The Christian and Governmental Authority
1 Peter 2:13-17
Introduction
In the USA, where I live, there is no more odious word in the English language than “submission.” No one here wants to submit. They don’t want to submit to government. They don’t want to submit to their boss. Women don’t want to be subject to men. Nor do children wish to submit to their parents. The culture boasts about human free will and autonomy. Anything that runs counter to that mantra is anathema.
In our study, we have emphasized that the churches Peter was writing to were undergoing persecution. Those opposed to the church were looking for any excuse to accuse the church. Culture demanded that all be subject to Caesar as emperor. Culture also demanded that slaves be submissive to their masters, and wives be in subjection to their own husbands. Those who violated these norms put themselves in jeopardy before the state. So Peter addresses these issues in this section of his letter. In this study, we will deal with the first of these topics which is submission to governmental authority,
Exposition of the Text
Submit yourself to every man-made ordinance — The New King James Version adds a “therefore” which is not in the Greek text. By doing so, it is tying this section to the previous passage which is an exhortation to good conduct. Besides glorifying God in one’s conduct, it was also a means of witnessing to the Gentiles (unbelievers, or not yet believers). This gives us a reason why we are to submit. The Greek literally says that we should submit ourselves to every “manmade creation.”
A little background of the context is needed here. Peter was addressing churches who lived under the rule of Rome. A generation after this epistle, Pliny the Younger who was governor of that province had to deal with people who were badmouthing the church. We don’t have all of the details of the issue, but Christians were accused of atheism because they would not worship the Emperor, They were accused of incest because of their calling themselves brethren and were sharing in a love feast (Eucharist). They were also accused of cannibalism because they were thought to be eating human flesh and blood at these gatherings. Trajan, who was Emperor at that time took an even-handed approach. If the Christians were found to be truly disruptive, then they should be punished. Otherwise, they were not to be hunted down.
But the situation in Peter’s day was far different than during the days of Trajan. the Emperor Nero was a true monster of a human being. His mother had killed Claudius so that she could rule through the underage Nero. Nero did not his mother ruling over him, so he had her killed so that he could reign without her interference. He was a morally derelict man. He forced his tutor Seneca to commit suicide when Seneca tried to straighten him out. He would a short time after this letter arrest Christians, accusing them (wrongfully) of starting the great fire in Rome in 64 AD. Christians were rounded up and soaked in wax, put on crosses and lit as torches for the sporting events. They were sown in animal skins and thrown to the dogs. It was dangerous to be a Christian. Some Roman laws could not be obeyed without denying Christ. What was the Christian to do? The answer here “submit to every manmade ordinance” seems hard.
For the Lord’s sake — This is the other reason that Christians were to submit. It is the LORD who is truly King. He is the Creator and Ruler of all. Just before Jesus ascended, he told the disciples: “All authority is given unto me in heaven and on earth.” The ordinances the Lord makes are not manmade ones. God is a God of order. All of Creation is subject to Him, whether the Nero’s of the world know it or not. Scripture tells us that God raises and topples earthly leaders according to His will. So, subjecting one’s self to these ordinances is to submit to the rule of God in one’s life through Jesus Christ.
Whether it be to the king as supreme —When we think about the king being supreme, his authority is limited to earthly matters in a particular nation. He is supreme with a small “s” and not a capital “S”. For the Roman nation, that king was the emperor Nero. Acts 17 tells us that it is God who sets up and takes down nations and rulers. All earthly kings rule by the permission of God. These rulers shall one day give account for their rule. Kings can be good or bad, just like Peter will soon refer to earthly masters of slaves could be kind and gentle or mean and demanding. Nevertheless, the Christian is to respect the authority of the king as being supreme, There is a practical side to this. If the Christians were to rise up against the tyranny of Rome under Nero, would they have fared any better than the Jewish nation which was about to rebel against Nero’s Rome? The Jewish revolt of 66-73 AD ended in total disaster for the Jews. The same would be true is the Christians had risen up. Having admitted the pragmatism of remaining obedient to authority, the principal reason to be in submission to secular authority is that God has ordained it.
