Chapter 3 Verses 1-6
TITLE: “Me obey Him!?!”
TEXT: 1 Peter 3:1-6
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. [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. [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 Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.
THEME:
PROP.:
INTER.:
INTRODUCTION:
As we come to the opening paragraph of chapter 3, there is a very important operative word that comes first. It is the word “Likewise.” It is placed there to make us draw off of the definitions and descriptions that have been given to us already so that we can have a fuller understanding of what is going to be said next. As I mentioned when we started this applicational section a few weeks ago, we are in the midst of the longest section of the letter, and it has as its theme submission. We have looked at the civic responsibility of heavenly citizens, and we have focused on thanksgiving over the last couple of weeks, but we must understand that in context, both of those themes are given in this general context of submission. As citizens of heaven, we are to be in submission to the civil authorities that God has put in place. As employees, we are to be in submission to our employers – that was the context of the instructions with regard to thanksgiving living. Slaves with unfair masters were the ones who were to follow Christ’s example of responding correctly to unwanted hostility and unfair treatment. They were the ones who were to serve even thought they were being mistreated. They were the ones who were to live in light of the fact that God the true judge would reward them for good behavior.
All of these lessons are called upon in the word “likewise.” Just as all men are to submit in the arena of government, and all workers are to submit in the arena of the workplace, so all wives are now called upon to submit in the arena of the home.
AS has been the case up to this point, Peter is again going to set a negative stage. In the arena of civil authority, the government was corrupt. In the arena of the workplace, the masters were corrupt. Here, too, in the arena of the home, the authority of the Husband is portrayed in a negative light. That is what makes Peter’s instructions here different than all the others in the New Testament. We are not merely going to see instructions in light of a kind and loving husband, we are going to see them in the setting of a negative relationship.
We tend to see the responsibilities of Husband and wife as co-dependent, meaning, I will love her as long as she is submissive; or, I will submit as long as He is loving. That is contrary to what Peter will teach us here. In fact, the instructions to husbands and wives are given in the setting of suffering. It is most likely that they are not given to wives whose husbands are present and to husbands who wives are present, but they are given to spouses who are in the Church and are actually facing persecution from spouses who are not!!
Still calling for submission, Peter comes next to the case with married women. 3:1–6 will urge them to obey husbands and conduct themselves in agreement with the holiness of God. Before examining the directions given, the status of woman in the first century may well be reviewed, since knowledge of this will enable the student to appreciate fully what the apostle wrote nineteen centuries ago.
There is no more impressive contrast between the nations which have been under the influence of Christianity and those which have not been, history declares, than the difference in the position of woman. Her condition was a debased one in the ancient monarchies of the Orient. The female served the male; polygamy prevailed; divorce was obtained easily. Among Greeks and Romans the woman held a higher position than elsewhere, yet from the earliest period even there the wife was regarded as a piece of property, an individual destitute of legal rights, absolutely under the control of her father until marriage. In later periods of Roman history the immorality and the utter laxity in marriage relations became “the butt of satirists and the grief of moralists.” Under Christianity, however, woman has been enabled to occupy the high position assigned her at creation, namely, social equality with man. Witness the active part which women took in the history of the early church, when the apostles led to the greatest triumph which Christianity has ever known. And witness how the Galilean apostle grants them recognition in his writings. Just as the lowly slave has been esteemed a fellow human being, so the woman is accounted equal to man, though differing in her responsibilities. Thereby the Christian faith took a deliberate stand against all entrenched custom and prejudice.
If you were on a bicycle built for two, how far would you get if one was on the front seat peddling while the other was on the back seat braking? Obviously, not very far. In order to get anywhere, someone is going to have to lead while the other follows. Where a person sits is not the most important thing. What is important is that both partners peddle and brake in tandem.
Biblical submission is probably one of the most misunderstood principles in our world today. Biblical submission is not...
· abusive
· prideful
· lording oneself over another person
But there are many people who do not know what God says about submission. Is there any wonder why so many homes are on the verge of breaking up? God’s answer to husbands and wives is a correct view of Biblical submission.
