*1 Peter 3:1-22
Peter instructs wives and husbands on their roles within marriage, emphasizing mutual respect, submission, and Christ-like character.
- Guidance for Wives and Husbands:
- Wives are encouraged to be submissive to their husbands so that, if any do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.
- Their adornment should not be merely external—braiding of hair, wearing gold jewelry, or fine clothes—but should be the inner self with the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.
- Husbands are likewise advised to be considerate as they live with their wives, treating them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with them of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder their prayers.
- Call to Harmony and Blessing:
- All believers are called to be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
- They should not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this they were called so that they may inherit a blessing.
- Encouragement to Righteous Suffering:
- Peter quotes Psalm 34, encouraging believers to keep their tongues from evil and their lips from deceitful speech, to turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.
- He explains that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
- Facing Persecution:
- Believers are reminded that they are blessed if they suffer for doing good and should not fear threats or be frightened.
- Peter advises them to always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks about the hope they possess, yet to do so with gentleness and respect.
- Christ’s Example and Victory:
- Christ suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God, being put to death in the body but made alive in the spirit.
- In the spirit, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah during the building of the ark.
- Baptism and Salvation:
- Baptism, which corresponds to Noah’s ark through which a few were saved by water, now saves believers not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- Christ has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand, with angels, authorities, and powers in submission to him.