1 Peter 3:1-18
1 Peter • Sermon • Submitted
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25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
Christ is the head of the church
shepherd imagery - obedient followers
the shepherd goes after the lost sheep
moses
the shepherd leads the sheep
Christ leads us
The shepherd feeds and waters the sheep
we have the meat and milk of the Word
water so that we never thirst again
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
sheep do not like to drink fast moving water
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
The shepherd guarded their sheep from wild animals
Christ protects us spiritually
Christ told us He is the good shepherd, who lays down His life for His sheep
11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
This is the dynamic between us as the church and Christ
We have Christ as the leader of the church, who laid down His life for all of us, who we must believe in to be saved
we MUST be born again
We have God the Father, and we are His children
We have the Holy Ghost, who lives inside of us and guides us
and these three are one, as God
1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.
we will talk about the husbands role shortly and fill this out a bit
God has assigned roles to each member of the family
like the sheep to the shepherd, the wife is the sheep to God then the husband
like the sheep to the shepherd, the husband is the sheep to God
in this verse we are talking about wives who are married to an unsaved husband
“if any obey not the Word”
Actions speak louder than words
if the husband just hears words with no action, that’s not too convincing right
this can be applied to witnessing in general, you can’t just say, you must also do
if you don’t do, it just seems hollow, it doesn’t seem genuine, so why would someone bother?
we show, and not just tell
Peter even goes on to essentially say this, “that they may be won by the conversation of the wives”
the greek word behind conversation “way of life”
it has more implication than just a talk at the dinner table
“chaste conversation coupled with fear”
so we see the word “conversation” filled out here, he’s talking about a chaste conversation - the wife being chaste
chaste - the wife being pure, not committing adultery and other things
God made us to be pure, with one husband or wife, this is God’s command and ideal way for us to live life
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
being chaste helps us to avoid certain problems as well, diseases, problems with a marriage, etc
God is telling us and commanding us to the right and best way to live life, it’s almost like He was ahead of the game and knows what He’s talking about
3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
plaiting - braiding
verse in context- it’s not necessarily commanding that women never braid their hair or wear gold
we are talking about husbands and wives, the unbelieving husband, and how to witness to him through actions
what Peter is really getting at here is not to win the husband through beauty, adornment, or any such thing
but through the inner beauty - the ornament of a meek and quiet (tranquil) spirit
“Any love that is dependent on something, when that thing perishes, the love perishes; but a love that is not dependent on something does not ever perish.”
“inner man of the heart” - the inner person/the inner state of the heart
we are to focus on the state of the heart instead of the state of the outside
the state of the heart is really what’s important in life
it’s of a great price in God’s sight
THIS IS THE KIND OF BEAUTY TO FOCUS ON
It’s true beauty, incorruptible beauty
this inner beauty is the witnessing tool that Peter is talking about
5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: 6 Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
“in this manner…they adorned themselves” - on the inside, not the outside
we see here that Sarah called Abraham “lord” even though she is laughing to herself in the verse, it still came out that Abraham was her lord, as if it were just a given
Lord - one who is in a position of authority
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
“not afraid with any amazement” - not afraid, alarmed, intimidated
Peter is saying if ye do well, and are not afraid,ye are the daughters of abraham
the saved individual would be doing well
7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
“with knowledge” - with consideration, with awareness
Giving honor to the wife
we see that it works both ways - the husband honors the wife and the wife honors the husband
“weaker vessel” - we know, unlike some in the world seem to think, that there are differences between men and women
men are built physically stronger, they’re bigger, they have different bone structures, there are differences in the way they think
men have duties as a father and a husband - the husband is to take care of and look out for the wife, to provide for the family, to protect the family
“together as being heirs...” - despite differences, men and women are recipients of the same grace, and therefore both should be subjected to God first and foremost
tier system/hierarchy with God at the top
in peter these are the only verses in this pasasge about the husband, let’s look deeper
select verses from galatians 5, what paul says about this subject
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
unfortunately, sometimes this verse is neglected by some men, they will quote the previous verse and leave out this verse
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
so we see here God’s perfect system - the husband and the wife complement each other, they work together, they become one, and they live their life together, respecting one another, caring for one another, each with their own duties as units of the family
8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: 9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
Peter has now shifted to talking to the church he’s writing to as a whole
“There was no need for him to target specific groups, since what he says here applies equally to all. This is the law of love, from which every virtue derives.”
princes, peasants, slaves, masters, kings, and servants of the king, men or women - all people are commanded to the same laws, God is not a respecter of persons
we will all stand before God at the judgement one day, and our earthly status will not matter
“not returning evil for evil”
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Followers of Christ are called to higher behavior, as Peter says
for instance, it’s easy to love someone who loves us back, everyone does that, but we are to love those and pray for those who don’t love us too.