Both the husband and wife have important roles to play in a Christian marriage. If they fail to follow God’s plan for marriage, they will lose their balance and come crashing down. This passage describes God’s plan for the wife. Remember: the major subject of 1 Peter 1:13-3:12 is giving your life to God. If a woman wants to give her life to God, then she has to give herself, that is, submit herself, to her own husband. Scripture says that she has to do five specific things.
MAJOR POINTS
1. Live in subjection to your own husband (v.1).
2. Live a chaste life (v.2).
3. Live a reverent life before God (v.2).
4. Do not dress to attract attention (v.3).
5. Adorn your heart with a meek and quiet spirit (v.4-6).
1. LIVE IN SUBJECTION TO YOUR OWN HUSBAND (v. 1).
Scripture is clear and pointed about this. The word "subject" means just what it says—to be in subjection; to submit oneself. The word means that a Christian wife is to place herself under the authority and control of her husband; that she is to subject and submit herself to her own husband’s authority, control, and leadership. There is no question but that this is what the word means.
In modern society this is strong; in fact, it is too strong for many. Many reject the idea of woman’s subjection as archaic, outdated, and old-fashioned. Some even react in anger and hostility against the Word of God and those who preach the duty of wives.
Are they right? Has Scripture gone too far in declaring that wives should be subject to their husbands? Has God made a mistake within the order of the family? To the Christian, the answer is no. The problem is not in what God has said, but in our understanding of what He has said or in our rebellion against what He wills. Any wife who reacts to God’s command is reacting either because she does not understand what God is saying or is just unwilling to give her life to God and follow Him as He says. What does God mean by subjection? God does not mean dictatorial subjection...
· that a wife is to subject herself to a tyrant.
· that a wife is to submit herself to the demands of a husband who acts like a beast.
· that a wife is to be a slave or footstool for the husband.
· that a wife is to serve her husband without restraint.
· that a wife is to be treated as inferior to her husband.
What God means by subjection is order, cooperation, relationship, and partnership—that a husband and wife are to walk together, hand in hand, throughout life. Every body of people—even when the body is only two persons—must have a leader who takes the lead in plowing through the wilderness of the world and its trials and temptations and difficulties. Between the two, wife and husband, one of them has to be the primary leader. God’s order for the two is that the husband take the lead. The Christian wife, in obedience to her Lord, subjects herself to her husband’s leadership, authority, and control.
Note one other factor that points out just how seriously God takes the wife’s subjection to her husband. Even if the husband does not obey God’s Word, the wife is to subject herself to him. Imagine what is being said to the wife, how strong this exhortation is:
= Some husbands are unbelievers; they just refuse to heed God’s Word.
= Some husbands not only fail to believe in God, they rebel against and curse God. And they make life difficult for their wives because their wives do trust God.
= Some husbands disobey God’s Word by living unholy and sinful lives, and they neglect and ignore their wives.
= Some husbands are believers in Christ, but they do not obey God’s Word. They, too, mistreat their wives.
What does God expect of the wife? This passage of Scripture is clear: the wife is to subject herself to her own husband. But note why: that the husband may be won to Christ by the godly behavior of the wife. By living a life of purity and reverence, and by demonstrating a quiet and meek spirit, the wife stands a good chance of winning her husband to the Lord.
ILLUSTRATION:
Does subjection really work or is it just another lost cause? Listen to this story about a wife who won her husband to Christ.
"A Hindu woman was converted, chiefly by hearing the Word of God read. She suffered very much persecution from her husband. One day a missionary asked her, ’When your husband is angry and persecutes you, what do you do?’
"She replied: ’Well, sir, I cook his food better; when he complains, I sweep the floor cleaner; and when he speaks unkindly, I answer him mildly. I try, sir, to show him that when I became a Christian, I became a better wife and a better mother.’
"The consequence of this was that, while the husband could withstand all the preaching of the missionary, he could not stand the practical preaching of his wife, and gave his heart to God with her."
A lost person seldom if ever cares how much you know; he wants to know how much you really care.
Just what Scripture means by subjection is clearly stated. Four things are meant. These are covered in the next four outline points.
