Wives, in the same way, be submissive to your husbands . . .
1 Peter 3:1(a) NIV
I can hardly think of a passage of scripture that has caused more discussion than the one that begins with the verse quoted in the title above. It is used and misused in over and over in sermons, lectures, and conferences. And yet few Christians seem to know or accept what it really says. Fewer still seem to recognize that 1 Peter 3:1-6 is only part of a five chapter letter written to the first century Christians. Peter wrote all five chapters telling them how to live with one another.
The word “likewise” in v. 1 is intriguing. It is strategically placed to force us to wonder “Like what?” And nothing in chapter 3 answers that question. If we continue to read forward we don’t find any answers, but we do run into the word again in V.7 (Likewise, you husbands . . .KJV) Husbands?
So, I guess we have to read back. Ooops, there it is, right there in 1 Peter 2:18-25; right in those dreaded verses about slaves. We are dragged back to our image of man’s greatest inhumanity to one another, and from there to the awful, awesome sight at the foot of the Cross. And, from there we are asked to consider God’s view of marriage.
Oh, my. We must read it over and over until we understand what is being asked of us. I think that each of us, man or woman, is being asked to let the self-centered, rebellious part of us be put to death so that we can live with and give to another human being as He intended from the beginning. Someone should have told me.
Tina Green © 2010
1 Peter 3:1(a) NIV
I can hardly think of a passage of scripture that has caused more discussion than the one that begins with the verse quoted in the title above. It is used and misused in over and over in sermons, lectures, and conferences. And yet few Christians seem to know or accept what it really says. Fewer still seem to recognize that 1 Peter 3:1-6 is only part of a five chapter letter written to the first century Christians. Peter wrote all five chapters telling them how to live with one another.
The word “likewise” in v. 1 is intriguing. It is strategically placed to force us to wonder “Like what?” And nothing in chapter 3 answers that question. If we continue to read forward we don’t find any answers, but we do run into the word again in V.7 (Likewise, you husbands . . .KJV) Husbands?
So, I guess we have to read back. Ooops, there it is, right there in 1 Peter 2:18-25; right in those dreaded verses about slaves. We are dragged back to our image of man’s greatest inhumanity to one another, and from there to the awful, awesome sight at the foot of the Cross. And, from there we are asked to consider God’s view of marriage.
Oh, my. We must read it over and over until we understand what is being asked of us. I think that each of us, man or woman, is being asked to let the self-centered, rebellious part of us be put to death so that we can live with and give to another human being as He intended from the beginning. Someone should have told me.
Tina Green © 2010
