Word@work 1Pet36 - 1 Peter 3:1-2
Published: Mon, 06/15/09
Word@Work from BeaconLight
GODLINESS AT HOME
1 Peter 3:1-2 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. (NIV)
In the previous chapter (1 Peter 2), we have seen the need to submit to Christ, the government, the church and our human employers - even if that involved suffering. Peter's reason was that Christ submitted to the suffering of the cross; in order to set us free from sin to serve the Lord, in a wicked world where we will suffer too. Now the teaching focuses on the home and marriage, especially where one partner follows Jesus and the other does not.
Although human pride resents the idea of submission, it is an essential Biblical principle of willingly putting yourself under the authority of another. Submission can be forced onto people, and that looks rather ugly; but God's plan is that we should choose to submit out of reverence for Christ (cf Eph 5:21). At home, cultural differences may allow wives to have either a lot of freedom, or only a little. But Peter is not reflecting 1st century culture, or prescribing a cultural style - rather he is teaching that unbelieving husbands will be motivated to enquire about the gospel when they see it lived out at home. Conversely, a rebellious and argumentative wife is no advertisement for the gospel: and the same is true for husbands!
Love is always best expressed in submission and sacrifice. It is the free, willing and glad surrender of personal rights in order to give another person the best that can be given. It was like that for Jesus too. This passage is not saying that wives should be oppressed like slaves; but rather a healthy reminder that proud assertion and arrogant defiance have no place in gospel ministry. In the home environment, godliness is best demonstrated in purity and gracious honour. Although people may think that faith in Jesus is foolish; watching holiness lived out at close-quarters is the ultimate compelling evidence that Jesus really does transform lives; and it leads others to desire Him for themselves.
Prayer: Father God. Despite the cultural models of family life around me, may I honour you by submitting to the needs of others at home: not because it is my duty, but because I want to love them for Your sake. Please forgive me when my pride leads me to rebellious selfishness: please show me the way back through the example of Jesus who sacrificed everything for me. In His precious Name. Amen.
You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
In the previous chapter (1 Peter 2), we have seen the need to submit to Christ, the government, the church and our human employers - even if that involved suffering. Peter's reason was that Christ submitted to the suffering of the cross; in order to set us free from sin to serve the Lord, in a wicked world where we will suffer too. Now the teaching focuses on the home and marriage, especially where one partner follows Jesus and the other does not.
Although human pride resents the idea of submission, it is an essential Biblical principle of willingly putting yourself under the authority of another. Submission can be forced onto people, and that looks rather ugly; but God's plan is that we should choose to submit out of reverence for Christ (cf Eph 5:21). At home, cultural differences may allow wives to have either a lot of freedom, or only a little. But Peter is not reflecting 1st century culture, or prescribing a cultural style - rather he is teaching that unbelieving husbands will be motivated to enquire about the gospel when they see it lived out at home. Conversely, a rebellious and argumentative wife is no advertisement for the gospel: and the same is true for husbands!
Love is always best expressed in submission and sacrifice. It is the free, willing and glad surrender of personal rights in order to give another person the best that can be given. It was like that for Jesus too. This passage is not saying that wives should be oppressed like slaves; but rather a healthy reminder that proud assertion and arrogant defiance have no place in gospel ministry. In the home environment, godliness is best demonstrated in purity and gracious honour. Although people may think that faith in Jesus is foolish; watching holiness lived out at close-quarters is the ultimate compelling evidence that Jesus really does transform lives; and it leads others to desire Him for themselves.
Prayer: Father God. Despite the cultural models of family life around me, may I honour you by submitting to the needs of others at home: not because it is my duty, but because I want to love them for Your sake. Please forgive me when my pride leads me to rebellious selfishness: please show me the way back through the example of Jesus who sacrificed everything for me. In His precious Name. Amen.
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