meaning of the word “submit” is “obey.” It is an attitude of service under authority. The imperative “be subject” governs the entire paragraph down through verse 17.
We'll talk about whom we are to submit to in a minute, but first we must recognize the motive behind submission. “For the Lord's sake”— to submit yourselves for the Lord's sake means to submit yourself because He demands it. You are doing it in obedience to Him. It literally means, “on account of the Lord” so that he might be honored among his people. The ultimate purpose for such obedience is the same as what we saw in 2:12: to silence their ignorant slander and to glorify God.
"For the Lord's sake" is to be the motive for all of our actions.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 ESV
Whether working in the garage, playing basketball, studying for a test, or taking your wife out for a really nice dinner because you were a jerk to her, do it all for the glory of Yeshua.
The simplest, most basic rule of thumb for living the Christian life is to do everything, whether word or deed, in the name of the Lord Yeshua. To do everything in the name of Yeshua is to act consistently with who He is and what He wants. Paul expressed the same thought in 1 Corinthians 10.
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
All that we do must be put to a simple test: "What would Yeshua do or say?" Notice that it says that whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Yeshua. This covers everything. Everything that we do or say should be done or said according to His character and will. That's what it means to do something in His name. Our actions should reflect Yeshua's character.
So, we must evaluate everything we do and say by that standard. Is this something that I can do in His name? Is this something that I would say in His name? Would I be doing this if Yeshua were here standing right beside me? Would I be saying this if Yeshua were standing here listening to me?
The motive for our submission is "for the Lord's sake." That's clear enough. The big question and the one upon which believers disagree concerns to whom we are to submit. Our text in 1 Peter says, “to every human institution.” A casual reading here makes it sound as though we are to submit to everyone who is in a position of authority.
The word “institution” comes from the Greek word ktisis. This termoccurs 20 times in the New Testament. Nineteen of those times it is translated as either "creation" or "creature.” The one exception (“institution”) is found here in verse 13. A literal translation would be: “Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human creation.”
So, this might mean, “Be subject to whatever man creates,” or “Be subject to the persons that God creates.” However, in its biblical usage, this term always refers to something that God has done, therefore, I think it is highly unlikely that the term “human creation” would refer to something that humans create. Rather, the term very likely means human creation in the sense of humans that God creates. Human beings are God's human creation.
Is verse 13 to be understood as calling for a kind of submission to all people, all human beings? Are we all to submit to each other? No. The context seems to limit this: “whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him” (1 Peter 2:13-14). The argument is that, since Peter is applying subjection to governors and emperors, he doesn't mean it to apply to all human creatures but only to those whom God has appointed to authority. Who is that? Hang on. We'll get there in few minutes. But first I want to dispel the idea of mutual submission. Some use the phrase “every human creature” to say that we all are to submit to each other. Those who hold this view try to support it by associating this verse with Ephesians 5:21.
submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Ephesians 5:21 ESV
There are two main views on this verse. The first contends that Paul is teaching "mutual submission." In other words, every believer must submit to every other believer. The other view is that this verse is teaching submission to those who are in authority. The primary argument concerns the meaning of the verb "be subject."
"Be subject"—it seems like those who hold to the "mutual submission" view have redefined this word to mean "serve." One commentator writes: "There is a sense of mutual submission in biblical relationships in which we lay aside our rights and humbly serve one another in love." They are confusing submission and service. Those in submission do serve their authority, but those in authority can "serve" those under them without submitting to them. If a general takes a cup of coffee to a private, he is displaying service but not submission. The general is in charge, and the private knows it no matter how many times he is served coffee from the general. We are to serve one another, but hupotasso goes beyond service.
A second view is that verse 21 does not refer to the mutual submission of everyone in the church. Rather, it refers to wives submitting to husbands, children to parents, and slaves to masters, as spelled out in the following verses. The main argument for this view is that the semantic meaning of the Greek word for "submit" almost exclusively refers to someone subjecting himself or herself to another who is in authority over that person.
