1 Peter 3:17

1Pe 3:17-18. For it is infinitely better, if the will of God be so — That you should suffer; and his permissive will in this respect appears from his providence; that ye suffer for well-doing, rather than for evil-doing — The testimony of a good conscience, and the sense of the divine favour, affording the no blest supports in the former case; whereas, in the latter, the severest torments that can be endured are those which the guilty mind inflicts upon itself; to which may be added, that while we suffer for the truth, we have the comfort of reflecting that we follow our blessed Redeemer, which is another most powerful source of consolation. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins — Not his own, but for ours, to make an atonement for them; the just for the unjust — Or the holy for the unholy; for the word just here denotes a person who has fulfilled not barely social duties, but every branch of righteousness; and the word unjust signifies not only those who have wronged their neighbours, but those who have transgressed any of the commands of God; that he might bring us to God — Might reconcile God to us, and us to God; and might obtain for us his gracious favour here, his Holy Spirit, to renew us after his image, and might bring us to his blissful presence hereafter; by the same steps of suffering and of glory. It is justly observed by Macknight, that in the sufferings of Christ we have a clear proof that sufferings are no evidence of the wickedness of the sufferer, nor of the badness of the cause for which he suffers; and that the power of God, visible in Christ’s resurrection, affords to all, who lose their lives for the gospel, a sure ground of consolation and hope that God will raise them up at the last day. Being put to death in the flesh — In the human nature; or in respect of that frail, mortal life he had on earth; but quickened — Ζωοποιηθεις, made alive; by the Spirit — The Spirit of God and of Christ. “As Christ was conceived in the womb of his mother by the Holy Spirit, (Luk 1:35,) so he was raised from the dead by the same Spirit; on which account he is said (1Ti 3:16) to have been justified by the Spirit; and (Heb 9:14) to have offered himself without spot to God, through the eternal Spirit. It is true the resurrection of Christ is ascribed to the Father, 1Co 6:14; 2Co 4:14; Eph 1:20; but that is not inconsistent with Peter’s affirmation in this verse;” for the Father may, with the strictest propriety, be said to have done what his Spirit did, especially as it was done to show that God acknowledged Jesus to be his Son. And our Lord’s words, (Joh 2:19,) Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up, are to be understood in the same manner. He raised it up by that Spirit which proceeded from him as well as from the Father.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. The excellence of suffering innocently stated, and illustrated in the suffering and triumph of Christ, 1Pe_3:17-22.

Better—It is infinitely preferable that, if suffering befalls, as it most likely will, it be on account of a godly life rather than for crime. This is an axiom in Christian ethics. If the will—Literally, if the will of God should will, (the former being the will itself, the latter the will acting,) that is, for high reasons, for the sake of either themselves or his cause, to place them where suffering would ensue.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Chapter 11

THE REWARDS OF SUFFERING FOR WELL-DOING

1Pe_3:17-22

THE Apostle comes back to his solemn subject. Why are the righteous called to suffering? The question was perplexing these Asian Christians when St. Peter wrote. Previous ages had pondered over it, Job and his friends among the number; and men ponder over it still. St. Peter has suggested several answers: The faith of Christs servants after trial will be found praiseworthy at the appearance of their Lord; to bear wrong with patience is acceptable with God; it is a happy lot, Christ has said, to suffer in the cause of righteousness. His next response to the question is more solemn than these: Suffering is sent to the righteous by the will of God. It never comes otherwise, and is meant to serve two several purposes: it is intended to benefit the unrighteous, and to be a blessing and glory to the righteous who endure it.

He shows that this is Gods will by two examples. Christ, the sinless, suffered at the hands of sinful men, and for their sakes, as well as for all sinners; and though we only can approach the subject with deep reverence and use the language of Scripture rather than our own about the effect of suffering on Christ Himself, we are taught therein that He was made perfect as the Leader of salvation by the things which He suffered: and the Apostle here describes the sequel of those sufferings by the session on the right hand of God in heaven, where angels and authorities and powers are made subject unto Him.

