B20-devotions

1 Peter 3:1-4

Devotions for Friday 11th July

This passage of scripture has been a focus of dispute for many years. Some believe it gives scriptural justification for the submission of women to men, and others find within it a picture of the ‘perfect woman’ to which they aspire and live in guilt because they cannot conform to it. Both are unhelpful interpretations of a scripture which needs a little more care for us to see its powerful truths.

Peter had just spoken to his congregation of converts who worked in service and slavery about how their unjust suffering was powerfully evocative of the sufferings of Christ, and he explained in emotive terms the privilege of sharing in Christ’s work. This message is not common today because most people do not live with the kind of suffering experienced by slaves or servants of the 1st century. When we come to this passage, Peter begins by saying ‘in just the same way ...’ before talking about the subjection of wives to husbands. At the very least, this suggests that the subjection of women to men is a suffering as unjust as that of slavery!

Some commentators have tried hard to separate the two subjects, and because they are never read side by side (being each side of a chapter break), few people spot the connection. Nevertheless, we must connect the two and it seems arrogant that anyone might suggest that this passage advocates the subjection of women to men in marriage any more than Peter advocates the practice of slavery! Peter instructs the women to whom he spoke to accept the subjection they experienced, just as he told the slaves and servants to accept their servitude (2:11-25).

Peter’s words ‘wives ... you must submit to your husbands’ (3:1) were therefore not intended to reflect normal Christian married life, because he immediately addressed the primary concern of the women in his congregation. He spoke about how to witness to faith in a marriage where the man had no interest in the Gospel; having ‘no regard for the Word’. He told the women to give testimony to the Gospel by appealing to something to which a man would respond, because it is ‘a secret treasure of a husband’s heart’ (3:4). You will find that my translation here is different from most Bibles, but you will see a full justification of this in my notes below, and I firmly believe this to be close to the original Greek.

What is this ‘secret treasure’ which will win over a man? Peter perceptively states that what most men want from their wives is not a show of personal obsession, finery and fashion (4:3), but a ‘pure and respectful’ manner, and ‘the imperishable quality of a gentle and peaceful spirit’ (3:4). The Lord of course knows that He has not made all women in this mould, but he does know that amongst other personal needs, most men appreciate a wife who gives them appropriate respect and has these qualities, rather than one who flaunts money, power, sex or fashion. So the qualities of purity, respectfulness and a peaceful spirit are ones to which a woman should aspire if she wishes to please her husband. Now, not all life for women should be about trying to please their husbands; however, our passage is indeed about this because it advises Christian woman how to be a witness to non-Christian husbands, and it remains good advice for such circumstances.

It is my sincere hope that women who read this will accept that this passage of scripture does not advocate a unilateral submission of women to their husbands (for more about this, read my recent notes on Ephesians 5:21-24), and neither does it tell women to abandon make up and fashion. It does give wise advice about how a woman might win over a non-believing husband; though Peter does add that God is pleased by those who have a gentle and peaceful spirit (3:4); and if asked, I reckon Peter would have said something similar to men, as well, because we will certainly find such advice elsewhere in scripture.

1 Wives, in just the same way, you must submit to your own husbands, so that if any of them have no regard for the Word they may be won over in different ways through their wives’ manner of life; 2 seeing the pure and respectful way you live, 3 which is not found externally in the worldliness of braiding hair and wearing of expensive jewellery or the wearing of fine clothes, 4 but in the imperishable quality of a gentle and peaceful spirit (that secret treasure of a husband’s heart), which is very precious to God.

Gracious Lord, You love us and long to supply what we need to live according to Your will. May we never turn away from any help or blessing You would give; Your sustenance, Your guidance, Your love, Your friendship and Your spiritual gifts. May we then become worthy ambassadors for Your Kingdom, wherever we are, and wherever we go; to Your Praise and Glory; AMEN

Time is a precious commodity;

Built into creation for us to use by God, our Lord and Creator:

We give our time to You, Lord God;

Time to think, to pray, to read and also to do Your will:

We give our time to those we love;

Time to share the precious gifts of love and deep commitment:

We give our time to neighbours and friends;

Time to give, receive and grow in costly care and friendship:

We give our time to daily work;

Time to witness to the Kingdom through everything we do:

We give our time to our personal needs;

Time to take our Sabbath rest, according to Your Word:

Time is a precious gift of God;

We use it now as best we can; it will not last forever!

Weekly Theme: the sick in mind

Pray for people who care for the sick in mind. May they be strengthened to do their difficult work and be able to show compassion both for those for whom they care and their families.

On-going prayers

Pray for those whose jobs are under threat at this time
Praise God for church fellowship
Give thanks for the work of teachers in schools and colleges

For the full Bible study, click link above,

or for a brief review, scroll page down.

Going Deeper: (what you will find on the Bible study page)

You may not have read or heard this passage expounded in this way before, so I strongly suggest you explore the matter further, simply because much misunderstanding has been generated in the church through casual interpretations of this and other texts. It does not take much careful study to find a peaceful, reasonable and equitable way of interpreting scripture such as this.

To read more about this passage of scripture: go to the Bible study page

To read the questions and discipleship challenges for this text: go to the discipleship page