Having your conversation good among the Gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by the good works which they shall behold in you, glorify God in the day of visitation.
την αναστροφην υμων εχοντες καλην εν τοις εθνεσιν ινα εν ω καταλαλουσιν υμων ως κακοποιων εκ των καλων εργων εποπτευσαντες δοξασωσιν τον θεον εν ημερα επισκοπης
9 Church Fathers comment on this verse
By those who speak evil of us, the Apostle means the Gentiles. By the day of visitation he means inheritance according to the laws of this world. For when they examine our life and find that their idea of us contradicts reality, they correct their shameful deeds. In this way they glorify God.
Let them glorify God in the day of visitation. So it was in Egypt, when He visited it through an angel, striking the firstborn. So also He will visit the lands of this world and strike the firstborn of the hostile powers.
Peter speaks of the pagans who speak evil of us. If anyone wishes to learn about this, he will draw exact information from the work of Irenaeus, bishop of Lugdunum in Celtic Gaul, concerning the martyrs Sanctus and Blandina.
To tell it briefly, the matter stood thus. The Greeks seized slaves who were being catechized in the Christian faith and began trying under torture to extract from them certain supposedly secret information about Christians.
The slaves could not properly tell what the Greeks wished to learn from them. From their masters they had heard that Holy Communion is the flesh and blood of Christ.
Supposing that it was truly flesh and blood, they said this to those questioning them. The interrogators understood that Christians literally do this, and told the other Greeks about it.
Then they began to compel the martyrs Sanctus and Blandina, under torture, to confess this. Blandina answered them wisely and courageously: “How could those who, while struggling in ascetic contest, do not eat meat at all, allow this?”
The apostle calls the day of visitation an open investigation. When the Greeks investigate our life, they discover that our deeds are contrary to their suspicions.
They are not only ashamed of their former thoughts, but also enter the true path and glorify God.
It often happened that Gentiles blamed the faith of Christians because they had scorned their gods. Yet when they saw the pure life of Christians and their unshaken devotion to Christ, they stopped speaking evil of them. They even began to glorify and praise God, whom they acknowledged as good and just because of the goodness and righteousness of the service rendered to Him.
“In the day of visitation” means the day of the Lord’s visitation. By the day of visitation one should understand the time when God manifests His special mercy to a people or a person, or His wrath.
Such, for example, was the day of the deliverance of the people of Israel from Egyptian captivity (Gen 50:24). Such also was the day of the Messiah’s coming to His people (Lk 1:68, 78; Lk 19:44).
On the other hand, days of punishment are also days of visitation, such as the days of captivity (Is 10:3; Jer 6:15; Jer 8:12; Jer 10:15, and the like).
In the present case, the day of visitation for Christians was their being handed over to the judgment of pagans. This often ended for them in suffering and even death.
But if the enemies of Christians, after the strictest investigation of their life, could be convinced of their innocence and virtue, and through this themselves turned to Christ, then this already became a day of visitation for the pagans.
The apostle desires that the virtuous life of Christians become for the pagans an occasion for glorifying God.
"To conduct a virtuous life among the Gentiles": the small Christian community, then surrounded by Gentiles, had for this reason to be especially attentive to its life and manner of action, apart from the higher motives proper to Christianity.
Paganism always stood in more or less hostile relations to Christianity. The confessors of Christ could best soften this hostile relation and draw even those at enmity to Christ by their virtuous life.
The Apostle expresses this in the following words: "that they may glorify God." A good change in the attitude of Gentiles toward Christians must come about precisely through the virtuous life of the Christians themselves.
"In that for which they slander you as evildoers": standing alone amid a hostile world with their high principles of new life according to the Gospel, Christians were slandered by Gentiles as evildoers because of these very principles.
The Gentiles did not understand these high principles. They misinterpreted and distorted them. Christians suffered from them not only slander, but even persecutions.
Thus, to the superficial and corrupt view of the Gentiles, the brotherly love of Christians, by which they stood in close mutual communion, gave grounds for suspecting them of a secret anti-social union or conspiracy dangerous to the state.
Their firmness in their faith, and their unshakable confession of it amid slander, persecution, and oppression, seemed to the Gentiles a dangerous fanatical stubbornness.
Their estrangement from the Gentiles was interpreted as hatred of mankind. Their break with ancient pagan customs, traditions, and habits was interpreted as contempt for every human institution, and so forth (cf. 1 Pet 2:19-20; 1 Pet 3:10-12, 17; 1 Pet 4:15).
According to the Apostle, only the virtuous life of Christians, or in general their good works, can dispel such views of Christians among the Gentiles.
Not only can it dispel them, but it can even turn the slanderers themselves from slander to glorifying the God confessed by Christians.
Good works, or a virtuous life in general, truly act more strongly upon unbelievers, as experience shows, than teaching does.
"That they may glorify God": the goal of a virtuous life in relation to unbelievers and slanderers is not that people should exalt the virtuous for their virtue, but that God should be glorified (cf. Mt 5:16).
"In the day of visitation": God's visitation is a special action of God toward men. It may be beneficent and merciful (Gen 21:1; Gen 50:24; Job 7:18; Lk 1:68, 78; Acts 15:14), or chastising and punitive (Jer 9:24-25; Jer 44:13; Ps 58:6; Ex 20:5).
Some interpreters understand God's visitation here in the first sense, others in the latter.
Since the Apostle himself does not define this word more closely, one may suppose that he means God's visitation in general. That is, he uses the word in both senses.
The phrase "day of visitation" indicates the time of such visitation in general, since the word "day" signifies not only a day in the proper sense, but time generally.
What time of visitation is meant here? And in relation to whom will this time of visitation be, to the slandering Gentiles or to the Christians who do good?
