BUILDING BLOCKS IN THE NEW CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY

A LETTER FROM PETER

Chapter 3 – Part 1

In the previous chapter in verse 4-10, Peter has set out God’s vision for the new spiritual nation God is in the process of creating. It will be a brand new Christian community that will exist within both the nations of earth, although not really part of them, and also in heaven. It will be distinctive, set apart and identifiable.  Interestingly he commences, not in the Christian community, but rather in the home, the basis of God’s human creation.

Wives

1 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over 2 by observing your pure and reverent lives.

3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. 4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. 5 This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands. 6 For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.

Peter has been dealing with some nuts and bolts issues and will go on in this chapter to deal with the domestic scenario of living, for that is where most of the Christian community live and operate. It’s little difficult to know why Peter is using the link; In the same way? Obviously, he is referring back to something at the conclusion of the previous chapter. Is it Jesus as our example? The concept of the Shepherd? The submissive suffering? Or is is the acceptance of a higher Authority? Perhaps the latter seems to fit best for he goes on to insist that wives must accept the authority of your husbands, a concept which will not sit well in the age of women’s liberation. Although perhaps it needs to be seen against The words of verse 7: but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life.

It would seem that Paul advises against partners who are unbelievers. Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (2 Corinthians 6:14-16 - NLT) Whether this applies in a marriage relationship is not as clear as we would like to think and the reality is there will always be partners who are unbelievers and maybe that is what Peter is trying to address.

For the Christian wife with an unbelieving husband, there is some common sense advice here, and even some of the advice of Christian living in a non-Christian world from chapter 2 could be taken. The advice here is more about influence on the home front and possibly this is where the female personality is most effective, consequently, it may well be good advice. If the attitude is one of resentment, criticism and nagging, that is how the home will be. If the attitude is one of a godly, pure and reverent life that is how the home will be. I suspect the latter is the more powerful.

The advice in verse 3 it pertinent in every age, no more so than the age in which we live with its plethora of beauty products, many exorbitantly expensive and aggressively marketed. Peter is not suggesting that wives do not take care of their appearance, but rather don’t spend inordinate time and resources on outward beauty. The most beautiful of women are those who glow with grace from within; the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.  Peter appeals to the example of Abraham and Sara as to how this domestic arrangement should work out. We need to understand that this was a very patriarchal culture where the husband was the higher authority in the home and his word law.  The wive had no real role in the wider society and the temptation was to spend her time looking after her appearance. Perhaps there is a sense in which we just can’t impose these concepts directly on 21^st century western cultures without due diligence and common sense.

Husbands

7 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

What needs to be understood here is that Christianity made a significant change to the marriage relationship. In the culture of the day, both in the home and in society, the wife had no rights. Neither Roman, Greek nor Jewish religious systems allowed women to take part in any of the proceedings or rituals. In fact, within synagogue, they had to be hidden behind a screen. With the emergence of Christianity came equal spiritual rights, equality in God’s grace, which began changing the relationship between husband and wife.

To make this new concept of Christian marriage work the husband had to adjust his mindset and see the relationship on an equal footing as opposed to the patriarchal basis. There had to come a certain sensitivity and thoughtfulness in understanding his wife. He must realise and acknowledge that they were the physically, weaker sex and needed his protection and, unless he can adjust and alter his mindset, a barrier will develop which will impact his prayers and his relationship with God.

Peter now goes on to put in place some of the building blocks that will erect a framework around this Christian community and maintain its ongoing effectiveness and durability.