Submit Like People Who Are Free: Meditations on 1 Peter 2:13-17
“No!” my 19-month old daughter yelled as she ran away from me into the next room. I didn’t teach her that. She was born that way. But truthfully, she comes by it honestly because I feel the same sentiments inside of me when my authorities ask me to do something that I don’t want to do. My 10-year-old son sometimes reminds me of this as he glances over my shoulder to see the speedometer. I had asked my daughter to hand me the pencil that was in her hand before any self-inflicted wounds could happen. Now, if I didn’t teach her to respond with such brash refusal, where did it come from? Paul calls it a sin nature: “…[we] were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph 2:3). She was born with a sin nature that she received from me and that I received from my parents and they received from their parents and on and on like the rest of mankind, back to our first parents Adam and Eve (see Genesis 5:3).
Submission is hard for those of us who have a sin nature. But even 19-month-olds need to learn that they have been born into a world of authority so that when they are 19 years old or 29 years old, they are not having to learn this important life-lesson for the first time. God set up our world as a world of authority. Authorities are put in place by him to promote order, to provide security, to help people flourish. And so, the apostle Peter says with full confidence, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution” (1 Peter 2:13). Don’t miss that small prepositional phrase “for the Lord’s sake” (literally: “because of the Lord”). In Peter’s theology, there are no self-made authorities. In the next verse he’ll make this a bit more explicit by saying that these authorities are sent by God (cf. Romans 13:1-5).
If you are anything like me, when you hear this command to be subject to your earthly authorities, you immediately start coming up with exceptions to the command (“But what about if they are evil and hate God?” “What if they tell me to do something wrong?”). Like I said, my 19-month-old comes by it honestly. This knee-jerk reaction misses the point. So, Peter gets really practical and specific, zooming in on those authorities that we might be most likely to justify rejecting: “…whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Peter 2:13-14). From our highest governing authorities to local governing authorities, Christians are called to joyful submission. Why? Because in their joyful submission that is witnessed by their governing authorities and neighbors, Christians silence those who would otherwise ignorantly claim that they are a detriment to society. That’s my paraphrase of v.15 (“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people”). God’s will is to magnify the glory of his name by creating (that is, re-creating!) a people with a new nature who live righteous lives of submission to their governing authorities.
And how does God go about re-creating a people who joyfully submit to their authorities? Don’t miss this. He does it by setting them free: “live as people who are free” (1 Peter 2:16). This might send your head spinning a bit. The two commands in this paragraph are (1) be subject…to every human institution and (2) live as people who are free. Now those are two interesting commands to put in the same paragraph! Interestingly, only one of them is actually a command: be subject (v.13). The other is not a command but literally reads, “as free people.” There’s no main verb in v.16. This verse is simply following up on the command from verse 13 and adding to our understanding of it. So, putting this together, the command in 1 Peter 2:13-16 is this: “be subject…to every human institution…as free people…”
So, how do we reconcile these two seemingly contradictory themes (submission and freedom) that are sandwiched together in this paragraph? The answer, I believe, is found in a proper understanding of Christian freedom. Christian freedom is not the absence of authority. Rather, Christian freedom is the right ordering of authorities. In fact, Peter defines a life of freedom as putting ourselves under the authority of God, our ultimate authority: “live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 3:16). Peter says that God is the ultimate authority who sends earthly governing authorities to act on his behalf, encouraging good and punishing evil. So, somewhat paradoxically, Christian freedom is the basis or foundation of our submission to our governing authorities. The knee-jerk reaction of the re-created servants of God with new natures is a freedom to joyfully submit to their governing authorities.
So, brothers and sisters, live as those who are free. Rightly order your authorities. This is how Peter ends this section (in v.17), by re-emphasizing the ordering of our relationships and authorities. He does this through a chiasm of sorts, emphasizing the middle portion:
A – Honor everyone. (broad earthly relationships)
B – Love the brotherhood. (broad spiritual relationships)
B1 – Fear God. (highest spiritual authority)
A1 – Honor the emperor. (highest earthly authority)
As Christians, you are free to live as servants of God. You are not chained to your former, sinful knee-jerk rejection of authority. As Christians, you are free from your culture’s tendency to speak ill of authority. As Christians, you are not bound to walk in lock-step with any particular party’s platform or rallying cries. Your ultimate authority is higher than that. You are free to live as God’s servant, following his commands, to the glory of His great name. May we joyfully live this way as we enter into another political season.