First Epistle from Peter
Chapter Three
CHAPTER THREE
Peter has just finished taking about submitting to Jesus as
our example when wrong is done towards us. He now, for a few
verses talks to the wives. He tells them they have a role of
submission to their husbands. The Greek word is translated in the
KJV as "subjection" - it happens to be a Greek word that is a
military term, and means "to submit" under the thought as I
stated of the military. We already know that a child of god is to
obey the Lord before the commands of men, if obeying man would
mean we disobey God. The Most High ALWAYS comes FIRST! We know
that from the whole Bible, and from the New Testament verses I
have quoted already in the last chapter. So we now understand
this submission from wives towards their husband, as a
willingness to please and serve their husbands in what they may
ask or request, as long as it does not mean we disobey God's will
and commandments.
If the husband is not a Christian, then the CONDUCT of the
wife could very well lead to their husband becoming a Christian.
The wife should not try to convert their husband with clever
theological debating, or nagging at him about accepting the Lord.
Peter says it is chaste conduct coupled with godly fear or
respect (towards God and towards their husband). Peter is of
course putting all this into the context that their husband is a
respectable and quote "good" man, as the world thinks of as
"good." Peter is not talking about wives who have abusive
(mentally or emotionally or physically, or all three) husbands.
That would be a different matter to consider and instruct on. But
wives who have nice good husbands, though unconverted, should
give respect to their husband, submit, where it does not lead to
disobeying God, and should try to win them for Christ with their
CONDUCT, not their clever religious arguments. I have personally
witnessed that way of life winning over wives' husbands to
Christianity. And you must remember the time frame of winning a
husband over to Christ, is in the time frame of God, not
yourself. You must be patient, live correctly as God would have
you live, and put the calling of your husband in the Lord's hands
(verses 1-2).
Verse three has been used by some religious groups to teach
that women should not wear make-up, or jewelry, or have fancy
hairstyles. They teach "the plainer the better" is the better for
the Lord, and is doing His will.
Again I will say, this kind of teaching is reading the Bible
with tunnel vision or putting on horse side-blinders (so the
horse cannot see what is beside him - so no distractions can
upset him). When we read the whole Bible we can find many
passages where God's people, the women of the Lord, did wear
jewelry, and at times, for the right situation, did dress quite
fancy indeed. I have covered this subject at length with studies
on Make-up and Jewelry on this Website.
Even within this verse itself, we have proof that Peter was
not talking against make-up and jewelry per se. For if he was
condemning fancy hair styles, jewelry, and make-up, then he was
at the same time condemning "or of putting on of apparel." Hence
maybe the into "nudist camps and sea-side nudist beaches" have a
point.
Peter is actually using a type of a figure of speech. How
this verse should be read and understood is: "Whose adorning let
it NOT ONLY be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of
wearing of gold, and of putting on of apparel. BUT IN THE MAIN
let it be the hidden man of the heart, that which is not
corruptible, even of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the
sight of God of greater price."
This type of figure of speech is used by other writers of
other NT books. I cover, with examples, all this in the studies
on Make-up and Jewelry.
Of course the MAIN and MOST IMPORTANT thing to God is that a
woman be meek and have a loving easy soft going spirit of mind
and heart. That kind of character in a woman is of much GREATER
price to the Lord than any fancy clothes, hair style, make-up or
jewelry she could ever put on. So the emphasis is on THAT great
price while NOT condemning the outward appearance of a well
dressed and modest use of the physical things that add to making
a woman a woman. God made the female to be naturally pleasant and
attractive to the male mind. It is the use of that
attractiveness, how and when and where, that the woman of God
needs to use wisdom and judgement. Certainly, make-up, jewelry,
clothes, etc. can be used in the wrong manner, but that can also
apply to men. The Bible and God teaches over and over again,
MODERATION IN ALL THINGS. The books of PROVERBS and ECCLESIASTES
are full of the wisdom of BEING and DOING the right things at the
right time in the right place, in all the life of a child of God.
