To Be One in Christ: We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay -- the Series of Explanation and Analysis of Scripture (17) - 3
The Explanation and Analysis of the Verses in Chapter 3 of 1 PETER
It is edited and compiled under the guidance of Holy Spirit. All thanks, praises and glories be to God!
(4) How to treat the husband (3:1-6)
Regarding how to deal with the social relationships in Christ such as husbands and wives, masters and servants and so on, these are also discussed in other letters (1Co 7; 11; 14:34-36; Eph 5:22-6:9; Col 3:18-4:1).
In terms of spirituality, there is no difference between men and women (Gal 3:28; 4:6); they are the same in front of God. However, some believers do not understand that the believers have the same status in Christ, while their positions and duties are different. The same status does not mean that their positions are the same; just as the members of the body won’t have the same function, they work in different places of the body with different duties according to a certain order. It is the same in the relationship of husbands and wives in the family; according to the arrangement of God, they have different duties in the family. Here, the apostle instructs how the wives should treat the husbands, which is discussed from 5 aspects:
A. The status (3:1upper)
1 PETER 3:1 Wives, 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,
(NOTES)
In another word, in the family, the wife should let the husband be the head (Eph 5:22-27). This is the order that God arranges for the family according to His wisdom. Although the worldly people often mistake that the equality of men and women means that the women should do whatever men do, the fact displayed in front of people’s eyes is that many occupations which fit men won’t fit women well; on the other hand, the occupations which fit the women won’t fit men. It is obvious that according to the creation of God, the men and women have their own strong points and this fact can not be changed by the theory of people.
Regarding the teachings on the relationship of husbands and wives in the Bible, one should pay attention to the following points:
a. When the Bible mentions the relationship between husbands and wives, or man and women, the Bible always asks the wife to submit to the husband, and asks the husband to love the wife (Eph 5:22,33; Col 3:18-19; 1Ti 2:11-14; Tit 2:5; 1Co 11:3-16; 14:34-35).
b. All the teachings about submission in the Bible take it as the major premise to submit to the truth of God. Anyone can resist things that are against the truth.
B. The responsibility (3:1latter)
This verse shows that the wives have the responsibility to “win over ” the husbands who do not believe in LORD. “do not believe” is also translated as “do not obey the Word [of God]” (A.M.P.). The way to deal with such a husband is to win over him by good behaviors. To submit to the husband is one of the good behaviors to win over the husband.
Note that: here, it is emphasized that the result is by submission to “win over” the husband; that is to lead the husband to convert to LORD. The Bible does not say that the good behaviors of the wife will win over the husband to be a good person, but win over the husband to believe and obey Christ.
This is also the principle to treat all those who are hardened in the hearts and do not believe -- using the testimony instead of the argument and using the behavior instead of the persuasion. As to those who are hardened in hearts, do not believe, and are not willing to hear the truth, let them use eyes instead of the ears! The Bible does not advise the believers not to be seen by those disbelievers; on the contrary, the Bible persuades the believers to have good behaviors and also let those disbelievers see, so that they will give praises to God (Mat 5:16). Therefore, to win over those who do not believe by good behaviors, is not only applicable to the wife to deal with the husband who does not believe, but also is applicable for every believer to treat those disbelievers around them.
C. Virtues and conducts (3:2)
1 PETER 3:2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
(NOTES)
Verses 1-9 talk about the virtues of the wife; besides the submission in verse 1, there are also:
a. purity: love husband with single-mind;
b. reverence: with reverence to God, be very careful on the godly things;
c. simple outward adornment: will be discussed in details in the following verses;
d. gentle and quiet: refer to soft, mild, gentle and refined disposition;
e. follow the ancient saints: rely on God to live a holy life;
f. bravely do what is right: do good without the fear of the threats of the husband;
These virtues are all that an exemplary wife should have, and can win over the husband who do not believe to convert to Christ. On the other hand, since the husband should pay attention to “the purity and reverence ” in the life of the wife, this also shows that the husband should not pay attention to the appearance of the wife only, but should love the virtues of the wife.
D. Outward adornment (3:3-4)
1 PETER 3:3-4 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, 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.
