Living Stones: A Study of 1 & 2 Peter ~ Lesson 4

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3

Read 1 Peter 2:13-3:7

Questions to Consider

1. If you had to summarize the theme of this passage in one word, which word would you choose? Which other New Testament passages can you think of that deal with the issue of submission to authority? In lesson 3 (link above), we learned that another theme we often see in the New Testament is growing to maturity in Christ. How can learning to submit to the authorities in your life help you to grow in spiritual maturity? Describe how biblical submission to authority fits with the theme of 1-2 Peter: living holy lives under persecution and before an unholy world.

2. For this lesson, we’re going to break this passage down into three sections and answer some similar questions about each.

Three different groups of people are exhorted to submit to authority in this passage. Identify these three groups of people and the authorities they’re instructed to submit to:

2:13-17-

2:18-25-

3:1-6-

3. God doesn’t always explain why He gives certain instructions, but sometimes He graciously does to help us understand Him and to encourage us to “think His thoughts after Him.”

What are the specific reasons He gives to each group for submitting to their particular authority? Is there a common thread among these reasons? Zoom out and take a “big picture” look at the general principle of Christians submitting to earthly authorities. What is God’s overall reason for this principle? How does our submission to authority paint a picture for unbelievers that there is an Ultimate Authority – Jesus – and that one day every knee will bow to Him?

4. Describe the opposition each group faces from the authorities they’re to submit to. What is the general reason for this opposition? Is it easier for you to submit to a) Christian authority you’re doctrinally aligned with, b) a “Christian” authority who’s doctrinally unsound (or a false convert), or c) a non-Christian authority? Why?

5. Study 2:20b-25. Think back over Jesus’ earthly ministry. In what ways did He suffer unjustly? How does Jesus’ response to unjust suffering set an example to Peter’s first century persecuted and dispersed audience of Christians, and how does it set an example for us to follow today during suffering and persecution? How is bearing up under unjust treatment and responding to it in a godly way a testimony of Christ to the lost around us? How might it open a door to share the gospel with someone?

6. How does it comfort you to know that you, like Jesus, can “entrust yourself to the One who judges justly”(2:23)? Does any act of evil or persecution against God’s children ever escape His notice and go unpunished either in this life or the next?

7. In each of our three sections God addresses those who are to submit, but He only addresses the authority in one section. Which authority is that, in which verse? Why do you think He addresses this particular authority here and not the others? What are the characteristics God instructs this authority to exhibit to the person under him, and how should these characteristics apply generally to all Christians in a position of authority over others? How does a godly, loving demonstration of authority point to God’s loving and benevolent authority?

Homework

Are there any authorities in your life that you have difficulty submitting to? The government/laws (2:13-17), your boss (2:18-25), your husband (3:1-6)? Think about the instructions for submitting to authority in today’s passage, identify one practical way you could better submit to your authority, and put it into practice this week.