1 Peter 3:17

For it is better . St. Peter meets the common objection that suffering could be borne more easily if it were deserved; the Christian must take the cross, if it comes, as from God, sent for his good. If the will of God be so; literally, if the will of God should so will. θέλημα denotes the will in itself; θέλειν , its active operation (Wirier, 3:65. β ). That ye suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing . The construction is participial, as in 1 Peter 2:20 . As there, the participle expresses, not merely the circumstances, but the cause of the suffering; they would have to suffer, not simply while they were doing well, but because they did Well.