As we zoom out a bit from where we are in the Book of Peter, we're reminded that Peter has identified us as a holy nation that is set apart to be God's people in this foreign land that is not our own. We find ourselves as sojourners being given instruction by God on how we are to interact within a variety of different institutions found within the structure of society. First, if you recall, it was the government. The second was within the context of economic situation, and today will be the third. Peter has been developing his theme of submission. He first commanded us to be submissive to the civil authorities, second to be submissive to our employers. Going from the largest and moving to the smallest unit within society, he now focuses upon the relationships within the family unit. We should not think for a moment that the smallest unit within society as being the least important. But I would argue that it's just as important, if not more important, within the structure of broader society. This third section, unlike the other two sections, has instructions for those that are in authority. The emperor, the local governors, the masters, the employers, were not given instruction as to how they were to treat those that were under their authority. But at the end of our passage today, we will see that husbands, who are to be the heads of the households, are given instruction on how they are to treat their wives. If you haven't already done so, please open your Bibles to 1 Peter 3, verses 1-7. And as you do, would you please rise for the hearing and reading of God's holy and infallible word. The following is from 1 Peter 3, verses 1-7. Likewise, Wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives. When they see your respectful and pure conduct, do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair, and the putting on of gold, jewelry, or the clothing you wear. but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. This is the word of God. Amen. Please be seated and join me in prayer. Holy Spirit, be with us now as we worship in the teaching and preaching of the Word of God. Grant us grace to recognize where we are falling short, and the grace of repentance to not only confess our sins, but also to turn to you to help us to be obedient to our Heavenly Father. We ask this for the glory of and in the name of our blessed Savior, even the Lord Jesus, amen. In verse 1, Peter begins by saying likewise. Likewise is another way of saying in the same way or in the same manner. In the same way what? Well, he's been making reference back to chapter two, verse 13, and chapter two, verse 18, where in chapter two and verse 13, it was to the citizens of the kingdom of God, living as sojourners in a foreign land, as well as in 2.18, where it was for Christians who found themselves as servants and slaves in a Roman citizen's household. in like manner extends out to two things that Peter has been teaching about. The first is the motive for the Christian to be obedient to this teaching as unto the Lord. Our motivation to obey the laws of the land, our employers, and within the household is as if we were complying for the desire to please our God. The second is what we're doing, and that is being submissive to those that have been placed in authority over us. Peter sharpens to whom he now has in mind. It is to Christian wives. What is his teaching? It is that they are to be subject to their own husbands. They are to submit to the will of their husbands. Now, please note that Peter's very clear that they are to be subject to their own husbands and not to other people's husbands. Submitting means willingly submitting to your husband's authority or leadership. It is not a type of submission that expresses itself in a manner that communicates, I do it because I'm supposed to. But if I were making the rules, dot, dot, dot. And the relevance of this attitude will become a little bit clearer to us as we go down the passage. Before we proceed, I think it's important to note that sometimes the word for submission is interpreted or used to mean to be considerate of, thoughtful, or to act in a loving manner. But that is not the meaning here. I think this is done because our broader society objects to the notion of authority in general. And this includes the family unit. And the relationships within it have not been immune to this recoiling against submission. Submission, sadly, has associated with it negative connotations of authoritativeness, despotism, abuse of exercise of power, and a demeaning status if you are the one that has to submit. Now, I'm not saying that there is no such thing as an abuse or of a misuse of authority within society, but that does not mean that having authority and being under authority is to be seen as something necessarily as either positive or something negative. Let's take a quick look at how this word for submission is used in other contexts within scripture. I have two passages in mind. The first one is from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2 and 51, which I'll read for us. