1 & 2 Peter Book Study ნიმუში

Re-define "Weaker"

“[Your beauty] should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight" (1 Peter 3:4 NIV).

This passage is troubling in these egalitarian times, for it appears to give biblical sanction to a patriarchal view of women. Indeed, complementarian Christians often cite it as a mandate to keep women in their place. It casually refers to women as the “weaker” partner in marriage (1 Peter 3:7).

Does this really mean what it appears to say on the surface? To some extent, “yes,” but not entirely. It certainly does reflect certain social and physical realities. Women are typically smaller and less strong than men; women in that culture were legally subject to the authority of men; wives were expected to adopt the religious beliefs of their husbands.

It’s on that point that Peter is mildly subversive. He counsels wives to be loving and gentle towards their non-Christian husbands, to be so winsome in their ways that they are free to believe what they want on the religious front. In this way, he is undercutting the social order.

To call women “the weaker sex” is to call attention to both the general physical disparity between the sexes and the relative status of women in that society. It is descriptive and doesn’t suggest that any particular behaviour is demanded.

What is commanded is the esteem, the honour that couples are to accord each other, the consideration for each in their situation. The instructions for women to respect the authority of their husbands are balanced with a charge to husbands to consider their wives “in the same way”.

This means that wives are to be honoured and esteemed, and husbands are to conduct themselves with purity and reverence (1 Peter 3:2). Husbands, too, are to “be beautiful in [their] heart by being gentle and quiet,” which is very precious in God’s sight (1 Peter 3:4 NIV).

Respond in Prayer

O God, what you want from me is to acknowledge how lost I am without you. “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise” (Psalm 51:17 NIV). May your great mercy fill me with a gentle and quiet inner spirit. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

Doug Koop

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV®).