3:1 includes both the demand for woman to yield obedience to the husband as to the one entrusted with responsibility for home management, and the reason for the demand being made. Ὁμοίως will unite the new verse with what precedes. This adverb may be construed with the third word in the Greek sentence, obey ; slaves are to be in subjection to their masters ( 2:18 ), likewise- homoios -wives to husbands. But it can be taken still more appropriately with the word it precedes immediately, namely, wives , in harmony with 2:17 : honor all to whom honor is due. Bondmen are to show honor to masters, similarly wives to their mates (Bigg). Thus the loyalty of husband and wife can be differentiated from the ties binding together slave and owner, although the same Greek word for obedience is being used in both instances, at 2:18 and here (indeed, this particular term characterizes the whole paragraph on submission since it began at 2:13 ).
One more word in the appeal for obedience may enlist the interest of the student, and that is ἰδίοις . The grammar will soon explain what significance this terminology has. Whenever the idea of possession happens to be emphatic, idios is employed instead of the usual possessive pronoun. 1 Fausset has observed here: “It is not strangers ye are required to be subject to . [Every time that obedience is enjoined upon wives to husband, idios , ‘one’s own peculiarly,’ is used, whilst men’s wives are designated only by heautōn , ‘of themselves.’] Feeling the need of leaning on one stronger, the wife (especially if joined to an unbeliever ) might be tempted, though only spiritually, to enter into that relation with another in which she ought to stand to her own spouse (I Cor. xiv. 34 , 35 ). An attachment to the teacher might spring up, which, without being adultery, would still weaken in its spiritual basis the married relation ( Steiger ).” 2 Thus the obligation to husbands is enforced whether they be Christian men or not, just as slaves were urged to serve masters no matter what kind they were ( 2:18ff ).
Why should Christian women obey their mates at all costs? Peter replies without delay: to gain them for the Lord and His church. Careful readers will notice here a clause within a clause-“that, if any obey not the word, they also may, etc.” Besides it will be noted, but this is of minor importance, that the Revisers translate the introductory formula for the concessive statement even if , while the Authorized Version renders it simply if . καὶ , translated even in the one case, has been joined in the other instance with the subject of the purpose statement, there being given its adjunctive sense also rather than the ascensive sense. If the Revision is to be preferred on either textual or translational grounds, this verse contains the type of clause known as “emphatic concession” and so “intimates that the supposed assumption has no likelihood of fulfillment.” 3 That is to say, “Even if some should disobey the Word, which is not at all likely with a Christian for wife, they will be gained, etc.” Although not a probable situation, yet the apostle is constrained to make the salvation of unsaved men a prime reason for submitting in the household, so essential to a soul does he deem conversion.
One meaningful word has been repeated in both concessive and purpose statements of the verse, namely, λόγος . The Revised and Authorized Versions unite in translating it the same way both times, referring this term to the gospel of grace. Commentators, however, will not always express satisfaction with what was decided by the two leading English Bibles. Some expositors, and not without ample justification, maintain that the unusual [for the N.T.] has happened here -one word appearing with two distinct significations within the compass of a single verse, i.e., what the grammarians call antanaclasis but what is better known today as a pun. 4 If allusion has not been made to the Word of God in both places, Peter refers in the second instance to the silent demeanor of the wife, whose very silence and obedience are more eloquent than any pleading, once the husband has been pressed to accept the unspeakable Gift and refused. No doubt, the fact weighing most heavily in favor of the twofold use of logos is the very language with which the second phrase to contain the word has been introduced-“by the behavior of their wives” (R.V.; the A.V. uses conversation , which at one time was a good synonym for conduct in general).
2. LIVE A CHASTE LIFE (v. 2).
The word "chaste" means to be pure from all fault; to be clean and holy and free from all defilement; to act and behave in the most pure and modest way possible. When a woman marries a man, she sets herself apart for him and him alone. She keeps herself clean and pure for him and him alone. Note that the verse says, "Wives, be in subjection to your own husbands." She does not subject or give herself to some other husband or man. She is her husband’s and his alone.