(NOTES)
a. “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes”:
This means that do not use the outward luxury and beauty as the adornment. The luxurious adornment will cost a large amount of money. Since the believers are the aliens and strangers in this world, we should work hard for the Gospel, live a simple and plain life and do not waste unnecessarily.
b. “Instead, 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”:
This means that one should pay attention to the inner virtues rather than the sumptuous appearance. It is not only the teaching concerning the way of life, but also is a concept of the Christians toward life (1Ti 2:9). The believers should know that there is nothing to boast about the sumptuous adornment, and a simple life is of great worth, so that to develop the general mood and atmosphere of advocating the simplicity.
The Bible gives more advice to the dress and adornment to the sisters than to the brothers. It is obvious that the Bible considers that the sisters need more reminders than the brothers. However, the principle of the dress and adornment for the sisters is also applicable to the brothers. The food, clothing, shelter and transportation, are the four basic necessities of life. Therefore, we should not consider the matter of clothing trifle without paying attention to the teachings in the Bible. When the believers give testimonies to the outsiders, since they can not skip the testimony on life, they certainly can not skip the part about the proper clothing.
By summarizing these two verses, it is known that the Bible apparently prefers the clothing and adornment of the sisters to be simple and proper, but not according to the principle of drawing the attention from others or exaggerating one’s own identity. In (1Ti 2:9), the Bible also exhorts the sisters to dress modestly, with decency and propriety. So called “propriety” is not coquettish or novel, nor is especially old and out of dates so that to make others feel strange; but is modest, appropriate and simple.
The word of “should not” in verse 3 and “should” in verse 4, show that these points are suggestive, but not definitive. Although it is difficult for us to decide an absolute standard to show what kind of clothing is proper, for the clothing of people and their concepts on the clothing varies continually with the change of the times, as long as the believers can keep the principle of paying attention to the inner beauty rather than the appearance, they can always know how to choose simple and proper clothing in different circumstances and times. The true beauty is close to the goodness and makes one to feel it authentic; the beauty that the worldly people pays attention to is close to evil and makes one to feel it fake. The believers should get the love from others with the inner gentleness and kindness. The worldly people often obtain the respects from others with the magnificent appearance. These two different viewpoints of life make people have different ways of life. The Bible encourages the believers to follow the principle of paying attention to the practice but not the appearance in the life.
E. Examples (3:5-6)
1 PETER 3:5-6 For 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, like 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.
(NOTES)
“For” shows the reason that the wife who is Christian should be submissive to the husband and adorn with the inner virtues, is because many women who have faith and are commended by God make themselves beautiful with these adornments. It is obvious that this principle is applicable in any times and should be followed. Here, Sarah is cited as the example: “like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master” (see also Gen 18:12). The Jews consider Abraham as their forefather, and Sarah as their foremother (Gal 4:24-26). Sarah called her husband master; that is, she respected her husband and regarded him as the master of the family. Sarah used to give the idea to her husband without authorizations and give Hagar to him as the concubine to have children for her. However, this not only did not please God, but also led to the dispute of the family and the long term pains later. However, after this failure, in chapter 18 of Genesis, Sarah called Abraham her master to show that she was willing to submit to her husband from the position of a wife. Here, the apostle cites the example of Sarah to encourage the believers to follow.
“You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear”:
The Bible calls those who behave according to the faith of Abraham as the descendents of Abraham (Rom 4:12). Here, the Bible calls those who follow the example of Sarah as the daughters of Sarah. Sarah submitted to her husband in accordance to the will of God, and waited together with her husband for the promise of God. The Christian women should behave according to the similar principle to be the holy women who put their hope in God and display the good virtues to win over her husband. “if you do what is right and do not give way to fear”; here, “do what is right ” generally refer to all good and right deeds, including all kinds of virtues of the wife shown above to “win over” the husband, and the behaviors that they won’t give way to fear to give up the faith and winning over their husbands. Such a wife follows the same way of the holy women of the past who put their hope in God. There are some husbands who do not believe in LORD and conduct badly; they threat their wives and oppress them on the faith; therefore, here, the Bible brings up these encouragements.
(5) How to treat wives (3:7)
1 PETER 3:7 Husbands, 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.
(NOTES)
The previous verses is to tell the wives how to treat their husbands, but not to tell husbands how to require the wives to treat them well and submit to them, or to give the husbands the excuses to control the wives. Here, it is with the same principle to discuss how husbands should treat their wives. The Bible always asks us to pay attention to whether we fulfill our duties or not, but not pay attention to whether others fulfill their duties or not. There are many husbands who do not love their wives, but ask their wives to submit to them; this is not reasonable.
