"Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king."
Here, in just a few words, is a good formula for Christian living. Notice how Peter frames his exhortations (in an A, B, B, A pattern). Churchmen are to "honor" "all" people, particularly the "king," (or, those in civil authority). But they are especially to "love" the
"brotherhood" of the church. This is only possible, as we "fear" God.
None of these pithy commands can be casually put aside, with the claim that any of the others are in any way actually obeyed. In other words, it is an "all or nothing" arrangement. Therefore, let us jettison all of our self-righteous excuses for why we do not need to "honor the king," for instance; and let us adorn our profession of faith through sincere and faith-filled obedience.
[Puritan quote of the day: "The people of God are begotten through the education, instruction, and endeavors of those who were God's people before. Therefore, the church is represented in Scripture as being the mother of its members, (Gal. 4:26)." --Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, "Christians a Chosen Generation"]
