“In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives.”
1 Peter 3:1-2 NLT
Peter starts the third chapter of his first epistle with verses offering Godly advice about male and female relationships, particularly in the context of marriage. He starts with some advice for wives, and particularly for those in a marriage with an unbelieving husband. As I write this I can almost feel some people’s hackles starting to rise. Who is this man, Peter, daring to suggest how I should behave in relation to my husband, some of my female readers might be thinking. Of course, some also might say that the culture of Peter’s day was different then, and society in 21st century Planet Earth is very much different. Of course, that is true, but only up to a point. I believe the Holy Spirit inspired timeless truths in Scripture, and so we cannot discard these verses just because we don’t agree with them, or are offended or even challenged by them.
Why did Peter single out women in the verses he wrote and the ones we are considering today? Part of the answer lies in 1 Peter 3:2, where Peter suggests that the wives’ behaviour will win over unbelieving husbands to the faith. It also should be noted that Peter wrote about husbands, not men generally. Peter wrote that wives should accept the authority of their husbands, but he didn’t say that they should always be obedient to them. If their husbands tried to impose something on to them that was contrary to God’s laws then the higher law would apply.
The Apostle Paul also wrote about husbands and wives, and he put in the balance for a successful marriage relationship. He wrote in Ephesians 5:22-24, “For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Saviour of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything“. Superficially, that seems a bit one-sided, but Paul adds the following verses, “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. … In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself” (Ephesians 5:25-26, 28). A blueprint for a successful marriage? I think so. There are more verses to come in 1 Peter 3 about the Holy Spirit’s teaching about husbands and wives. Watch this space!
Dear Father God. We know that marriage was in your plans for mankind right from the beginning. Please help us to stand firm and uphold this Biblical truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 