Here, the author talks about how husbands should treat wives from 4 aspects:
A. According to the intelligent recognition (3:7)
That is in accordance to the principle of the human relationship and the truth of the Bible. The husbands often by their advantageous physical strength and economical right bully the wives unreasonably; this is improper.
B. According to the knowledge (3:7)
The “intelligent recognition ”can also be called the knowledge. This indicates that husbands should understand the difficulties of the wives and live with the wives considerately. Many husbands do not understand the difficulties of the wives, or look down on the housework done by the wives and consider it as the easy trifles. However, for the Christian husband to treat his wife, he should understand her according to the knowledge; they should show understanding and sympathy for the wife and help her, not only on her work, but also recognizing all kinds of her difficulties psychologically and physically.
C. According to the love (3:7)
“treat them with respect as the weaker partner ”; “weaker” indicates that in terms of physique, the wife is weaker than the husband. Therefore, they need more sympathy and help from the husbands. This requires the love of the husbands. It is originally translated as “the weaker vessel” (K.J.V.). This shows that the wives are also the vessels of God and are put in the family. Since they are called “the weak vessel”, they need special cares and protections.
“as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life”; indicates that wives and husbands receive the grace in front of God without any difference.
D. According to the politeness (3:7)
That is to respect wives and give honors to them. Many Christian husbands seem to overlook this sentence when they read the Bible. They are often rude to their wives. The husbands should respect their wives, just as the wives should submit to husbands. If the “politeness” is hypocritical, it will be no good ( Politeness without sincerity is hypocritical; but the politeness itself is not hypocritical). However, in the life of husbands and wives, they should have proper politeness to each other; they should respect each other so that to live together for a long time. Here, the Bible asks the husbands to respect the wives. While in (Eph 5:33), the Bible asks the wives to respect their husbands. By putting them together, the Bible considers that husbands and wives should respect each other.
“so that nothing will hinder your prayers”:
If the husbands treat the wives without love, their prayers will be hindered; this is often neglected by many people. Whether the prayer can be answered or not largely depends on how we treat others and how is our relationship with others. What is easiest to be neglected is to let our dearest and well acquainted people down. This deficit will also make our prayer not to be granted.
(6) How to treat the average brothers (3:8-12)
These verses are the conclusion of the above sections; especially in verse 8:“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another”. It is obvious that it is the conclusion to the above teachings, which can be discussed from 4 aspects:
A. Love one another (3:8)
1 PETER 3:8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
(NOTES)
Here, “Finally, all of you” show that all the believers should put down all the reasons and get rid of all the obstructs to live in harmony with one another. This sentence does not deny that there will be different opinions between the believers. On the contrary, it admits that there might be misunderstandings and different opinions among the believers. It is because in fact, as to the believers in a church, even though they won’t have conflicts with each other because of the indulgence in the sinful nature, they might have different opinions on pursuing the truth or misunderstandings. No matter what kind of reason it is, all of the believers should live in harmony with one another and put down one’s own overweening prejudice, be sympathetic, compassionate and humble to each other (Php 1:15-18; 2:5; 1Co 2:16; Joh 3:26-30).
The Bible often let us see whether the church is in harmony or not has extreme significance to the progress of the work of the Gospel (Mat 18:19; Act 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12). If the believers look at the benefits of the work of the Gospel above everything, they will naturally work on the Gospel together with the brothers and sisters in harmony. If every believer has the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus (Php 2:5; 1Co 2:16), they will live in harmony.
B. Be sympathetic (3:8)
That is to be sympathetic to others, think for others, and be willing to accommodate to others. Those who are sympathetic are willing to suffer the losses and treat others with grace.
To “be sympathetic” implies that those who are relatively more experienced and stronger are sympathetic to those who are relatively weaker and less mature. Our experiences in the past should be used to sympathize those who are currently in the same sufferings as we did before, but not for boasting about ourselves and looking down others.
C. Love as brothers (3:8)
The believers should be “brothers” practically, but not take the “brothers” only as a name. It is a pity that in the church, although they have the real brothers’ relationship, they are the same as the outsiders.
D. Be compassionate and humble (3:8)
“be compassionate and humble” ; that is to be compassionate to others and to be restricted and humble to oneself. We should be compassionate to those who are weaker than us either spiritually or physically. We should be compassionate on those who are entangled in the temptations and the pains of the sins and evils, and admit humbly that we also might fall into the same failure as others, but not be self-conceited over others’ failure. This attitude is the virtue for us to get along with the brothers.
