Let us continue our worship of God by learning from His Word.
Open your Bibles to 1 Peter 3….
We note that the main instructions starts with “In the same way…” What way? This phrase is similar to our favorite Bible word “therefore”; we have to look at the truths stated earlier before moving forward. God gives truths then He gives instructions “in the same way”. Make a note of this.
What are the key verses before 1 Peter 3?
Look again at 1 Peter 2:12: Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
Christians are to do good in all areas of life! We are to go against evil and do good because Christians belong to a good God. But we can really only do good when we return to the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ.
Look again at 1 Peter 2:25: For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
In order to do good, Christians are to always remember what Christ has done, listen to, pray to, and follow Him.
Now, we will read in Chapter 3 of 1 Peter ways of doing good as a Christian wife and as a Christian husband. To those of you who are not married, this does not mean you can go to sleep. There are plenty of Biblical principles in this passage applicable to all Christians. Also, you may want to marry someday and sadly many Christians do not really know what they are getting into before getting married! Better listen up!
Now, this passage is very personal and may actually be difficult for many of us; and so, let us all take a quiet time to pray before reading the text. Right where you are, pray quietly to Jesus Christ, remember what He did for you; ask the Lord Jesus to help you understand His instructions and how to apply them in practical ways……..
Read along with me now 1 Peter 3:1-7……….
v1: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands. Other English Translation of this verse states, “Wives, be subject to your own husbands.” I know some of you ladies are thinking, “Did God really say that?”
How do we know God wrote this stuff? You see, first of all, if man just wrote this thing we call the Bible, man would mess it up!! And if man just wrote the Bible, we would not include the command for husbands!!
God wrote the Bible; and if He says submit, that’s what it means! However, we also know God wrote what we are reading because God explains it in context! God says submit “in the same way”!! What way is God talking about? We noted it from 1 Peter 2, all Christians are to submit to all authorities unless it is a sin against God. And so, in order to submit to all authorities and in order for wives to submit to their husbands, they must first submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ!
We can also note that we are reading words from God because God tells us that there are positive results in following His instructions (v1b). God is a good God and all His instructions are always good! Wives will be blessed with godly husbands when they submit to Jesus Christ and to their own husbands. Ladies, God is on your side! Of course, us men need all the help we can get and we really will not change for the good without God in the house! So Ladies, please take note, you really have a big role in helping men with their spiritual lives! We cannot force spiritual growth on anyone BUT we can create an environment for spiritual growth!! Wives, please create a good spiritual environment for your family!
What else do we note God desires for wives?
v2: live pure and reverent lives… Let’s keep it simple, this basically means live with God’s presence! When we think of the Triune God in our presence and yield to them, we will live pure and reverent lives! And when we do this, we create a good environment for spiritual growth for those around us! All these instructions really support one another; why? – because all these words come from One person, God Himself! – another reason to appreciate the bible as the Word of God!
Now look again at v3-4………
v3-4 actually goes along with this attitude of living in God’s presence; for what is the first thing that God looks at in a person???
God looks at the heart first!!
Now ladies, please take note, God starts with the statement “Your beauty!” Every person, especially you ladies, were created by a beautiful God; therefore, you are to keep in step with your beautiful God; but again, it must start within, a gentle and quiet spirit! I will give a help later on this.
But v5 also gives us a help: godly beauty starts with holiness and hope in God!
Can a woman really do all of this?In v6, God reminds us of an ordinary woman, Sarah, a sinner like all people, but yet God was pleased with her! Sarah is our example of submission and beauty! Ladies, who is your hero? I hope not Imelda Marcos
And look again how God ended the passage for wives in v6…..
There is no need to fear to do what God said for He provided everything we need! Not only for wives, but for all Christians: Live by trusting and obeying Jesus Christ alone!
Now, it’s our turn guys! Did you listen at all what God said to our wives? Some of you may be thinking, “I was listening; now I know what to tell my wife!” Think again Mr. Know-It-All! More importantly, look again at God’s Word!
v7, Husbands, in the same way……
Yes this can mean to look back to Chapter 2 of 1 Peter; but if we are really listening, “in the same way” can refer to what God just said about our wives!
Guys, as Christian husbands, not only are we to do what God said in 1 Peter 2, we are to also apply the principles told to our wives! Christian husbands are called to be the spiritual leader of the home!
v7b…. What does this mean?
Again, looking at other English translations is of help to us:
ESV: Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
NASB: You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
NKJV: Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
And so, what does it mean to be considerate to your wife? A husband should know his wife’s godly needs and help her with them.
v7c…..
Husbands are to treat their wives with respect and/or as we had read from other English Translations, husbands are to show and give honor to their wives.
We noted before that the Greek word for honor refers to value. Christian husbands are to show value and give value to their wives.
And God states in v7d how husbands are to see their wives; as joint heirs of the gracious way of life from Jesus Christ! What a reminder for us husbands!!
We can be so hard on our wives; we go to God for forgiveness of our sins but yet we forget that God forgives our wives of their sins through Christ as well! In Christ and through Christ, God loves our wives no matter what they have done. And so, husbands are to see their Christian wives in Christ and through Christ!
And again at the end of v7, God blesses obedience! Let us note that there are hindrances to prayer. This is the reason why we should confess our sins before God and get our hearts cleansed before we continue with our prayers.
Now, let us simply close by looking at the Bibilical principles for all of us, whether Married or Single.
1. Submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ! Let us note that no matter who we are, what we think, or what we say, Jesus Christ is always Lord. Jesus Christ created every human being and the entire universe!! And so the question is, “are we allowing Jesus Christ to be Lord of our lives?” This is really not as easy as it seems; Every moment of our lives we have to decide who will be our Lord, whether it’s our own self, another person, an idea, entertainment, recreation, food…. There are so many things in life which can take over our lives. Submit to the Lord Jesus Christ alone or we may actually be allowing the Devil to be our Lord.
2. Help one another in Christian faith; don’t be a spiritual stumbling block to someone.
Ask yourself, am I creating a spiritually healthy environment for those around me? Or am I actually leading and/or encouraging others to sin against God?
3. Jesus Christ must be our Fashion Consultant, starting with our hearts! Ask Jesus to search your heart and cleanse it before dressing. Ask Jesus what He thinks of what your putting on. And remember, the most important thing we are to put on is the full Armor of God!
4. Know what can hinder your prayers. Pray C-A-T-S!
