“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Peter 2:17).
1 Peter 2:17 presents us with a four-point summary of Christian duty. (1) Each point is worthy of a deeper analysis, beginning with the first directive listed above…
1.) Honor all people. Since human beings are created in the image of God, we possess the ability to interact meaningfully with our Creator. This also means that every human being possesses an inalienable value that is worthy of respect. If we fail to recognize the inherent worth of other human persons who have been made in God’s image, we are also likely to fail in our efforts to honor all people.
In addition, we have several other directives from Jesus Himself in this regard…
“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).
“In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you…” (Matthew 7:12 NET).
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:43-45).
A mindset that rejects the inherent worth of other human beings who have been made in God’s image will inevitably produce various forms of injustice. On the other hand, genuine Christianity offers the best solution to the iniquities of racism, prejudice, inequality, and other such injustices, for it attacks the root and branch of such things.
Authentic Christianity first addresses the root issue: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18 ESV). The Apostle Paul is perhaps the greatest example of the change that accompanies that spiritual rebirth; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 offers several others.
From there, Galatians 3:28 guides our interpersonal relationships: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” With this in mind, we cannot act unjustly towards those who are one with us in Christ, or anyone else (as noted in Jesus’ teachings quoted above). In this way, we can observe this directive from our text in 1 Peter 2:17: “Honor all people.”
(1) See Barclay, William. William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible, “Summary Of Christian Duty (1Pe_2:17).”