But Gods ordinance in respect of the suffering of the godly has been the same from of old. In the ancient world Noah had found grace in Gods sight in the midst of a graceless world. He was made a witness and a preacher of righteousness; and the faithful building of the ark at Gods command was a constant testimony to the wrongdoers, whose sole response was mockery and a continuance in the corruption of their way. But God had not left them without witness; and when the Deluge came at length, some hearts may have gone forth to God in penitence, though too late to be saved from the destruction. To Noah and those with him safety was assured; and when the door of the ark was opened, and the small Land of the rescued came forth, it was to have the welcome of Gods blessing and to be pointed to a token of His everlasting covenant. In this wise St. Peter adds once more to the consolations of those who endure grief and suffering wrongfully, and thus does he set forth the general drift of his argument. But the whole passage is so replete with helpful lessons that it merits the fullest consideration. "For it is better, if the will of God should so will, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evildoing." For evil-doing suffering is certain to come. It cannot be escaped. God has linked the two together by an unalterable law. Such suffering is penal. But when the righteous are afflicted their lot is not of law, but of Gods merciful appointment and selection, and is ordained with a purpose of blessing both to themselves and others. The words of St. Peter are very emphatic concerning Gods ordinance: "If the will of God so will." It is not always clear to men. Therefore St. Paul {Eph_1:9} speaks of the mystery of the Divine will, but in the same place {Eph_1:5} of the good pleasure thereof. It is exercised with love, and not with anger. It was the feeling with which God looked forth upon the new-created world, and, behold, it was very good. With the same feeling He longs to behold it rescued and restored. Such is the desire, such the aim, with which God permits trial and distress to fall upon the righteous. And that the sufferers may be kept in mind of Gods remedial purpose herein, the Apostle adduces the example of Christ Himself: "Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God." The suffering Christ should give pause to all questionings about the sufferings of His servants. Their lot may be hard to explain. But be their lives ever so pure, their purposes ever so lofty, "in many things we offend all," and need not murmur if we be chastened. But as we think of the sinless Jesus and His unequalled sufferings, we learn the applicability of the prophets lamentation, "See if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow." {Lam_1:12} The burden of the unrighteous world was laid upon the righteous Son of God, and this because of Gods love for sinners.

Herein was the love of God manifested in us. Sinful men were the material chosen for the display of the Divine love, and God sent His only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. It was of Gods ordinance and the Sons obedience that redemption was thus purchased. That we might live, the sinless Christ must die, and ere He died must be put to grief by the opposition of those whom He came to save; must lament and be hindered in His works of mercy by the want of faith among His own kindred, by the persistent sins of those cities in which His mightiest works were wrought; must shed tears of anguish over the city of David, which would know nothing of the things which belonged unto her peace. This was the chastisement of the innocent to gain peace for the guilty, that God might thus commend His love to men, and Christ might bring them back to the Father. And this bringing back is not the mere action of a guide. This He is, but He is far more: He helps those who are coming at every step, and as they draw near they find through Him that the Fathers house and the Fathers welcome are waiting for their return. Shall men complain, nay, shall they not be lost in praise, if God will at all consent to use their trials to extend His kingdom and His glory, and thus make them partakers of the sufferings of Christ? Such a lot had been welcome to St. Peter: "They departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name"; {Act_5:41} and here in his epistle he publishes the joy of such shame; publishes it that others through all ages may suffer gladly, trusting their God to use the pains He sends to magnify His glory. The lesson is for all men at all times. Christ suffered for sins once; but once here means once for all, and proclaims to each generation of sinners that Jesus bore His cross for them.

"Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit." The suffering of Jesus went thus far, that there might be nothing in the cup of human woe which He had not tasted. His spirit was parted from the flesh, as when we die. The body lay in the grave; the spirit passed to the world of the departed. But the triumph of death was short. After the three days burial came the miracle of miracles. The dead Jesus returned to life, and that resurrection is made the earnest of a future life to all believers. Thus began the recompense of the righteous Sufferer, and the power of the resurrection makes suffering endurable to the godly, makes them rejoice to be conformed unto Christs death and forgetful of all things save the prize of the high calling which lies before them to be won. Nor was it with Christs spirit during those three days as with the souls of other departed ones. He, the sinless One, had no judgment to await; His stay there was that dwelling in paradise which He foreknew and spake of to the penitent thief.

"In which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which aforetime were disobedient, when the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah." At this point we come upon a twofold line of interpretation, occasioned by the difficulty which constantly arises of deciding whether pneuma-"spirit"-is to be understood of the Divine Spirit or of the spiritual part of mans nature as distinguished from the flesh. Those who have taken the words "quickened in the Spirit" of the previous verse in the former of these senses explain this passage of the preaching of Christ to the antediluvian world through His servant Noah. The Divine fiat had gone forth. The Flood was to come and bring destruction to the bodies of all but Noah and his family. But within those doomed bodies souls were shut up, and these the love of Christ would not willingly give over. They should hear, while still in their prison of the flesh, the offer of His grace; and should they repent, the waves which wrought destruction of the body might release them from the bondage of corruption. This was the purpose of Gods long-suffering, which waited and appealed while the ark was a-preparing. Thus did the Divine Spirit of Christ go forth as a herald of mercy to the impenitent, proclaiming that for their souls the door of forgiveness was not yet closed.

Those, on the contrary, who refer "quickened in the spirit" to the human soul of Christ, take this text as an additional authority for the doctrine in the Apostles Creed that our Lords human soul after the Crucifixion descended into hell. Thus, they hold, His pure spirit went beyond this world to experience all that human spirits can know before the judgment comes. Thither He came but as a Herald. Death and the grave had no power to detain Him. In mercy to those who had passed away before the Incarnation, He brought the message of the mediatorial work which He had completed in His crucifixion. The sinners before the Flood are singled out for mention by St. Peter as sinners above all men, so sunk in wickedness that but eight were found worthy to be saved from the Deluge. Thus the magnitude of Christs mercy is glorified. He who goes to seek these must long to save all men. And to carry this message of glad tidings is part of the recompense for the agonies of Gethsemane and Calvary, a portion of what made it a blessing to suffer for well doing.