“inherit a blessing” - God does not forget our behavior, He sees it all, He knows it all, and not only will we be judged on our sins, but God will judge every man according to his works
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
Peter is quoting Psalm 34:12-16
Peter tells us to keep a pure tongue, and speak no guile
as Christians, we are to have love in our heart anyway, and be doing our best to show that through or words
every idle word will be judged, right?
“eschew evil” - we are to push evil away from us, run from it
we aren’t told only to eschew evil, but we are told to do good
there is no neutral, you are either with Christ or against Him, you either are doing good or doing bad
we are to seek peace and ensue it, so we not only seek peace, but we also should do our best to make it happen
since we seek peace, we avoid arguments and strife with one another
if you are on bad terms with someone, it’s hard to witness to them and lead them toward Christ
The Lord will accept those who repent but will punish those who remain in their sins.
13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? 14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
If you love the good, you will suffer no loss, because whatever you may be deprived of in this world, you will never lose God, who is the true Good.
God protects us, remember the Good Shepherd? the shepherd looks out for His sheep, and the Good Shepherd even laid down His life for the sheep
God’s eyes are on us, He sees everything, He knows what we’re going through
sometimes we could be experience a chastening of love, we should examine our lives and be sure we’re doing what’s right
God chastens us because He loves us, He wants us to be conformed to the image of His Son, to be what He’d have us to be
but if we’re suffering for righteousness sake (because of righteousness), happy are you, His Word says you’ll be blessed and God’s eyes see you
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
not only are we rewarded if we go through trials for righteousness sake, not only is theirs the Kingdom of Heaven
we can also take comfort in the fact that Christ suffered before us, He knows how we feel and even more, it’s almost as if we can even relate with Christ in a way, He suffered and knows what our suffering feels like
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
“sanctify” - to set aside for holy purposes
make God your first priority in your heart and mind
we’re commanded to be able to witness to people effectively,
to give an answer to people about our faith or who question our faith
we need to know how to give the argument
argument does not always mean “mad/fight”
imagine a court room, one is arguing for the truth and the other lawyer isn’t…the lawyers give their arguments persuasively, we need to be able to argue for our faith
apologia - a speech of defense for your position
if someone around you is deriding the faith, we should all be able to answer the person well, to give a good answer
this is a witnessing opportunity to everyone who is listening
we are to do this with meekness and fear (of God), we shouldn’t get all heated or hot under the collar
getting heated could ruin the witnessing opportunity
it’s easy to get heated when someone is deriding the faith, but here Peter’s telling us to answer them with meekness and fear, humbly
16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
in times of old and other old religions, for instance, the egyptians, saw the serpent as wise
so Jesus as our shepherd, sends us as sheep into the wolves or the world, and we are to be wise about what we do and the way we witness
He tells us also to be harmless as doves, peaceful, just as Peter would later tell us to be meek and having fear of God
16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
Peter says to do all of this with a good conscience because actions speak louder than words, as we talked about earlier
so not only are we to have a good talk but we are to have a good walk to back it up
we could have the best most wise argument in the world, but what good is it if we don’t back it up with our actions, or if we have a bad conscience
it almost becomes hollow, and it would reflect badly upon the faith that you just argued for
so when we back our argument up with our actions, someone who speaks evil of us would obviously be in the wrong
even if that person doesn’t see that, others will, and those that falsely accuse you will be exposed
“conversation in Christ” - our way of life in Christ
17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. 18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
we should take inventory of our life - we are better of suffering for doing good than for doing bad
it’s better to suffer for righteousness sake than from the chastening of the Lord
Christ also suffered for righteousness, He did before us, and He did FOR us
the just for the unjust, and this is the suffering for righteousness sake, right?
Christ did not deserve what He suffered with, but He did it for us, as the unjust, to bring us into harmony with God
this is the gospel that Christ died for us and rose again
what a beautiful thing that Christ did for us, to lay down His life for the sheep, to redeem us, and to bring us into harmony with God
He did it for us, who did not deserve it, we could never deserve it on our own
He suffered the greatest suffering, to be put to death by His own people
but glory to God He rose again!
quickened by the Spirit - He was made alive again in the Spirit
He made us alive spiritually as well, we have been born again, He’s the bread of life, the water that makes us never thirst again, He fills the spiritual void in us
we don’t have to be a sheep who has drifted and gone astray, we can be a sheep with the Good Shepherd, who loves us and takes care of us, who provides for us, who feeds us spiritual food
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.