Submission Matters

Submission is a matter of worship.

So, let’s try and get a handle on Peter’s discussion here.

First, some context:

Begins in vs.13 — submission is “because of the Lord.”

Begins with submission to human authorities, in particular government authorities.

Authorities put in place to justly oversee (“punish those who do evil…praise those who do…good.”)

Submitting as free people...

We are free from sin’s rule

Free from enslavement to the law/earning God’s favor through legal observance

I’m trying even to guard how I say things like “living a life that is pleasing to God...”

I’d rather live a life that brings honor to God and indicates that He is my greatest treasure in life.

I don’t want to sell the work of Christ short, nor do I want to enslave myself to legal righteousness.

That deal briefly with our freedom, and there is a bit of irony…set free in order to become a servant of Someone Greater.

This freedom is to be used for good, not a “cover-up for evil.” The key is to use freedom for what is GOOD.

Now, Paul moves to the realm of “household slaves.”

Unique term — not doulos but oiketes.

When we read “servants” and “slaves,” it is so hard for us to read that outside of the north-Atlantic slave trade atrocity that history has familiarized us with.

Scholars estimate over 60 million slaves in the ancient Roman world (doctors, tutors, teachers, musicians, and menial household tasks).

Submission = voluntarily placing yourself under another’s authority…even if the master is cruel.

Here’s the hard part — even if they’re cruel. Remember Mike’s question last week: Why?

If we suffer while being mindful of God, there is “favor” (the Grk. word is charis — “grace.”)

Scholars take two directions here…both likely in play:

God is mindful of unjust sufferer and supports/sustains them.

There is evidence of grace at work when believers patiently endure.

Honestly, there doesn’t seem to be a huge distinction, and the end is still God’s glory because it’s by His grace.

Submission may mean suffering unjustly.

There is grace when we suffer for Christ.

Verse 20 widens Peter’s scope to include someone/anyone who suffers unjustly.

So here’s where I think we turn this passage to something introspective.

I spent a good bit of time in prayerful meditation on this idea of suffering, trying to figure out some practical application of suffering, which simply defined is experiencing emotional or physical pain.

That’s not my job. If you’re suffering, you know it.

Here’s what I feel is the question that lies before us:

Are you suffering justly? That means did you do something to cause the consequences you are experiencing? If so, seek forgiveness through repentance, both from God and others.

Are you suffering unjustly? There is grace that is sufficient for your weakness, and God will be glorified through your dependence on His grace.

Jesus modeled unjust suffering in the gospel.

You’ve probably heard it said, and I’m not sure…I feel it may have originated with Adrian Rogers…but there is only one good and innocent person to ever suffer, and that’s Jesus!

Preach the gospel here.

Suffering well is a gospel opportunity.

Verse 24b-25 deal with the redeemed, moving beyond the gospel and applying this to those who have been saved.

The redeemed are the ones who realize their utter spiritual bankruptcy who know cling to Christ. Matt 5:3 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.”

Here is where suffering becomes beautiful, and I think the church as a whole owes a debt of gratitude to Piper for bringing this to the forefront in the past two decades of his ministry:

GOD IS MOST GLORIFIED IN YOU…IN ME…WHEN WE ARE MOST SATISFIED IN/WITH HIM. This point is made all the more emphatically when we cling ever closer to Christ in the middle of life’s most difficult circumstances.

We once were not a people, but now we have been called the people of God.

We once were far off, but now we have been brought near by the grace of Christ.

We once were a lawless lot, but we now have the Spirit, a Superior teacher who writes the law on our heart and leads us into all truth.

How can we not cling closely to Christ?!

How can we not live for His glory?!

How can we not enter His courts with thanksgiving and praise?!

How can we not live for the sake of eternity with Him?!

2 Cor.4:17-18 “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

If you want to suffer well, cling to the Chief Innocent Sufferer as the greatest treasure you will ever find, and know that God will be glorified!