Or the governors who are sent by him — God’s government is based upon a hierarchy. The Triune God rules over all through the agency of archangels, angels, heavenly beings, and secular rulers. there is an authority system in the church as well. God appointed the Apostles. Under them are elders and pastors who rule over the flock. So the entire order of creation is based upon a hierarchy of submission. God is the God who called order out of chaos at the creation. We all have our proper place in this structure.
In the secular order, kings sent out governors and other officials to rue over a part of the territory. The next level of government is led by governors who answered to the king. As these officials are accountable to the king, those placed under the governor's authority are to submit as to the king.
For the punishment of evildoers and the praise of them who do well — These tow things are charged of the leaders, not just from the emperor, but by God. The governors are to enforce justice against those who do evil and see that they are punished. They also are to praise those who do well. Oppression is when the government punishes those who do good and rewards them who do evil. something that John MacArthur in a recent sermon noted. Such practices will certainly bring down the wrath of God against corrupt officials. But the christian must be reminded from Psalm 94:1 and other places in Scripture that vengeance belongs to God alone. We must wait upon the Lord when we are oppressed. In Peter’s day. the judgment of God would take away Nero from this world and placed him before the judgment seat of Christ for eternal account.
For this is the will of God, that by well-doing. you might put to silence the foolishness of ignorant men — the churches peter was addressing were being prosecuted and charged before the governor as evildoers. We have already mentioned some of the possible charges that were being brought. Although corruption had already infiltrated the Roman judicial system, it had a reputation for justice. The prosecutors were expected to prove their cases. Even Pontius Pilate, who was a cruel governor had enough of a sense of justice that he expected the Jews to present a proper case before him. Even though he was probably to some degree aware of the Passover plot, he could not allow the mob to rule. Eventually, Pilate caved under pressure, but he held his ground for a while. He saw that the Jews had no case at all. To judge in favor of such flimsy evidence, at least under Roman law, would make Pilate to play the fool. And there were other Roman governors of a better sort than Pilate.
False accusations were being brought against the Christians, even as they had been brought against Jesus. But if when the governor examined the prisoners and saw that they were humble folk who did a lot of good in the community, even to their enemies who accused them, he would realize how foolish the charges brought against them were. The governor understood his charge. These Christians might appear to be quite odd to him, but they were good and obedient subjects. the good they did was to be praised rather than condemned. On the contrary, their accusers would appear as utter fools who deserved to be censured into silence.
As free — Peter tells his hearers that they are indeed free. They had been freed from sin. So in this respect, they were no longer slaves. Jesus affirms our freedom when He says “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free (John 8:32). We are now God’s children, His special people. This is a high privilege of which we need to be reminded often when others treat us badly. We are the aforementioned royal priesthood.
But do not use your freedom as a cloak to do evil — Being royalty has its privileges. but it also has its responsibilities as well. Nero was well-known for his perverted behavior. He is not the only royal to have abused his privilege to victimize others, The Christian has responsibilities not to abuse their new status as God’s children. We may be princes, but we need to reflect the honor and glory of God who has given us this privilege. A prince who acts wickedly casts a shadow upon the one who is the monarch. We dare not dishonor God. God is not the author of evil, so His children are not to do evil either.
In this context, doing evil could be seen as avenging one’s self on those who have mistreated the Christian. However, the Bible specifically prohibits the believer from taking revenge (Romans 12:19). Paul tells the Romans this in the same chapter that he discusses the Christian’s duty to secular government, a passage similar to this one. We must put away the temptation to be wrathful, even when those who oppose us have deserved it. Instead, we need to look to God to avenge us (See Psalm 94:1).
