Studiesin

1 Peter Presentation 06

The Structure of the Book1v1-2 Salvation: grounded in the Godhead1v3-5 Salvation: accomplished in their hearts1v6-9 Salvation: confirmed by their suffering1v10-12 Salvation: anticipated through history1v13-21 Salvation: outworked in their lives1v22-2v3 Salvation: and the Word of Truth2v4-12 Living Stones - Chosen People2v13-17 Submission to the State2v18-25 Submission to Superiors3v1-7 Wives and Husbands3v8-17 The Believer and Suffering3v17-22 Christ’s Victory 4v1-6 Responding to Christ’s Victory4v7-11 Living for God4v12-19 Suffering for Christ5v1-11 Elders and Young Men5v12-14 Final Greetings

Wives and Husbands

Chap 3v1-7

Introduction

Peter has been dealing with the subject of Christian submission and at the very heart of his treatment we find the submission of Christ himself.

His submission under suffering was an example but it was more than an example to the church, for it provides us with our strongest incentive for submission.

In chap 3 Peter begins to deal with submission within family relationships.

The Submission of Wives

This teaching on submission has certainly been abused by many men, who have reduced their wives to little more than household slaves, chained to the kitchen sink and expected to respond to their husbands every whim at the snap of a finger.

This does not reflect the biblical teaching on submission. And many, who react negatively to what they understand to be the Biblical view of submission, are in fact reacting to a grotesque caricature of that view.

The Submission of WivesNow the idea of submission cuts across the grain of proud human nature. It is thought to be demeaning! A number of brides resent the word ‘obey’ in their marriage vows and they want to rewrite them!

But the headship of man within the family is biblical. In Gen. 2.18 the woman is described as a 'helper' made 'for' the man and given 'to' him. Indeed, Adam's sin consists, in part, of being led by the woman. He clearly failed to lead her Gen 3.17. And if we view marriage as a creation ordinance, binding upon all, and not simply a church sacrament binding on believers, then it describes a relationship, which God says is normative for the whole of humanity.

The Submission of WivesSome teach that submission was introduced as a punishment of the fall and that Christ's redemption must have abolished the need for submission cf. Gen.3.16 and then Gal 3.28. But was the submission of the woman a post-fall relationship?

The key lies in how we understand the word 'desire' in Gen3.16. The same word appears in connection with sin in Gen.4.7 where the word means ‘a desire to rule’. If we are to understand Eve as having the same sort of desire for her Husband, as sin had for Cain fifteen verses later, then it is a desire to ‘possess and control him’. A desire that disputes his headship.

The Submission of WivesAnd just as God told Cain he must master or rule sin and its desire, so God tells Adam he must rule over these desires of his wife. In Gen. 3.16 we find the beginning of the battle of the sexes. As a result of the fall, man must struggle to affirm his headship. So that the rule of the husband, which was founded in paradise is outworked in the context of struggle. Adam had negligently failed to exercise his headship and thereafter has to struggle to assert it. The woman willingly submitted to her husband before the fall but her original sin involved rebellion against that rule. The remedy to this struggle is the transformation of the attitudes and aspirations of both man and woman through the indwelling of the Spirit of Christ. cf Eph. 5.22, 25

The Submission of WivesSome claim that this passage in Peter along with others in the N.T. are culturally conditioned. The submission of wives to husbands was merely a part of C1st culture. Therefore such scriptures are not binding upon today's society. This is the stand taken by many, who describe themselves as Christian feminists.

But we have already pointed out that the relationship of man and woman has its roots in God's creation ordinance, added to which Peter makes it clear that his readership were not to be conditioned by the traditional values of the day 1Pet 1.18...

The Submission of WivesThe submission Peter calls for is not culturally conditioned, nor is it to be motivated by fear. It is to be given freely, gladly and willingly. It is the opposite of demanding ones rights!

Submission in the Christian church is not an admission of inferiority but the fruit of one’s election to the family of God.