Up to the sixteenth century the latter exposition and application of the words found most favor, but at the time of the Reformation the chief authorities expounded them of the preaching of Christs Spirit through the ministry of the patriarch. For the main argument with which St. Peter is dealing these applications, however interesting in themselves, are not deeply important. He wants to set before the converts a warrant for what he has said about the blessedness of suffering for righteousness. If we accept the application to Noah, the example is a powerful one. His sufferings must have been manifold.

The long time between the threatened judgment and its accomplishment was filled with the opposition of sinners and their mockery and taunts over his patient labor on the ark, to say nothing of the distress of soul when he found his preaching falling ever on deaf ears. But his trial had its reward at last when the little band were shut in by God Himself, and the ark bore them safely on the rising waters. And if he could feel that any, though perishing in body, had by repentance been saved in soul, this would make light the burden even of greater suffering than had fallen to the patriarch, to know the joy which comes from converting a sinner from the error of his way and therein saving a soul from death.

And if we refer the words "quickened in the spirit" to the soul of Christ, parted from the body and present in the spirit-world, they are a link to connect this passage with words of the Apostles sermon on the day of Pentecost. There he does speak of the Lords descent into hell, and teaches how David of old spake thereof and of the Resurrection "that neither was He left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption". {Act_2:31} In this sense the quickening in the spirit is the beginning of Christs victory and triumph. It is the earnest of eternal life to all believers. And how welcome a message to those who, like Abraham, had rejoiced in faith to see the day of Christ, to hear from His own lips the tidings of the victory won! Of the Herald of such a Gospel message, of Him who by His suffering delivered those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage, we may, with all reverence, speak as "being made perfect by becoming the Author of eternal salvation to all them that obey Him". {Heb_5:9}

"Wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved." The building of the ark was the test of Noahs faith, the ark itself the means of his preservation. In the patriarchs sufferings St. Peter has found an apt parallel to the life of these Asian Christians: the same godless surroundings; the same opposition and mockery; the same need for steadfast faith. But if rightly pondered, the Old Testament lesson is rich in teaching. Noah becomes a preacher of righteousness, not for his own generation only, but for all time. He suffered in his well doing. Nothing stings more keenly than scorn and contempt. These he experienced to the full. He came as Gods herald to men who had put God out of all their thoughts. His message was full of terror: "Behold, I do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall" Gen_6:17. Few heeded; fewer still believed. But when the work of the messenger was over; when the ark was prepared, and the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened; when he and his were shut in by God, then appeared the blessedness. And if haply there had been any in whom he had beheld signs of repentance, how the thought that some souls were saved, though their bodies were drowned with the rest, would magnify the rejoicing of the rescued; and the overthrow of the ungodly would proclaim how little ultimate bliss there could be in evil-doing. All these things would come home to the hearts of the "strangers of the dispersion."

And were they few in number? Fewer still were those who stood with Noah in the worlds corruption. But God was with him; he walked with God, and found grace in His eyes; and God blessed him when the Flood was gone, and by the sign of the covenant, the faithful witness in heaven, {Psa_89:37} has placed a memorial of the happiness of his well doing before the eyes of mankind for ever. And it would comfort the believers if they kept in mind the object which St. Peter has so often set before them, and on which he would have them set their desire in their distress. There was hope, nay assurance, that the heathen world around them would be won by their steadfast well doing to the service of the Lord. Christ did not send His followers on a hopeless quest when He said, "Go, baptize all nations." It was no material ark they were set to fashion; they were exalted to be builders of the Church of Christ. And to put one stone upon another in that building was a joy worth earning by a life of sacrifice.

"Saved through water." But God appointed the same waves to be the destruction of the disobedient. With no faith-built ark in which to ride safe, the sinners perished in the mighty waters which to Noah were the pathway of deliverance. A solemn thought this for those who have the offer of the antitype which the Apostle turns next to mention! This double use which God makes of His creatures-how to some they bring punishment, to others preservation-is the theme of several noble chapters in the book of Wisdom (11-16), expanding the lesson taught by the pillar of a cloud, which was light to Israel, while it was thick darkness to the Egyptians. "Which also after a true likeness doth now save you, even baptism." Under the new covenant also water has been chosen by Christ to be the symbol of His grace. His servants are baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This is the door appointed for entrance into the family. But the waters of the Flood would have overwhelmed Noah, even as the rest, had he not been within the ark, and the ark would not have been made had he been lacking in faith. So in baptism must no more saving office be ascribed to the water. Even the Divine word, "the word of hearing, did not profit some, because they were not united by faith with them that heard aright". {Heb_4:2} Neither does the sign in baptism, though Divinely instituted, profit, being alone. The Christian, having been cleansed by the washing of water with the word, is sanctified by Christ because of his faith. The washing of regeneration must be joined with the renewing of the Holy Ghost. That Spirit does not renew, but convicts of sin those who believe not on Christ. {Joh_16:8} In his salvation Noah accepted and acted on Gods warning about things not seen as yet, and so his baptism became effectual. In faith, too, Israel marched through the Red Sea, and beheld the overthrow of their heathen pursuers. And baptism mixed with faith is saving now. Those Old Testament deliverances were figures only of the true, and were but for temporal rescue. Christs ordinance is that to which they testified before His coming, and is coupled with the promise of His presence even unto the end of the world.

