1 Peter, Day 3
1 Peter 3
Submit to Being Submissive
“[S]ubmitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:20)
When I started cramming for this devotional, I opened my ESV Bible to 1 Peter Chapter 3, which I thought was a good place to start. I had to laugh because the heading at the top of the chapter reads, “Wives and Husbands.” So far, so good, until I got to the next section heading: “Suffering for Righteousness’ Sake.” Was this a warning to the unmarried?
In reality, these are divisions in a chapter whose theme and advice, in the arena (so to speak) of marriage and other relationships, is submission. In order to live peaceably and cooperatively, as much as depends on us (Romans 12:18), we must know our place in the social order and keep to it.
Paul ends Chapter 2 with the command to submit to authority, and uses the government and the workplace as his first examples. He then segues into the realm of marriage, telling wives to be subject to their own husbands in order to avoid turning the home into an arena. Although this concept falls harsh upon modern ears, in that general culture, women were little more than slaves, and married women could be mistreated with little remedy. It could be especially dangerous for a Christian woman if her husband were an unbeliever. Then she was fair game for persecution and humiliation, and even desertion. It would be incredibly difficult for the harassed wife to remain cool and calm under oppressive circumstances yet, for the sake of the Gospel of Christ, she should submit to the husband’s God-given authority, hoping he would notice and be drawn to the faith (1 Peter 3:1 – 2). She was not to entice him (or other men) with chains, clothing, and coiffures, but with a gentle, agreeable spirit. Although Abraham was not the best husband, Sarah obeyed to the point of danger (Genesis 20) and even called him, “Lord.”
Lest the woman be singled out, husbands are to be submissive to their wives — their feelings and weaknesses (1 Peter 3:7). Women are not inferior, but are generally physically weaker and live more by feelings — a perfect balance with men in a marriage. As a former pastor told us, “The home is the wife’s nest — I let her run it as she sees fit.”
Believers are to submit to one another (1 Peter 3:8) and even to unbelievers and persecutors. Our response to challenges is to “honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Submit to others, even to the point of suffering (Matthew 5:39).
Jesus, of course, is the ultimate example of — and reason for — submission. He submitted totally to the Father’s will, knowing from eternity past where it would lead. If anyone didn’t deserve to suffer — and had the right to retribution — it was the Son of God. Yet he set the example, also for the Gospel’s sake (1 Peter 3:18).
Jesus, being the perfect submitter, earned the right to be the one all Creation submits to, “with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him” (1 Peter 3:22).
Take note of what happens to people who do not submit to God. There is a prison for those who do not obey the Word of God, as illustrated by the people of Noah’s day to whom the Word of God came (1 Peter 3:19 – 20).
The Gospel is the bottom line. Our attitudes and actions should be tempered “so that in everything [we] may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” and not ourselves (Titus 2:10).
Your Servant,
Alan Allegra