"Be subject"—is the Greek verb hupotasso, which comes from two Greek words: hupo ("under") and tasso ("to set in place, to order oneself"). In other words, the word means "to set something in place up under something else." Hupotasso regularly functions to describe a one-directional subordination to another's authority rather than to a symmetrical relationship. O'Brien writes: "It always has to do with an ordered relationship in which one person is 'over' and another 'under.'" Therefore, to say that the word can refer to a relationship of mutual and reciprocal submission would be to misunderstand the semantic range of the term. The word hupotasso disallows the "mutual submission" interpretation of the verse because it denotes a one-directional submission to the proper authority in any given situation. If A is subject to B, than B is over A and A, therefore, cannot be over B.
As I said, hupotasso almost exclusively refers to someone subjecting himself or herself to another who is in authority over that person. In the forty-three New Testament occurrences, the verb carries an overtone of authority and subjection or submission to it.
None of the relationships where this verb appears is reversed. For example, husbands are never told to be subject to their wives, parents are never commanded to be subject to their children, governments are never instructed to be subordinate to their citizens, and masters are never ordered to be subject to their slaves.
Piper and Grudem state: "The word is never 'mutual' in its force; it is always one-directional in its reference to submission to an authority" Authority and submission are necessary to accomplish any purpose through a group, whether it is to build a house or to run a company, an army, a country, or a family.
Hupotasso always requires one party in a relationship to submit to the other and not vice versa. The context of Ephesians 5:21 supports this position. In this verse, Paul makes a general call to all Christians to submit to one another in whatever hierarchical relationships they are involved in. He then gives three specific examples of relationships in which submission of one party is required. Verse 21 is thus properly understood as an introductory verse to those which follow.
A completely reciprocal submission would mean that where wives must submit to husbands, husbands must also submit to wives in exactly the same sense and to exactly the same extent. Neither Paul nor any other New Testament writer ever taught that husbands must submit to wives, that parents must submit to children, or that masters must submit to slaves.
How, then, should we understand the command in Ephesians 5:21, "be subject to one another”? It could be paraphrased as follows: "Those who are under authority should be subject to others among you who have authority over them."
So, whom are we to submit to? Peter says, “whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors.” Who are these emperors and governors?
In an article by Dr. Steve Bydeley entitled, “Submit to Government? (1 Peter 2),” Steve says, “1 Peter 2:13 is not about institutions; it is about relationships between people… we, Messianic believers, are admonished to obey those that the Lord has placed in authority over us—within the body of Christ and within the Kingdom of God.”
“His main point, I believe, is that they submit to those God has placed in authority over them, not those (s)elected by voting machines and corporate donations for nefarious reasons.”
Is Peter teaching that the emperors and governors refer to church leaders? He obviously doesn't believe that elected officials are appointed by God.
To support his view that we don't have to obey elected officials, he says, “Jesus was often at odds with governing authorities when healing on the Sabbath, instructing others to carry their beds on the Sabbath, eating without washing hands, etc.” As I said earlier, the subject of submission is a controversial one.
What, then, did Peter mean by, “whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors”? The word “emperor” is from the Greek word basileus which means, leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king. The phrase, the emperor as supreme in Classical Greek meant "the human founder of a city"; however, in the New Testament it is always used of God's authority.
The word governors—is from the Greek word hēgemōn which means “a leader of any kind, a guide, ruler, prefect, president, chief, general, commander, sovereign.” Hēgemōn is used 19 times in the New Testament and they all refer to Roman governors.
And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. Matthew 27:2 ESV
Then the soldiers of the governor took Yeshua into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. Matthew 27:27 ESV
Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” Acts 23:24 ESV
This makes me think that Peter is talking here specifically about submitting to the Roman authorities – the Emperor and the Governors.
We saw in verse 11 that Peter's readers were sojourners and exiles in the Roman empire. Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia were all provinces of the Roman Empire and each governed by a Roman-appointed official.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 1 Peter 2:11 ESV
Believers, we are exiles on this earth. Our home is heaven, but while we are here, we are to be good citizens. Look at what Jeremiah told those who were exiled to Babylon.