APPLICATION:
A dirty wife or husband is never to be named among Christian believers. Nothing destroys the testimony of believers any more than sexual impurity. And nothing affects the love and the trust that couples can put in one another any more than sexual impurity. For this reason, the Christian wife is to subject herself to her own husband by living a chaste life.
"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8).
QUESTIONS:
1. Why is sexual impurity such a destructive force in a marriage?
2. What protective barriers can the believer put in place to remain pure?
Just what kind of conduct may win husbands to Christ? 3:1 urged submissiveness and perhaps silence, to which 3:2 now will add the elements of reverence and purity. The term behavior occurs in both verses alike. Behold was employed already in 2:12 , where also it connoted a close scrutiny of conduct from the unsaved. Someone had this in mind when he wrote:
“You are writing a Gospel,
A chapter each day
By deeds that you do,
By words that you say.
“Men read what you write,
Whether faithless or true.
Say! What is the Gospel
According to you?”
That ἁγνὴν , rendered by the translators chaste , signifies more than chastity in its restricted or physical sense, commentators are agreed. Because of its connection with fear and the sequel in verses following, it must denote pureness not alone with regard to marital fidelity and personal cleanliness but also to godliness and spirituality. Questions, however, may be raised about the reference of φόβῳ . Previously something was said about reverence for God ( 2:17 ), just as subsequently a word will be spoken concerning fear in the home circle ( 3:6 ). Compare Ephesians 5:33 . Instead of deciding between the two allusions in the context, then, it may be preferable not to exclude either possibility, particularly since hagnen , the associated word, had a double reference here to the physical and the spiritual, to man and God.
3. LIVE A REVERENT LIFE BEFORE GOD (v. 2).
To fear God means that the wife stands in awe and reverence of all that God is—in reverence and awe of the magnificence of God’s being. She stands in awe and reverence of His love, care, power, justice, and judgment. It is this that stirs her to live for God and to do what God says. She knows that God will strengthen her to live as she should: to subject herself to her husband no matter how much he fails to obey God’s Word. And she fears lest she herself fall under the condemnation of God.
It is this fear and reverence that makes her subject herself to her husband. It is this fear and reverence for God that attracts her husband and wins him to the Lord.
"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).
QUESTIONS:
1. Do you fear and reverence God enough that it controls your behavior? If not, your testimony for the Lord is being hurt. How can you gain a greater reverence for God?
2. How can a wife’s fear of God bring her husband to Christ?
4. DO NOT DRESS TO ATTRACT ATTENTION (v. 3).
The word "adorning" is really an accurate translation of what Scripture means. The word means the dress, ornaments, and arrangement of clothing upon the body; but the word also refers to behavior and demeanor, that is, the way a woman carries herself, walks, moves, and behaves in public. Remember: this passage is being written to genuine Christian women—women who truly believe in the Lord and wish to honor the Lord and to have a strong testimony for Him. The Christian woman wants to guard her clothing and to dress modestly; she wants to watch the way she dresses, walks, moves, and behaves in public. She wants to bring honor to the Lord and to build a strong testimony—a testimony that she does love the Lord and has committed her life...
· to help people not to seduce them.
· to serve people not to destroy them.
· to point people to Jesus not to attract them to herself.
· to teach people righteous behavior not fleshly and worldly behavior.
The point is that the wife does not dress, walk, move, speak, or behave to attract attention to her body. She is not to adorn herself...
· with plaiting the hair: elaborate hairstyles; hairstyles that are so different that they break away from acceptable custom and attract attention to herself.
· with gold or expensive clothing: elaborate jewelry and clothing that is extravagant, ostentatious, flamboyant, and that attracts attention to herself.
How a woman dresses shows whether she lives in the fear and reverence of God or has desires for the world and the gaping and lustful attention of men. The Christian wife is not to adorn herself in a sensual or excessive manner.
= She is not to adorn herself with eccentric hairstyles.
= She is not to adorn herself with elaborately expensive clothes and jewelry.
= She is not to adorn herself in any manner that will be immodest or impure and unclean.