The particular example, which Peter develops is that of the submission of Christian wives to their non-Christian husbands. They are to win their husbands by their unselfish example. Unbelieving husbands can be ‘won over without words’! When wives come to faith in Christ they naturally want their husbands to experience andshare in this blessing.

The Submission of Wives

Peter is teaching, 'don't nag your husbands, don't preach at them, don't even pressure them into reading Christian literature.' Instead, wives should allow something of the attractiveness of the indwelling Jesus communicate itself to their unconverted husbands. Peter describes the submission of the wife as an attractive adornment, the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which God loves. ‘Meekness and gentleness’ are of course part of the fruit of the Spirit [Gal 5.22ff]. The witness of a Christian wife is not always easy. The husband may ridicule and insult her. Indeed, some have forbidden their wives to mention their new faith.

The Submission of Wives

This is where ‘winsome behaviour’ does its work. Augustine the famous church leader of the C5th writes of the way in which his godly mother, Monica, witnessed to his pagan father Patricius.

“She served her husband as her master, and did all she could to win him for you, speaking to him of you by her conduct, by which you made her beautiful.... Finally when her husband was at the end of his earthly span, she gained him for you”.

You will notice that it was her submissiveness and godly conduct over many years that won her husband over to faith in Christ!

The Submission of Wives

Peter moves on to contrast the outward vanities of fashion with that of inward spiritual adornment. cf also Is 3.16-25..

Do not misunderstand what Peter is saying. He is not saying, that women should dress in ugly sacks or bin liners! He is not forbidding the wearing of beautiful clothes, jewellery or cosmetics. [The father of the prodigal welcomed him home with the best robe and a ring]. But Peter argues that inward beauty is of greatervalue than the extravagant sensual fashions of the age. Let me ask, when was the last beauty magazine published in which the value of inward beauty was extolled to its female readership?

The Submission of WivesInner beauty is what Christian women should be spending their time cultivating. It is this beauty that is commendable in God's sight. It is an unfading beauty because it lasts, it does not deteriorate with age. God places great value upon it. cf Prov.31.10....

The example of Sarah is given. She was a woman who showed the beauty of submissiveness in relation to her husband Abraham. The word translated ‘master’ is ‘kyrios’. It is used here as a polite form of address rather like the word 'sir' and does not indicate a slavish submission, where behaviour is influenced by fear.

The Response of Husbands

Peter does not forget to address the husbands cf v7. The key to understanding the husbands role is found in the phrase, ‘Husbands in the same way’ . The path of Christian living is not different for the husband than it is for the wife. Both are to expected to demonstrate submission.

The headship of the family is not in view here, that role As we have seen is assigned to the husband by God. But there is submission in the sense of the husband unselfishly giving himself to his wife, eager to serve her needs. Eph 5.25-30. In terms of the marriage relationship, the wife is to be submissive to the husband’s headship, while he is expected to honour his wife.

The Response of Husbands

That honour includes, love, consideration and understanding. The word 'considerate' v7 is literally, 'according to knowledge'.

The husband relates to the wife as one who knows her needs and who recognises the delicacies of her nature and feelings. The wife is ‘weaker’ in the sense of having less physical strength but her role is not diminished. ‘Weaker’ does not mean inferior in terms of worth. In relation to the gift of spiritual life, the woman is not weaker or disadvantaged cf Gal. 3.28.

The Response of HusbandsThe husband is to give to his wife 'respect' the word is literally, 'preciousness'. We do not take things that are precious for granted. We value them, guard them and care for them.

The husband is to recognise not only his wife’s unique place in the ordinance of marriage but the fact that she is a co-heir in the fruit of Christ's death. Failure to recognise this not only damages the husband’s relationship with his wife but with God.

The prayers of the husband, who fails to honour his wife, lose their effectiveness. The word 'hindered' means 'frustrated' or 'hewn down'. The husband’s attitude towards and treatment of his wife clearly has far reaching implications for the kingdom of God!

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Prov. 31.10