“Husbands, likewise…”
1 Peter 3:7
Introduction – Wives have been
instructed to submit to their own husbands.
This submission is to be an active work of the wife of deference, honor,
respect, and for the sake of the Lord. But
this does not presuppose that she is to live under a tyrant. There are more choices in the family
government than simply tyranny or anarchy.
Both the husband and the wife, looking to Christ for grace and as an
example, seek to fulfill their roles before the Lord by living ‘likewise’, that
is, in the same way they see Christ lived – and died.
Keep in Mind – As other passages
make very clear, a husband cannot be silent about Jesus Christ.
Abdication –
The central problem in our society today is the neglect of husbands in their
duties. If we do not see recovery of
godly family government, there will be no lasting recovery of civil or church
government. And we will never see a
lasting change in the family government until husbands repent.
Always
Preaching Christ – What have we taught our wives and
children? He is either teaching the
truth or lies about Jesus Christ, but because of his office, he cannot stop
teaching. Is Jesus Christ faithful? Does Jesus Christ sacrifice Himself with
unconditional love for His Bride? A
husband’s life answers these questions every day.
“Husbands, likewise…” – Husbands are not
instructed to ‘submit likewise’, but they are told to imitate Christ
‘likewise’. In fact, everything
commanded of the husband in this verse, Jesus Christ has done perfectly towards
His Bride. And the acts of
understanding, honoring, and reigning with His Bride have come at His great
personal sacrifice and initiation.
With
Understanding – It is almost proverbial, how men are known
for misunderstanding their wives. But
this does not give us license to laugh it off as grist for a good sit-com. It is another indication of our rampant
abdication. This short phrase basically
covers all the other teachings in scripture as to how a husband is to
live. He must know his wife and what it
means that she is his wife, he must know what it means that he is her husband,
and he must know these things in light of the whole counsel of God. The Bible begins and ends with a marriage,
and husbands must read the Word from Genesis to Revelation with an eye to their
duties.
The Weaker
Vessel – Men tend to despise weakness. Immaturity points to this verse to prove that
women are weaker than men and then make cute comments. Tyranny uses the truth of this statement to
dishonor and abuse women. But a man who
serves the Lord Jesus Christ understands that just because a four-dollar hammer
can destroy a priceless painting, it does not follow that the former is more
virtuous.
Giving Honor as
to the Weaker Vessel – Men filled with the Spirit are called
to honor their wives as the weaker vessel.
Whenever they notice weakness, they are to honor her more. There is to be no competition with your
wives, nor exploitation of your strength. And there is no such thing as only ‘honoring
her in your heart’. It must show itself
in the day to day trifles. This is where
Christian manners, customs and common courtesy must be recovered in our
society. And it must start with how a
man treats his wife.
Coheirs
– First, this means there is no status change for those who are in Christ due
to gender (Gal
Hindered Prayers – Prayer does help us
live right. But notice, this passage
teaches us that living right helps us pray. Malachi 2:13ff emphasizes this. It doesn’t matter how many tears you pour out
before the Lord (men do love to pray), God remembers that He was a Witness at
your wedding. If you deal with her in
any treacherous manner (adulterer, mental adulterer, abusive, neglectful) God
does not listen to you. Your
disobedience is never excused because of your sincerity. Your sin is forgiven in repentance and faith. Your disobedience is not excused because you
forgot your duties. Your forgetfulness
is simply another sin to confess.
Husbands and Wives (Lines of Submission, Final Authority)
– It may be important to look at all of vv 1-7 together for a moment. As we move from instructions to wives and
then to husbands, we see lines of submission, not authority, emphasized. The most important question to be asked is
not ‘am I in authority where I should be’, but ‘am I submitting where I should
be’.
Deputized
Authority – Because God is the only ultimate authority,
there are times that citizens, slaves, and wives, are required to disobey their
local authority. For a wife, this means
that there are times when she must turn to the civil or church government, even
if it means disobeying her husband’s wishes.
“Chaste conduct” requires such, because a wife is in submission to
God. In addition, a husband who
understands why God gave him a wife, nurtures and pastors her (1 Cor
Quit You Like Men (1 Cor
Dave
Hatcher –