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John Trapp Complete Commentary

1 Peter 3:17

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.)

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See also 1 Peter 3:17 in other biblical comments:

  • Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

    Verse 17. _FOR_ IT IS _BETTER_] See on 1 Peter 2:19; 1 Peter 2:20....

  • Albert Barnes' Bible Commentary

    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...

  • Annotated Bible by A.C. Gaebelein

    IV. THE COMFORT IN THE MIDST OF TRIALS AND SUFFERING CHAPTER 3:10-4:19 _ 1. The comfort in suffering (1 Peter 3:10)_ 2. Few saved as illustrated by Noah's preaching (1 Peter 3:18) 3. The new life i...

  • Arthur Peake's Commentary on the Bible

    This short and simple section deals with the wider relations of the Christian disciple to his fellow-disciples and to the world. It is an expansion of Christ's teaching in the Golden Rule. It is clear...

  • Barclay Daily Study Bible (NT)

    ;4:1-6 For it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be the will of God, than to suffer for doing wrong. For Christ also died once and for all for sins, the just for the unjust, that he m...

  • Barclay Daily Study Bible (NT)

    a For, it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be the will of God, than to suffer for doing wrong. For Christ also died once and for all for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might...

  • Barclay Daily Study Bible (NT)

    THE SILENT PREACHING OF A LOVELY LIFE (1 Peter 3:1-2)...

  • Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes

    WILL. App-102. BE SO. should will. App-102. FOR, &C. = as well doers (1 Peter 3:6). FOR, &C. =. as evildoers. Greek. _kakopoieo._ See Mark 3:4....

  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

    _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. 1 Peter 2:...

  • Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary

    1 Peter 3:17 to 1 Peter 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...

  • Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary

    ἈΓΑΘΟΠΟΙΟΥ͂ΝΤΑΣ, cf. 1 Peter 2:15; 1 Peter 2:20. ΕἸ ΘΈΛΟΙ. The optative is read by the best MSS. instead of the indicative and denotes a possible but uncertain contingency, cf. 1 Peter 3:14....

  • Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges Commentary

    1 Peter 3:13 to 1 Peter 4:6. GOOD AND EVIL DOING IN RELATION TO SUFFERING AT THE HANDS OF HEATHEN, ILLUSTRATED BY THE SUFFERINGS OR CHRIST AND THEIR EFFECTS...

  • Charles Rose Commentaries

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  • Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

    FOR IT IS BETTER, IF THE WILL OF GOD BE SO,— It is a great crime in him who inflicts misery, that he does it to the innocent, and not to such as deserve it. It is not better for him, that those whom h...

  • College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

    V. SUFFERING AND THE GLORIES TO FOLLOW 3:134:19 _1. Proper Conduct When Suffering For Righteousness 3:13-17_ 1 Peter 3:13-14 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be zealous of that which is good?...

  • Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

    For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. BETTER. Say not, I would not bear it so ill if I deserved it. It is better that you do not deserve it...

  • Commentary on the Minor Epistles by Caton

    VERSE 17. FOR IT IS BETTER, IF THE WILL OF GOD BE SO. If we suffer for doing right, it is better than if we suffer for doing wrong. In the last case we suffer justly. In the other it may result in our...

  • Concordant Commentary on the New Testament by A. E. Knoch

    21 Following in the footprints left by our Lord while He was on earth is often taken as the ideal of human deportment for believers in Christ. And so it is-for the Circumcision, to whom Peter writes....

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    IF THE WILL OF GOD BE SO] RV 'if the will of God should so will'—a rugged but emphatic expression....

  • Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible

    THE BLESSEDNESS OF CHRIST'S PEOPLE, THOUGH THEY SHOULD SUFFER LIKE CHRIST _B_ (iii). 1 Peter 3:1. Another divinely created ordinance of man is marriage. One of the purposes of Christianity was to teac...

  • EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

    God sometimes allows even good people to suffer. They must continue to trust God. This will show that they have a genuine *faith in God (chapter Revelation 1:7). Suffering is the right punishment only...

  • EasyEnglish Bible Commentaries

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  • Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

    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,...

  • Expositor's Bible Commentary (Nicoll)

    CHAPTER 11 THE REWARDS OF SUFFERING FOR WELL-DOING 1 Peter 3:17 THE Apostle comes back to his solemn subject. Why are the righteous called to suffering? The question was perplexing these Asian Chris...

  • Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

    κρεῖττον, _cf._ 1 Peter 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._ 1 Peter 3:...

  • Frederick Brotherton Meyer's Commentary

    FOLLOWING CHRIST IN BEARING INJUSTICE 1 Peter 3:13 It was said of Archbishop Cranmer that the way to make him a life-long friend was to do him some disservice, and surely these words of the Apostle h...

  • G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

    The marriage relation was then dealt with, and special emphasis was laid on the fact that the true adornment of woman is found in her character rather than in her dress. Husbands are charged to dwell...

