In the second half of chapter two, and in chapter three, Peter deals with the idea of submission, and in three areas, submission to government in verses 13-17, submission to masters in verses 18-20, and submission in our marriages, beginning in chapter 3. In today’s passage, Peter addresses the second area.

You can see this passage for yourself in 1 Peter 2:18.

This passage can lead to some confusion in our society, because Peter is talking about masters and slaves. Some of the modern translations attempt to resolve this by making it to be “servants” or “workers,” but this isn’t really the point of this passage. Such efforts weaken the meaning of the text, although the principle certainly applies. That said, the Greek word doulos can mean “servant,” but that is an infrequent use in the Bible. The meaning of the word the majority of the time is “slave.”

In the time of Peter and his initial readers, the circumstances of slavery varied enormously. While one slave may be treated with something like equality by his master, another may have much worse circumstances, and a much harder life. Many were in slavery because they were born that way, others were enslaved because of war, or because of debt. Some slaves were owned by individuals, working in a home or on a farm, others were public slaves, working in the civic arena, or even in temples to pagan gods.

The New Testament in general is focused on improving the life and circumstances of slaves, and in many cases encourages slaves to earn their freedom if possible (manumission). And if the master was a believer, such as in Paul’s letter to Philemon about the slave Onisimus, the slave faced the likelihood of a better life. But Peter is writing to people who are newly Christians, or who are living in very pagan areas influenced by Greek culture. Most of the slave owners here were probably not believers.

So Peter addresses how slaves are to act in such circumstances. In a Christian household, a slave who was a Christian probably saw a better relationship between himself and his owner. But in a non-Christian home, a slave as a believer, could easily begin to think of himself as better than, or superior to, his owner, leading to greater conflict. Peter writes to such people, and instructs them to be in submission to their owners. Whether or not their owner is kind and gracious isn’t the point; slaves are called to a standard of obedience in the relationship, regardless of how they are treated.

In our minds, in today’s culture, this sounds harsh and hard to accept. The slaves in Peter’s day probably took it no better. Many of them suffered at the hands of their masters, and Peter calls it unjust suffering. Many slaves would have wanted to rebel against such treatment. But Peter gives them a different viewpoint to consider. He calls them to submit, regardless of their circumstances. In fact, in the next couple of verses, Peter will make it clear that the slave who suffers unjustly, but bears it because because he is striving for a Christ-like attitude, is to be commended.

In our day, slavery such as this is not prominent, even though it exists in terrible fashion all around the world. Many of us, though, have no experience with slavery, and are unlikely to have any. So what are we to gain from this passage?

First, every relationship we have should spring out of our reverence for God and our desire to pursue his will for our lives. This will lead to greater respect and courteousness in all of our relationships.

Second, we should be certain to fulfill the expectations of the various relationships we have. If we hold a job, then we need to make sure we work for and earn the salary we are given. Every relationship comes with obligations, and we should do our best to fulfill our part, going even beyond what is expected.

Third, to refuse to fulfill these obligations is to discredit the gospel for which we live. Our vocal witness for Christ can be neutered if our actions do not support our words.

And fourth, if we do experience unjust suffering, we should bear it with the best attitude possible. After all, our goal is to honor Christ with our lives, and we need to remember that in all circumstances, especially those where we feel we are being treated unfairly.

Peter will continue these thoughts in the next couple of verses, and show how our suffering, whether just or unjust, is something that we will experience. But we can take heart, because Jesus did as well. And his suffering led to our redemption.

Question: Have you ever experience unjust suffering? What did the experience teach you? You can leave a comment by clicking here.