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Jeremiah 29:4 ESV
This is a message to the Jews in Babylonian captivity. They were taken to a foreign land under Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. How are they to live while in exile?
Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughtmarriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. Jeremiah 29:5-6 ESV
He tells them to live their lives. Then he says,
But 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 find your welfare. Jeremiah 29:7 ESV
Do you ever feel like an exile in America? Are you irritated by the decisions that are made in this country by the authorities? What should we do? Anything you can do to seek the welfare of the city and pray to the Lord on its behalf for in its welfare will benefit you.
You are citizens of heaven, but as long as you have to be here, you are to live here, buy a house, plant a garden, eat the fruit, marry your children off, and do everything you can to seek the welfare of your city and to pray for the city.
As long as we are in chapter 29, we may as well look at the oft-quoted verse from this chapter.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
I have heard this verse misquoted at least a dozen times at home school graduations. Who is the “you” of this verse? It's not YOU. t is the Babylonian exiles. Look at verse 10.
“For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. Jeremiah 29:10 ESV
This was written around the 6th century B.C. when Jerusalem was destroyed and the people were taken into captivity by Babylon. Yahweh is assuring the exiles of Judah (not 21st-century Americans) that His long-term plan is good and that He has not abandoned them. He would give them a future and a hope. Yahweh had plans for their welfare (i.e. the exiles of Judah) and not for calamity. These promises were to take place when the seventy years were complete—they were clearly made to the exiles of Judah and not to us.
So, Peter calls believers to submit to authorities. Someone is bound to point out that Peter didn't live in a world like ours. But he did! He lived in a world dominated by slavery and incredible abuse. He lived in a world in which the abuse of women was rampant. His world included the murder of children. We have records of the fact that female children in particular were drowned because the parents turned their thumbs down and said I don't want the child. Sexual sin was widespread in Peter's world, and homosexuality was so prevalent that many of the Caesars themselves were homosexuals. Peter and his contemporaries lived in a wretched, rotten, vile, ungodly, wicked society—just like we do. And yet they were told to be subject to the authorities to be subject to the powers that be.
So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Yeshua answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” John 19:10-11 ESV
It is important for us to recognize every human authority over us as coming from God. It may be difficult for us to submit to human authority. But that is the touchstone for our submission to God.
Those to whom Peter wrote lived with a government and society that was not favorable toward the Christian faith. Both Peter and Paul were executed at the hands of the Roman tyrant, Nero.
or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 1 Peter 2:14 ESV
“As sent by him—the pronoun "him" could refer to God or the governor. “To punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good”—Peter here identifies the purpose of government. It is to punish the evildoer and praise those who do good.
How many of you think that killing babies is evil? How many of you think praying for mothers going into an abortion clinic is good? Several weeks ago, the Biden DOJ sent Paulette Harlow, a 75-year-old Catholic nurse, to prison just days before Thanksgiving. She was sentenced to two years in federal prison for peacefully demonstrating outside an abortion facility in D.C.
President Trump was recently informed of Paulette Harlow's tragic sentencing and he issued a statement. He said, “Paulette is one of many peaceful pro-lifers who Joe Biden has rounded up, sometimes with SWAT teams, and thrown them in jail…we will rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner who's unjustly victimized by the Biden regime, including Paulette, so we can get them out of the gulags and back to their families where they belong.”
Too often our rulers punish those who do good or ignore and overlook those who do evil.
We see the first establishment of human government after the flood with Noah. Look at what God says to Noah:
And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. Genesis 9:5-6 ESV
If a person killed a man, man was to exact retribution through capital punishment. In this covenant with Noah, he essentially establishes our government system. Cain did not die for his murder, and neither did his son, Lamech. He had not yet established this system. God judged them directly. But after man's utter failure to live godly, he wiped them out in the flood and established delegated authority in the government.
Since the normal, general, basic, formative foundation of government by biblical definition is to punish evildoers and reward those who do well, government is never more clearly defined than when it appears in the role of the police.
