"Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and wearing of gold jewellery and fine clothes. Instead, it 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. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with you wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayer."
1 Peter 3: 1-7

LET us remind ourselves, first of all, of what the apostle is seeking to outline for us in these verses of his 1st general letter. It is seen in chapter 2 verse 12 where we read Peter exhorting his readers to 'live such good lives . . .'. In the rest of chapter two Peter deals with how this can be achieved in the ordinary life of work and living, in our relating to authority, and in particular relating to slaves who had become Christians in their relation to their masters. In these next verse Peter goes on to teach how good Christian living is expressed in the marriage relationship.

Let us take note, in the first place, of the words 'in the same way' in verse 1 of chapter 3. Peter is dealing with the difficulty of living the Christian life in the social order which existed in New Testament times. Slavery was a socially acceptable action in this ancient world. Also the domination of the male over the female was also a prominent feature of this culture, where women were considered in some sort inferior to men. In this part of his letter Peter is seeking to deal with how the Christian should show the good life that had become theirs through new birth and faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. There are occurrences in life where the believer needs to stand firm for the truth of God, and accept the consequences and possible suffering which comes from such a stand in the alien attitudes of the world. However where there is no need for such a stand, Peter is concerned to show how the believer should behave in order not to cause unnecessary offence against the socially accepted order of the time, and to best glorify God and commend the Gospel. In these first seven verses he deals with how wives and husbands should express their Christian faith in submission to the social order, and in submission to Christ.

In these seven verses before us Peter is seeking to teach the way married couples should live, whether only one partner is a Christian or whether both are believers. It is the business of all believers to live lives which commend the Gospel and glorify God. This is true for the state of matrimony. Before we launch into the teaching of Peter in the verses before us, it will be good to see God's original purpose in the creation of man and woman, and the destruction of this in a real way by the fall of mankind into sin. This is revealed in the opening chapters of Genesis.

So let us look, first of all, in what Genesis chapter one tells us. Verse 26 tells us that God decided to make man in is own image. Here the thought expressed in the word 'man' indicates human life, both of man and women, as God created humanity it to be. In the creation of all the rest of creation we are not told that God created it in his image. The creation of 'man' was unique with godlike qualities, but also not God wholly but a creation where God exalted humanity to a level altogether above the animal creation, and unique.

Verse 27 tells us that this creative purpose was for both male and female. In verse 26 we are also told that God's creation of 'man', both male and female, was to rule over the rest of creation, and in verse 28 to subdue the earth.

In Genesis chapter two we have an expanded account of the creation of 'man'. In verse 7 we are told that God formed 'man' from the dust of the ground, that is from the stuff of what was already created, and then breathed into him the breathe of life so that he became a living being. This explains that the life given to humanity was above and beyond the life given to the rest of the animal life. This indicates that the bible testimony is that 'man' did not evolve from the lower life, but was created unique by God, and as we saw in Genesis 1 to rule over the rest of creation and order it and look after it.

Chapter 2 goes on to tell us that God provided a paradise for Adam (man), which provided for all his needs, but with one prohibition, as a test of his obedience and trust in God, and that was the forbidding of eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Then in verse 20 we are told that for Adam no suitable helper was found. All the rest of creation was brought before Adam, and he named all the animals, but no life was found in the animal creation suitable to be a helper for Adam. The narrative goes on to tell us that, in order to provide a helper for Adam, God took part of the side of Adam while he was in a deep sleep and closing up the wound, and from this flesh of Adam made woman (Adamah), and brought her to Adam, and in verse 23 we have the expression of Adam to the woman (Eve) that she was his own flesh and blood. The account goes on to express that the union of man and woman in marriage makes 'man' complete, so that what was lacking in Adam was complemented and provided by Eve. Humanity is only complete when man and woman are joined, and that woman provides what is lacking in man, and vice versa.

There is no sense of superiority of the male over the female, and of male domination in the creation account. Both male and female, Adam and Eve, made up the whole 'man' together, and they both were given the rule over the rest of creation. It is notable that in the NIV translation of Genesis 1: 26 we read the declaration of God 'Let us make 'man' in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish ….'.