And that there may be no place for doubting, the Apostle subjoins a twofold explanation. First he tells us what baptism is not, then what it is and what it bestows. It is "not the putting away of the filth of the flesh." Were this all, it would avail no more than the cardinal ordinances (with meats and drinks and divers washings), which were imposed of old until a time of reformation. Through them the way into the holy place was not made manifest, nor could be. True baptism is "the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." This is a spiritual purification, wrought through the might of Christs resurrection. And the Apostle describes it by the effect which it produces in the religious condition and attitude of him who has experienced it. The sinner who loves his sin dare not question his conscience. That witness would pronounce for his condemnation. So he finds it best to lull it to sleep, or perhaps deaden it altogether. But to him who, being risen with Christ in faith, seeks those things that are above, who strives to make himself spiritually purer day by day, there is no such dread. Rather by constant questioning and self-examination he labors that his conscience may be void of offence towards God and man. That man not only dares, but knows it to be a most solemn duty, thus to purge his conscience. So the effect of baptism is daily felt, and the questioned soul thankfully bears witness to the active presence of the Spirit, for the bestowal of which the Sacrament was the primal pledge.

Others have rendered επερωτημα "an appeal," and have joined it very closely with the words "toward God." These have found in the Apostles explanation the recognition of that power to draw nigh unto God which the purified conscience both feels, and feels the need of. There are daily stumblings, the constant want of help; and through Christs resurrection the way is opened, a new and living way, into the holiest, and the power is granted of appealing unto God, while the sense of baptismal grace already bestowed gives confidence and certainty that our petitions will be granted.

"Who is on the right hand of God, having gone into heaven; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him." Now the Apostle turns back to his main subject. The righteous who suffers for, and in, his righteousness, may not only be a blessing to others, but may himself find blessing. We dare only use the words which the Spirit has supplied when we speak of Christ being perfected by what He endured. But the Apostle to the Hebrews has a clear teaching. He speaks of Christ as being "the effulgence of Gods glory, and the very image of His person". {Heb_1:3} Yet he tells that, "though He was a Son, He learned obedience by the things which He suffered, and became thus the Author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him". {Heb_5:8} And he goes further, and teaches that this submission of Christ to suffering was in harmony with the Divine character and according to Gods own purpose: "It became Him for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings". {Heb_2:10} From all eternity Christ was perfect as the Son of God, but He has suffered that He may be a perfect Mediator. Why this was well pleasing unto the Father it is not ours to know, nor can we by searching find. But, the sufferings ended, He is crowned with glory; He is exalted to the right hand of the Father; He is made Lord of all. This He taught His disciples ere He sent them to baptize: "All authority hath been given unto Me in heaven and on earth". {Mat_28:18} Having taken hold of the seed of Abraham and consented to be made lower than the angels, He has now been set "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come," {Eph_1:21} Thus does St. Paul teach even as St. Peter; and we may believe, though we fail to grasp the manner thereof, that through His humiliation our blessed Lord has been exalted, not only because He receives for ever the praises of the redeemed, but because He has wrought through His suffering that which was well-pleasing in the sight of the Father.

The whole clause before us is worthy of notice for another reason. It was doubtless written before our Gospels were in circulation, when the life and work of Jesus were only published by the oral teaching of the Apostles and their fellows; yet in a summary form it covers the whole field of the Gospel story. Those to whom this Epistle was written had been taught that Jesus was the Christ, had heard of His righteous life among men, of His sufferings, death, and resurrection, had been taught that afterwards He was taken up into heaven. They knew also that the baptism by which they had been admitted into the Christian communion was His ordinance and the appointed door into the Church which he lived and died to build up among men. Thus, without the Gospels, we have the Gospel in the Epistles, and a witness to the integrity of that history of Christs life which has come down to us in the narratives of the Evangelists. And when all the contributions of the Apostolic Epistles are put side by side, we may easily gather from them that the history of Jesus which we have now is that which the Church has possessed from the beginning of the Gospel.

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

1Pe 3:17. Κρεῖττον, better) happier, in innumerable ways.—εἰ, if) And this will is recognised from those things which befall us.—τὸ θέλημα, the will) which is kind.—τοῦ Θεοῦ, of God) For our inclination does not wish it. Comp. the words of Christ to Peter, Joh 21:18.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Pe_3:17. κρεῖττον γάρ] γάρ gives the ground of the exhortation contained in συνείδ. ἔχ. ἀγ.; the explanation of this κρεῖττον is contained in chap. 1Pe_2:19 ff.