= She must not dress or behave in any manner that would not be modest enough to appear before and be seen by God—in any manner that does not show fear and reverence for God.
= She must not adorn herself in any manner that would cause her to be proud or puffed up.
= She must not adorn herself with any dress or behavior that would attract and cause sensual or tempting thoughts to a man. (This shows anything but fear and reverence for God.)
"Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God" (Romans 6:13).
APPLICATION:
A wife who dresses, walks, moves, speaks, and behaves to attract attention to herself (her body) is a great disappointment to her husband. Such behavior cuts and hurts her husband deeply. He may not admit it, out of pride, but such behavior mars his respect and love for his wife—usually forever.
QUESTIONS:
1. Why is it important for a Christian wife to guard how she dresses? How does this view contrast with that of the world’s view?
2. What temptations does a woman face if she attracts attention to her body?
3. If a wife dresses in order to bring attention to herself, how can this affect her marriage?
3:3 continues the emphasis upon woman’s conduct and the high standards it should meet, treating next the delicate question of dress. While the third verse will point out how not to dress, verse 4 can introduce the positive note, so as to let Christian wives know what will make them most attractive. Accordingly, Peter has begun in the third verse by forbidding believers to concentrate altogether on the outward person, when they wish to appear at their best. Briefly but pointedly the whole problem of dress is considered-woman’s hair, jewelry, and clothing. It may recall the scathing word inscribed by the pen of Isaiah long centuries before, a man equally as fearless as the apostle in treating an age-old question like this. See Isaiah 3:16ff . κόσμος is the most impressive term in Peter’s statement, so far as usage is concerned. Here the word has its original meaning of ornament , not the common one of world (the world would connote an ordered whole or system, if this designation were applied to it). The writer does not wish his readers, now that they have become Christian women, to maintain the immodest or vain fashions of a former day, judging from his use of the present tense in the prohibition. 5
“Putting on of apparel,” the third specification in verse 3 , cannot be accounted sinful. In consequence the preceding two particulars likewise may signify nothing wrong, as such. But the author must rather be stressing the term ἔξωθεν , that is, outward . If woman’s adornment begins and ends with interest in her appearance to the physical eye, there will be nothing in that sort of conduct to be praised. On the contrary, it merits and evokes denunciation from the Scripture. Winsome and godly characteristics, nevertheless, are not of necessity antagonistic factors to the Christian wife, unless she persist in beautifying merely the body to the utter neglect of the soul (verse 4 ).
5. ADORN YOUR HEART WITH A MEEK AND QUIET SPIRIT (v. 4-6).
The wife is to subject herself by adorning her heart and spirit, by focusing upon the hidden man of her heart. The hidden man of the heart means the inner life, the inward person, the new creation that Christ has made her. Jesus Christ has given her a new heart, a new life, a new character. He has made her a new person, a totally new person. He has recreated her heart and spirit. Therefore, the Christian woman, the woman who has truly believed and surrendered her heart to Jesus Christ, focuses upon adorning her heart and spirit, but...
· not with corruptible things such as clothes which pass out of style, become moth-eaten, wear out, age, and deteriorate.
· not with corruptible things such as gold and jewelry that can be stolen, that are useless when we lie sick, that are left behind when we die, and that always deteriorate and waste away.
· not with corruptible things such as hairstyles that soon pass out of style.
All earthly things are corruptible and soon fall to the ground just as our hair does. These are not the things that a Christian wife focuses upon. She does not adorn herself with corruptible things. What then does she adorn herself with?
= With a quiet and meek spirit.
= The Christian woman focuses upon her heart, upon the things that are hidden and that cannot be seen by the naked eye, upon developing a quiet and meek spirit.
= A meek spirit means a spirit that is gentle, tender, humble, mild, and considerate. It is a spirit that is disciplined and under control at all times. It does not flare up, talk back, act defensively, cut in, rant, rave, or go on and on, talking and talking. Neither does a meek spirit whine or whimper or act persecuted or take on a martyr complex because the husband does not obey God’s Word. A meek spirit is as stated: gentle, tender, meek, considerate, disciplined, and controlled.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).