“You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' Matthew 5:38 ESV
When God in the Old Testament said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, He wasn't saying that if somebody punches your eye out, you are to punch his out or that if somebody knocks your tooth out, you are to knock his out. Yeshua taught that retribution is not the role of the people but, is, rather, the role of government. There must be retribution and not vengeance. Government has the God-given authority to maintain order and to restrain and punish disorder. Capital punishment is one form of this mandate.
Robert Culver, in his book on a biblical view of civil government wrote:
God alone has sovereign rights. Democratic theory is no less unscriptural than divine right monarchy. By whatever means men come to positions of rulership, by dynastic descent, aristocratic family connection, plutocratic material resources or by democratic election there is no power but of God. Furthermore, civil government is an instrument, not an end. Men are proximate ends but only God is ultimate end. The state owns neither its citizens nor their properties, minds, bodies or children. All of these belong to their Creator, God, who has never given to the state rights of eminent domain."
Go has ordained government to keep the peace in society and He has commanded us to submit to that.
For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 1 Peter 2:15 ESV
The “doing good” here is living in submission to authorities. Peter unfolds the act of subjection in 1 Peter 2:13 in the acts of doing good (1 Peter 2:15), the act of serving (1 Peter2:16), and the act of honoring (1 Peter 2:17).
“For this is the will of God”—what is the will of God? The will of God is that you obey, submitting yourself for the Lord's sake to every authority. That's the will of God. The will of God is that you submit.
“That by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people”—Peter tells us that one of the reasons for our submission should be to “silence” the ignorant talk of foolish men.
The phrase “put to silence” is the Greek word “phimoō” that is better translated as “to muzzle.” It meant to make a person incapable of responding. Our behavior before men should be so good that we muzzle those who would criticize us. Good behavior would gag these critics.
Peter knew that our conduct is a way to defend the gospel. He knew that those who never read the Bible will read our lives, so it is by doing good that we put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.
“Foolish people”—here it refers to uninformed pagans who are accusing believers of things which were not true.
Peter seems to be anticipating these objections: “But we're free in Christ! We don't have to obey a pagan tyrant!” In response, Peter instructed them to
Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 1 Peter 2:16 ESV
We are free men in Christ in that we are now free from sin and from the bondage of the Old Testament law (John 8:32; James 1:25). Nevertheless, we are not justified in thinking that we are free from civil law and, therefore, we do not have to obey rulers. Nor are we free to just do as we please. We are still subject to God's law; we are His servants (Romans chapter 6). We are not to use our freedom as a cloak of wickedness – i.e., do not use the fact we are free in Christ as excuse to sin (Galatians 5:13; 1 Corinthians 8:9).
“But living as servants of God”—the word “servants” here is doulos. This word meant "slave" in classical Greek. It was a word used to describe slaves who had no rights. Their masters owned them, and their only justification for being allowed to live was to fulfill the wishes of their owners. Because of its meaning in Graeco-Roman Society, doulos has normally been seen as a reference to a bond slave—someone without legal standing or personal claims; someone owned by another. Most Bible students accept this meaning and, therefore, contend that a Christian has no rights. But the term doulos has at least two meanings in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the LXX it was used to translate the Hebrew word ebed. An examination of the Hebrew text of the Tanakh, particularly that of Isaiah, shows that ebed was a title for pious men. It was applied to Abraham, Moses, Joshua or David, and to the Servant of Yahweh.
The essential difference between the Hebrew slave, who is sold into the possession of another, and the slave of Yahweh is not merely the status of the owner. The essential difference is one of covenant.
In the LXX, doulos described a relationship within the covenant that Yahweh had made with Israel. This is also the case in the New Testament where the context normally shows it to describe a relationship within the New Covenant which Yahweh has established through Christ. This covenant use does not speak of someone who has no rights but, rather, of someone who is showered with honor and privilege as a result of being a slave of the living Yahweh. We see this use in Isaiah 42.
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. Isaiah 42:1 ESV
"Servant" here is ebed (a slave). The status of "slave" confers on the Church and her members the highest honor as she and they are called to serve the living God. Following the exodus type, Israel was Pharaoh's slave; but through her redemption, she became Yahweh's slave. The same is true of believthat by faith we become Yeshua's slaves.