ἀγαθοποιοῦντας … πάσχειν] The connection between these two ideas is the same as that between ἀγαθοποιοῦντες καὶ πάσχοντες, chap. 1Pe_2:20, the participles giving not simply the special circumstances, as Hofmann asserts, but the reason of the suffering; this Schott denies as regards the first member: ἀγαθοποιοῦντας.[192]

The parenthetical clause: ΕἸ ΘΈΛΟΙ ΤῸ ΘΈΛΗΜΑ ΤΟῦ ΘΕΟῦ, belongs to ΠΆΣΧΕΙΝ; the optative denotes the possibility: if such should be the will of God

On the pleonasm: θέλοι τὸ ΘΈΛΗΜΑ, see Winer, p. 562 [E. T. 755]. The thought here is not quite the same as that of chap. 1Pe_2:20. There, chief stress is laid on ὙΜΟΜΈΝΕΙΝ, to which no special prominence is here given. But, as in the former case the exhortation is enforced by reference to Christ, i.e. to His sufferings, so is it here also, in the following paragraph on to the end of the chapter, only that in this passage the typical character of His sufferings is less emphasized, whilst the exaltation which followed them is brought specially forward.

[192] It must, indeed, be noted that those sufferings which the believers, as such, have to endure from the unbelieving world, overtake them because of their ἀγαθοποιεῖν; Christians who, though confessing Christ, at the same time live entirely like the children of the world, are well liked by the world.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Pe 3:17 . κρεῖττον , cf. 1Pe 2:19 f., where χάρις κλέος correspond to μισθὸν περισσόν of the sources. εἰ θέλοι τὸ θέλημα θεοῦ . Again optative implies that it is a purely hypothetical case ( cf. 1Pe 3:14 ). For the semi-personification of the will of God compare Eph 1:11 , where the θέλημα has a βουλή ; so Paul is Apostle through the will of God (1Co 1:1 ; 2Co 1:1 ). For the pleonastic expression cf. the verbal parallel ἐάν τις θέλῃ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ ποιεῖν , Joh 7:17 . So God’s patience was waiting (1Pe 3:20 ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Pe 3:17 to 1Pe 4:6. The blessedness of suffering in the flesh

The interpretation suggested for this confessedly difficult passage may be best explained by a paraphrase of the whole section with illustrations from other parts of the N.T. Other interpretations of it will be discussed in an additional note (p. 87).

17 Paraphrase. To suffer for well-doing, if the will of God should so will, is better than to suffer for evil-doing, because to suffer innocently is what Christ also did, thereby (as explained above 1Pe 2:21) leaving us an example, and to imitate Him must in any case be good. But the value of suffering is enormously enhanced when we consider the purpose and effects of Christ’s sufferings.

17. ἀγαθοποιοῦντας, cf. 1Pe 2:15; 1Pe 2:20.

εἰ θέλοι. The optative is read by the best MSS. instead of the indicative and denotes a possible but uncertain contingency, cf. 1Pe 3:14.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A reason which standeth upon two general rules of Christianity, which notwithstanding all men allow not of. The one is, if we must needs suffer afflictions, it is better to suffer wrongfully than rightfully: the other is this, because we are so afflicted, not by hap, but by the will of our God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

better--One may object, I would not bear it so ill if I had deserved it. Peter replies, it is better that you did not deserve it, in order that doing well and yet being spoken against, you may prove yourself a true Christian [GERHARD].

if the will of God be so--rather as the optative is in the oldest manuscripts, "if the will of God should will it so." Those who honor God's will as their highest law (Pe1 2:15) have the comfort to know that suffering is God's appointment (Pe1 4:19). So Christ Himself; our inclination does not wish it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 17. For it is better] See on 1Pet 2:19; 1Pet 2:20.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

17 For it is better This belongs not only to what follows but to the whole context. He had spoken of the profession of faith, which at that time was attended with great danger; he says now that it is much better, if they sustained any loss in defending a good cause, to suffer thus unjustly than to be punished for their evil deeds. This consolation is understood rather by secret meditation, than by many words. It is what indeed occurs everywhere in profane authors, that there is a sufficient defense in a good conscience, whatever evils may happen, and must be endured. These have spoken courageously; but then the only really bold man is he who looks to God. Therefore Peter added this clause, If the will of God be so For in these words he reminds us, that if we suffer unjustly, it is not by chance, but according to the divine will; and he assumes, that God wills nothing or appoints nothing but for the best reason. Hence the faithful have always this comfort in their miseries, that they know that they have God as their witness, and that they also know that they are led by him to the contest, in order that they may under his protection give a proof of their faith.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(17) For it is better.—There is a kind of ironical suppression in this comparison.

