1 Peter - Part 18 - 3:1-2 - 6-11-2017

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Counter Culture

This morning we are going to be looking at a very difficult passage of scripture - not because it’s hard to understand, but because it’s rather easy to understand and we as modern readers and hearers of the word just don’t want to listen or obey. We think ourselves so enlightened and illuminated and advanced beyond what this text says that I would be willing to wager that 60% or more of Western Christendom lives there lives in direct rebellion and disobedience to this passage while simultaneously trying to justify their sinful behavior by attempting to use the Bible against the Bible. Folks that doesn’t work - God is not divided against Himself, He stands unanimously behind His instructions and and you would do well to examine whether your worldview about our subject today flows from what God says or about what culture says. My fear is that you will continue in rebellion because you so love what culture has ingrained in you and what you have become inculcated with that you will reject out of hand what is said and why God sees fit to include this is the canon.
PRAYER
And so today Father I ask your help to preach this very difficult text, I lack the courage to proclaim the truth, but you are mighty, God and I ask for your strength to embolden me. I lack to wisdom to speak the right words but your Holy Spirit knows all the right ones and I ask to be filled to overflowing with Him. We together ask for you to teach us, make us teachable Lord. Soften our hearts, melting the icy and rebellious hearts of stone that naturally inhabit us. Help us to understand not only what you say through your servants in the scriptures, but why it is said. Empower us to obey what you say, even if we don’t understand. Give us that strength of love and that desire to follow and obey. Create in us the right and righteous humility that comes from knowing who you are and we are made to be. These things we pray in Jesus name - Amen.
If you have a Bible we are in 1 Peter, starting chapter 3 today. We will be examining the first 2 verses.
1 Peter 3:1–6 ESV
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.
1 Peter 3:1–2 ESV
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.
Previously in 1 Peter we have talked about how Christians are to behave and live - that we are called to lives of obedience, holiness, reverence, holy fear, honorable behavior, lawfulness, and even submission to earthly authorities in as far as those authorities obey God and do what God instituted earthly authorities to do - namely to punish the wicked and reward the righteous. Now those are all general ways of Christian living that apply to everyone who is a Christ follower in every culture, in every age - but now Peter is going to zoom in a lot closer, narrowing his focus on the Christian family structure which forms the basis of not only the church but also I would argue of society and human flourishing. Peter speaks to both men and women, to both husbands and wives, but today we’re going to look first at wives.
Previously in 1 Peter we have talked about how Christians are to behave and live - that we are called to lives of obedience, holiness, reverence, holy fear, honorable behavior, lawfulness, and even submission to earthly authorities in as far as those authorities obey God and do what God instituted earthly authorities to do - namely to punish the wicked and reward the righteous. Now those are all general ways of Christian living that apply to everyone who is a Christ follower in every culture, in every age - but now Peter is going to zoom in a lot closer, narrowing his focus on the Christian family structure which forms the basis of not only the church but also I would argue of society and human flourishing. Peter speaks to both men and women, to both husbands and wives, but today we’re going to look first at wives.
Peter says Likewise, referring back to the section of his letter we just covered about servants obeying their masters and people obeying their governments - wives be subject to your own husbands. Let’s unpack that cause that’s a very important and, in Western culture, controversial statement. Peter says first Wives - this is who Peter is talking to - I know that seems simple but we need to identify it because it implies something very important about marriage and the structure of the family. Peter is imply, God is revealing here the only proper set up for a marriage and a family. A wife should be with a husband. Not a wife with a wife or a husband with a husband, that’s not marriage that’s a mirage that our culture believes is love but is really just lust and mutual contractual beneficence. Marriage is one man, and one woman, one husband and one wife - scripture is exceedingly clear on this point both explicitly with passages like , , , , , and and implicitly with passages like , , All of , the creation order of and 2, the qualifications for Elders and Deacons in 1 Timothy, , and yes even Jesus own teaching in . If someone ever tells you Jesus never said homosexuality is a sin you need to either be ready to refute that false statement or run from that false teacher if they will not repent when confronted with the truth of the word of God. Jesus makes clear what marriage is and isn’t and furthermore Jesus, since He is God incarnate, is the author of the Old Testament teaching on matters of marriage and sexuality. God is immutable, meaning He does not change. God didn’t say homosexuality was wrong in the Old Testament only to show up in the New Testament saying, yeah I changed my moral law about that whole homosexuality thing. This is an area of absolute rebellion against the commands of God in our own culture with a lot of so called “churches” proclaiming that homosexuality is ok. My friends if you are struggling with same sex attraction we are here to help you resist that temptation but resist you must. Just as I must resist my own evil desires you must resist yours and you can do so by the power of God. Furthermore God gives us assistance by way of this family we call the church which may help us remain accountable and resist temptation.