But as the slaves of God — Peter has just reminded us of our freedom, so it comes as a shock here that he tells us that we are slaves of God. A lot of translations offer the word “servant” rather than “slave.” However, the Greek word here, doulos, is always translated “slave” in Greek literature. The Greek uses “diakonos” for servant. How can we be free, and yet slaves at the same time? This seems to be an utter contradiction. How do we reconcile this?
One way to see this is to understand that we can be free in one context but a slave in another. As we mentioned, we have been freed from sin and the power of Satan. Because we have been redeemed, we are no longer Satan’s slave. However, the fact that we have been set free from Satan does not make us ultimately free. We are not slaves of a new master, God, who is a kind and forgiving master. This explains why we can be free in one aspect but a slave in another.
What is still difficult is how to explain how we can be God’s children and His slaves at the same time. Perhaps the way to look at this is similar to how Paul deals with a similar situation in Galatia. There Paul mentions that the law was a tutor to bring us to maturity (Galatians 3:23-26). Paul mentions that a minor child was under a tutor, who may have been a slave, by the way. That child, even though he would later become an heir was actually for the time a slave of a slave. The Christian is promised an inheritance. The time will come upon His return that this will be fulfilled. We shall then become mature and come to our full privilege as children. In this way, we might for a period be a slave and a child at the same time. The difference between a slave and a child who currently is for all practical purpose a slave, is that a human slave will always be a slave.
Honor everyone — The “but” in the verse is telling us to replace what was previously said with the idea that follows. It tells us to replace the idea of being free with the idea that we are slaves of God. To this we must replace the idea of seeking revenge with giving honor to all people. What is interesting is that this occurs before the phrase which says honor the king. If for no other reason than fear, we give honor to our leaders. But here it says is to value everyone, even those who in this world are considered the dregs of society. The Quakers held to the equality of all people, so they refused at first to honor their “betters.” This got them jailed and beaten. Then they learned a lesson. They would go to the slums of London and bow and curtsy before even the children who lived there. They considered everyone to be their “better.” Therefore, they kept the letter of the law of the king and Parliament. For since Christians are considered by the dignitaries of this world to be the lowest of the low, by keeping the letter of the law, the Christians could not be charged without the magistrates making fools of themselves. Yes, they honored the king. but they honored everyone.
Love the brotherhood — Christians are to honor everyone. In addition to this, they are to love their Christian brothers and sisters. The Greek word used here is “agape” which is the highest form of love. One can honor someone without loving him. Few loved Nero. The love which Christians were to show to each other is sacrificial. We are to care for each other, even at the risk of loss or even life. Jesus was referring to himself first as the example when He says: “No greater love can a man have than to lay down his life for the brethren (John 15:13). But this call to love is for us as well. The churches Peter wrote to were undergoing persecution. It was risky to be a Christian. Christians needed to protect one another. So should we.
Fear God — Note that it does not say “Fear the king,” is says “Fear God. It is God who raises and brings down secular rulers. One should not fear the king if one does what is right. when kings become tyrants, they must answer to God who is the final authority. But we fear God, because it is He with which we must give account.This fear should not be a terror but awesome reverence for the holiness of God. But he does bring forth the rod of correction when we do what is wrong.
Honor the king — The passage started with the command to submit to all worldly authority starting with the king. This is a chiastic arrangement in which the earthly ruler is the outside element. In a chiastic arrangement, it is what is in the middle which receives greater emphasis. We mentioned that the command to respect everyone is on the inside. So what Peter is saying is to give the king his due, but no more. We are only to render to Caesar that which is rightly his. (Mark 12:17). But there is a time in which we must obey God rather than men (acts 5:29)
Application
The first task we need to do when applying this passage is to note that there is no emperor and few kings in this world. For the most part, nations are led either by a dictator, a president or a prime minister. Many leaders like the word “president” because it has the ring of democracy to it. It gives a sense of legitimacy to the leader, even if he or she is a dictator. they want to at least appear that they rule by the assent of the governed. Even the old Soviet Union had “elections.”