= A quiet spirit means a quiet and peaceful spirit, a spirit that is at peace with God and with itself and that builds peace with its husband. A quiet spirit spreads peace all throughout its home and around to everyone who enters its home.
Note that the meek and quiet spirit is of great value to God. God has His eyes upon the Christian woman who has a meek and quiet spirit: "in the sight of God [they are] of great price."
"Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still" (Psalm 4:4).
There is a strong reason why Christian women should focus upon adorning their hearts with a meek and quiet spirit. It was exactly what the holy women of history did, including Sarah who is the spiritual mother of every Christian woman. Note these facts.
= This is not a new commandment. Holy women have always subjected themselves to their own husbands. Women who have loved and trusted God have subjected themselves to God and to their own husbands (1 Peter 3:5).
= Holy women trusted in God, not in fashionable hairstyles, clothes, and jewelry (1 Peter 3:5).
= Holy women, by trusting in God, sought inward beauty, not outward beauty. They adorned themselves with a meek and quiet spirit not with the worldly concerns and cares of this life (1 Peter 3:5).
= Holy women, including Sarah, the spiritual mother of all believers, obeyed their own husbands and acknowledged their leadership in the family (1 Peter 3:6).
= Christian women, the holy women of today, are not to live in fear and terror of their husbands, even if they do not obey God’s Word. They are to trust God—His care and strength—and to do well; that is, they are to adorn their hearts with a meek and quiet spirit.
= Christian women who truly trust God and who do well are the true daughters of Sarah. What is the significance of this? Sarah is the first great woman of belief. She stands as the spiritual mother of all women who believe. Every Christian woman who truly believes and adorns her heart with a quiet and meek spirit is a daughter of Sarah, a true daughter of God.
APPLICATION:
The point is made as strongly as it can be made: the Christian wife must win her husband to the Lord by subjecting herself to him. What is meant by subjection? It means...
· that she lives a chaste or pure life.
· that she lives in the fear and reverence of God.
· that she does not dress and behave to attract attention.
· that she adorns her heart with a meek and quiet spirit.
"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness" (Proverbs 31:27).
ILLUSTRATION:
The pages of history show that many Christian wives lead their husbands to the Lord. In each and every case, the key was a woman who was willing to live what she believed.
On one occasion, a small group of men were concluding their weekly Bible study. At the time, they were sharing their thoughts about all the different translations.
The first man said, "I’ll stick with the good old King James Version. It has always been my favorite." The next man said, "I can’t understand that old English. The New American Standard is my choice for translation."
The third man was a recent believer. "My favorite translation is my wife. Her life translated the gospel into a language I could understand."
What a great testimony! Living out the Word in a way that bears the fruit of salvation.
QUESTIONS:
1. Some say that beauty is only skin-deep. What makes a Christian woman beautiful inside? How can these traits be maintained daily?
2. You work; you raise a family; you struggle with the problems of life; you have an imperfect spouse. Considering all this, how is it possible to have a meek and quiet spirit?
SUMMARY:
The key to strengthening Christian marriages and homes is to understand the real meaning of Biblical submission. Submission is impossible if a woman has not given her life to God. As the believing wife places her trust in Christ, she willingly chooses to submit to her husband. Peter reminds the believing women to...
1. Live in subjection to your own husband.
2. Live a chaste life.
3. Live a reverent life before God.
4. Do not dress to attract attention.
5. Adorn your heart with a meek and quiet spirit.
PERSONAL POINTS TO PONDER
3:4 will present an absolute contrast to the verse preceding. Note the difference in subject: “adorning” (hence allusion to the outward person) vs. “the hidden man of the heart”; the distinction in features of beauty: “plaiting the hair, and wearing of gold, or putting on of apparel” vs. “the incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit” (R.V.); the contrast in the judge of appearance: “outward” (hence in the sight of men) vs. “in the sight of God.” Looking first at the initial words of verse 4 , one realizes that the phraseology, “the hidden man of the heart,” does not occur again in the Bible, although similar thought and words do. Compare Romans 2:28 , 29 and Ephesians 4:20ff . Apparently this peculiar use of ἄνθρωπος for personality has been derived from the Old Testament. Many phrases in the earlier revelation might suggest it. For example, there is man of God, man of earth, man whom the Lord doth choose. 6 What will follow in the sentence does not furnish anything else unique in the field of Biblical terminology.