So Peter says wives, submit to your own husbands. Peter says in a marriage, one husband and one wife, the wife is to be subject to the husband. The word subject here is what is so controversial today. People have tried to redefine it, translate it differently to alter it’s meaning, or altogether skip this passage for the sake of not stirring the pot, but here the passage is by the design and will of God. So what does the word subject mean? The word translated as subject here in Greek is (hippo tass oh men nye), the headword or what we would call a lexeme or lemma being hypotasso. This word means subject but also carries the meaning of submission, submit, submissive, subordinate and is used in contexts speaking of obedience, arrangement, placement, and control. Wow huh? Yeah that definitely goes against Western thought systems like egalitarianism and feminism doesn’t it. You won’t see this type of family structure in movies and television anymore, in fact the really sad thing is that though it’s commanded in the word of God you won’t even see it in action in the families in most churches any more. My friends we are commanded that this is how the family works. And it’s not just Peter who says this, Paul also makes clear that families are to have this structure when he says in both and that the man, the husband is the head of the woman, the wife just as Christ is the head of the church. If you had any misgivings about what submission and being subject means, if you had any question at all about the authority of the husband as the head of the family - that passage should clear it right up. The husband carries God given authority in the family and the wife is to be subject to him. That doesn’t mean that she does everything he says, sometimes a husband is wrong and sinful and in those moments the wife helps him best by saying you’re wrong and here’s why. My wife has often told me when I’m wrong and in the moment I don’t like it. I don’t like being questioned and second guessed, I don’t like being told I’m wrong - who does. But when I think about what she says and why she said it, even the courage it took to speak hard truths to me - I’m thankful and usually in such moments, she’s right. I can’t imagine what a sorry state I’d be in without her sometimes.
Notice too in this passage that Peter is very specific about submission. Peter doesn’t say wife, submit to your neighbor’s husband. Peter says to submit to your own husband, to be subject to your own husband. That’s a very clear indication that submission has boundaries and structure that need to recognized and respected.
But now we come to the why of the question. Why should wives live in submission to their husbands? Why does God allow this command to be included in the canon? Why is this command scripture? To answer this we need to look at all of scripture, Tota Scriptura, to form our worldview. Does the Bible teach that a wife submits to a husband because he is greater than her or superior to her, her better? No, absolutely not. When we look at the totality of scripture we see that in the beginning when God creates all things, there is certainly distinction in design and desired function between man and woman, but even though they are very different in so many ways, not least of which anatomically, physiologically, and psychologically, they are both created Imago Dei - they are both created in the image of God, meaning He bestows upon both male and female certain communicable attributes. This doesn’t mean that God is possessing of both male and female physical “parts” as recent juvenile “pop-Christian” icons have suggested. It means God graciously bestows certain qualities and abilities and desires upon men and women. It also means that both men and women have inherent dignity, value, and worth because God made them to both be image-bearers.
So why then does God command this type of marital submission of wives to their husbands? Peter tells us right there in our passage. Peter says it is for the sake of the gospel that they are to do so. Ladies if you’re married Peter is speaking a very important and powerful truth about the great missions and evangelistic role you are in just in being a wife, let alone a mother. Peter gives the example of a wife who has become a Christian, but her husband isn’t one. Peter says by submitting to your husband, by being obedient and submissive, aka subject to him you are ministering to your husband, you are proclaiming the gospel in your actions. Peter even goes to far to say that the husband can be won over by the holy, righteous, submissive, and obedient actions of his wife. That doesn’t mean he is outright converted, but it does mean that because of his wife’s exemplary behavior that he is now in a position for the seeds of the gospel to be sown, watered, and harvested. And here’s the cool thing - wives this isn’t just true of non-Christian husbands, the same principle of why you submit is true in Christian marriage. You are imaging to your husband Christ Jesus, you are by your faithful obedience reminding your believing husband daily of the good news of Jesus and encouraging him to be like Christ Jesus, the second divine person of the one triune God, who being both fully God and fully man was obedient to the Father’s perfect plan.
Philippians 2:8 ESV
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Phi
Wives you are showing a little picture of Jesus to your husbands by your submission and by so doing you are glorifying your maker. And this is what we are all called to do as Christians - to submit to Christ, our head, our Lord, our King, our God, our Maker, and our Master and thereby glorify Him. Do you see how important gender roles are? That God creates us for great purpose and with great intention, we are not arbitrary, we are not accidents - we are Imago Dei, created in the image of God to do as God commands and this is divine and sacred my friends. So many women look at this passage as oppressive and demeaning when it reality is glorious, affirming, and life-giving. And I challenge you to taste and see that the Lord is good, to put this truth of God’s word to work in your own life, in your own marriage and see what happens. I’m not saying that some magical change in your husband is going to happen over night, but I genuinely believe that in due course if you obey the word of God powerful changes do happen as the Holy Spirit moves and works. Try it and see.
I have had the privilege to travel a bit
Gentlemen, you are escaping this unscathed either, not next week, but week following we’re going to get into what Peter has to say as well as what Paul says to us as husbands and fellas, it ain’t easy. But just as with the command to wives, it’s sacred, holy, and God-glorifying. Wives, don’t let your husbands skip this one because God has an important task for them as well.
May we close in prayer.
PRAYER
If you have never submitted, there’s that word again to Jesus as Lord by believing in Him and repenting of your sins I encourage to do so. We’ll have a song of worship to our Savior right now and if you need to confess that Jesus is Lord won’t you come find me at the front as we do so - let’s all stand and sing together.
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