1 Peter - Following Jesus Sample

Submission means choosing to allow someone else to lead you. It is not a popular idea today. But, rightly understood, submission is one of the distinctive marks of Christian living.

Believers have been chosen to be obedient to Christ (1:2). We are to submit for the Lord’s sake to every human authority (2:13). So citizens should submit to their governors, servants to their bosses (2:18) and here wives should submit to their husbands (3:1).

• What good effect can this have (vv. 1–2)?

Sadly, some Christian women are married to men who have heard the gospel message but rejected it. How can these wives help their husbands move towards faith in Christ? Peter wants the behaviour of these women to do the talking in their homes. That is the best way of commending the gospel to these men. Peter wants husbands to see purity and reverence in the lives of their wives.

• Peter talks about two kinds of beauty here. What does he say about each kind (vv. 3–6)?

One kind of beauty depends on adding various things to our outward appearance. The other kind of beauty depends on what is happening in our hearts and is ‘of great worth in God’s sight’ (v. 4). This inner beauty is the only kind of beauty which lasts. Peter says it is ‘unfading’.

Part of this inner beauty is having ‘a gentle and quiet spirit’ (v. 4). This has nothing to do with being shy. Peter is continuing his theme of believers choosing to be submissive. In scripture, God calls on husbands to love their wives and give a caring lead in their families (see Eph. 5:25–33). How will Christian wives respond to this loving leadership? They may be tempted to dismiss it, undermine it, fight it or just grumble about it. But Peter wants believing wives instead to have a quietness of spirit that chooses to be submissive. Marriage the way God intended is a beautiful thing. It mirrors the relationship of Christ with his beloved church. It is a visual aid of the gospel.

Wives’ submission to their own husbands is not a new idea (v. 5). This is exactly the sort of beauty that holy women, like Sarah, have always pursued. Peter describes this as doing ‘what is right’ (v. 6). He wants Christian wives to fearlessly follow her example.

Pray

Ask God to help Christian wives to be submissive to their own husbands and to value inner beauty as God does.