This brings up the question whether Christians should vote, even if the voting in someone’s country could be fraudulent. Suppose there is two equally bad choices? This is a thorny issue. This has to be a decision between the believer and the Lord. By voting, one gives legitimacy to the result. By not voting, one abdicates his or her responsibility to share in the governance of one’s country. It seems to me that to vote is to be preferred because we are modelling what a good citizen would do. We cannot be responsible if the government breaks covenant and nullifies people’s choice through some sort of fraud. This seems the less bad choice that to let evil rule unchecked.
Another issue in contemporary society is the people of a nation insulting their leaders. Some insult the current president here in the USA, and others the former president. It seems to me that the Bible frowns on such behavior. The Bible says to honor your leaders because they rule by the will of God. Sometimes a leader is a blessing to a nation. At other times, a bad ruler is the judgment of God upon a nation that has forsaken Him. Regardless of the worthiness of the one who occupies the executive chair, the office he or she holds is to be honored. Therefore, we need to be careful about the words we use. We need to pray to God in the face of oppression rather than cast curses and insults.
I must admit of how difficult it was for me to write up this study, considering what is now happening in America, and not just America, but the world. Christians are now considered the enemy of the state. There was a time that they were respected, even if it was respected for practical purposes. There is fear that what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust may be happening to us as well. I never dreamed that people could be so hateful. We are being divided into camps so that we might fight each other rather than the true enemy.
So what are we to do? Many of our Christian friends think we need to stand up and openly oppose the oppressive authorities. Thankfully, few advocate violence, and most advocate civil disobedience of some kind. I can understand the frustration Christians are feeling. But we need to think carefully about this rather than to emotionally react. To react with fear and emotion may indeed be a trap to justify further persecution.
We need to look at what Jesus did before Pontius Pilate. Jesus could have successfully rebelled, if that is the correct term, seeing he was also Caesar’s Lord. He could have called down a legion of angels or have his servants fight. the one who said “I AM” in the Garden of Gethsemane put the Roman soldiers on their backs. He could as easily have killed them. No one was ever persecuted worse than Jesus or so shamefully treated for doing good. He submitted Himself to Pilate who served the Emperor. We must consider that if Jesus handled persecution in this matter, then we should do likewise. Jesus did more good in His death than he could have as a Jewish warlord.
We can also look at the suffering of the early church. They never rose up against the state. They suffered horribly. Yet, in the end, it was Christ and not Caesar who prevailed. The church became a costly sacrifice which eventually changed the world. It never was perfect. that will only happen at His return. But the Christians abolished the gladiatorial combats and gave more rights to women and slaves.
When the earthly church became corrupt, then the courage of Reformers like Luther changed society, armed only with the Scripture. Christians again suffered horribly, this time before “Christian” kings and a “Christian” Pope. But the Reformation was almost destroyed by the attempted violent overthrow of people like Thomas Munzer, Zwingli, and the Zwickau Prophets. The Thirty Years War did not help either.
the important thing to remember about our calling is that we are to be witnesses. We witness to Christ in season and out. In good times we witness by fairness, gentleness, generosity, and spreading the Gospel. In bad times, we also witness to Chrst by these things. But to this we add the witness of suffering. So our submission to authorities is a witness to the submission all are to hold before God.
So it seems that the proper way is to submit to authority, even if the authority acts like Nero. But there are times that we cannot obey an order which is contrary to the will of God. The church needs to stand firmly in the truth. We do not take to arms, but we are willing to submit to the unjust punishment we might suffer for not obeying. We know that if we die, we are His, and that is all that matters.
In a world full of hate and bitterness, let us be an oasis in the desert. Let us treat all people with the respect of those who are created in the image of God. Let us show forth the grace of God in Jesus Christ, the grace which was freely given us when we believed. God has treated us much better than we deserved. Let us follow His example in how we treat even those who hate us.