If the will of God be so.—A strikingly reverent phrase in the original, If the will of God should will it. This is, of course, to be taken only with the word “suffer,” which itself means, as in 1Pe_3:14, to suffer capitally. St. Peter is thinking of the legal process of 1Pe_3:15-16, coming to a verdict of “guilty.” He was himself daily expecting such a death.

For well doing.—Better, perhaps, as well doers. It does not necessarily mean, in the Greek, that the well doing was the reason of the suffering, but simply that it accompanied it.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. For it is better, if the will of God be so] Literally, the Greek presenting a kind of emphatic pleonasm, if the will of God should so will. The Apostle falls back upon the thought of chap. 1Pe_2:20. Men feel most aggrieved when they suffer wrongfully. They are told that it is precisely in such sufferings that they should find ground for rejoicing. These, at any rate, cannot fail to work out for them some greater good.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For Christ also hath once suffered for sins,.... Not his own, for he committed none, but for the sins of his people; in order to obtain the remission of them, to make reconciliation for them, and to take and put them away, and finish and make an end of them; which sufferings of his, on account of them, were many and great: he suffered much by bearing the griefs, and carrying the sorrows of his people, whereby he became a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs, from his cradle to his cross; and from the temptations of Satan, being in all points tempted, as his members are, though without sin; and from the contradiction of sinners against him, in his name, credit, and character, abusing him as the worst of men; and he suffered in his soul, from the wrath of God, and curses of the law, which lay upon him; and in his body, by many buffetings, scourges, wounds, and death itself, even the death of the cross; and which being the finishing part of his sufferings, is chiefly here meant. The Alexandrian copy reads, "died for you"; and the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions read, "died for our sins"; and this he did once, and but once; he died once, and will die no more; he was offered up once, and will be offered up no more; there is no more offering, or sacrifice for sin; the reason is, because his one offering is sufficient to take away sin, which the legal sacrifices were not, and therefore were often offered; and the reason why this his one offering, or once suffering and dying, is sufficient, is, because of his divine nature, or eternal Spirit, by which he offered himself, and gave infinite virtue to his sacrifice and satisfaction: now, this is an argument for suffering patiently; since Christ, the head, has also suffered, and therefore, why not the members? and since he has suffered for their sins, therefore they should not grudge to suffer for his sake; and seeing also their sufferings are but once, in this life only, and as it were but for a moment, and not to be compared with his sufferings for them; and especially when it is considered what follows:

the just for the unjust; Christ, the holy and just one, who is holy in his nature, and righteous in his life and actions, which were entirely conformable to the righteous law of God, and upright and faithful in the discharge of his office, and therefore called God's righteous servant; he suffered, and that not only by unjust men, by the Jews, by Pilate, and the Roman soldiers, but for and in the room and stead of unjust men, sinners, and ungodly, who were destitute of righteousness, and full of all unrighteousness; and since he did, it need not be thought hard, or strange, that sinful men should suffer at the hands of others; and still it should be borne with the greater patience, since Christ not only suffered for them, but since an end is answered by it, as is here suggested:

that he might bring us to God; nigh to God, who, with respect to communion, were afar off from him; and in peace and reconciliation with him, who were enemies to him by wicked works; and that they might have freedom of access, with boldness, unto God, through his precious blood, and the vail of his flesh; and that he might offer them unto God, as the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions render it; as a sacrifice acceptable unto God, presenting them to him unblamable and unreproveable in his sight; that he might bring them into his grace and presence here, and, as the great Captain of their salvation, bring them to him in glory hereafter:

being put to death in the flesh; in the human nature: flesh includes the whole of human nature, both body and soul; for though the body only dies, yet death is the dissolution of the union between them both; and such was Christ's death; for though the union between the two natures continued, yet his body and soul were disunited; his body was left on the cross, and his soul, or Spirit, was commended to God, when his life was taken from the earth, and he was put to death in a violent manner by men:

but quickened by the Spirit; raised from the dead by his divine nature, the Spirit of holiness, the eternal Spirit, by which he offered himself, and by virtue of which, as he had power to lay down his life, so he had power to take it up again; when he was also justified in the Spirit, and all the elect in him. Now, as the enemies of Christ could do no more than put him to death in the flesh, so the enemies of his people can do no more than kill the body, and cannot reach the soul; and as Christ is quickened and raised from the dead, so all his elect are quickened together, and raised with him, representatively, and shall, by virtue of his resurrection, be raised personally, and live also; which is no inconsiderable argument to suffer afflictions patiently, and which is the design of this instance and example of the sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

Ver. 17. That ye suffer for well doing] The cause, and not the pain, makes the martyr. Together with the Lord Cromwell was beheaded (in Henry VIII’s time) the Lord Hungerford, neither so Christianly suffering, nor so quietly dying for his offence committed against nature. (Speed’s Chron.) What a sad thing was that related by Eusebius, that the cruel persecution under Diocletian was occasioned chiefly by the petulance, pride, and contentions of the pastors and bishops! which gave occasion to the tyrant to think that Christian religion was no better than a wretched device of wicked men. Lactantius to the like purpose crieth out, Nunc male audiunt castiganturque vulgo Christiani, quod aliter quam sapientibus convenit vivant, et vitia sub obtentu nominis celent: Christians are hardly spoken of, and deeply censured by the common people, because they live not as becometh wise men; but cover their vices under pretence of their religion. (De Opific. Dei, Proaem.)

