1 Peter 2:15

Contextual Overview

¹³ Be willing to serve the people who have authority in this world. Do this for the Lord. Obey the king, the highest authority. ¹³ Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, ¹³ Submit youre selves vnto all manner ordinaunce of man for the lordes sake whether it be vnto the kynge as vnto the chefe heed: ¹³ Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; ¹³ Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹³ For the Lord's sake, yield to the people who have authority in this world: the king, who is the highest authority, ¹³ Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; ¹³ Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; ¹³ Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, ¹³ Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme;

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

so: 1 Peter 4:2, Ephesians 6:6, Ephesians 6:7, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:18

with: 1 Peter 2:12, Job 5:16, Psalms 107:42, Titus 2:8

the ignorance: 1 Timothy 1:13, 2 Peter 2:12, Jude 1:10

foolish: Deuteronomy 32:6, Job 2:10, Psalms 5:5, Proverbs 9:6, Jeremiah 4:22, Matthew 7:26, Matthew 25:2, Romans 1:21, Galatians 3:1, Titus 3:3

Reciprocal: Genesis 30:29 - General Isaiah 5:16 - sanctified Matthew 6:10 - Thy will Matthew 7:21 - that Mark 7:22 - foolishness Acts 17:7 - and these Galatians 6:9 - well Colossians 1:9 - of his Colossians 3:23 - as 1 Peter 4:19 - in

Cross-References

Genesis 2:2
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Genesis 2:2
And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Genesis 2:2
By the seventh day God finished the work he had been doing, so he rested from all his work.

Genesis 2:2
By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing.

Genesis 2:2
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Genesis 2:2
On the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Genesis 2:2
And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Genesis 2:2
And God fillide in the seuenthe dai his werk which he made; and he restide in the seuenthe dai fro al his werk which he hadde maad;

Genesis 2:2
and God completeth by the seventh day His work which He hath made, and ceaseth by the seventh day from all His work which He hath made.

Genesis 2:2
And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For so is the will of God,.... Which refers not so much to what goes before; though it is a truth, that it is the will of God that men should be subject to magistrates, and that magistrates should encourage virtue, and discourage vice, reward the obedient, and punish delinquents; but to what follows:

that with well doing; by doing good works, and those well; by living soberly, righteously, and godly; by having the conversation honest among the Gentiles, agreeably to the law of God, and as becomes the Gospel of Christ; particularly, by living according to the laws of civil society, so far as is consistent with, and not contrary to the commands of God; and by being subject to every civil magistrate, and ordinance of man:

ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: or, as the Syriac version renders it, "that ye may stop the mouths of those foolish men who know not God"; or, as the Ethiopic version has it, "who know not these things"; who are ignorant of God, of his righteousness, of his law, his Gospel, and ordinances. The Gentiles were very ignorant of these things, and very foolish in their imaginations about religious affairs; and from this their ignorance and folly arose calumnies, reflections, and censures upon the people of God; they neither knew God, nor them, nor true religion, and reproached what they understood not, and for want of knowing it: now the apostle signified, that it was the declared will of God that his people should so behave in civil life, that their enemies should be entirely confounded, and silenced, and have nothing to say against them; the word signifies to be muzzled, to have the mouth shut up, as with a bit or bridle; it is used in Matthew 22:12.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For so is the will of God - That is, it is in accordance with the divine will that in this way you should put them to silence.

That with well doing - By a life of uprightness and benevolence.

Ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men - See the notes at Titus 2:8. The reference here is to men who brought charges against Christians, by accusing them of being inimical to the government, or insubordinate, or guilty of crimes. Such charges, it is well known, were often brought against them by their enemies in the early ages of Christianity. Peter says they were brought by foolish men, perhaps using the word foolish in the sense of evil-disposed, or wicked, as it is often used in the Bible. Yet, though there might be malice at the bottom, the charges were really based on ignorance. They were not thoroughly acquainted with the principles of the Christian religion; and the way to meet those charges was to act in every way as became good citizens, and so as “to live them down.” One of the best ways of meeting the accusations of our enemies is to lead a life of strict integrity. It is not easy for the wicked to reply to this argument.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 15. For so is the will of God — God, as their supreme governor, shows them that it is his will that they should act uprightly and obediently at all times, and thus confound the ignorance of foolish men, who were ready enough to assert that their religion made them bad subjects. The word φιμουν, which we translate put to silence, signifies to muzzle, i.e., stop their mouths, leave them nothing to say; let them assert, but ever be unable to bring proof to support it.