Note that, the Bible does not let us to be compassionate and humble on the sins and evils, but to those who sin; do not consider them hopeless because of their failure. It is because for anyone who entangles in sin, if he can turn around in time, God will accept him. Therefore, we should not give up hope on others rashly.
To be compassionate and humble is in heart, but not in appearance; like those hypocritical Pharisees, who are gentle outward, but are filled with malice inward. We should be like LORD Jesus and be gentle and humble in heart (Mat 11:29-30).
E. Love the enemies and forgive (3:9)
1 PETER 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
(NOTES)
This verse is mainly about how to treat the outsiders, but the principle is also applicable to the brothers. Do not use the hatred to repay those who treat ourselves badly; this is the biggest difference between the believers and the worldly people. This forgiveness and loving of the enemies are the display of the life, which can be divided into two steps: on the passive side, forgive the enemies -- “Do not repay evil with evil”; on the active side, love the enemy -- “but with blessing”.
LORD Jesus and the apostles left such examples and teachings in (Mat 5:43; Luk 23:34; Act 7:60; 1Co 4:12).
“to this you were called”; this verse refers to both the previous and the following verses (2:21). Regarding the previous verses, we are called to be persecuted for the righteousness, and be sympathetic, compassionate and humble to each other, also bear the insults with blessings. Regarding the following verses, we are called to “inherit a blessing”. How can we be called by God to inherit the blessings? It is all because of His love and forgiveness. Therefore, we should also forgive the brothers and be compassionate and humble to receive the blessings of God together. It is because God called us, not only to let us reconcile to Him, but also to let us lead many people to reconcile to Him, and let us to live in harmony with all the brothers.
F. Citation as the proof (3:10-12)
1 PETER 3:10-12 For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For 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."
(NOTES)
Here, the author cites the words from the Old Testament (Psa 34:12-16) as the basis to exhort the believers; but it is not a citation word by word, instead, it is expressed according to the comprehension. These verses point out that if we want to inherit the blessings through the calling from God to us, we must:
a. “keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech”:
The words are the voice of the mind. To “keep his tongue from evil” shows the goodness of the mind. If one speaks evils, it shows his mind is not taken charge by the Holy Spirit and does not let the peace of Christ live in His spirit. However, if we “love life and see good days ”, we should “keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech”.
b. Turn from evil and do good:
To “turn from evil” is to shun the sins and evils passively. If the believers do not want to be entangled by the sins and evils, they should not come near to the sins and evils. If people are close to the temptations, they will entangle in sins most likely. Therefore, the believers should avoid the temptation and do not leave a foothold to the devil.
The above is from the passive side; from the active side, they should do good. To do good includes what mentioned above such as, to love as brothers, not to repay evil for evil and so on. Note that: in this paragraph, almost every section mentions about to “do good” (2:15, 20; 3:6). To “do good” includes all kinds of virtues of the Christians, also to “do good” is to do the will of God.
c. Seek peace and pursue it:
To seek peace is not very easy. Not only one will seek, but also one will pursue it eagerly. In another word, one should pursue it wholeheartedly and pay the price for it. In verse (Heb 12:14), the Bible also encourages the believers to live in peace with all men and to be holy. These verses show that there might be conflictions or misunderstandings among the believers. To seek peace includes to try one’s best to clear up the misunderstandings, sacrifice one’s own benefit, and retrieve the brothers with love, even pay the price for it.
As to those who turn from evil, do good and seek peace, although they seem to suffer losses, they do not suffer losses in front of God. “For 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.” (3:12) This is a great comfort to those who are willing to seek peace, suffer losses, treat others honestly and give oneself up. From the viewpoint of men, the principles such as that “Do not repay evil with evil … but with blessing” and to “keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech”, will let one suffer losses indeed in the current times. However, we do not live on men’s strength, and beside the visible men, there is LORD, “for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous”. When we treat others by following the principle of the Bible to “turn from evil and do good”, the eyes of the Lord are on us, and that will be much better than that we repay evil with evil by blood and flesh.
On the contrary, if we do not treat others according to the principles of the Bible, but revenge others by the blood and flesh, that will put us outside of the care of LORD. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, one can not do as the evildoers do, while want to get the care for the righteous at the same time.
“his ears are attentive to their prayer”.
