Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Peter 3:13

"And who is he that will harm you, if ye be zealous of that which is good?" — 1 Peter 3:13 (ASV)

While suffering and unjust treatment have been in the background (1:6–7; 2:12, 15, 19ff.; 3:9), now they come to the fore. If Christians have the zeal for good that Ps 34 speaks of, who will do them harm? The “harm” Peter alludes to must be understood in the light of Paul’s rhetorical question “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) and his reference to Christians as being like “sheep to be slaughtered” and yet being “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:36–37).