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. and his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. Now this passage is referring to Jesus as he submitted to the authority of his parents. A second time that's used is in Luke chapter 10 verse 17. The 72 returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. This is when the disciples returned from their mission and reported that the demons were submissive to Jesus's authority. Clearly, the demons were not being considerate, thoughtful, or living in a loving way to either Jesus or his disciples. In general, and as we have pointed out previously, being submissive does not in any way mean that someone is inferior or lacking in dignity. It does not mean that if one is superior in authority that they have more honor or should be treated differently. Authority does not imply inferiority to our persons. Authority means more responsibility. And within the kingdom of God, well, that means being more of a servant than anything else. In God's economy, he has revealed to us that he is not a God of chaos, but he is a God of order. And in his economy, he has defined for us how that is to be expressed within his household, which includes Christian families, as well as the broader church community. Meanwhile, we are sojourners waiting upon the Lord to return. So, Peter's first focus is for Christian wives who may be married to unbelievers. Certainly, we can see how, especially in the first century, as people were being saved and coming into the church, where there may have been many women whose husbands had not converted along with them. That is not to say that this condition no longer exists, for it certainly does. I'm sure that many of you know personally, perhaps, sisters in Christ who have husbands who are not believers, and their husbands' response to the faith can range anywhere from tolerance to hostility. Although Peter would not give different instructions to women who were married to believing husbands, Peter's immediate concern is how as Christians we are to interact within a society within an unbelieving world. We know that he has in mind unbelieving husbands in this context because he says, who do not obey the word. That language was already expressed by Peter as the gospel and its subsequent consequences in the life of a believer. As he continues, he provides hope that as he has already done before that with submission to their authorities, their husbands that is, that with a sweet spirit of submission, He says, without a word may be won over, presumably to Christ that they may be saved. Submission is the posture and obedience is the action that flows out from our submission. It is by her good conduct that she may win her husband over to the Lord. Now we've seen this word conduct before, haven't we? In chapter 2 verses 11 and 12. There it was by our godly conduct in obedience to the authorities placed over us that on a day of visitation by God that they may be saved. So Peter continues that the unbelieving husband and the word for unbelieving has a sense of in rebellion to God's word. And this may suggest that they led lives in opposition to God's ethics, not something neutral, but perhaps even hostile to it. And within this context, Peter says that with your submission, he may be won over without a word. This does not mean that wives would be permanently silent, but that they would not continually preach the gospel to their husbands as if to cram it down their throats, nag them to convert, make themselves difficult to get along with, but by their good and godly behavior that they will win their husbands to Christ. It is, of course, not by our good works or any of our works that people are saved. But by the works of Christ upon the cross and only by faith, trusting in him for their salvation can anyone ever be saved. But God does use us in many ways as instruments that convinces unbelievers to trust themselves to Christ. In the event of being married to a husband that is mean, cruel, and against the faith, situations could arise when his demands may be in the form of wives being persecuted for their faith. It is in those times that the believing spouse can return good for malicious and selfish behavior. Now, I'm not talking about tolerating or accepting any sort of domestic violence or any types of abuse. That is unacceptable, whether it is from a believing or unbelieving husband. But knowing that our good behavior can be used by God to bring a person to salvation, a silent witness to God, if you will. This means that we should rely more upon God's grace by praying for a person's salvation and praying for patience and endurance, meanwhile suffering for our trust in Christ. Verse two states that this may be accomplished by when he sees respectful and pure conduct. Now the word for respectful is a word that has attached to it fearful. I don't think it's saying that we are to be fearful to the authority over us, as was the case, when, if you recall, he was describing the emperor. But here, as it was there, fearful is the healthy fearfulness unto God that leads us unto pure conduct. This does mean that submission does not extend to immoral behavior. That means that obedience to sinful demands made by the husband should not be obeyed. This by definition does mean that Christian men would never ask their wives whether they are believers or not to commit sin. When the unbelieving husband sees that his wife is consistently trusting and obeying her God, he will conclude that with her pure conduct, she is a woman that is trustworthy and a reliable woman. Those are virtues that are very naturally appealing. And if this is appealing to unbelieving men, I guarantee you, it is especially so for husbands that are believers. In verse three, he suddenly, Peter, opens the topic of how a woman adorning herself with jewelry, the way she does her hair, and what she wears. Where is this coming