Regarding that “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous”, this is initiative by LORD; regarding that “his ears are attentive to their prayer”, this is initiative from our side. Through the prayers, we can tell LORD about what we do not set our minds at ease and seek the help, strength and comfort from LORD. Therefore, the eyes and ears of LORD Jesus is the biggest strength and comfort for us to turn from the evils and do good. Whether we can “inherit the blessing” or not, this is closely related to whether our prayers can be answered by LORD or not; however, whether our prayers can be heard or not is closely related to whether we can treat others according to the above principles or not.
4. How to overcome the sufferings (3:13-4:19)
After teaching the believers about the duties that they should fulfill in every respects, the Bible starts to instruct the believers how to overcome the sufferings. This book pays a lot of attentions to the messages on how the believers overcome the sufferings. This has been mentioned in chapter 1 and 2; here, this paragraph gives more detailed discussions.
(1) The knowledge that the believers should have (3:13-14)
A. Doing what is righteous can make others submit with fear (3:13)
1 PETER 3:13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?
(NOTES)
To do good is to do what is pleasing to God. In many cases, it is easy for us to be eager to do what are pleasing to us, but not eager to do things that are pleasing God. If we are “eager to do good”, who will harm us? This is a general speaking. Most of the people won’t harm those who do good. This verse shows that those who do good, can make others submit with fear because of being in the righteousness of God. Whether one is doing good or evils, the conscience of people will understand. Even to those who follow the majority to be against those who do good from the appearance, they still know who truly do good in their conscience. Another meaning of this verse is: if the believers are eager to do good -- do what is pleasing to God, who can harm those whom are looked on by God? “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31) It is because if we do things pleasing to God; that is equal to standing on the side of God to let God help us. Even though men can kill the body of us, but they cannot kill the soul (Mat 10:28). They can not take away our reward in heaven (Mat 5:11-12). Therefore, the persecution of men can not make us suffer losses, but is great help for our spirituality.
B. Blessed are those who suffer for what is right (3:14)
1 PETER 3:14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear ; do not be frightened."
(NOTES)
The teaching of this verse is similar to the teachings of LORD Jesus in “Eight Beatitudes” regarding those who are persecuted for the righteousness (Mat 5:10-12). Whenever we suffer, we should ask first whether we suffer for what is right or not, or some are for what is right, some are provoked by ourselves? We often suffer more than what God give us; the extra sufferings are added because of our own weakness.
“But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.” This verse is based on the previous verse that: “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?” To draw back one step, even though we do good eagerly and there is someone who harm us, we “are blessed”. It is because although we suffer some losses in the body, we will receive the reward from LORD in the eternity.
“Do not fear what they fear ; do not be frightened”: this is based on the verse (Isa 12-13) to encourage the believers. Since they are suffered for the righteousness, they will not fear people. It is because the persecution of the people can only make us suffer losses in this life at most; however, the words of LORD make us know that the losses we suffer for LORD in this life will make us gain a greater harvest in the future (Rom 8:18; 2Co 4:17; Luk 18:29-30; 2Ti 2:12-13; Rev 2:10).
(2) Be prepared (3:15-17)
1 PETER 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
(NOTES)
“But” implies that besides what we do, the left part will be taken care of by God. The apostle seems to divide the sufferings into two part; the part that we are responsible for is that “in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord”, as to the rest of it, God will be responsible to take up everything and manage everything for us.
“in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord”:
That is to really let Christ take the charge in us and take the primary status, and not to grieve Him such that He will turn His face away from us and let us go our own ways. By the holiness, impassion and glory of Christ, we should produce inward respect and reverence, without daring to act at one’s own selfish wills. This verse explains the meaning of “with respect (to God)”, which is in contrast to “Do not fear what they fear” in the previous verse. The reverence for God will keep us from being unbridled and arrogant in front of others; the fear of people will make us weak on the matters regarding God and timid of the evil force of people so that to dare not to move forward. The believers should examine themselves critically: Do we in our hearts set apart Christ as Lord? Does Christ in us receive the impolite mistreatment or enjoy the respect and worship?
“everyone who asks”; this is an assumption, which implies that the good testimony of the life of the believers will arouse the question of the outsiders. The believers live a godly and sanctified life, and in their hearts set apart Christ as Lord; or they are filled with joys in the sufferings, do not fear what others fear, and bless when they are insulted. Such a life is attractive, and will cause those who are around us to question: What is “ the reason for the hope that you have”? How come you can have such a good principles of life? The believers should take the hope in the future as the reason of the hope, and put this hope into the practice of the godly life.
