a. General principles (2:11–12)
a. General principles (2:11–12)
1. Abstain from following sinful passions (2:11)
11. Here Peter begins what is structurally the second half of the letter. Whereas the first part is primarily theological in focus with occasional application to life, this part is generally practical in emphasis with shorter theological statements included at many important points. Whereas the first half contains general exhortations to holiness (1:15), love (1:22), and trust in God (related to hope in 1:13, and implied in 1:5, 7–9, 21; 2:7), this half gives very specific instructions showing how believers are to practice holiness and trust in God in actual life situations. Though it is an oversimplification, it may be said that 2:11–5:11 gives specific application to the general teaching of 1:1–2:10.
By using the word beloved Peter reminds his readers that though he exhorts them as an apostle he also cares for them as beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord’s family. Although ‘beloved’ is a rather archaic word today, ‘dear friends’ (NIV) seems too weak. The Phillips paraphrase is probably best: ‘I beg you, as those whom I love’.
I beseech you is archaic language again, but ‘I urge you’ (NIV, NASB) is not forceful enough. The word (parakaleō) has the sense ‘I strongly urge you, I strongly appeal to you’.
Peter speaks to them as aliens and exiles, using two words (found together in both Gen. 23:4 and Ps. 39:12) which emphasize the Christian’s status as a temporary resident in a world that is not his home, for his true homeland is in heaven. For the word exiles and Peter’s reason for using it, see the notes at 1:1. The term alien (paroikos) is a close synonym which means ‘one who lives in a place that is not his true home’ (note its use in Acts 7:6, 29; Eph. 2:19; and the related noun ‘sojourning’ in 1 Pet. 1:17). The knowledge that Christians have no true home here on earth has been of comfort especially to those who spend years and even lifetimes away from their earthly homes in the service of Christ.
Because they are ‘aliens and exiles’ they should abstain from the passions of the flesh. These ‘passions’ or strong desires (see note on this word, epithymia, at 1:14) which are characteristic of the sinful nature are not appropriate to a Christian’s heavenly homeland. Examples of such desires are found in Galatians 5:19–21 and 1 John 2:16 (the discussion of ‘the flesh’ as the sinful nature in Gal. 5:13–25 is a good commentary on this phrase), but in fact any desires for things contrary to God’s will are prohibited here. Peter has already told his readers not to let their lives be moulded by such desires (1:14); here he says they should not even let such desires be active in their lives. The verb translated abstain means ‘to keep away from, avoid’ (note its use in Acts 15:29; 1 Thess. 4:3; 1 Tim. 4:3), and its present tense gives the sense ‘continually keep away from sinful desires, do not let yourself indulge in them at any time’. Such a command implies that inward desires are not uncontrollable but can be consciously nurtured or restrained—a needed rebuke to our modern society which takes feelings as a morally neutral ‘given’ and disparages any who would say that some feelings and desires are wrong.
These sinful desires wage war, a word (strateuō) which means ‘to serve as a soldier’ (see 1 Cor. 9:7; 2 Tim. 2:4; and, in a similar passage, Jas 4:1). Here the present tense verb gives the meaning, ‘which are continually waging war’ against your soul. Though soul (psychē) can mean ‘person’ (as in 3:20), here it means ‘the non-physical, spiritual part of a person’ (see note at 1:22). To entertain such desires may appear momentarily attractive and entirely harmless, since the desires do not usually break forth into wrongful actions, but they are in reality enemies which inflict harm on the Christian’s ‘soul’, making him spiritually weak and ineffective. To be unaware of this spiritual damage indicates a low level of spiritual perception.
2. Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles (2:12)
12. No new sentence begins here in the Greek text, for this verse is the positive counterpart to verse 11: not only are the readers to abstain from sinful desires (v. 11), they are also to continue to ‘Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles’. Conduct here refers to a day-by-day pattern of life (see note on this word at 1:15). Peter calls unbelievers Gentiles, not because he thinks that his readers were all Jewish Christians, but because he once again assumes that Christians (both literal Jews and literal Gentiles within the body of Christ) are the ‘true Israel’. Therefore all who are not Christians (both literal Jews and literal Gentiles) are truly ‘Gentiles’ (cf. 4:3).
Before these unbelievers, Christians are to maintain ‘good conduct’, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. A Christian’s good life even in the face of continuing slander and false accusation may still result in the unbeliever’s salvation.
On the day of visitation (RSV; similarly NASB, NIV, AV, NEB) is misleading because the definite article ‘the’ suggests the one last day of ‘visitation’ by God, the final judgment. But there is no definite article in the Greek text and ‘on a day of visitation’ is certainly a legitimate translation (unless ‘visitation’ could be shown conclusively to mean the final judgment). Commentators have been overly influenced by a supposed background in Isaiah 10:3, which in the LXX speaks of ‘the day of the visitation’ (using two definite articles which Peter does not have) as a time of judgment by God. But Peter’s phrase is neither similar enough nor long enough to prove a convincing allusion to Isaiah 10:3. Visitation (episkopē) can refer either to a time when God visits to judge (Job 7:18; Isa. 10:3; 29:6) or to bring blessing or deliverance (Gen. 50:24–25; Exod. 13:19; Isa. 23:17; Wisdom 3:7; significantly, in Luke 19:44 it refers to ‘a visitation to offer salvation’). Peter’s exact phrase (en hēmera episkopēs) does not appear anywhere else in the Old or New Testament, so it is unwise to assume it is a technical phrase for judgment: it is better to understand it simply to mean ‘on a day when God visits’ (whether to bring blessing or judgment must be determined from the remaining context).
On this day of visitation the unbelievers who are currently slandering Christians will glorify God. This glorification is almost certainly the voluntary praise of people who have been converted, and not (as Hort apparently claims, pp. 137–138) the forced acknowledgment by unbelievers that God has been right. (The verb doxazō, ‘glorify’, occurs sixty-one times in the New Testament but it is never used to speak of unbelievers who are forced unwillingly to admit that God or his people have been in the right—indeed, Rev. 16:9 says they refuse to do this.) They are converted and glorify God because of seeing your good deeds (cf. Matt. 5:16; 1 Pet. 3:15–16). Peter gives a specific example of this in 3:1–2, where he says that husbands may be converted when they see the good conduct of their Christian wives. (The unusual word for ‘see’, epopteuō, ‘look upon, and watch’ occurs in the New Testament only here and in 3:2. The word for ‘conduct’ is also the same here and in 3:2.)
Thus verses 11 to 12 form a brief prologue to the second half of the letter and in fact state in summary form what Peter will explain in detail in 2:13–5:11: Christians living in an unbelieving society must avoid sinful desires and continually maintain exemplary patterns of life, so that unbelievers will be saved and God glorified. There is no reason to doubt that such a strategy for evangelism would still work today.