For this is the will of God, doing good to silence the ignorance of foolish men;
Truth to Learn
God will use our good works to bring glory to Himself.
Behind the Words
The word translated “will” is thelēma, meaning “a desire or disposition toward something,” but it also implies action taken based on that desire. This is derived from the verb thelō, meaning “to wish, to will, implying volition and purpose with a determination or execution of that which is desired.” Hence, it is sometimes referred to as “determined will.” This is different from the Greek word boulomai, meaning “to desire something, not necessarily implying the execution of that desire,” which is sometimes referred to as “desirous will.”
The expression “doing good” comes from the Greek agathopoieō, which, as we learned from a similar word in the previous verse, means “to do good things.”
“To silence” comes from the Greek word phimoō, which means “to muzzle” or “to silence.”
“Ignorance” is translated from the Greek word agnōsia. This is compound word made up of a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of gnōsis, meaning “knowledge.”
The word “foolish” is translated from aphropon, made up of a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of phren, meaning “understanding.” Hence, it literally means “mindless” or “stupid.”
Meaning Explained
“For this is the will of God…” What is Peter referring to; the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do well. That’s what he said in the previous verse. The grammatical rule of immediate antecedence would seem to dictate that’s what he meant. However, it is not what was said before, but what is said after that defines what Peter means. He says that “putting to silence the ignorance of foolish men” is the will of God (what God has determined). And he does that through our good works. Now, let me remind you what he said in verse twelve:
having your behavior good among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of inspection. (1 Peter 2:12)
Do you see it? Do you see who Peter is talking about? As you will recall, in verse twelve we learned that the “Gentiles” are non-Christians. They are unsaved. They are unbelievers. They are the foolish ones who are “without understanding.” And since they don’t understand the truth of the gospel message, they speak out of ignorance. They speak out against Christians, calling us evil doers when they are the real doers of evil.
Not only will God silence (muzzle) their evil speaking about us, as Peter tells us in this verse, but they will glorify God on that fateful day when they stand before Him as their judge, as Peter told us in verse twelve.
Application
When all your efforts to do good make you feel like a salmon swimming upstream, remember that we are doing it for His glory! And though we may not see the fruit of our labors on this earth, someday we will see our Savior, and He is worthy!
In God's service, for His glory,
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