“Always be prepared”; the believers should be prepared all the time; whenever there is a chance, they should hold Christ high and lift up the cup of salvation, and tell the grace of LORD to others. When others are amazed at our godly life, we should take the chance to preach the great power of the Gospel, but not advocate ourselves.
This verse is similar to verse (Col 3:16): “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom”. However, it is different from (Mat 10:19; Mar 13:11; Luk 12:11-12), where LORD Jesus taught the disciples not to “worry about” what to say or how to say it. That is the teaching for the disciples not to worry about how to argue their case when they are in the urgent persecutions. Here, it refers to the preparation that the believers should often have. That is, they should often tell others about the basis of their faith and the power of the Gospel, so that to clear up the misunderstanding of others and lead people to Christ.
“But do this with gentleness and respect”:
Besides always being prepared, one need good attitude to answer the questions of others. Since their godly lives touch others to come to ask about the faith, the believers should make best of such a chance. Even though people might be very rude and arrogant, one should answer with gentleness and respect, for our purpose is not to fight for the honor and victory in front of the people, but to spread the word of LORD and make it accepted by others.
“gentleness”: is a modest and soft attitude. They won’t look down on others because of their own good testimony. This attitude make one accessible and make the Holy Spirit easy to work.
“respect”: as to God, one dares not to steal His glory. When people see one’s godly life and ask the reason, one should give all glories to God, and admit that all the displays are from the grace of God.
1 PETER 3:16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
(NOTES)
In verses 15-16, there are three attitude that will make us be fearless in all kinds of sufferings:
a. in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord
b. with gentleness and respect
c. a clear conscience
“a clear conscience” is the reason for us to be courageous and strong. What is most important for the believers to live in this world is not to seek no opposition from people, but to seek a clear conscience to God; this is our comforts and joys. Good deeds are better than defending oneself by sophistry. Good deeds will make those who want to slander be shameful.
(3) The example that we should follow (3:18-22)
Staring from verse 18, the author cites the suffering of Christ as the example to encourage the believers to overcome the sufferings. In (2:22-25), the similar example is cited . The above example pays attention to the suffering of Christ being crucified on the cross, which is as our examples. While here, the author pays attention to the victory of the death and resurrection, so that to encourage the believers to bear sufferings for LORD.
A. Jesus Christ as the substitution (3:18)
1 PETER 3:17-18 It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
(NOTES)
This verse includes the important principle of the salvation and the biggest characteristics of the Christianity; that is “substitution”. The explanations are as the following:
a. Who “died for ” us?
Christ, the Son of God suffered and died for us. “For Christ”; “For” shows that it is to explain the previous verses; explain why for the believers “to suffer for doing good than for doing evil” ? It is because Christ used to “suffer for doing good ”. Although Christ committed no sin, he suffered for the will of God; how much more us who are sinful originally. We deserve to suffer, thus, there is nothing to complain about!
b. When Christ “died for ” us?
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins” (K.J.V.), this is our comforts. Since he was tempted in everyway yet without sin, the result made him be able to sympathize our weakness on everything. The poverty, insult, loneliness and all kinds of physical and spiritual pains that we suffer, he also used to suffer for us (Heb 4:15-16). Since Christ suffered and died for us first, it is natural that we suffer for him now. A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. Since the worldly people used to treat Christ badly, how much more his disciples! Many believers in the suffering will ask: “Why LORD allow us to suffer such pains?” The answer of the Bible is “for Christ also hath once suffered for sins”.
c. How Christ “died for ” us?
“once for all”, this shows that the accomplishments of the suffering of Christ was complete. Whatever we need to do it again after doing it once, it proves that what we did is not complete, just as all kinds of religions and the methods of men, none of them can take away the sins once for all; including the Judaism with the Old Testament, the blood of the calves and sheep can not make people perfect by the offering once for all (Heb 10:1-4). However, Christ offered himself once for all to make those who believe in Him be righteous. It is obvious that the ransom that He paid once for all is enough to pay off all our debt (Rom 6:9; Heb 10:10-14).
d. Christ “died for ” us for what?