In relation to the Gentiles, God's visitation may be understood both as fearsome and as merciful.
The time of fearsome visitation is the time of various calamities and sorrows, through which God's chastising judgment upon sinners is accomplished.
A time of calamities often compels even the most stubborn to turn to God and to judge more rightly concerning virtuous people who please God and concerning their good works.
In this sense one may understand the Apostle's words, that those who slander Christians as evildoers can be brought to their senses by calamities and glorify God when they see the Christians' good works.
Yet it accords more with the context to understand God's visitation as merciful toward the Gentiles. Then they understand the works of Christians as they should and glorify God precisely because of those works.
They perceive their whole beauty and greatness, and turn to faith and repentance (cf. Lk 19:44).
"By those who slander us the Apostle means the Gentiles, and by the day of visitation the investigation according to the laws of this world.
For when they examine our life and find that their notion of us contradicts reality, they themselves are corrected in their shameful deeds and thus glorify God" (Theophylact).
In relation to Christians themselves, God's visitation can be understood only as merciful. It means special benefactions of God toward believers.
Seeing these, the slanderers will understand them precisely as a visible reward for their good works and will glorify God for them, recognizing Him in such visitation as the true God.
Whichever of these meanings of the word "visitation" one accepts, the general thought of the saying remains clear.
In the second section, which is exclusively instructional in content, the Apostle wishes to show in detail how the royal priesthood of Christians should be expressed. He also shows which spiritual sacrifices they should offer, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
These are instructions concerning the inward and personal life of Christians (1 Pet 2:12-12). The apostle beseeches them, as sojourners and strangers in this world, to abstain from fleshly lusts that rise up against the soul.
Thus, when the pagans slander them as evildoers, the pagans may see their good works and glorify God in the day of visitation. This means the day of their conversion to Christianity by the grace of God, through conviction of the holiness of Christian life.
The apostle beseeches them, as sojourners and strangers in this world, to abstain from fleshly lusts that rise up against the soul.
Thus, when the pagans slander them as evildoers, the pagans may see their good works and glorify God in the day of visitation. This means the day of their conversion to Christianity by the grace of God, through conviction of the holiness of Christian life.
Having shown the special position of Christians among the pagans, the apostle exhorts them to behave as befits strangers and foreigners in the pagan world.
They must not provoke others against themselves by their unusual position and life. On the contrary, by their moral elevation and holiness, they must draw others to themselves.
It is known that in the first period pagans looked upon Christians with distrust. Their enemies, seeing the unusual communion among Christians, even spread all kinds of absurd slanders against them.
This gave occasion for the vilest evil speech. Therefore one can understand how wisely the apostle counsels them to refute these slanders.
What better proof of moral purity can the slandered person give than an unstained moral life? Such a life can not only expose every slander, but also exert a beneficial influence on all around, not excluding the slanderers themselves.
The Savior Himself points to preaching by one’s life as the very first and chief preaching (cf. Mt 5:16). Yet one must patiently await such a day of God’s visitation, that is, God’s favor toward believers.
Seeing this, those who speak evil of them will glorify God on their account and understand that the God of Christians is the true God.
Such a visitation of God occurred not only in the days of Christianity’s triumph. It also happened during persecutions against Christians, when many tormentors turned to Christ after seeing the Christians’ great faith.
The abstinence of Christians from fleshly lusts aroused hatred toward them from pagans who gave themselves over to pleasing the flesh. “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed, for they are evil” (Jn 3:20).
The pagans’ hatred for Christians was revealed in slanders against them. Pagans accused them of outrageous crimes and reviled them as evildoers and enemies of public order.
Thus Christians did not take part in public amusements infected with the spirit of idolatry, and for this they were known as haters of the human race.
Christians refused to call the pagan emperor Lord and God, to swear by his name, or to burn incense before his statue. They were accused of insulting majesty.
For safety from the pagans, Christians gathered for worship at night in hidden places. For this they were called conspirators and rebels.
The Roman state was ravaged by crop failures, plagues, and attacks by barbarians. The blame for all these disasters was placed on Christians, as though they had angered the gods.
Christians, inspired by brotherly love for one another, joined in communal gatherings at one common meal. For this spiritual love they were accused of incontinence and depravity.
They reverently partook of the body and blood of Christ. For this, slanders of cannibalism and of slaughtering infants for food were raised against them.
In a word, there was no evil saying that their enemies did not spread about Christians.
What were Christians to do to dispel the prejudices and slanders raised against them by pagans? The apostle commands them to have good conduct among the nations.
This means that they must behave well and blamelessly in their dealings with pagans. Specifically, they must conscientiously fulfill civil duties that are not contrary to the faith.
They must engage honestly in trade and industry, obey the authorities, take an active part in the needs of the fatherland, and not shrink from military service.
The constancy of Christians in such conduct cannot remain without good consequences. Many pagans will call the blameless outward behavior of Christians hypocrisy.
Yet among the pagans there will also be those whom it makes doubt the justice of the accusations raised against Christians. They will enter into an exact investigation of whether Christians are truly guilty of what they are accused.
They will also investigate whether the secret gatherings of Christians truly have a criminal character.
If such accusations are not confirmed, and if inquiry shows that Christians conduct themselves blamelessly both in dealings with pagans and in their secret gatherings, then impartial pagans, “seeing their good works,” will not only cease hostility against Christians.
They will also “glorify God in the day of visitation.” That is, they will repent of their guilt toward Christians.
On the very day when the Lord visits them with His mercy and enlightens their spiritual eyes, darkened by prejudice, they will glorify God for this mercy.
There is no doubt that this glorification of God, this gratitude to Him for enlightenment, will transform them from enemies of the Christian faith into its confessors.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 26 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS