Don’t just take a quick read of the 1 Peter 3:1-12, get offended and shut your Bible. Don’t judge too quickly like the wife who came home to her husband holding the knife in one hand the cat in the other…

#1 - Context Major theme of 1 Peter…

We as followers of Jesus, his body the church, we are foreigners exiles and strangers in a world that, on the whole, does not cheer us on as we seek to live lives of worship that glorify our Lord and Saviour.

Pastor Ben’s helpful definitions…

  • Exiles = the moment you become a Christian your citizenship is transferred from this place to heaven. You are living in the future. You have rights & privileges of those who are citizens of heaven.
  • Strangers = we must admit that this world is not home. It’s a wonderful place to be. But if you think you are going to get your MEANING & MORALITY from it you are absolutely wrong.

Chapter 1 — Peter calls his readers to have minds that are alert & fully sober, with their hope firmly set on Jesus’ 2nd coming when he comes back, wraps up history, brings justice upon the earth and “wipes every tear from their eyes doing away permanently with death, mourning, crying and pain” as Revelation 21 promises. Peter says that once we have our hope figured out — then we are to live out our time here as “exiles and strangers” with reverent awe — a holy fear.

Chapter 2 — 1st 1/2 Peter zeros in on the nature of the church; we are being built up into a spiritual house, to be a priesthood that offers sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. That means our prayers for our region, our country should be deep and heartfelt—crying out to God for those who don’t know him yet. Peter phrases it this way, “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.”

Chapter 2 — 2nd 1/2 Peter tells us to submit ourselves to the “Governing Authorities” Emperor and underneath that to the Governors of the Province they were living in.

Submit does not mean SURRENDER.

Submission is an active, intentional choice rooted in strength, not a passive surrender to oppression.

When civil disobedience is warranted — if the authorities want us to do something that would violate our ultimate allegiance to Jesus.

2 examples… Shadrach, Meshac and Abednego refusing to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of gold in Babylon and Viola Desmond, the brave African Canadian woman from Nova Scotia that defied racial segregation in a movie theatre in 1946 and was thrown in jail. A Canadian hero!

O.K. so that is the context — Peter is really, really concerned with how Christians are living as a witness to the unbelieving world around them. As individuals at work, collectively as a local church body, as citizens of their country and now he carries all of that specifically to how married couples are relating to each other.

#1 - Meaning — wives are to submit to their husband in the same way as all believers have been called to submit in the first 2 chapters…an active intentional choice rooted in strength not a passive surrender to oppression.

Some Christian women in these churches were married to a non-Christian husband b/c of

  1. The woman has accepted Christ after she was married
  2. The woman already was a Christian but was put into an arranged marriage

Therefore, Peter wants them to submit in view of it being a great testimony that will have a big influence on whether or not the husband comes to faith in Jesus. Peter would not have, however required a Christian wife to remain in a marriage where she is being physically or emotionally damaged.

Continues the theme of being a good witness by addressing the source of the wife’s beauty. Does she rely only on makeup/ gold jewelry and fine clothes or does she base it on her relationship with Christ at the core and that love and joy shines through.

Therefore, it is absolutely not wrong for a modern Canadian Christian woman to have a nice gold necklace, eye liner and a nice outfit from Aritzia — as long as she isn’t looking to those things as the source of her beauty.

Peter continues by citing the example of Sarah — wife to Abraham. In the context of 1400 BC Sarah called Abraham ‘lord’ as a sign of deep respect and honour. Not going to literally work in Central Saanich in 2025. What does carry over is the trust in Jesus, the God confidence that would allow a wife to trust her husband enough to honour his leading and guiding hone it for their good as a family.

Husbands are to be knowledgeable and considerate of their wife’s needs, dreams and desires.

Husbands are to show honour & respect to their wives both in private and in public.

Husbands are to constantly remember that they are co[1]heirs of the gift of life — both in this life and the life to come.

Healthy church community matters in our lonely society where people are “bowling alone”. We are called to be compassionate to each other, to be humble and loving towards each other and not to repay evil with evil or insult with insult.

The quality of our share life together as the whole people of God matters inside the church and as a testimony to the community around us.