the boss is right

¹⁸ Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. ¹⁹ For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. ²⁰ For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.

18 to me might read Employees obey the boss out of fear.

Like many of us, they had fallen into the self-centered lifestyle. They did not wish to be servants of anyone nor were they excited about the lifestyle of obedience. Instead they preferred for God to fall into the flow of their lives and to subscribe to their wishes.

Of course, they were challenging one of the basic requirements of being a true Christian. To follow Jesus Christ as Lord in obedience and to serve Him is not an option for authentic Christian lifestyle; it is imperative. And, as we serve Christ, we must also serve others. It is this teaching which Peter now expands.

“Servants, be submissive to your masters” (v. 18). The statement is clear. Christians are not free to merely do their own thing nor to simply follow Christ without carrying on their responsibility to their masters. To submit (hupotássō) is to be subject. Christian servants are to be subject to their masters (v. 18); all Christians are to be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake (2:13). Christian wives are to be subject to their husbands (3:1); younger Christians are to be subject to their elders (5:5); and all Christians are to be subject to one another (5:5).

In verse 18, Peter implies that it is quite easy and natural for us to be submissive and obedient to employers who are good to us and gentle with us. In fact, it is a very real temptation to take advantage of such employers.

Paul’s instructions to the Ephesian believers are appropriate for us as we consider this passage. “Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:5–6).

Paul continues by reminding us that when we work for others, we should not do more merely to please them but rather we should work as unto the Lord Himself. In other words, we should not merely “get by” with what is expected of us by kind and gentle employers. We should do our very best in a way that will please God. When we please God, we will be pleasing to our employers. Excellence for God usually brings the approval and admiration of God from employers.

To submit to employers who are good and gentle is not difficult, but verse 18 also instructs us to submit to masters who are harsh. To be whipped or beaten into submission is one thing, but to submit by one’s own free will to a harsh master is quite improbable or even impossible without the Lord’s help. However, Peter is not talking about the natural; he is counseling us to enjoy and to practice the life of the Spirit—the supernatural.

He contends that such conduct is “commendable” because it requires that our conscience toward God is the motivation for such behavior (v. 19). We endure grief and suffer because our deepest commitment is to Jesus Christ, and the ultimate purpose of our work is to please Him—to do all to His glory (1 Cor. 10:31).

This conduct is also commendable because it is pleasing to God (v. 20). Peter writes with directness and honesty when he asks the rhetorical question, “For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently?” (v. 20). His inference is clear—that response is expected of us by our earthly masters and by our society.

However, there is a dimension of Christian behavior which goes far beyond that which is expected by others, and it is pleasing to God. That is when we do good and suffer for it, and take it patiently. This behavior is commendable before God (v. 20). This kind of behavior not only brings glory to God, but it also has the potential of ministering to our masters and to others around us.¹

Peter now approaches the subject of the implications of humility for specific groups, and deals first with Servants. The word used here for servants is used of household servants or domestics who received wages for what they did in the household. Out of respect for their masters they are to submit or conduct themselves properly under the circumstances of this social institution. This is Christian humility. Their conduct is not to be determined by whether their masters are good and gentle, but by Christian ethics; they must also submit to those who are “crooked” and difficult, since there are some people who are hard to get along with. For this is thankworthy. The word thankworthy (Gr charis) is idiomatic for “what pleases God”; the literal translation would be “grace,” which in the New Testament usually has the underlying connotation of something which is acceptable to God. Here, what pleases God is that a man can endure pain while suffering unjustly for the sake of his godly conscience.²

2:19 Those who suffer faithfully but unjustly as a result of their service to God please Him. Such suffering has a great reward (see Matt. 5:10–12; Rom. 8:17, 18; Phil. 1:19; 2 Tim. 2:12). Peter himself had asked Jesus about this and received an exciting encouragement about the divine compensation package (see Matt. 19:27–30). endures: Believers are not merely to survive the difficulties that come their way, rather they are to bear patiently their heavy loads. Grief here is not the result of loss but of being afflicted. wrongfully: This verse is about injustice, about people being treated worse than they deserve.³

2:18 Servants, be submissive. One’s Christianity does not give the right to rebel against one’s superior in the social structure (see notes on 1 Cor. 7:20–24; Eph. 6:5–7; Col. 3:22–25; Philem.; see also Ex. 21:26, 27; Lev. 25:39–43; Deut. 23:15, 16), no matter how unfair or harsh he may be.

2:19, 20 commendable before God. Favor with God is found when an employee, treated unjustly, accepts his poor treatment with faith in God’s sovereign care, rather than responding in anger, hostility, discontent, pride, or rebellion (cf. Matt. 5:11).⁴

18 Servants—This refers to household servants. The Greek word for slave is not used. It probably includes freedmen remaining in their master’s house. Since masters were not usually Christians, Peter limited his comments to the servants who were often persecuted by unbelieving masters. Peter wanted them to submit regardless of their master’s character. be subject—The exhortation in this verse is linked with those going before. The submission, Peter said, is to extend to all circumstances. good and gentle—Some masters can be considerate, overlooking understandable errors and not exercising justice without mercy. Others, however, are froward—i.e., harsh and perhaps even perverse. Nevertheless, the disposition and behavior of our superiors should not influence the way we attend to our responsibilities. 19 thankworthy—Greek, charis; in the context it means “that which is admirable” (Rienecker). if a man for conscience toward God endure grief—Our reaction should be the opposite of what comes naturally—we are to rejoice in the Lord if, under a tough and cruel master, we suffer for following God’s way. We are to strive to please God, not men, and be more concerned about our response to the injustice we have suffered than to the injustice itself. 20 what glory [credit] is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?—There is no particular merit in accepting in a right spirit the suffering we deserve. if, when ye do well, and suffer for it . . . this is acceptable with God—We please God if we suffer for doing right. It is not that we earn some kind of merit in his eyes, but we know that our actions receive his approval. This may be cold comfort to some, so Peter goes on to point out Christ’s example to encourage us in our suffering.

Christian Conduct As Slaves (2:18-25) Peter’s instruction to slaves included two reasons why they should patiently endure personal injustice. First, this found favor with God, and second, it faithfully followed Jesus Christ’s example. 2:18. The Greek word for slaves here is not douloi, the common term for slaves (cf. v. 16), but oiketai, which refers to household or domestic servants (cf. Luke 16:13; Rom. 14:4). The word translated submit (hypotassomenoi) is a nominative participle that continues the idea of submission expressed in 1 Peter 2:13 through the aorist imperative hypotagēte. This word of exhortation was relevant to a large number of Peter’s first readers. Servants and slaves made up a high percentage of the early church, and undeserved punishment and suffering was common for the underlings. To be sure, there were some good and considerate masters. Certainly Christian masters were to be numbered in that category. However, Peter challenged Christian slaves to a new behavior which required them to submit to and respect even those who are harsh. “Harsh” is from the Greek skolios (lit., “curved,” “bent,” or “not straight”). The medical term “scoliosis,” referring to curvature of the spine, comes from this word. 2:19-20. Peter set forth a principle here that may be applied to any situation where unjust suffering occurs. The commendable (lit., “for this is grace”) motivation for patiently bearing up under… unjust suffering is a believer’s conscious awareness of God’s presence. No credit accrues for enduring punishment for doing wrong. It is respectful submission to undeserved suffering that finds favor with God because such behavior demonstrates His grace.

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1 Cedar, P. A., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1984). James / 1 & 2 Peter / Jude (Vol. 34, pp. 147–148). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

2 Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2608). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

3 Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (1 Pe 2:19). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

4 MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 1943). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.