It occurs to me that these chapters in 1 Peter have enough doctrine and practical application to base your whole life on.
Thinking aloud, it wouldn’t be a poor choice for an in depth Bible Study. You can’t appreciate Chapter 3 unless you read it along with Chapter 2, because the idea of submission to those in authority is introduced there. The people submit to the rulers and leaders, the slave submits to his/her master, and the wife submits to her husband.
This has nothing to do with what sort of person the husband is, rather, it’s about what sort of person the wife is. Learning a lesson from that, we can look back to Chapter 2 and ask what kind of people we are. Do we submit to those in authority? Do we try to build them up, work to make them successful, and speak wholesome things about them? Do we pray for them? If we do not, then we aren’t being obedient to this teaching. It’s one thing to ask a wife to pay attention to Chapter 3, but as we do that, let’s be sure to obey Chapter 2 as well.
It’s in the 3rd Chapter that we see an addition to the servant description. To this point the slave or worker hasn’t been elevated to “equal status” with the owner or leader. In Ch 3 they are. More to the point, the wife is specifically identified to be an “equal partner in God’s gift of eternal life”. For that reason, husbands are cautioned to treat their wives with care and respect. They have equal standing before God, even if they aren’t in charge in the home.
Some will chafe at this Chapter. I don’t like what Chapter 2 said (in my unredeemed mind). In my carnal thoughts I want to rebel, complain and grumble about the people who are in charge. I want to resist their efforts to bring about change, and I sometimes applaud those who act the way I feel. So here’s a brief thought to both you and I…..”get over it”. Choose to serve the one true Lord and Master and obey what He commands. If He allows a poor leader to remain in charge, then my job is to serve a poor leader…their inability doesn’t reflect on me, but my disobedience will.
Verse 8 encourages us to be of one mind; I think that if all Christians obeyed this passage of Scripture the world would be a far different place. We wouldn’t have nearly as many wars and arguments anyway.
There’s a great truth proposed beginning in verse 13. If we will obey this teaching, then when we speak about being a Christian it will be powerful and effective. People will listen if we are servants (in the appropriate context). However, if we are not obedient, then we cannot expect that our testimony will have the far reaching effect that the testimonies of those in the early days of the New Testament had.
Obedience will bring the lost into heaven. What’s that worth to you? Is it enough to motivate you to quit complaining?
Serving (and trying to be less of a complainer)
PR