1 Peter 3:1-7

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 104:31-35
• Hymn — Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (#76)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Hymn — Rock of Ages (#499)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — 1 Peter 3:1-7
• Sermon
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: The Beauty of Submission in the Christian Home

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:1-7

I. A Wife's Submission to Her Husband Is Christ-like

A. The theme of submission to God-ordained authority runs from 1 Peter 2:11 through chapter 3, encompassing governing authorities, masters, and now wives

• "Likewise" in 1 Peter 3:1 connects the wife's submission to the broader pattern established in 1 Peter 2:13
• Christ's own submission to unjust authority is the model (1 Peter 2:21-25)

B. This submission applies even when the husband is unbelieving

1. The wife's holy conduct may win her unbelieving husband to the faith without a word
2. Just as the church's honorable conduct before the pagan world may lead them to glorify God (1 Peter 2:12), so the wife's conduct before her unbelieving husband presents the gospel

C. Submission does not mean abandoning allegiance to Christ

1. Jesus himself respected the authority of the scribes and Pharisees while not imitating their conduct (Matthew 23:2-3)
2. A wife submits to her unbelieving husband's authority in the home but does not follow him away from Christ
3. Peter's own word to the authorities applies: "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29)

II. A Wife's Submission to Her Husband Is Consistent with Her Submission to God

A. The wife's submission is to be pure and free from moral defilement (1 Peter 3:2)

1. Submission is not blind obedience but the wise and godly act of an image bearer equal in standing to her husband
2. A husband who leads her away from Christ forfeits her submission in that area

B. The husband is called to lead with knowledge and understanding (1 Peter 3:7)

1. His authority is not autocratic ("because I said so") but wise and consultative
2. A godly wife has the right and responsibility to bring biblical correction to her husband's leadership
3. The husband retains final decision-making authority, but his ears are not closed to his wife's wise counsel

C. The husband is to honor his wife as the weaker vessel and as a joint heir of grace (1 Peter 3:7)

1. "Weaker vessel" likely refers primarily to her position as the one who submits, not merely physical weakness
2. The husband's authority exists to bestow honor on his wife, not to accumulate honor for himself — just as Christ uses his authority to make his people joint heirs of the kingdom
3. Husband and wife are equal in status and dignity; their roles are complementary, not hierarchical in worth (Ephesians 5:33)

D. A husband who fails to honor his wife has his prayers hindered (1 Peter 3:7)

1. Wayne Grudem: "So concerned is God that Christian husbands live in an understanding and loving way with their wives that he interrupts his relationship with them when they are not doing so"
2. A husband's prayer life and walk with God are directly tied to how he treats his wife

III. A Wife's Submission to Her Husband Is Beautiful

A. Peter contrasts external adornment with the true beauty of the hidden person of the heart (1 Peter 3:3-4)

1. The contrast is not an absolute prohibition on braiding hair or wearing jewelry, but a statement of priority
2. True beauty is a gentle and quiet spirit, which is imperishable and precious in God's sight

B. The wife's eyes are to be fixed on God, not on the world or cultural opinion

1. Just as the suffering slave keeps his eyes vertical — toward God — so the submissive wife looks to God (1 Peter 2:19-20)
2. The shift from a nearly universal complementarian position across the first seventeen centuries of the church to a more egalitarian view coincided with the Enlightenment's elevation of human reason over divine revelation

C. Sarah is the model of this beautiful submission (1 Peter 3:5-6)

1. Sarah submitted to Abraham, calling him lord; Christian women who submit likewise are called her daughters
2. Drawing on the logic of Galatians 3, the true daughters of Sarah are those who practice her faith, not merely her physical lineage

D. The wife is not to fear frightening circumstances (1 Peter 3:6)

1. Fallen women are tempted, especially under stress, to usurp the husband's role — a pattern rooted in Genesis 3:16
2. Faithful submission in times of fear and tension yields peace, security, and hope grounded in the gospel