Wives submit to their husbands

3:1-2 "In the same way." In the same way as what? In the same way that believers submit to civil authorities, and slaves submit to masters, and Christ submits to the Father... wives are to submit to their husbands. Peter directly mentions Christian women who are married to unbelieving men. The wife's behavior, specifically her purity and reverence for God, could influence her husband to put his faith in Christ.

v. 3-6 The wife's beauty is not merely outward and physical. There is a more important inner beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. The believing wife is not anxious and striving after the things that seem so important to many unbelieving women. Peter is not saying wives should never wear fine clothes or gold jewelry, but he wants them to realize that those things are not the source of their true beauty. Sarah is mentioned as an example. The wives should imitate Sarah, doing what is right and not giving way to fear. 

Husbands respect their wives

v. 7 "In the same way." In the same way as what? In the same way that believers submit to civil authorities, slaves submit to masters, Christ submits to the Father, and wives submit to husbands...       a husband is to respect his wife and be considerate of her.

Peter refers to the wife in two ways-- as the weaker partner and as an heir (with her husband) of eternal life. How is she weaker? In almost every way. Physically, men are usually stronger than women. Financially, she probably didn't have her own source of income. Socially, she didn't have the same human rights as a man. Legally, she could not testify in court and wouldn't be able to defend herself as well as a man. There were many things that put the wife at a distinct disadvantage and thus made her more vulnerable than her husband.

But Peter also says the wife is an heir with her husband. She will inherit the "gracious gift of life" along with him. Even though she is not considered his equal on earth, in the sight of God she is an equal heir of eternal life. The husband has a responsibility to "be considerate" as he lives with her and "treat her with respect." In other words, he needs to treat her the way God sees her and not the way the society sees her. If he doesn't respect his wife as the weaker partner and an equal heir then his prayers will be hindered.

All believers submit to one another.

v. 8 Peter wants all of them to live harmoniously, be sympathetic, love each other, be compassionate, and humble. This may sound very nice but it's not the way people naturally live. It's more natural to experience conflicts, be unsympathetic, compete with each other, and hurt each other. The lifestyle Peter is describing would have been considered very weak and would open one up to being ridiculed and exploited.

v. 9 Yet Peter tells them not to repay evil with evil but with blessing so that they will inherit a blessing. This was countercultural thinking for both Jewish and Gentile Christian converts. The Law of Moses brought some restraint and was a huge improvement over the vengeance that was common in the nations surrounding Israel. But what Peter is saying is a radically new way of thinking. It expects mercy rather than justice.

v. 10-12 Peter quotes Psalm 34 to remind his readers that it is good to keep themselves from evil and deceitfulness. They should pursue peace because the Lord hears the prayers of the righteous and He is against those who do evil.

v. 13-16 If the believers do what is good they will avoid a lot of harm. However, even if they suffer for doing what is right they are blessed by God. They must not fear all the things unbelievers fear but rather recognize Christ as their Lord and be prepared to respectfully answer anyone who asks them about their hope. Believers must live in such a way that "those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."

v. 17-20 It's better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. Is it ever God's will that someone should suffer for doing good? Yes, Christ suffered and died doing what was good-- bringing them to God. He was physically put to death but then was made alive by the Spirit. Through that Spirit He also preached long ago to those who disobeyed in the days of Noah. God patiently waited while the ark was being built. Only eight people were saved through water.

v. 21-22 The flood waters symbolize the water baptism that Peter's readers had gone through when they became believers. The water of baptism doesn't simply remove dirt and make them physically clean. Nor is it some kind of magic water that saves them. They are saved by the resurrection of Christ "who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand." Jesus has been raised from the dead and now holds a position of authority over "angels, authorities and powers."

We began our lesson talking about submission to authority. Now we end it by seeing that although Jesus submitted to the Father's authority He has been given authority over all the other authorities, both in heaven and on earth. He has the power to save anyone who puts their faith in Him. The response of the faithful is to imitate His example of submission in the hope of sharing in His glory for all eternity.