A strong adversative conjunction, ἀλλ ̓ , links verses 3 and 4 closely. But the grammatical structure is varied enough in the latter of these related statements to cause difficulty with the exegesis. The missing verb of the verse has been supplied by Authorized and Revised Versions without much trouble. Let it be , the verbal element in verse 3 , will fit both declarations equally well. It remains, however, to fathom the rest of the construction. Judging from the two English translations, the reader would be led to think that “the hidden man of the heart” was actually the adornment being urged upon Christian women in place of “plaiting the hair, etc.” Yet this could hardly be so, when the genitive case is used in verse 3 for the grammatical construction there and the nominative case in 4 . Besides, recall the threefold balance of thought between the statements which was just indicated, wherein a logical contrast appeared between kosmos and anthropos . Even if the feature of beauty does not happen to be the hidden man , the author cannot be charged with obscurity in the matter. Once he has emphasized the location for Christian women to focus their ideas about attractiveness on, by using the subject-nominative construction, a phrase is added which specifies just where the greatest beauty can be found-“in the incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit” (R.V.).
The Revisers have differed from the King James translators in the manner they interpret τῳ̂ ἀφθάρτῳ . Instead of connecting it with the kosmos of verse 3 , they chose to refer the phrase to ἱματίων above, the word preceding kosmos . Remembering once more the studied contrast between verses 3 and 4 , the student may prefer the Revision here, regardless of the fact that kosmos is the more prominent word in the third verse (in the second of the distinctions made, “putting on of apparel” balances with “a meek and quiet spirit” as a parallel feature of attraction). It might be observed in passing that the plural himation cannot forbid relationship with the singular word aphtharto , because the neuter singular is ordinarily employed as an abstract noun, hence might connote anything which comes in view, whether the term were singular or plural in form. 7 Peter has contrasted material and spiritual values once before this. Look at 1:18 , where almost the same terminology was adopted as here in mentioning gold and corruption. Just as the gold of this world cannot compare with the priceless blood of God’s Son, so a woman can enhance her beauty with something far richer than jewelry, even with that which is esteemed “in the sight of God of great price.”
And what may the internal sort of attraction be like? “A meek and quiet spirit.” Fausset, following Bengel, will elucidate the apostolic word. This type of beauty consists in a spiritual life which neither creates disturbances (hence meek ) nor rebels against the disturbances made by others (hence quiet ); in other words: meek in feelings; quiet in speaking, demeanor, and actions. Compare Matthew 11:29 ; 1 Timothy 2:12 . Even the royal Son of David pictured in Matthew has deigned to exercise meekness. Then why should not the daughters of God? As for the quietness, that must not be construed as absolute silence, when 1 Timothy 2:2 employs it for the life best suited to the Christian and his responsibility in prayer and evangelization. Perhaps the best verse to clarify the term would be 1 Timothy 2:12 , already cited, in contrast with verses which do demand utter silence. For examples see 1 Corinthians 14:34 , Matthew 26:63 , Romans 3:19 , where still other Greek terms have been expressed. So the apostle asks no more of woman than of man, in his writing verse 4 .
3:5 has encouragement and example to offer the Christian wife now. It was not sufficient for verse 1 to offer good reason in support of the call to submission and spirituality. Compare 2:21ff , the case before this one, and observe the same twofold procedure. The English translations diverge from each other at only one place in the verse. ἐλπίζουσαι , the technical term for hope , as the Revision has recognized in all preciseness, is rendered trust by the old Version. Separation unto God from the world (“holy women”), submission to mates (“being in subjection to their own husbands”), expectation from heaven (“hoped in God,” R.V.)-such qualities, suggestive as they are of past, present, and future aspects of godliness, will prove how exemplary were the Old Testament models to be adduced by Peter.