from? What does this have to do with what we are talking about? Well, Peter is not prohibiting women from adorning themselves with jewelry or fine clothing. But what he is saying is that the adorning that which makes you appealing or attractive to your husband, the focus must not be on the physical things. Do not rely upon the braiding of your hair, the shiny and dazzling bling that you could wear, or even the wonderful clothes that would be attractive. Don't, don't be caught up in the external. Now, this external prepares us for something that is not seen by eyes tangibly. He says in verse four, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. The thing that must be most noticeable to a husband is the internal beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, not one that is loud, harasses, or is belligerent. A gentle and quiet spirit will last for an eternity. Imperishable. But jewelry and clothing will not. This is the internal personality. It is not visible. It is something that is experienced. In the end, it really is being loved. For not, not for what you look like, but for who you really are inside. He uses a word we have heard earlier, doesn't he? Imperishable. When the word is used in the New Testament, it's referring to the eternal heavenly things. And in this case, the imperishable comes from the beauty from living out a godly life. There is an attractiveness to all men when one is kind. when one is gentle, when one is generous, sacrificing, loving. Is there not? Of course there is. I have never heard in all my years anyone say any of the following. I have been attracted to this person because they are such wonderful liars. They have been through six marriages because they delight in sharing themselves with others outside of their marriage. They have a wonderful way of removing unwanted barriers in life by committing murder. Or they always want more in life and they won't allow silly laws like theft to stop them from attaining their beloved satisfaction in life. when a person or whether a person is a believer or not. Godly behavior is an internal beauty that is imperishable. And this is the type of person you'll want to be with for a lifetime. Being gentle implies a meaning of not insisting on one's own rights, or not pushy, not selfishly assertive, not demanding one's way. This type of spirit will be appealing to unbelieving husbands. And this type of behavior is precious in the sight of God, because it demonstrates an attitude of humbleness. trust, and reliance upon a God to supply one's needs and to protect. Now in verses five and six, Peter offers an illustration from the life of Sarah as a godly woman from the past. She adorned herself in similar fashion. She was ultimately submissive to her husband. Sarah placed her hope in God. A woman, or for that matter a man, who trusts in God is enabled to submit to her husband or authority without fear or that it will ultimately be harmful to her or him. A godly woman places her hope in God and as a consequence does not live a life of fear. Sarah is presented as a paragon of godly submissiveness. She obeyed her husband as she called him Lord. There were many times when she trusted and obeyed Abraham when it was even dangerous. Peter reminds his readers that if they do what is right. Now, this is significant. Women are to imitate their spiritual mother in her obedience to Abraham, even when it appeared dangerous. She was able to do this because she trusted in God. This if also reminds the readers that they are not to imitate Sarah when she was disobedient. because there were times when she was. Peter says that you are now her children, spiritual daughters. Now, here again, Peter is pointing out writing to the church, the new Israel, that believers are the true daughters, spiritual daughters of Sarah, not physical daughters. This trusting in God, should take away the fear, should take away the anxiety, should take away the worry from obeying unbelieving husbands. This trust in God, this trust, as he says, is very precious in the sight of God. Now Peter turns his attention to husbands. The in the same way has a sense of also or as we are talking about this issue. The word for understanding here is what he offers and it has the connotation of being informed. It is unclear exactly what Peter is specifically saying when he uses the word understanding. I think that's by design. Understanding can mean a variety of things that the husband should educate himself with. One thing is understanding your wife's preferences, concerns, fears, her interests. Another category would be an understanding of what the Bible teaches on what's God's design for marriage and a husband's responsibilities. A third is the realization that a properly functioning and fruitful marriage has incorporated in it personal and private time for bonding and learning about your spouse. So the husband is called to go about the business of understanding his bride. Just as Peter is nonspecific about what understanding is, he's equally unspecific about what he is referencing to as weaker. Due to the immediate context, I think he has in mind the authority structure. Men are not to take advantage of their authoritative positions for the satisfaction of their selfish desires. This means that misuse of authority is absolutely unacceptable. It is possible that he also has in mind physical strength. And of course, this is in general, that a man should not domineer his wife physically. But instead, in all