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins” (K.J.V.); or “ For Christ died for sins ”; no matter “suffered” or “died”, both refer to the matter that LORD was crucified on the cross. In a word, this verse illustrates that the sins must be punished. Christ suffered for sins; that is to suffer for the purpose of solving the problem of sins of the mankind. The bible tells us that all kinds of evil fruit of sin have been substitute by Christ for us:
i. Sin is a suffering; Christ suffered for us (1Pe 3:18).
ii. Sin is a burden; Christ took it up for us (1Pe 2:24).
iii. Sin is a deficit; Christ paid for us (Rom 3:23-26; 6:23).
iv. Sin is a illness; Christ healed us (1Pe 2:24latter; Mat 9:12-13).
v. Sin is a binding; Christ set us free (Act 8:23; Gal 5:13).
vi. Sin is a curse; Christ bore the curse for us (Gal 3:13 ).
e. How could Christ “died for ” us?
“the righteous for the unrighteous”; “the righteous ” refers to LORD Jesus, and He is “the righteous ”. Therefore, he can substitute us. Since he is the righteous to suffer for us, his suffering has great value. In the like manner, the believers nowadays suffer for doing good; this has great value in the eyes of God.
There are many verses in the Bible proves that LORD Jesus is “the righteous ”:
i. Lord Himself gave testimony (Joh 8:46).
ii. Pilate gave testimony (Mat 27:24-26).
iii. Jews gave testimony (Mat 26:59-60).
iv. Pilate’s wife gave testimony (Mat 27:19).
v. The criminal besides the cross gave testimony (Luk 23:41-42).
vi. Judas gave testimony (Mat 27:3-9).
vii. The commander of hundreds gave testimony (Mat 27:54).
viii. God Himself gave testimony (Mat 27:51-53; 28:5-6; Act 2:36).
ix. The apostles gave testimony (Act 7:52; 2Co 5:21 ).
These verses illustrate why only Christ can substitute us to bore the sins and evils; it is because he is “the righteous”.
f. The importance of the substitution of Christ:
The “substitution” is the most significant characteristics of the Gospel and the power of the true God.
The “substitution” shows the significance of the suffering of Christ for the sins. If he only sacrificed for a certain doctrine, that only shows a great spirit, and has no contribution to save the worldly people from the Abysm of sins and evils. However, he suffered for our unrighteousness; this substitution becomes the root and foundation of the salvation.
When we bear a heavy burden and are not able to take it, we will understand how precious the “substitution” is. If someone will take the burden for us that we can not take, that will be our greatest joy and comfort. While Jesus Christ is the Savior who “substitutes” our unrighteous burden of sins, so that we can stand in front of God. This “substitution” is not only the important principle of the salvation, but also the strength for the believers to walk on the spiritual journey. No matter we are in pains, illness, poverty or sufferings, we should not forget that LORD Jesus is the LORD “who daily bears our burdens” (Psa 68:19; Mat 11:29-30).
g. The purpose of the “substitution” of Christ:
“to bring you to God”. This is the purpose and result that He suffered for us, so that we who are separated from God can come to God now.
Even if one wants to see the president or the officials on high position, he can not ask to see rashly without authorization, and need someone to introduce. Thus, how could one who is full of sins and evils be able to see the holy God? Through the introduction of Christ. The basis that he can introduce us before God is that he used to die for us, and substituted for our unrighteousness. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him (Heb 7:25). It is because not only he himself is righteous, but also he can make those who rely on him to become righteousness. To “bring” shows that he used to walk on the road that we will walk on, he opened for us through the curtain a new and living way (Heb 10:20), also he leads us to walk on this road and solves all the difficulties on this road. As to us who are led by Him, the most important duty for us to LORD who leads us, is to rely on Him wholeheartedly, and follow him.
“He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit”:
How come Christ can bring us to God? It is because in his human body he was put to death, but he was made alive by Spirit (see also Rom 1:4). “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Rom 4:25). Note that, here, the author cites the sufferings of Christ as the evidence to show that although Christ suffered for us and died for us, but he resurrected by Spirit; that is not a pitiful end, but becomes a marvelous salvation from God and shows that He is the Son of God. In the like manner, even if the believers suffered for LORD to death, that is only the death of the body. The death of the body, is not a painful end for us, but bring us to a better spiritual world to live, so that we will receive good hope of the resurrection of the body; also make us have a good hope for the resurrection of the body, for without death, there is no resurrection.