3:6 names the greatest of Old Testament women and sets her up as a model for wives to imitate similar to the manner her own husband has been exalted because of singular faith, so as to become “the father of all them that believe...the father of us all” ( Rom 4 ). The greatest example of servanthood was brought forward by the author for slaves to emulate ( 2:21ff ); now the finest type of womanhood. First of all, observe the significance attaching to the chief verbs in the verse. Alford has scrutinized the two of greatest importance. Concerning ὑπήκουσεν , “aor. It refers to her [Sarah’s] whole course of obedience considered as a complete whole”; and concerning ἐγενήθητε , ” of whom ye have become (i.e. by your implanting through faith into the family of faithful Abraham. The aor. properly refers back to the precise time when they were so made; but cannot be so expressed in English) children .” 8
Once the main verbal elements have had their connotation recognized, the subordinate elements fall into place readily. Three participles, all in the present tense, are associated with the chief verbs, one with the first and two with the second one appearing in the verse. Since the time idea with Greek participles is dependent on their relations with the verb being defined, the normal way to analyze the participial elements in this statement would be to consider them expressive of simultaneous action relative to the main verbs because present in tense. Such a simple analysis 9 may help the student to steer a direct course through the variety of opinions which have been entertained on verse 6 . According to this usage, the phrase “calling him lord” (cf. 2:13 , Eph 5:22 ) would not need to be linked with merely one Old Testament passage, Genesis 18:12 for example. Rather would it designate a lifetime of loyalty. And besides, ἀγαθοποιου̂σαι κ.τ.λ . may signify neither perseverance (“as long as ye do well, etc.”-A.V.) nor godliness (“if ye do well, etc.”-R.V.) as a prerequisite to alliance with Sarah. Instead of hinting at salvation as the result of human effort thus, Fronmüller has been able to expound the participles as verbals indicative of manner. “You evidence your relationship to Sarah by doing good [cf. 2:20 ]. Grotius recalls the amiable reception which Sarah accorded to the stranger guests and the readiness with which she obeyed Abraham on that occasion, Gen. xviii. 6 ; and in connection with the sequel refers to Gen. xx. But the sense is probably more general and the reference is rather to zeal in well-doing, as in ch. ii.15.20.” 10 Likewise Bigg will admit that the two well-known English translation need not be followed here.
It remains to discuss the closing words of verse 6 . One commentator has merited quotation for his illuminating statement: “Anger assails men [ Eph 6:4 , 9 ]; fear , women. You need fear no man in doing right: not thrown into fluttering agitation by any sudden outbreak of an unbelieving husband’s temper, whilst you do well .” The Greek may not be perfectly clear as to the connotation of πτόησιν , whether it has subjective (A.V., R.V.) or objective sense at this point; that is to say, whether it denotes mere emotion or an object of dread. At all events, the general thought is unmistakable. Note, too, that the term for fear has changed from the general word used above in 2:17 , 18 .
After surveying the full scope of Petrine exhortation, no one should question the wisdom and understanding with which Christian wives are counselled. Here may be found spiritual gynecology of inspired calibre, the deepest insight into woman’s soul, and simple directions for the attainment of heavenly beauty. Then this is the place for women to go in seeking guidance on their personal problems, rather than the office of the psychiatrist and sociologist.
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1 1. Dana and Mantey, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1928), p. 131.
2 2. A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (London and Glasgow: William Collins, Sons, & Co., 1869), VI, 608.
3 3. Dana and Mantey, op. cit ., p. 292.
4 4. “The ancients did not smile because a pun was made. It was merely a neat turn of speech and was very common” (Robertson, Grammar , p. 1201, where a number of examples in the New Testament are cited).
5 5. “The present tense is properly used for expressing continued action. A prohibition in the present imperative demands that action then in progress be stopped” (Dana and Mantey, op. cit ., p. 301).
6 6. See the International Critical Commentary, in loc .
7 7. Dana and Mantey, op. cit ., p. 119.
8 8. The Greek Testament , 5th. ed., in loc .
9 9. Dana and Mantey, op. cit ., p. 230.
10 10. Lange’s Commentary , in loc .