  • Gary Hampton Commentaries

    SUFFERING FOR RIGHT AND WRONG REASONS Where the New King James puts "followers of what is good, the A.S.V. puts "if ye be zealous of that which is good." More than just a follower, this individual is...

  • Geneva Study Bible Commentary

    (17) For [it is] better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. (17) A reason which stands upon two general rules of Christianity, which nonetheless all men do...

  • Hawker's Poor man's commentary

    Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; (2) While they behold your chaste con...

  • Introductory Lectures - Commentary by William Kelly

    The epistles of Peter are addressed to the elect Jews of his day, believing of course on the Lord Jesus, and scattered throughout a considerable portion of Asia Minor. The apostle takes particular car...

  • John Calvin's Bible Commentary

    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...

  • John Darby's Synopsis

    After this general exhortation, brief but important to believers, the apostle takes up the relative walk of Christians in a world where on the one hand God watches over all, yet where He permits His o...

  • John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

    FOR IT IS BETTER, IF THE WILL OF GOD BE SO,.... For all things are ordered by the will of God, even all the sufferings and afflictions of the saints; and which is a reason why they ought to be patient...

  • Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    _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...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    The benefits of Christ's work:...

  • Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

    FOR IT IS BETTER, IF THE WILL OF GOD BE SO, THAT YE SUFFER FOR WELL-DOING THAN FOR EVIL-DOING....

  • Leslie M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible

    There is similar instruction for wives, for theirs is the subject place, certainly not as slaves to a master, but as joined to their "own husbands," a most-intimate and precious relationship. Because...

  • Mark Dunagan Commentaries

    _ 1 Peter 3:17 ‘For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.'_ ‘IF GOD SHOULD WILL IT SO' -Even when we are in the midst of...

  • Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible

    14-22 We sanctify God before others, when our conduct invites and encourages them to glorify and honour him. What was the ground and reason of their hope? We should be able to defend our religion wit...

  • Matthew Poole's Concise Commentary On The Bible

    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 t...

  • Patchworkid's Personal Study Bible Notes

    1 Peter 3:17 For G1063 better G2909 if G1487 is G2309 (G5719) will G2307 God G2316 suffer G3958 ...

  • Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

    ‘Having a good conscience; that, wherein you are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ, for it is better, if the will of God should so will, that you s...

  • Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary on the NT (4 vols)

    1 Peter 3:17. For it is better to suffer, if the will of God should will it, doing well than doing evil. This statement resembles that in chap. 1 Peter 2:20. It is also followed up, as was the case th...

  • Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament

    BETTER (κρειττον). Comparative of κρατυς as in 2 Peter 2:21; Hebrews 1:4. Patient endurance not only silences calumny (verse 1 Peter 3:16), is Christlike (verse...

  • Spurgeon's Bible Commentary

    1 Peter 3:1. _Likewise, ye wives be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your c...

  • Summarized Bible Commentary

    CONTENTS: Duties of husbands and wives toward one another. Exhortations to Christian consistency. Christ's vicarious sacrifice. CHARACTERS: God, Christ, Holy Spirit, Sara, Abraham. CONCLUSION: Worldl...

  • Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

    1 Peter 3:1. _Ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands._ The same words occur in Ephesians 5:22. Col 3:18. The excellence of piety is pleaded here, as the first ornament of a wife. Wisdom conne...

  • The Bible Study New Testament

    BECAUSE IT IS BETTER. Compare 1 Peter 2:20 and note. GOD'S WILL. _MacKnight_ says: "The apostle adds this to show that the wicked can do no evil to believers but by the permission of God." Compare Job...

  • The ESV Global Study Bible's Study Notes

    1 PETER—NOTE ON 1 PETER 3:15 Believers should always be ready to provide a reason for their faith. They should do so kindly and engagingly. If they keep a GOOD CONSCIENCE because their behavior is cor...

  • The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary

    _CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES_ 1 Peter 3:15. LORD GOD.—Probably better, “Lord Christ.” “To sanctify Christ or God was to count His name as holy above all other names, His fear as the only fear which...

  • The Pulpit Commentaries

    EXPOSITIONS 1 PETER 3:1 LIKEWISE, YE WIVES. St. Peter has spoken of the duties of servants: why does he omit those of masters? There must have been Christian masters in Asia Minor, as is plain from...

  • Through The Bible C2000 Serie by Chuck Smith

    Shall we turn now to First Peter chapter three as Peter addresses himself to the wives? This particular section goes back to verse thirteen of chapter two, Submit yourself to every ordinance of man fo...

  • Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

    1 Peter 3:14; 1 Peter 4:19; Acts 21:14; Matthew 26:39; Matthew 26:42

  • Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament (4 Volume Set)

    If the will of God be so [ε ι θ ε λ ο ι τ ο θ ε λ η μ α τ ο υ θ ε ο υ]. More literally, as Rev., preserving the play upon the word will, if the will of God should so will....

  • Wesley's Explanatory Notes

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

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