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For it is better, if the will of God be so - That is, if God sees it to be necessary for your good that you should suffer, it is better that you should suffer for doing well than for crime. God often sees it to be necessary that his people should suffer. There are effects to be accomplished by affliction which can be secured in no other way; and some of the happiest results on the soul of a Christian, some of the brightest traits of character, are the effect of trials. But it should be our care that our sufferings should not be brought upon us for our own crimes or follies. No man can promote his own highest good by doing wrong, and then enduring the penalty which his sin incurs; and no one should do wrong with any expectation that it may be overruled for his own good. If we are to suffer, let it be by the direct hand of God, and not by any fault of our own. If we suffer then, we shall have the testimony of our own conscience in our favor, and the feeling that we may go to God for support. If we suffer for our faults, in addition to the outward pain of body, we shall endure the severest pangs which man can suffer - those which the guilty mind inflicts on itself.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

If the will of God be so; viz. that ye must suffer; intimating that this is an argument for their patience and submission in their sufferings, and a ground of comfort to them, that they are led into them by the providence of God, (not by their own folly or rashness), and have him for a witness and judge both of their cause and deportment.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

For it is better. St. Peter meets the common objection that suffering could be borne more easily if it were deserved; the Christian must take the cross, if it comes, as from God, sent for his good (comp. 1Pe_2:19, 1Pe_2:20) If the will of God be so; literally, if the will of God should so will. Qelhma denotes the will in itself; qelein, its active operation (Wirier, 3:65. b). That ye suffer for well-doing, than for evildoing. The construction is participial, as in 1Pe_2:20. As there, the participle expresses, not merely the circumstances, but the cause of the suffering; they would have to suffer, not simply while they were doing well, but because they did Well.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It is infinitely better, if it be the will of God, ye should suffer. His permissive will appears from his providence.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The benefits of Christ’s work:

v. 17. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing.

v. 18. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit;

v. 19. by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

v. 20. which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.

v. 21. The like figure whereunto even Baptism doth also now save us, (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

v. 22. who is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him.

This paragraph is closely connected with the foregoing, the apostle apparently including suffering evil under the general heading of doing good for the sake of the Lord: For better it is to suffer while doing good, if the will of God should so decide, than for doing evil. The apostle here, as in the entire section, uses a very vivid description, personifying even the will and the patience of God. The opinion of the world may be that a person should avoid suffering at any cost, by any means. But the Lord’s standpoint in the matter is this, that suffering evil is sometimes necessary and therefore to be endured. One thing is certain, namely, that a Christian will not object to the will of the Lord if He permits suffering to strike His children. While it would be a calamity for them to be suffering as a punishment for evil-doing, it is no more than they may expect to be suffering for doing well, for it is the way of the world to be hostile to the children of God and to persecute them in every possible way; it is a part of the Christians’ calling as long as they are living in the midst of unbelievers.

It is here that the example of Christ should serve for encouragement: For Christ also died once for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might offer us to God. The example of Christ is of such great value-to the Christians because He suffered and died, being altogether innocent, the Sinless One having the sins of all men imputed to Him, the Just and Holy One taking the place of the unjust ones. Thus Christ’s one death atoned for the transgressions of all men, His vicarious suffering reconciled all men to God the Father. By this act He offered, or brought, us to God, made it possible for us to become partakers of the glory of God. Our bodies, by virtue of the redemption, the glorification of Christ, will be made like unto His glorified body, and we shall see God face to face.

Just how the work of Christ made this possible is shown by the apostle: Having died, indeed, in the flesh, but having been quickened in the spirit, in which He also went and heralded to the spirits in prisons. Christ died, not according to His divine nature, although this was truly and inseparably united with His human nature also in death, but in the flesh, that is, in His fleshly, natural mode of existence, in which He lived and suffered in the days of humiliation. Thus the entire Christ, the God-man, was put to death in the flesh. This same Christ, so the apostle proceeds to tell us, after His death resumed life in the grave. He was quickened, made alive, in the sepulcher. This quickening was made in the spirit, or with respect to the Spirit, that is, in the new glorified state, in which Christ, in His transformed and glorified body, lived, acted, and moved about, came and went as a spirit. In this spirit, in this new spirit-life, glorified and exalted, Christ, the God-man, according to His soul and body, retaining His flesh and blood in a glorified form, went forth, as our triumphant Champion, into the abode of the damned and of the devils, and there proclaimed His victory to the spirits in prison, that is, in hell, specifically to those who are further described. It was a part of the punishment which came upon the condemned and upon the demons in hell that they saw and heard Christ proclaim Himself as the Victor over death and hell, and were obliged to tell themselves that they might have partaken of this glory of the great Hero of mankind, if they had not deprived themselves of this blessing by their revolt against Him and by their unbelief.

