1 Peter 3 Family Order

1 Peter 3:1-7

Submission: We have the foundation. We have the example. Christ. Submission points to Jesus, glorifies God, honors Him, and brings blessing to homes, churches, community, and nations.

Today: We are look at the home this morning and we will look at the government tonight.

Verse 13 - Be subject, for the Lord’s sake, to every human institution (more on that tonight). Last Sunday evening, we touched on submitting and serving our bosses/employers, serving them and others for the Lord sake, imitating Christ who first served us.

Chapter 3 verse 1: Now, likewise… wives be subject to your own husbands… for the Lord’s sake… from the foundation and example that you have before you… you who have been serve by Christ, who has submitted Himself, laid down Himself for you… you also… lay down you life and submit to your own husband.

Lets look at another passage: Ephesians 5:22 - Wives be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Here - The Christian Marriage is seen and the family is seen as a picture of Christ and His Church.

You have the Head - Christ. You have the Church. The husband is to be the head of the home like Christ is the Head of the Church. You have the Bride of the Head submitting herself to His leadership.

This is the family picture and family order.

The husband imitates Christ and leads his bride. The husband lays down his life for her to protect her, serve her, lead her, guide her, wash her with the water of the Word. The husband sacrifices his time, uses his talents, gifting, and ability to build up his wife and children as the Priest, Prophet, Provider, and Protector of the Home.

And the wife follows his leadership, laying down her life to serve him, as Christ has serve her. She seeks to honor her husband, respect her husband, to lift up her husband,never to cut him down or make fun of him, never to belittle… and she never seeks to overthrow him in his calling as the leader of the home...

Before the time of the Fall, there was headship. Adam was the head… and he failed his wife. All throughout the Scriptures… Adam gets the fault for mankind falling into sin. Why? Because of headship.

Before the Fall, there was a beautiful picture of God and His people, the Bride and the Bridegroom; there was order and roles for everyone. After the fall… this began the struggle and the fight for headship in the home.

There will be this ongoing battle for headship/leadership in the home… because of sin. The complementary roles and order has now been distorted and fractured by sin… and it has… and continues to have destructive outcomes, because of it.

He is the leader… but she is going to resist his leadership and fight against him, dishonor him, disrespect him, go behind his back, talk bad about him to the kids and her girlfriends. She will rebel against his desires and will.

He, the husband, in turn… will respond with aggression, and will seek to dominate and be domineering with her.

And the family suffers. The family falls apart.

What are we to do? Imitate Christ. What are we to do? Serve one another. What is the husband to do? To seek Christ first and imitate Him, laying down his life for his wife, to love her as Christ loves the Church, giving himself to her to love her, nourish her, provide for her, direct her, shepherd her...

And wife… What are you to do? Lay down my life for him, to love and serve him, as Christ loved and served me. I am to give him the honor and respect that Christ has shown me. I am to speak to him as Christ speaks to me...

And when we do this… When we do it God’s way...

Now, someone is saying right now: “ Yeah, when he does that, I will do my part. When she does her part… I will do my part.”

But now we are not imitating the Gospel. Now we are moving away from Christ and into the realm of worldly reasoning.

Did Christ wait for you to love you? Did Christ wait for you to lay down your life before He laid down his? No. It was never 50/50. He was all in, and He laid down His life before I ever did anything for Him. Yes! That is the picture, foundation and example before us.

Go back to 1 Peter 3:1-7 - The picture here is a picture of a believing wife without a believing husband. What are we to do? Leave them? No. What are we to do? Be Christian.

1 Corinthians 7:14 - For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. What does this mean?

Wives, you are bearing witness to your husbands, through your lifestyle. You are bearing witness through your words and behavior. Husbands, you are bearing witness to your wives. You are pointing them to the Savior, showing them the Savior, influencing them by the Word of God, the promises of God, and the Gospel.

Show them the mercy, love, compassion, and grace you have received. Wash over them the words of Christ, pray for them… Don’t just leave Bible verses all over the house… and don’t beat them over what they should be doing, and putting them down because they are not… Win them with God’s love.

So many homes are divided. So many homes are not doing this. In so many homes, the unbelieving spouse never comes to faith because the believing spouse is still doing the same things they did before, they just now do it int the name of Jesus… And the unbeliever does not want to have anything to do with a disrespectful, dishonoring, unmerciful, and heartless religion.

The spouse is hateful, does not lay down their lives for the other, complains all the time, shoves the Bible down the other one’s throat, and beats them up with words and bad attitudes.

God has given some answers today. God is showing us the way, the truth, and the life. He is showing us how to order our lives and our family… and it starts with me.

Verse 3-4 - Its not about what you wear. Your spouse needs more from you than your dress, your suit, your shoes, bling-bling, and fine apparel.

Maybe it is your cry for your spouse to notice you. Maybe it is your cry for someone, anyone… to notice you...

But vanity is not fitting for a Christian… How one dresses can be a window into the heart… a heart filled with vanity or loneliness...

Why do we wear what we wear? Who do you want to please? As a Christian: My body is for God and my spouse… period. As a Christian: My dress is to glorify God… not my body.

My dress will not win my spouse, or anyone else to the Lord. You can put lipstick on a viper and a wig and some jewelry on a wolf… but you will not have the intimacy you are looking for… Teeth hurt. Your poison hurts. Your words hurt.

“Is he talking about me?” If the teeth fit… wear them.

As a Christian: True beauty is within. It is not my desire to put so much emphasis on the external, but on the internal and eternal. My emphasis is to be on my heart… on my love for Jesus and my family.

It’s not about what you wear or what you say… You will impact your family’s lives by your loving nature, by your kindness, compassion, and patience… This is precious in the sight of God.

If we point to Christ, through our love… We can and will win them to Christ. If we can point to Christ through our love and submission in the home… We will point to the Gospel, to the picture of Christ and His Church… and...

We will be a walking, living, breathing example for our children who are in our household… so they to will know that this Christian stuff is for real...

But as it is in many homes… There is trouble. There is violence. There is abuse. There is fear. Even their prayers are hindered. And many homes are not experiencing the blessing that comes from obedience to Christ.

They are simply existing together in a cold house.

But what if we started today. What if we started to lay down our lives for our spouses. What if we began to show Christ’s love, kindness, compassion and gentleness to our family. What if we came to together, forgave one another, prayed with and for one another… What if we saw one another through God’s eyes...

Do you want to glorify Christ? Do you want your family to know Christ and glorify Christ? Do we want our families to be walking pictures of the Gospel of Christ?

God is showing us the way. Which way do you want to go?

*Is this our prayer and desire? Take me to Christ. Take my family to Christ. Show me the way to live as Christ before my family. Forgive me of my selfish and sinful ways and teach me to love and lead, submit and heed, as Christ leads the way.

*Stephen Griffin Family Joining?