Your slavery to Christ results in a right standing with Yahweh. You are in union with Him who satisfied eternal justice on your behalf. Your union with Him, then, results in full acquittal of your sins and in God's declaration of righteousness. Christ accomplished all that was necessary for you to be declared righteous by God.
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 1 Peter 2:17 ESV
The four injunctions in this verse summarize our social obligations. The first two and the last two are pairs. We should "honor" everyone ("all people"), but we should "love" fellow believers ("the brotherhood"). "God" deserves "fear," whereas the civil ruler ("the king") is worthy of "honor." These two pairs connect with Yeshua's teachings that we should love our enemies (Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35) and "pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's" (Matt. 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25).
“Honor everyone”—this means to recognize the worth of all humans in God's sight and, therefore, to treat everyone with dignity and respect. Paul put it this way:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4 ESV
As Christians we are to count others more significant than ourselves. Can you imagine what the church would be like if believers lived like this.
“Love the brotherhood”—this is a present active imperative. Christians must continue to love their brothers and sistfaith. It is the family characteristic of God.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12 ESV
“Fear God”—the Bible uses the expression "fear God" 17 times, the expression "fear the Lord" 35 times, and the expression "the fear of the Lord" 27 times. As Christians, we are called to fear God. Do you?
Because so much emphasis is placed on fearing the Lord, I believe that we need to know what it means so that we can go about doing it. I believe that the Lord wants to teach us what this matter of fearing Him is all about. He wants you and me to grow in our relationship with Him and in our knowledge of Him and to understand that the way knowledge begins is with the fear of the Lord.
What does the phrase "the fear of the LORD" refer to? When we think of fear, we associate the word with terror. Webster's Dictionary defines fear as: "a feeling of anxiety and agitation produced by the presence or nearness of danger, evil, pain, etc." For many, this would describe the feeling you get when you see a snake, when you go to the doctor or dentist, or when you find yourself in a time of extreme danger. It is dread of the unknown. Surely, this is not the sensation the Bible is referring to.
In our modern vernacular, the "fear of the lord" is often defined as "reverence" or "awe.” This is fine as far as it goes. But I wonder if this definition truly goes far enough. According to Paul, the "fear of the lord" should include a place for "trembling"!
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, Philippians 2:12 ESV
Paul combined "fear and trembling.” The Greek word for "trembling" is tromos. It means "a trembling or quaking with fear.” Just as one would likely tremble in the presence of one who could take our life, so Yeshua taught us to fear the Lord.
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28 ESV
The word “hell” here or anywhere in the Bible is a bad translation. The word translated as hell is gehenna which refers to national judgment. In this context, it refers to AD 70.
What, then, does it mean to fear the Lord? When we truly fear the Lord, we will recognize that He is the Creator, and we are the creatures.
Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. Psalms 33:8-9 ESV
God's power of creation should cause all the earth to fear the Lord and stand in awe of Him. He is the Master, and we are the servants. He is the Father, and we are the children. This attitude will manifest itself in our having a respect for God and in our having a desire to do what He tells us to in His Bible. We can relate this kind of fear to that which a child has for his parents. If the right kind of fear is present, the child knows that his parents can hurt him if there is disobedience; but overriding that fear is the knowledge that disobedience hurts the parents as well. The child loves and respects his parents and does not want to hurt them. To put it simply, the fear of the Lord is a deep-seated reverence for God that causes men to want to please Him at all costs.
Fear of the Lord is always demonstrated in obedience to the Word of God.
By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil. Proverbs 16:6 ESV
This verse tells us that the fear of the Lord promotes holy living. The person who truly reverences and respects the Lord as he should will not do anything that brings disgrace, dishonor, or pain to the heart of the Lord. People who genuinely fear the Lord will flee from evil. People who do not flee from evil do not fear the Lord, regardless of what they profess with their lips. Therefore, when we fear the Lord, there is an element of dread at what His wrath can do. But there is also such a respect for Him and for His will that nothing else matters but doing that which pleases the Him.
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