The last thought, so far as it concerns condemned human beings, is now elaborated: That had once been disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared. Among the spirits in prison to whom the victorious Christ manifested Himself in the manner shown above were also the souls of those people who in the days of Noah had refused to heed the warning preaching of this man of God, and probably jeered at him for building his big ship on dry land. For one hundred and twenty years the Lord had patience at that time, for one hundred and twenty years he had Noah preach repentance to his fellow-men. But they refused to heed his warning and have thus become an example to the unbelievers of all times, all of whom may expect to meet with the same condemnation. This factor stands out all the more strongly by way of contrast: in which few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. Of all the men that lived on earth in the days of Noah, all rejected the preaching of Noah. And so finally he only with his family, a total of eight souls, was saved through water, the Flood being considered the means of saving these eight people with the animals that were with them in the ark; the water lifted them up and thus saved them from destruction.

The apostle now makes a splendid application of this incident: Which now saves also us as Baptism, its counterpart, not the removal of the dirt of the flesh, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The words of the apostle are so simple and so clear that the deliberate misunderstanding of their import by a great number of Christians is a mystery. Water is to us Christians a means of salvation. It is water that saves us, that transmits to us the salvation of Christ in Baptism, which is the antitype or counterpart of the Flood, as Peter has just shown. This salvation, of course, does not consist in washing off the dirt which may have gathered on the skin of the body, but it cleanses the heart of sins; it is a pledge, a contract of a good conscience toward God; it guarantees to us that we may have, by virtue of its application, a clean conscience before God, thus being enabled to lift up our eyes to Him without the slightest trace of fear. This is true because the spiritual gifts and blessings which are the result of the resurrection of Christ, the certainty that God has accepted the sacrifice of His Son and granted forgiveness of sins to the whole world, are transmitted to the believer in Baptism. Thus all Christians are, by reason of their baptism, happy and blessed people, having the certain hope of eternal life through the grace of God in Christ Jesus which they received in the water of Baptism.

In concluding this paragraph, the apostle adds this confession concerning Christ: Who is at the right hand of God, having gone to heaven, angels and authorities and powers being subject to Him. Here Peter briefly indicates how the exaltation of Christ was consummated. He ascended up on high, into heaven, He took His place at the right hand of God, entering upon the full and unrestrained use of His divine power and majesty, also according to His human nature. And He now rules in all eternity as the almighty Lord over all, every order of angels, of the blessed spirits, being subject to His command. There is nothing which has not been put under His feet. See Heb 2:8; Psa 8:7; 1Co 15:24 ff. ; Rom 8:38; Eph 1:21. This Man at the right hand of God, Jesus Christ, our Savior, will guard and protect His Church on earth in the midst of all the tribulations and persecutions of these last days. He will deliver us from every evil and translate us into the kingdom of His glory. To Him be glory and power, both now and forever!

Summary

After an exhortation to Wives and husbands the apostle summarizes his admonitions to the Christians in general, showing the need of true brotherly love, of following and defending that which is good, and basing the entire admonition on the benefits of Christ’s work as we have received them also in Baptism.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

17. For it is better, if the will of God is so. If God wills that we should suffer, for the Father sometimes chasteneth children, it is better to suffer for righteousness, than for evil. See 2 Tim. 3:12.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

17.] For (confirmation of the exhortation to a good conscience above: Œc., al., refer it to ver. 14, μακάριοί ἐστε) it is better (we have had a similar argument in ch. 2:19, 20, from which passage the sense of κρεῖττον here is made clear: there it is said of the suffering for well-doing, that it is χάρις, that it is κλέος, that εἰς τοῦτο ἐκλήθητε. “Beatius,” says Bengel, “infinitis modis:” Hæc consolatio,” says Calvin, “arcana potius meditatione, quam longo verborum circuitupercipitur:” and Gerhard, “Occurrit tacitæ objectioni.… Non adeo graviter.… ferrem, si essem promeritus. Respondet Petrus, satius est te non esse meritum, ut benefaciens ac male audiens te verum Christianum probes” (mainly from Wiesinger)) to suffer (for) (see ch. 2:20, and the connexion as given there) doing well, if the will of God should will (it so) (on the optative after εἰ, signifying “if perchance it should be so,” see above on ver. 14.

In the expression, εἰ θέλοι τὸ θέλημα, τὸ θέλημα is the divine Will itself, τὸ θέλειν is the putting forth of that Will in act: see Winer, § 65. 2. Luther (in Wies.) says beautifully, Gehe du hin in Glaube und Liebe: kommt das Kreuz, so nimm es an: kommt es nicht, so such’ es nicht). than (for) doing ill:

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If the will of God be so [ει θελοι το θελημα του θεου] . More literally, as Rev., preserving the play upon the word will, if the will of God should so will.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.