Be Subject To...Part 3 & 4 of 5...1 Peter 3:1-7...marriage (God defined) is a beautiful thing

 


Our passage today deals with the relationship created by God that shows to our world a picture of God's love for us.  This relationship can be a picture to others of the type of love Christians should be displaying to each other.  The marriage relationship following God's instruction is a powerful witness of God's love for us through His Son Jesus Christ.  Strong marriages based off of following God's instruction transforms home environments, affects church dynamics, and impacts community stability.  This might sound pretty grand but God puts a lot of weight on this relationship He has created to the impact it can have on others.

Peter keeps digging deeper into the command to "love one another earnestly from a pure heart." (1 Peter 1.22b) All of us are to be subject to for the Lord's sake (God focus).  Servants are to be subject to with all respect (God focus).  Wives are to be subject to with a respectful and pure conduct (God focus).  Husbands, likewise are to show honor to their wives for unhindered prayers (God focus).  Next week Peter comes back around with "Finally, all of you" (1 Peter 3.8a) keep, turn away, seek and pursue for the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous (God focus).

These actions of our conduct are based upon our relationship with God made possible through His provision to us of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.  Some of these actions He calls upon His children to perform are tough in the society that we live in but the hostile environment doesn't negate our adherence to the mandates.  We add another this Sunday to give us 3 mandates of (1) proclaim the excellencies of Him who brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2.9b), (2) to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21b), and (3) to bless others (1 Peter 3.9).  Peter is instructing us on how our conduct is to be as ones who have been born again by God.

One more thing that has struck me reading and preaching through 1 Peter is his relentless going to the Scriptures to back up what he is saying.  Do we and do I do this?  I have all of the Bible to pull from where Peter had mostly just the Old Testament at this time.  His obedience is not arbitrary or just because this is the way he was raised.  It was based solely on what God's word says.  This practice helps us evaluate what we do and why we do it.  Is it because it is the God thing to do beyond being just the right thing to do?  Plenty of thoughts have been forming in my head walking chapter by chapter and verse by verse through 1 Peter.

Adam



A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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