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1 Peter 3:13-17
13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
After telling the believers to be kind and compassionate to one another, Peter then goes on to tell them that no one will harm them if they are followers of what is good. He goes on to say that if however, they do suffer for doing good, they should consider themselves blessed or fortunate. In fact that’s what Jesus too said in His sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Peter goes on to tell them to not be afraid of, or troubled by the threats of those who do them harm. This, once again, is a take from Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:28, where Jesus said, – “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Peter goes on to tell them to instead sanctify God in their hearts, meaning, to let God take centre-stage in their lives, and to live for Him alone. He adds that they should be ready to answer those who ask them to explain how they could have such a hope or assurance, referring to the hope of eternal life, which comes from their faith in Jesus. It’s important to remember that not all people are antagonistic to the Gospel. There are those who are genuinely seeking the knowledge of the truth, and we should be willing to answer them, if they ask questions pertaining to our faith in Christ.
While answering those who question us about our faith, Peter reminds us to do so with meekness (gentleness) and fear (respect). We should never be proud or haughty with anyone, especially with those who are seeking the knowledge of the truth. We need to remember that what we say is as important as how we say it, because our attitude speaks more, and louder than our words. He further adds that we need to have a good conscience, so that those who either seek the truth, or those who ridicule or defame us as evildoers, would see our good conduct and be ashamed of their behaviour towards us. Peter then goes on to say that if at all it is God’s will that we undergo suffering, it should be for doing good and never on account of doing evil.
We should be careful to not equate suffering that we might bring upon ourselves owing to wrong choices we make with suffering we face on account of our faith in Jesus. It’s in this context that Peter says it’s better (if God so permits) to suffer for doing good than to suffer for doing evil.
1 Peter 3:18-22
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
Peter goes on to give us a reason why we should be willing to undergo suffering at the hands of those who oppose us or persecute us on account of our faith in Jesus. He reminds us that just as our Master Jesus, who, though He was just, suffered on behalf of us unjust people, when He bore our sins upon Himself, we too need to be willing to suffer on account of our faith in Him. Jesus took upon Himself our suffering in order that He might reconcile us with God. He goes on to explain that Jesus’s suffering was not merely a verbal abuse or ridicule by men, but actually resulted in His death on the cross. Praise God, the gospel does not end with the death of Jesus. He was raised to life from the dead by the Holy Spirit. Let’s always ensure when we share the gospel that we conclude with the amazing fact that Jesus rose from the dead. It’s the resurrection of Jesus that justifies us, and it’s because of His resurrection that we possess this hope (assurance) that one day we too will rise from the dead at the return of the Lord Jesus.
He further adds that Jesus was raised to life by the Holy Spirit, (and went in spirit, not in body) to the place of the dead, referred to here as ‘prison,’ and preached to them. This is a very confusing passage and there are so many interpretations to it, and one can’t be entirely sure what it really means. But what it does seem to suggest is that after Jesus died, He went in the spirit (not in the body, as his body was still in the tomb), to the place of the dead, and preached to the people who lived back the times of Noah, while he was building the ark. God was waiting for these people to repent of their sinful ways, but they did not. They thereby chose their fate of being destroyed by the flood. The only ones who did believe Noah concerning the impending flood were the seven other members of Noah’s family – his wife, his three sons, and his three daughters-in-law, and so they were the only ones who were saved as a result.
Peter says that Noah’s family was saved through water. While the rest of the world was destroyed by the water, Noah’s family was saved, as they floated in that ark on the water. He then goes on to make a comparison between that water and Baptism. He explains that baptism was not meant to clean our bodies, but was rather an act of obedience to God in the process of Salvation. In baptism we identify with Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection from the dead. What he was saying in effect, is that the saving of Noah and his family from the flood was a shadow of the baptism that Jesus both partook of Himself, and preached about as well.
Jesus is now exalted far above all human and angelic authority and has all powers subject to Him. When Jesus was here on earth, he took on flesh and blood and lived like us, subjecting himself to earthly authority. But now that He has ascended back into heaven, from where He came, all authority, both in heaven and on earth have been subjected to Him. Though it might not always seem like the Lord is in control of this world, let’s remember that unless the Lord permits something to happen it can never happen, and He has the ultimate authority, and He will one day prove it for all to see. Until then we have the choice to either submit to His authority over our lives, and enjoy the rewards of that, or to rebel against His authority over our lives, and face the consequences of our rebellion. Though the rewards of our subjection, or the consequences of our rebellion to His authority over our lives may not always be seen here on earth, they will eventually be seen when the Lord returns to judge the earth.
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