FRIDAY
Today we come to the final relationship of the household codes. Many of them mention children, but Peter doesn’t. Instead, he just goes right on to the husband-wife relationship.
I’m not going to preach on this text this week. My plan is to preach on it the first week of our conference where Savanna and I will co-teach the application of this text. Yet, I wanted to cover the exegesis of it here and now so I don’t have to that next week 😊
1 Peter 3:1-7 1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 7 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.
Remember, Peter has an eye to contextualizing the Christian life into the Greco-Roman culture. In many ways he keeps things the same. In others, he undermines the Greco-Roman codes. Every commonly accepted household code in this day required wives to submit to their husbands. To go against this would greatly upset the social order and the Romans would have responded harshly as the household was the foundation of their society. The Romans viewed the Egyptian Isis cult as a threat to their society because it permitted a wife to have authority over her husband.
Peter begins by saying “Likewise.” Similar to what he told the household servants, wives are to submit to their husbands and generally keep the household codes of their day. Again, he deviates from the common household codes by addressing wives. He also addresses them second and says the second most about them. The husbands he addresses last and says the least to them.
Through their respectful and pure conduct, wives are to seek to win their unbelieving husband to Christ. In this culture a wife was to believe the same as her husband. That would be expected. Peter doesn’t say that. He leaves room for them to believe differently (allegiance to king Jesus demands that) but to then submit to their unbelieving husband in the ways that they can, to not upset the social order.
He then tells them to value virtues of the heart like a gentle and quiet spirit over and against external adornments. “Gentle” is the same word as Jesus says in the Beatitudes—”blessed are the meek.” “Quiet” means without turmoil or at rest and is used for all Christians in 1 Tim. 2:2 as well. This teaching was similar to both the Greco-Roman teaching and the Jewish teaching of this day. In this context, specifically, a wife attending church on Sunday without her husband would look a little promiscuous. Dressing up could have been viewed as a sign of “availability.” So to keep their conduct among the Gentiles above reproach, they are not to adorn themselves lavishly.
He points to Sarah, the matriarch of the faith, as an example of this submission. He seems to be drawing from Jewish tradition in “The Testament of Abraham” rather than any one specific text in Genesis.
To husbands he says to live with their wives in an understanding way. Assuming he is speaking to some husbands whose wives were not believers, this again goes against the common teaching of the day. It would be shameful for a husband’s wife to not believe as he did. So he would be tempted to treat her harshly in response. Peter tells them to instead live with them in an understanding way.
They are also to show honor to their wives. “As the weaker vessel” refers to their generally weaker physique and more vulnerable social status.
Then he reminds men that women are co-heirs with them of the grace of life. In the kingdom of God, men and women, slave and free are all children of God. They all have an inheritance in heaven as the people of God.
He then reminds them that if they don’t show honor to their wives their prayers will be hindered—a life of sin leads to hindered prayers. God will seem far from those who are abusing those they are called to love intimately. That is no small thing.
In this text, and every text, it’s important for us to keep in mind the cultural background. Remember, Peter is concerned with contextualizing the gospel into the Roman culture. Karen Jobes writes in her commentary on this, “And how ironic it is that the words that first-century slaves and wives would have read as affirming and empowering are criticized by some today as enslaving and oppressive. - Karen H. Jobes. 1 Peter (p. 209). Kindle Edition.
Yet, we can’t stretch the cultural background too far either and say that this doesn’t apply today, because he supports his point in the story of Sarah. In other texts Paul supports this teaching in creation and the relationship to Christ and the church.
This devotional is already long and I just wanted to study the text for today. Again, Savanna and I will teach on this the first Sunday of our conference week, March 10.