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Presence Weekly: The "House Rules" of Faithful Presence

Navigating the power-differentials of 1 Peter 2:13-3:17 and today.

[First Things]

Most federal offices are closed on Monday, so relax and catch up on some of the great content you may have missed!

If you haven’t already, check out our latest podcasts with David Bahnsen on the intersection of work and faith and Dr. William Monroe on AI. Our next podcast, “Social Media and Living in Faithful Presence with the Government,” will be released on Tuesday.

[The Devo] The "House Rules" of Faithful Presence

As we move from Peter’s critical fusion of the gospel's indicative truth to the imperative calling to participate in Christ’s mission of making all things new, we enter a four-panel application of living in faithful presence with the world in which the elect exiles of the first century find themselves. Starting in 1 Peter 2:13 - 1 Peter 3:17, Peter gives contextual specificity for navigating the power differentials most common to new converts: those with the government, coworkers, family, and the general population. 

Binding these passages together is their instruction on living in a community and a culture with dual citizenship: as citizens of the Kingdom of Rome and as citizens of the Kingdom of God. 

As Peter has just said, 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. , 1 Peter 2:9–12.

Paul echoes this idea of transfer from one kingdom to another in a passage that has many parallels to the words of Peter, 

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9–14.

A Shared Cultural Understanding

There are two reasons for the similarity. First, they were preaching the same gospel. Second, they were speaking into a shared world. While Peter’s audience was largely Jewish converts to Christianity, and Paul’s was largely Gentile converts, both groups lived in the same world, which was governed by a Roman empire heavily influenced by Greek thought. 

Citizenship in the Roman Empire was a privilege that came with certain expectations and responsibilities. As the empire expanded and people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, economic strata, social classes, and religious backgrounds became its subjects, it was important to knit them together with a shared idea of citizenship within the kingdom. 

Enter what 19th-century German theologians called “Haustafeln” or household codes. These codes most likely date back to Aristotle, who wrote, almost four centuries before Peter and Paul, in Politics (Book I, Chapter iii),

Seeing then that the state is made up of households, before speaking of the state, we must speak of the management of the household. The parts of the household are the persons who compose it, and a complete household consists of slaves and freemen. Now, we should begin by examining everything in its least elements, and the first and least parts of a family are master and slave, husband and wife, father and children. We have therefore to consider what each of these three relations is and ought to be:—I mean the relation of master and servant, of husband and wife, and thirdly of parent and child. 

Aristotle establishes a paradigm for citizen formation (read: discipleship) in the empire by first acknowledging that a citizen’s life is grounded and formed in the home. He also identifies common power differential-based relationships: master and slave, husband and wife, father and children. Throughout Politics, Aristotle will apply each of these to life in the empire. 

Reframing and Reapplying

Peter and Paul, therefore, do not start from scratch or with a blank slate. They are addressing citizens of the Roman Empire who have come to understand what living as a faithful citizen entailed.  However, these two apostles are interested in reframing and reapplying these household codes from their original context to the one into which the readers have been transferred through their reception of the gospel. This is what Peter does in the following verses and what Paul does in Ephesians 5:22-6:9,  Colossians 3:18-4:1 and Titus 2:1-10.

Despite the language of transfer, a careful reading reveals that this transfer is one of ultimate authority and accountability and not exclusive authority and accountability.

Like us, the Christians of the first century were not transferred away from their present culture but became dual citizens. What follows in the coming passages is Peter’s reworking of the Greco-Roman household codes into elect-exile household codes. Taken another way, Peter (and Paul) embark upon instructing the reader in “Whole-life discipleship, in the whole-of-life for the whole of the public square.”

As Christians living in 21st-century America, we, too, are dual citizens. Our day-to-day lives remain under the governance of the duly elected and appointed constitutional authorities. This reality does not change based on elections or administration changes. While their initiatives and policies may change, our responsibilities as citizens do not. We are called to live as obedient children of our Father and faithful servants of our Lord. 

Our manner of life as dual citizens includes the critical aspect of navigating power differentials of the public square, the workplace, our homes, and the larger culture. Although not entirely disconnected from our instruction as citizens of our present government, Christians are given a higher charge.  As seen from the repetition of the imperative to “Be subject,” this involved a counter-intuitive and understandably undesirable posture. Yet, it is one taken by Christ, who was crucified at the hands of the Romans and at the urging of the Pharisees.  After his resurrection, Jesus appears to his followers in this scene of commissioning at the end of John, 

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then, the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so, I am sending you.” John 20:19-21

“As the Father sent me, so I am sending you,” encourages us to reread Jesus’ entire life by asking, “How did the Father send the Son?”  The answer to this question informs our understanding of what it means for dual citizens to “Be subject” in the many power differentials we face.  

Application Questions

As you consider your responsibilities as a citizen of the United States, what expectations of that citizenship run parallel with your Christian faith? Which, if any, run counter to your faith?

How would you describe the similarities and differences between the Christians who lived as dual citizens in the first 100 years of America and those who live today?

What are some of the power differentials in which you presently find yourself? Reflect upon your understanding of the phrase, “Be subject.” How do you understand that imperative instruction as you navigate those power differentials?

[Faithful Prayer] 

  • Cabinet Agency: The appointees and career staff at the Department of Education who are in the national spotlight as part of a much-needed conversation about the government’s role in education. 

  • Think Tank, Lobby group, NGO: The staff of the Center for Education Reform and their work to encourage the good, repair the broken, create the missing, and oppose evil in K-12 education. 

  • Weekly delegation: For the Congressional delegation of the state of Mississippi.

  • News: For the chaos and confusion surrounding the current recalibration of United States-based foreign aid and U.S.A.I.D. and the implications for virus containment, sanitary infrastructure, and famine mitigation. 

  • For someone who just interviewed for a high-level position within the new administration. For someone who faces the frustrating necessity of reapplying for their own position. For someone thankful that a toxic supervisor has resigned. For someone with a second child who has now learned to walk. For someone dealing with their under-utilization at work.  For someone starting a new job this week in the policy-advocacy sector. For someone traveling to a country that has long struggled with stability.

[The Page, The Pod & The Stack]

[What’s Happening?]

[Two Thumbs Up] Book: “The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future,” Benji Backer (2024)

Benji Backer recently appeared in an outstanding and immensely informative discussion at AEI, On the Front Porch with Brent Orrell and Tony Pipa: A Conversation with Benji Backer and Michelle Moore. During that conversation, Mr. Backer articulated a view of conservation based on free markets, subsidiarity (localism), measurable impact, and a sincere desire to address the climate-related concerns of power generation for the future.

His recent book, “The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future,” is a deeper exploration of his data-driven analysis of present narratives on sustainable energy initiatives related to solar, hydrogen, nuclear, and fossil fuels. It also discusses the role of other nation-state players in these markets and how U.S. foreign policy and the general public need a major wake-up call.

Backer's findings and proposals are well-researched and persuasive. I especially appreciated his honest assessment of progressive versus conservative initiatives and how they are typically understood by the larger electorate.

In light of the recent devastating fires in California, readers on both sides of the aisle will want to pay special attention to his treatment of forest management policy and consumer-based incentives for vehicle emission controls.

Highly recommend!

[Last Things]

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