Developing an understanding of the historical setting of the book of 1 Peter will yield immense benefits in the hearts of all those who choose to do so. Authority has always been an issue in the hearts of mankind from the very beginning. It is commonly stated that pride led both Satan and Adam to sin against the Lord. But what cannot be avoided in such a claim is that the reason why sin was sin in the first place is because God declared it to be so.
God was and is both Satan’s and Adam’s authority. God is the authority over all of His creation. When Satan sinned, it was a direct assault against God’s authority. When Adam sinned, it was the same thing. Sin is an issue of a lack of submission to authority. Specifically, sin is an issue of not submitting to God. Rather, it is rebellion against authority.
This rebellion against authority has been a problem since the Garden. It is currently a problem in America. Oftentimes, people believe that they have liberty to submit to certain authority figures based on their character. They might think, “If someone is worthy of being submitted to, then I will submit to him.” However, maybe the authority has some notable character flaws that result in an individual’s justifying his lack of submission.
The Bible outlines three areas very clearly where submission and authority are present: the home, the church, and the government. After acknowledging these three areas of needed submission, a Christian may depart and believe that the Bible is silent everywhere else. The fact of the matter is that God has made it clear that where there is authority, there must be submission. This principle of authority and submission must be extracted from the obvious areas and applied to the ones in this modern age that are not directly mentioned in the Bible.
If Christians do not learn the practice of extracting principles and applying them properly in their lives, they will often not have an answer to give for the hope that is in them. They also may be misapplying Scripture in various areas. An obvious example of the need to extract principles from directly stated commands and to apply them properly today can be found in the example of the drunkard.
Surely, Christians would not think it is okay to go out and use drugs and live a lifestyle of addiction. But why? Why does it matter? The Bible does not mention heroin, nor does it speak about other substances that a sad number of people are abusing each day. At this point, the mouths of many Christians are silenced.
The problem of addiction can be addressed through the example of the drunkard. God does not simply say, “Do not get drunk.” He speaks of it as He does because when someone is drunk, he is intoxicated. Intoxication is the problem, not drinking in and of itself. Therefore, the Christian can extract the principle of intoxication from the example of the drunkard and apply it to the various substances that people are abusing today.
This brings us back to the topic of submission. While the areas of the home, the church, and the government are clearly spoken of in the Bible as areas of needed authority and submission, God did not isolate those areas as the only areas in which people need to practice submission.
Submission and authority are rooted in the Godhead, and everywhere that a person finds himself under authority, he must also submit to that authority – not simply when he feels like it, not only if the authority is an upstanding citizen or a nice guy, but at all times (unless the authority is asking the Christian to do something he should not do biblically).
The historical setting
Extreme examples can be helpful. They have a way of unearthing the justifying roots of a man. What that means is that people have a tendency to justify what they do when it is wrong. This can happen often in the area of submission to authority. But what if someone else was in a worse predicament than the one who is struggling to submit to his authority, yet this other individual still submitted to his authority? This would be the extreme example that could unearth the justifying roots that have been buried in the first man’s heart. The extreme example has a tendency to go deep enough.
This is where understanding the setting of 1 Peter can yield great benefits in the heart of the believer. The book of 1 Peter was written to a group of elect exiles, as is stated in 1 Peter 1:1. The book itself was written by the hand of a man named Silvanus (5:2), but with the oversight and instruction of Peter (1:1). This was a common practice that Paul used as well (Romans 16:22 and Romans 1:1). Peter directed his letter to elect exiles that were beginning to undergo persecution to a greater degree.
Prior to this point, Christians had a tendency to blend in with the Jews. They were also a minority population that did not necessarily pose a major threat to Rome. However, when the Emperor Nero took the throne, the persecution of the Christians began to rise. Nero desired to build on a plot of land that had been at that time occupied by a slum. During his reign, the slum burned to the ground, freeing it up to be built upon.
The people rushed to accuse Nero of the destruction. As they did, he pointed the finger at the Christians. It is widely held that Nero caused the burning of Rome. Nevertheless, to cover his tracks, the Christians began to be persecuted. Peter reminds his sheep in the book of 1 Peter, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you…” (1 Pet. 4:12). The choice of words (“fiery trial”) is no mere coincidence. Things were so bad for the Christians that Peter most likely spoke in code when he said, “The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son” (1 Pet. 5:13). Babylon here would have been code rather than reality. It is possible that Peter was actually in Rome itself and declared it to be Babylon. It is hard to know, but what is clear is that the Roman authorities had made it hard for Christians to live.
If ever there was a time for people to justify their lack of submission to their authority, it would have been then. Christians were being killed and burned alive. All the while, Peter wrote about the need to submit to those who are in authority. This was not because they are wonderful people, but rather because of their God-given position. This is an extreme example that can help Christians today to submit wherever they find themselves. First Peter 2:13-17 is packed with convicting words that must be read and applied. Peter says, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors…” (1 Pet. 2:13-14). What a charge. What a command. Peter desired that his sheep would submit in a broken and fallen world, to a broken and fallen people.
Peter would have desired that Christians today would do the same. Submission is easy for a person when those in authority are already doing what that same person would desire to do himself. Submission is truly revealed during times of disagreement. The first-century Christians would have disagreed with the governing influences of the Empire. Nevertheless, submission to authority would have been a deeply rooted conviction that would have allowed them to glorify God in any situation.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You for the book of 1 Peter. Help me to grow in my submission to my authority. I recognize that sometimes I do not want to do it, so, Lord, I pray for Your help. Please change my heart, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.