{"id":29499,"date":"2024-01-14T22:00:08","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T05:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-peter-2_18-25-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-01-09T22:08:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T05:08:46","slug":"1-peter-3_1-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1-peter-3_1-12\/","title":{"rendered":"How Wives and Husbands Ought to Treat One Another"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Peter 3:1-12 \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is\u00a01\u00a0Peter 3:1-12.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!\u00a0 As usual, I recommend that you read the whole passage by yourself first and see what you can glean on your own.\u00a0 Then take a look at this GAME sharing below.<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Peter\u00a03:1-2 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-2:\u00a0 Continuing his theme of submission, a theme which\u00a0Peter\u00a0introduced in chapter 2,\u00a0Peter\u00a0addresses married women and tells them to be submissive to their husbands.\u00a0 What is the reason\u00a0Peter\u00a0gives for why married women should submit to their husbands?\u00a0 For\u00a0Peter\u00a0it\u2019s about evangelism.\u00a0 It\u2019s about leading the husband to Jesus \u2013 \u201cso that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives when they see the purity and reverence of your lives\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Here again we see\u00a0Peter\u2019s ongoing emphasis on how\u00a0a Christian\u2019s actions should speak well of Jesus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It reminds me of what happened with Rebecca Hickenbottom, wife of internationally acclaimed but drug addicted and emotionally troubled pro wrestler Shawn Michaels.\u00a0 When their marriage was falling apart, Rebecca prayed and sensed God say, \u201cIf you want Me to change your marriage, you need to change first.\u201d\u00a0 Rebecca started taking her relationship with Jesus much more seriously, protected her time in church and did her best to exemplify a gentle and quiet spirit at home.\u00a0 Eventually her troubled husband took notice, started going to church with her, and received Jesus into his life.\u00a0 They would go on to have a much happier and healthier marriage while following and serving Jesus together.<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Peter\u00a03:3-4 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses\u00a03-4:\u00a0 Godly character and a gentle, quiet spirit are far more beautiful, valuable and enduring than any make up, clothes or outer adornment a woman could put on.\u00a0 So to all women reading this, may you focus on pursuing godly character and a gentle, quiet spirit more than focusing on your outward appearance.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s godliness, not Gucci, that makes a girl truly beautiful.\u00a0 It\u2019s Christ-likeness, not Chanel, that makes a woman truly stunning.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0As\u00a0Peter\u00a0says, godly character and a gentle quiet spirit are \u201cof great worth in God\u2019s sight\u201d (v4).
\nDoes that mean that we don\u2019t need to take care of our outward appearance?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that how you present yourself outwardly doesn\u2019t matter; it\u2019s that what matters even more is the condition and character of your heart.<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Peter\u00a03:5-6 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands,
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 5-6:\u00a0\u00a0Sarah was a very beautiful woman (Genesis 12:14), so beautiful in fact that Pharaoh of Egypt took notice of her and tried to make her part of his harem (Genesis 12:15-20) even when she was already about 66 years old!\u00a0[1]<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet the beauty of Sarah that Peter focuses on is not how she looked on the outside but rather how she was on the inside.\u00a0 Peter\u00a0cites Sarah as an example of a wife who was submissive to her husband.\u00a0 If you are familiar with the story of Sarah, you might question how submissive Sarah to her husband Abraham. Isn\u2019t Sarah the one who doubted God\u2019s promise to give her a child of her own?\u00a0 Wasn\u2019t Sarah so scared that she took matters into her own hands and, to her regret, pressured her husband Abraham to impregnate their maidservant Hagar?\u00a0 This may be true, but at the same time do not underestimate the submissiveness of Sarah.\u00a0 When God called Abraham to leave his country and go to the land that God would later show him, Abraham went and Sarah followed in faith, even though it must not have been comfortable or easy for her to do so (Genesis 12:4-5).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Submissiveness is not weakness.\u00a0 It takes great strength, courage and faith in God to submit to your husband, believing that though your husband isn\u2019t perfect, the God who commands your submission is perfect, will take the best care of you and won\u2019t shortchange you when you obey His command.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re so fortunate that we can read Sarah\u2019s story in Genesis and learn both from her victories and her mistakes.\u00a0 The fact is, there were times when Sarah gave into fear and did the wrong thing, but there were also times when Sarah moved in faith and did right.\u00a0\u00a0Women at Thrive, when you choose to live by faith and not fear (as verse 6 says, \u201cif you do what is right and do not give way to fear\u201d), you show yourselves to be made of the same spiritual DNA that made Sarah a beautiful woman of God, showing yourselves to be \u201cher daughters\u201d (v6).<\/strong><\/p>\n

1\u00a0Peter\u00a03:7 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 7:\u00a0 In 1 Peter 3:1-7 we see 6 verses talking about how wives should treat their husbands, but only 1 verse talking about how husbands should treat their wives.\u00a0 This is the flipside of Ephesians 5:22-33 where Paul spends more time instructing husbands than wives.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s unpack this verse together by looking at some key phrases in it:<\/p>\n

