New Acting Attorney General to Oversee Mueller Probe ( Archived) (47)

When the governing authorities incarcerated Peter in a way that would have hindered the accomplishment of God’s predetermined plan, an angel of the Lord arranged for Peter’s escape. And when Herod sought to kill Peter, the church did not arrange protest marches; they prayed. The result was that Herod was put to death not by the hands of an angry mob but by the hand of God—and not because anyone protested against him, but because men praised him as god (see Acts 12).

(3) Peter’s teaching provides a different basis for submission. Peter instructs the saints to submit to governing authorities not because they are always right, or fair, or because doing so will always keep us from persecution. We are to obey for the Lord’s sake, in obedience to Him, and for His glory. Praise for well-doing may or may not come from earthly rulers, but it will come from God at the return of our Lord.

(4) Peter greatly expands our concept and practice of submission. The best any government can expect from its unbelieving citizens is obedience. Often that obedience is given only when under the scrutiny of those who enforce the laws. That is why people speed until their radar detector tells them to obey the law. Christian submission does not fall short of secular submission; it far surpasses it. The Christian is to obey civil authorities, whether they are looking or not. Beyond this, we are to give honor to civil authorities even when their performance does not seem to deserve it. We honor them for their position as given by God.

I must confess that I have fallen far short of Peter’s instructions in my own life. I have always had nicknames for people, particularly people in authority. I cannot give you an illustration of this without violating Peter’s command to give honor to those in authority. But one thing I know, God requires me to show honor to those in authority whether I voted for them or not.

May God grant us the ability to obey these instructions both in spirit and in truth, to the glory of God and for our ultimate good.

64 A number of commentaries note that the term “institution” is the unusual rendering of a Greek word consistently rendered “creation” or “creature” elsewhere in the New Testament. At least two meanings are inferred from this fact: (1) that the term refers to all mankind, not just to governing authorities, and (2) the terms emphasizes the divine origin and authority of human governments. The first is advocated by Kelly: “. . . the writer is laying it down that the principle of the redeemed Christian life must not be self-assertion or mutual exploitation, but the voluntary subordination of oneself to others (cf. Rom. xii.10; Eph. v. 21; Phil. ii. 3 f.).” J. N. D. Kelly, The Epistles of Peter and of Jude (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers), 1969. Harpers New Testament Commentaries Series, pp. 108-109.

The second is the position of Stibbs: “It is, therefore, probably truer to biblical usage to understand the phrase here as meaning ‘every divine institution among men’--thus ascribing the existence of such human institutions directly to the divine initiative . . . .” Alan M. Stibbs, The First Epistle General of Peter (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), 1968. Tyndale Bible Commentaries Series, pp. 109-110.

New Testament theology and the context would support the emphasis of both, whether the Greek term requires it or not.

65 “Ignorance is not the more common term agnoia, used in 1:14, but agnosia, also used in 1 Corinthians 15:34, which does not so much denote intellectual inadequacy as a religious failure to perceive the true nature of the Christian faith and life. It implies a stronger sense of blameworthiness.” D. Edmond Hiebert, First Peter (Chicago: Moody Press), 1984, p. 157.

66 “The necessary stance of the Christian community is further described in vv. 16-17 with two corollary questions in mind: (1) What have the universal obligations of Christians to their fellow citizens to do with their particular obligations to one another? (2) What do their obligations to the emperor and civil magistrates have to do with their obligations to God? The answer follows in a terse four-part maxim in v. 17. The first two and the last two form pairs: respect is for everyone but love is for fellow believers--God deserves reverent fear while the emperor deserves respect.” J. Ramsey Michaels, 1 Peter (Waco, Texas: Word Books, Publisher), 1988. Word Biblical Commentary Series, p. 123.

67 This seems to point back to the expression “every human institution,” which is literally “every human creature or creation.”

68 While this text certainly focuses on the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, it also indicates the privileged position which God has given men in creation.

69 “To honour, or to ‘esteem highly’, is the proper general attitude to adopt towards all men. It is due equally to all as God’s creatures, and as the objects of His peculiar love and care (see Gn. v. i, ix. 6; Ps. vii. 4,5; Pr. xiv. 31; Rom. xiv. 10; Jas. iii. 8-10). This principle condemns much of man’s treatment of his fellows both in the political and in the industrial world.” Alan M. Stibbs, The First Epistle General of Peter (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), 1968. Tyndale Bible Commentaries Series. p. 112.

70 Paul does not make the same distinction between “fear” and “honor” that Peter does as we can see in Romans 13:7. Peter distinguishes between “honor” and “fear” because he has already commanded the saints to conduct themselves in fear in relation to God (1 Peter 1:17-21).


Karlorado if you want to pit some religious leader against what the bible really say's you will loose every time. You're bringing a limp noodle to a flame thrower fight. I can post thousands of christian writings that are backed up by scripture that will completely destroy anyone who bases their rhetoric on religious beliefs rather than scripture. But I won't because I would be wasting my time because the unbelievers on wouldn't read it and the believers don't need it.