Daily Bread 2011 - 1 Peter 3
Wives and Husbands
1 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 behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
What Does This Mean?
In bible study it is always very important to understand the context of the passage written. For instance in this passage we need to go back to start of this section back in chapter 2, which said, “13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority.” Peter goes on to talk about slaves submitting to their masters not because they had to because in submission to God. Then he says that wives should be submissive to their husbands, which was also the cultural norm of his day. These were all givens in that society, but Peter urges them to do it now not because the culture demanded it but in submission to God and in light of the example of Jesus. This is also the meaning of the term “weaker vessel”, in respect to the power given to male and females in the Middle-Eastern culture.
But what Peter does is to add the husband’s mutual submission, likewise as Paul says in Ephesians, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” As Jesus taught on marriage, he redefined it in a society where men could divorce women for almost any reason. Jesus teaches men that they should stay in their marriage and submit to and respect their wives out of their submission to Christ. This was radical in Jesus’ day to teach the men these concepts.
If you would like some more in depth of the cultural norms in Jesus’ day and how radical Jesus’ teaching was, especially in regard to men see this link:
http://bible.org/seriespage/obligations-christian-husbands-their-wives-1-peter-37
What Does This Mean For Us?
Jesus teachings on how men and women should relate to each other in the covenant of marriage has extreme relevance for us today. Jesus teaches us that our love for each other is shown by laying down our lives for each other, and is a response to His great love. Therefore, in whatever role the husband and the wife play in terms of household duties, they both are to submit to each other out of reverence for Christ. In Jesus’ day this was the norm for women who had little to no rights in terms of society, but Jesus calls men to serve their wives similarly.
Husbands and wives should have mutual respect for each other and learn about to appreciate and celebrate the differences between men and women. We are equal in God’s eyes, but not the same. We are both children of God, and we have both been bought with a price, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for both of us.
If this is our presumption going into marriage, though there are certain to be difficulties as in all human relationships because of our inherent sinfulness, we can stem the tide of divorce among Christian couples. The Christian divorce rate is the same as in the world, because we have failed to challenge and teach couples (and specifically men) the biblical basis for marriage. This is the marriage covenant we make to each other in God’s eyes and in front of the Christian community to love each other as Christ loved the Church laying down his life for it. I feel the Church needs to provide more help to couples in the Church to help them understand the marriage covenant and how we honor it as a natural product of God’s covenant with us.
Jesus, help us to honor our spouses out of submission to Christ. Strengthen the marriages in the Church as a testimony the truth of these teachings that will draw people to discover the covenant love you have in Your Son. Amen.
1 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 behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
What Does This Mean?
In bible study it is always very important to understand the context of the passage written. For instance in this passage we need to go back to start of this section back in chapter 2, which said, “13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority.” Peter goes on to talk about slaves submitting to their masters not because they had to because in submission to God. Then he says that wives should be submissive to their husbands, which was also the cultural norm of his day. These were all givens in that society, but Peter urges them to do it now not because the culture demanded it but in submission to God and in light of the example of Jesus. This is also the meaning of the term “weaker vessel”, in respect to the power given to male and females in the Middle-Eastern culture.
But what Peter does is to add the husband’s mutual submission, likewise as Paul says in Ephesians, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” As Jesus taught on marriage, he redefined it in a society where men could divorce women for almost any reason. Jesus teaches men that they should stay in their marriage and submit to and respect their wives out of their submission to Christ. This was radical in Jesus’ day to teach the men these concepts.
If you would like some more in depth of the cultural norms in Jesus’ day and how radical Jesus’ teaching was, especially in regard to men see this link:
http://bible.org/seriespage/obligations-christian-husbands-their-wives-1-peter-37
What Does This Mean For Us?
Jesus teachings on how men and women should relate to each other in the covenant of marriage has extreme relevance for us today. Jesus teaches us that our love for each other is shown by laying down our lives for each other, and is a response to His great love. Therefore, in whatever role the husband and the wife play in terms of household duties, they both are to submit to each other out of reverence for Christ. In Jesus’ day this was the norm for women who had little to no rights in terms of society, but Jesus calls men to serve their wives similarly.
Husbands and wives should have mutual respect for each other and learn about to appreciate and celebrate the differences between men and women. We are equal in God’s eyes, but not the same. We are both children of God, and we have both been bought with a price, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for both of us.
If this is our presumption going into marriage, though there are certain to be difficulties as in all human relationships because of our inherent sinfulness, we can stem the tide of divorce among Christian couples. The Christian divorce rate is the same as in the world, because we have failed to challenge and teach couples (and specifically men) the biblical basis for marriage. This is the marriage covenant we make to each other in God’s eyes and in front of the Christian community to love each other as Christ loved the Church laying down his life for it. I feel the Church needs to provide more help to couples in the Church to help them understand the marriage covenant and how we honor it as a natural product of God’s covenant with us.
Jesus, help us to honor our spouses out of submission to Christ. Strengthen the marriages in the Church as a testimony the truth of these teachings that will draw people to discover the covenant love you have in Your Son. Amen.
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