\u201cas the weaker partner\u201d<\/em>:\u00a0 \u201cweaker\u201d does not mean inferior intellectually, emotionally or spiritually, or less valuable in any way.\u00a0 Rather it may refer to the simple fact that generally speaking women are weaker than men in terms of sheer physical strength.\u00a0 So for a husband to treat his wife with respect as the weaker partner means to recognize that he needs to give her special protection and handle her with care.<\/p>\n

\u201cas heirs with you of the gracious gift of life\u201d<\/em>:\u00a0 Husbands, remember that your wife is as much an heir of God\u2019s gracious gift of life as you are.\u00a0 Your wife does not exist simply to serve you and to please you.\u00a0 She exists for the glory of God and to enjoy with you together the fullness of life that Jesus makes possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cso that nothing will hinder your prayers\u201d<\/em>:\u00a0 Men, according to this verse, how considerately and respectfully we treat our wives affects our relationship with God.\u00a0 Do you treat your wife considerately and with respect?\u00a0 If you treat your wife inconsiderately or disrespectfully, something will surely hinder your relationship with God.\u00a0 You may find it difficult to hear from God or to sense His presence or pleasure, for you can\u2019t love God well without loving your wife and family well.
\n\u00a0<\/em>
\n1\u00a0Peter\u00a03:8 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 8:\u00a0\u00a0 This verse is worth memorizing and worth making a theme verse for your home or team.<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Peter\u00a03:9 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were\u00a0called<\/strong>\u00a0so that you may inherit a blessing.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 9:\u00a0 Instead of doing as the world does and pursuing revenge and retaliation against those who hurt us, God has called us to a life where we bless others and in turn inherit a greater blessing.<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Peter\u00a03:10-12 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 10-12:\u00a0 To show why it is important to \u201clive in harmony with one another\u201d, \u201clove as brothers\u201d, \u201cbe compassionate and humble\u201d (v8), and repay evil with blessing (v9),\u00a0Peter\u00a0quotes a famous passage from Psalm 34:12-16.\u00a0 From this I learn three lessons:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0The fact that\u00a0Peter\u00a0quotes the Old Testament repeatedly in his letters goes to show that\u00a0the Old Testament and the New Testament are not at odds with one another; rather they complement one another.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Your relationships with people and your relationship with God are intertwined.<\/strong>\u00a0 The quality of one affects the quality of the other.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0How many of us can say that we have kept our tongue from evil and our lips from speaking lies (v10)?\u00a0 How many of us can say that we have never said yes to evil or always pursued peace (v11)?\u00a0 Only one: Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Only Jesus has perfectly fulfilled verses 10-11 and only He deserves to be called righteous.\u00a0\u00a0Yet in His mercy God has allowed those of us who trust in His Son Jesus to share in Jesus\u2019 status as righteous, so that the Lord\u2019s eyes are on us and His ears are attentive to our prayer too.\u00a0 Do you love life and desire to see good days?\u00a0 The best thing you can do is to trust in Jesus Christ.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Father, thank You for all the practical and powerful lessons we can learn from Your Word.\u00a0 Thank You for showing me that the quality of my relationships with others affects the quality of my relationship with You.\u00a0 By Christ\u2019s power working in me, may I love You well and love those around me well too.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

[1]\u00a0<\/span>Considering that all this happened when Abraham was at least 75 years old (Genesis 12:4), and further considering that Abraham and Sarah were approximately nine years apart (see Genesis 17:1; 17), this would suggest that Sarah was approximately 66 years old when she was taken to be part of Pharaoh\u2019s harem.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is\u00a01\u00a0Peter 3:1-12.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!\u00a0 As usual, I recommend that you read the whole passage by yourself first and see what you can glean on your own.\u00a0 Then take a look at this GAME sharing below.<\/p>\n

1\u00a0Peter\u00a03:1-2 (NIV)\u00a0
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,\u00a0
\n2\u00a0\u00a0when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.<\/p>\n

On verses\u00a01-2:\u00a0 Continuing his theme of submission, a theme which\u00a0Peter\u00a0introduced in chapter 2,\u00a0Peter\u00a0addresses married women and tells them to be submissive to their husbands.\u00a0 What is the reason\u00a0Peter\u00a0gives for why married women should submit to their husbands?\u00a0 For\u00a0Peter\u00a0it\u2019s about evangelism.\u00a0 It\u2019s about leading the husband to Jesus \u2013 \u201cso that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives when they see the purity and reverence of your lives\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Here again we see\u00a0Peter\u2019s ongoing emphasis on how\u00a0a Christian\u2019s actions should speak well of Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29501,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29499"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29502,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29499\/revisions\/29502"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}