1 Peter 3:17

17 For [it is] better to suffer for doing good, {if God wills it}, than for doing evil.

1 Peter 3:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Peter 3:17

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 patiently submitted to, and bore: and "better" it is, more honourable and profitable,

that ye suffer for well doing;
for believing in Christ, professing him and his Gospel, giving a free and open reason for so doing, and for exercising a good conscience, and living godly in Christ Jesus:

than for evil doing;
as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a busy body in other men's matters, ( 1 Peter 4:15 1 Peter 4:16 ) .

1 Peter 3:17 In-Context

15 but set Christ apart [as] Lord in your hearts, always ready to [make] a defense to anyone who asks you [for] an accounting concerning the hope [that is] in you.

16 But [do so] with courtesy and respect, having a good conscience, so that in [the things] in which you are slandered, the ones who malign your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.

17 For [it is] better to suffer for doing good, {if God wills it}, than for doing evil.

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, in order that he could bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,

19 in which also he went [and] proclaimed to the spirits in prison,

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "if the will of God wills"