When we continue to read the human story following in Genesis chapter 3, the whole scene changes dramatically. We see Eve taking the lead, and Adam following the lead of Eve, in obeying the serpent, who was a manifestation of Satan, and the sentence of death which God declared to be the punishment for such disobedience taking over. Suffice it to say here that the reality of this sentence of death included a change in the relationship between male and female in society and particularly in the married relationship. A permanent curse was placed on the serpent, the personification of Satan, and upon Eve the change of condition from the revelation of the human condition in creation changed. Eve was told that bearing children would be painful, that her desire would be for her husband, and that he would rule over her. This death expressed for Adam tells us the awful consequences on creation which followed from Adam and Eve's disobedience. The point to be observed that this new condition in the world and in the relationship between man and woman, and particularly in marriage, changed into the subjugation of the woman to the man. This effects the whole of human society. It is the condition that exists now according to this word of God in Genesis 3. This is the underlying condition of society, and this has been seen and still exists in the relationship between male and female today, and remains in the root of the human psyche, even in the changes which are taking place in the western world in its attitude to women.

What we who are born again of the Spirit need to appreciate is that through new birth and new life in Christ, we have been raised, in our inner being and new creation, to be holy as God is holy (Ephesians 4: 23), and so the condition which existed between Adam and Eve before their fall into sin, has been restored in the new creation we have been raised to. It is true that there is still a conflict between the flesh (the old nature) and the spirit, and the conditioning of our fallen nature is still powerful, but this, the old nature, must be put to death by the power of the Spirit, and we need to put on the new self, and see the return of the condition of man and woman in original creation restored.

It is plain from Peter's teaching in the verses we are considering in 1 Peter 3: 1-7 that Peter understands this, and certainly Christian women were conscious of this in a very real way. However Peter also makes clear that he appreciates the fact that fallen society in which the Christian must live is still under the curse of death, and so still conditioned to male domination and the subjugation of women. Peter, in these verses before us, is concerned that women and the church should not bring upon themselves suffering by asserting this new found freedom in Christ. He makes plain that this is particular danger for women who were married before their conversion, and now had to relate to unconverted husbands.

Peter is also concerned that the behaviour of believing women, and specially believing women who are married to unbelieving husbands, should so express their new life in Christ, so that by their lives they would commend the Gospel, and perhaps win their unbelieving spouse to faith in Christ. Also Peter is concerned that the behaviour in society of believing women should commend Christ and the Gospel, and so be a witness in their living, rather than the offence in the culture of society which pressing their new condition of freedom and equality in Christ would would bring.

There is no doubt that Peter presses on our attention, and particularly on women that there is a more powerful witness to the world in the way we live as a new creation in Christ that words on their own can ever give.

This is revealed in the advice for living which Peter gives to married women, specially to women whose husbands were still unbelievers. It is a fact that the world looks on the outward appearance, and worldly culture causes women to seek to attract the adulation of men by outward appearance, and physical beauty. Fallen humanity looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the inner being. From this Peter seeks to urge women to cultivate inner beauty rather than outward. He speaks of this beauty as behaviour that comes from purity and reverence of life, and not from outward adornment. Peter goes on to commend the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God's sight. This is the beauty which is according to the image of Christ, which we see Peter pressing on slaves in their behaviour towards their master's. The pattern of living Peter commends is the example of Christ when he lived on earth in his attitude to society, specially the society of the spiritually dead Jewish leaders.

Peter does not forget husbands. He is not so full in his teaching as Paul is in Ephesians 5: 29-30 but the emphasis is the same. Peter goes on to commend the same attitude he is pressing upon women to be that of the husband, and all Christian men in relation to women, and specially to Christians women. He says, 'husbands, in the same way …'. He presses the same attitude he commends for Christian wives upon the husband.

Peter's words are Husbands, ….. be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect ….'. He reminds husbands that their believing wives are heirs with them of the gracious gift of life.

Peter is pressing on believing husbands that they have been returned to the condition which God ordered in the relationship between man and woman which was God's purpose in creation, before sin entered into the world, just as their believing wives had been. Peter is pressing on believing husbands that they must now cease to behave according to the way of fallen society, and return to the equality and complimentary condition with women that was God's original purpose in his creation. It is the business of Christian husbands to live in such a way that reflects and promotes this original creative purpose of God in marriage and in the relationship between men and women. It is a fact, however, that even in evangelical culture even more in other expressions of Christian living, that Christian men still look upon their wives as ones to be dominated rather than to be lived with as equals.