If you have questions in your mind about verses 3 and 4 then
you need to study the studies on this Website under "make-up" and
"jewelry."
Peter goes to the examples in the "old time" of the women of
God. The main character they had was they adorned themselves with
that which is incorruptible, the nature of God, with meekness and
a soft lovely spirit. they also respected their husbands, willing
to serve them, seeking to do what pleased their husbands within
the laws of God. And even at times, doing what Sarah did at
times, calling Abraham her husband "lord" or we may say "sir" or
"yes dearest" or whatever else comes to your mind that shows not
just love but love with respect.
Peter says such an attitude of the Christian woman will
stand them in the same company as Sarah, as long as it is coupled
with a conduct of life that is "doing well" and with no trembling
fearfulness. God wants this overall character of His female
children to be with ease, peaceful rest, contentment of mind and
loving heart.
Women have in the past ages have been looked upon by the
male as the soft gentler sex, in just about every way. So should
it be, God wants that attitude of mind from the women of the body
of Christ, and I guess especially from the wives, because they
will have such an impact on the future generations they help
raise, as most of them will become mothers of children.
I was blessed with having a mother that was such a good
influence on my life, in so many ways. I think it was through her
I learnt that it was fine for a boy/man to cry at times. My
mother and I (all through my growing up years) would sit and
watch those sentimental movies, just good love stories that they
still produce from time to time even today. We would sit there
and let the tears flow. She also taught and showed me how a woman
should have love and respect for her husband - my Dad. They had
53 years of married life together, and were still the best of
friends and sweethearts until she died from a strange painless
cancer, which took us all by surprise.
Peter does not forget to pass on some sound instruction to
the husbands in verse 7. A husband is to dwell with their wife
according to KNOWLEDGE. Yes, they should try to understand how a
woman "ticks" - what makes the female "psyche" - women are "wired
up" in many ways in the brain different than men. So this should
also apply to women - they also should acquire the knowledge of
how men "tick over" as we say.
Two recent books (recent in 2007 as I write this) I can
highly recommend for acquiring the knowledge of HOW men and women
motor along in their inner lives of the natural nature we are
created with are: FOR MEN ONLY - a straightforward guide to the
inner lives of women - by Shaunti and Jess Feldhahn, published by
Multnomah, Sisters, Oregon, USA. And: FOR WOMEN ONLY - what you
need to know about the inner lives of men - by Shaunti Feldhahn,
Multnomah publishers.
Very fine books indeed, for both husband and wife to well
with each other according to knowledge. If those books become one
day out of print, hopefully your Public Library will have them.
Husbands are to give HONOR to their wife as unto the
physically weaker, but certainly not mentally or emotionally
weaker. In some ways different mentally and emotionally, but you
could hardly say weaker - different yes, but not weaker. And a
woman can be just as strong spiritually as a man, so Peter must
have had in mind that women are generally the weaker physically
than men, and so respect should be shown. And that respect is
give more emphasis by Peter when he states that BOTH husband and
wife are HEIRS together of the GRACE of life - salvation is on
equal footing for both.
He ends his thought on this instruction to men that if they
remember these things their prayer will not be hindered. It will
keep them in the right mind-set that is pleasing to God, and so
the union they have with the Lord will have "clear sailing" as we
say.
To finish his thoughts off on this section of instruction,
Peter says, "Finally, all of you be of one mind, having
compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted,
be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for
reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were
called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For:
'He who would love life and see good days, Let him refrain his
tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn
away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. For
the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open
to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who
do evil.'" (verses 8-12).
Peter quoted Psalm 34:12-16 to give emphasis to what should
be the godly person's way of life. Such right living has always
been the teaching of the Lord. Basic and simple, yes as Paul once
said, "The simplicity that is in Christ Jesus." We are to be
loving people, kind, tender, merciful, courteous, careful with
our language and what comes out of our mouth, and doing good to
those who do evil to us. We need to be a peaceful people, have an
overall attitude of wanting to live in peace with those around
us. We should live and talk so others say that they are happy to
know us.
