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1 Peter 2:16-18
New Catholic Bible
1 Peter 2:16-18
New Catholic Bible
16 As servants of God, behave as free people, but do not use your freedom as a means to cover up wrongdoing. 17 Give due honor to everyone. Love your fellow believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18 Recommendations for Slaves.[a] Slaves, submit to your masters with due respect, not only to those who are kind and forbearing but also to those who are harsh.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Peter 2:18 The first generations of Christians have above all the concern to spread the Gospel as the response to desire for salvation on the part of all people. The believers are only a handful. It would be a mistake to attribute to them the plan to develop a critique of the structures of society. But they themselves model new human and social relations. Many of them are slaves; in the Church, they are recognized as full Christians. This is one more reason not to lay oneself open to the accusation of insubordination that is leveled at these new communities. Hence, for the present moment, here is a way of living with service, even in conditions of injustice. The example of Christ imposes itself; it is interpreted here in magnificent terms by means of one of the great texts about the Servant of God (Isa 53:5-12). We should not interpret this text as presenting a doctrine of resignation. It calls for an attitude that refuses to respond to injustice with hatred or duplicity (see Eph 6:5-9; Col 3:22-25; 1 Tim 6:1-2; Tit 2:9-10).