situations, he is to honor her as a weaker. Just like God honored us when we were weak, he did not misuse his power. Instead, he gave us an invitation to the wedding feast. The word translated as the weaker sex is the Greek word skeus, which means a vessel or a jar or a container. In the New Testament, it's also used to mean human beings. We see that in Acts 9.15, where it says, but the Lord said to him, go for he is a chosen instrument or vessel. In Romans 9.21, Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? Now, there's nothing pejorative here. If the woman is viewed as the weaker vessel, the man is also viewed as a vessel as well. Please note, this is only being used in comparison. It's not saying that women are weak. Husbands are reminded by Peter that women are co-eternal heirs with men. Their authority should not be mistaken as women having a lower spiritual standing before God. Men should not think this. Men and women have equal love and standing before God. So husbands need to be cautious in not thinking that they're extra special before God. What specialness they have is that they have the special duty and privilege of serving their wives, just like Lord Jesus did for his bride. Now on the other hand, just as women are not called upon by God to obey their husbands by disobeying God, men are not to allow their wives to lead their families down paths of destruction. This was a tragic lesson learned by Ahab, Solomon, and Adam. Not only is there caution against men thinking themselves as possessing a privileged status, but they are also given a warning to not disobey. This warning is against any abuse of authority as well as neglecting to live in an understanding way with your spouse. Otherwise, your prayers may be hindered. It's like he's saying, God's saying, I don't want to hear from you until you submit to my will. It is evident from this passage that God is overly concerned with husbands living in an understanding way with their wives, so much so that he will interrupt his relationship with them, the husbands. This is to be understood as a form of discipline upon households and husbands. Whenever we neglect our relationship with God, whenever we are disobedient, this is going to affect our relationship with God, does it not? And when that happens, and perhaps you have heard before, that the vertical affects the horizontal, That is, the condition of your relationship with God will have an effect on the relationships that you have with your neighbor. In this context, we are to see that so important is the relationship of marriage that if the horizontal is not good, it will affect the vertical. If any Christian husband is to have an effective ministry serving God, he knows that he must have an active prayer life. And this passage is telling husbands that you may not expect a fruitful prayer life until you are living in an understanding way. And this word is in the continuous. Continuously living in an understanding way with your wife. This means love bombing does not count. It's continuous. To biblically honor your wife will only enhance your relationship and ministry to God. Impaired relationship with God will impair our relationship with our brother. The opposite is also true. You see, bestowing honor on those that are weaker in society is a common theme in the New Testament teaching. This goes beyond just the physical. God is pleased to give or bestow honor on the weak or less honored in the world's esteem. Have you ever come to a place where you, now I'm speaking to husbands, when you're wondering why God is not responding to your prayer life? I mean, things are just not getting answered. And it's more than maybe it's just not God's will. It's been going on for a while now. Maybe you're feeling that way today. Maybe you're feeling that way now. But maybe you should consider what the word is teaching. Have you been living in an understanding way? Have you been neglecting her? Have you been honoring her? Have you been giving her deference? Or have you been selfish? Maybe you should consider if your behavior does or does not match up to God's standard. The Apostle Paul tells us that husbands are to love their wives just like Jesus loved the church, unto giving up his own life for her. This should remind us that we husbands are not called to love our wives when they are just being obedient. Likewise, wives are not called to be submissive to their husbands if it fits in with what they want to do or when they are being loved. Both husbands and wives are called to live out their lives together in obedience to the word, simply because God has called us to do so. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. For your word enriches our minds and our hearts. For your word convicts our hearts and our souls. We pray, Heavenly Father, that your Holy Spirit would grant us the grace that we need to search out ourselves and to see if we are short in any area. that we would see it, and that we would confess it, and that we would ask for the grace to repent from it, and to be obedient to you, to love, to submit, the way that you have called us to, and not in the ways that the world has defined it. And we ask that you would do this. so that you would be glorified. And we ask that you would do this, so that by our good deeds, that you may, on a day of visitation to those that are unbelievers, bless them with grace and mercy of your son, the Lord Jesus, and that by it, you will be glorified even more in Jesus' name.