It is true that we may not win everyone, some, because of
our faith, living the Christian life, and believing what we
believe, may dislike us, even hate us, and do evil towards us.
Peter says that if we suffer for righteousness' sake, we should
be happy, and should not fear their terror they may do to us. We
should sanctify the Lord in our hearts, and when needed be ready
to give an answer to every man that asks us a reason for the hope
that is in us. We should give our answer in humbleness and fear (
margin: reverence). We need to have a good conscience, that,
whereas they speak evil of us, as if we are evildoers, they may
in the end be ashamed of themselves, those who accuse us falsely
in our conduct of life as we follow Christ.
It is better (if the will of God is that we suffer from
those who say we are evil) to suffer for well doing, than for
actual evil doing.
Christ also suffered once for the sins of the world, the
holy just One, for the unjust, that He might bring us to God the
Father. He was put to death in the flesh, being a human being,
but He was made immortally alive by the Spirit (God used His
Spirit of power to resurrect Jesus from the dead - verses 14-19).
Verses 19 and 20 have been used to try and prove Jesus had
an immortal soul, and though His body was put to death, He
Himself was still alive, and went to the under-world to preach to
the evil spirit being.
When you understand the truth of the Bible that it teaches
no such doctrine as the immortal soul, and so Jesus was indeed
very dead for 3 days and 3 nights (72 hours - Matthew 12:40) then
you can understand correctly verses 19,20. It should read this
way:
"By which (the Spirit) He went and preached unto the spirits
in prison (a limit placed on them - see also 2 Peter 2:4) [which
sometime were disobedient] WHEN once the long suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing,
wherein few, that is, eight lives were saved by water."
WHEN did Jesus preach to the evil spirits? Not while He was
dead for 3 days and 3 nights, but He preached to the fallen
angels IN THE DAYS OF NOAH, while Noah was building the Ark.
Ah, this verses also proves Jesus was alive before He came
to this earth as a human person. A member of the Godhead, through
the power of the Spirit of God, came and preached to the fallen
angel spirit beings when Noah was building the Ark. What He
preached to them we can only guess. Probably, one thing He told
them, was that they only had a certain length of time, and then
they would be judged, receive their punishment, as the evil
people in Noah's days were going to have their punishment. But
Peter does not tell us what Jesus preached to them, we can only
speculate as to what the preaching contained.
One third of the angels rebelled at some point in the past,
and were cast to this earth, as a type of prison, until their
judgment day. You can find the truth about that great rebellion
in studies on this Website.
Peter likens the water of Noah's day to water baptism of
Christians. but the saving of Christians is not the water as
such, but it is the symbolism of the water that we are put under.
The going under the water in baptism is in a figure, the putting
away of the sins of the flesh, and a rising to a good conscience,
a better way of life towards God, which is given to us by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is now in heaven at the right
hand of the Father, with all angels and all authorities and
powers being made subject to Him (verses 21-22).
Jesus had said to His disciples in the Gospels, that if He
did not go away (go back to heaven) then the Holy Spirit would
not come. But He would go back to heaven and He would send the
Holy Spirit. Coming through water baptism, coming up from the
water, represents the new life of a Christian, the life of the
risen Christ, a life filled with the power of the resurrected
Jesus, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The risen
Christ who now has all authority subject to Him, will come into
those who accept Him as their Savior, who repent, who believe in
faith, who go under the water of baptism, and who rise up from
that water, having put away sins through Jesus' death for
sinners. And who through Jesus' life, as He now lives at the
Father's right hand, will have a good conscience, a good conduct
of living towards God the Father.
The symbolism of baptism is the reality of the saved
Christian. The apostle Paul spent time expounding the symbolism
of water baptism in Romans 6. The reader may want to reexamine
that chapter before continuing with chapter 4 of 1 Peter.
.....................
Written May 2007
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