B. The ark of Noah and flood (3:19-22)
The verses of 19-21 seem not to link up with the previous topic, but actually do not digress from the subject, for these verses are introduced by verse 18. Since the verse 18 talks about the death of Christ and resurrection, it compares the flood at the times of Noah with the baptism, and explains slightly the death of the believers and the resurrection. It is because the flood and baptism can show the death and resurrection of the believers on the spirituality, and can be as the epitome of the resurrection of the body in the future. And the explanation of these verses is enough to prove that the resurrection of Christ is the hope of our resurrection in the future. Therefore, this section is not to discuss how people in the Old Testament are saved, which is only mentioned in passing very simply. Therefore, here, an explanation is made slightly (Deu 29:29).
1 PETER 3:19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison
(NOTES)
“through whom ”:
“whom” refers to the Spirit that made him alive and raised him from the death.
“he went and preached”:
That is, through the Spirit who made him resurrect, he used to preach to those spirits in the prison. In another word, this verse is to illustrate that the Spirit by whom he went and preached to the spirits in prison is the same Spirit made him resurrect. “preached” is to preach Gospel (1Pe 4:6).
“the spirits in prison ”:
“prison” refers to the place to take people into custody, which refers to the Hades here. Before entering the lake of fire (Rev 20:14), the Hades is the place to take the spirit to be destroyed into custody temporarily (2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6; Rev 20:7 ).
Here, an extended explanation will be mentioned slightly in the following:
After the salvation of Christ accomplished, he used to work in the Hades to preach Gospel to the spirits in prison -- those unbelievers in the times of Noah, also including the believers in the Old testament. According to (1Sa 28:8-9; Luk 16:19-31), in the Old Testament, both the good and the evil people are in the Hades; however, there is a great chasm in-between. LORD Jesus came to the Hades; not only declared the unbelievers guilty, but also declared the accomplishments of the salvation to the believers in the Old Testament, and bring the believers in the Old Testament to the paradise (or move the well doers from the Hades to the heaven.).
Since the Bible does not discuss the details of the salvation for the people before the New Testament, here, only an explanation is slightly given. Whom we rely on is the absolutely righteous true God. What we need to pay attention to and make clear about is the salvation of the people now -- the salvation after the New Testament.
1 PETER 3:20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
(NOTES)
“who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built”:
When Noah prepared the ark and proclaimed the judgment of God to the worldly people and preached the word of repentance to people, it is the time that God tolerated people to admit their guilty and repent; however, except the eight family members of Noah, no one else believed and obeyed the word.
“In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water”:
“were saved through water”, were saved by the ark which passed through the flood.
“eight in all”: that is the eight family members of Noah.
The previous verses are to encourages the believers to suffer for LORD. This verse compares the family of Noah with the unbelievers at that time to show how Noah persevered and preached at that time so that his whole family were saved and became the master of the new world. In the like manner, the believers should endure for LORD, for those who persecute them will be like those unbelievers in the times of Noah and receive the punishment that they deserve. This also shows that since Christ used to work in the times of the Old Testament to work on the people at that time through His Spirit; in the like manner, He will also work in this times through His Spirit.
1 PETER 3:21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
(NOTES)
This verse talks about the baptism from two aspects:
a. The significance that the baptism shows:
“and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also … It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ”:
Note that, here, it is not the baptism that saves us, but “the resurrection of Jesus Christ” saves us. However, this “baptism” shows the salvation of being raised from the dead.
Here, this verse mentions the baptism of the believers and the flood at the times of Noah in Old Testament in the same breath; this is to show that how the flood is a judgment to the disbelievers, and a salvation to the family of Noah; so the baptism showing the Gospel of resurrection from the dead is a judgment to the disbelievers, and a salvation to the believers.
On the other hand, the flood shows that all the old creations outside the ark were destroyed; all in the ark started a new life. In the like manner, the baptism shows all the old creations in Adam are dead together with Lord, all the new creations in Christ started a new life together with the resurrection of Lord.
b. The accomplishments of the baptism:
“not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God”:
This latter verse explains the baptism in the upper verse; it is only to “symbolize”, but not to take away the sins. How the flood can not cleanse the sins in the mind of Noah, so the baptism can not cleanse the dirt in the mind of the believers. Therefore, the accomplishments of the baptism is to have “a good conscience toward God”, for LORD Jesus also did this to fulfill all righteousness (Mat 3:13-17), and commanded the disciples to do the same (Mat 28:19-20). Thus, we must do according to the command of LORD to show our choice of the faith before God and men.
“a good conscience toward God”:
With the guidance and cleansing of the Holy Spirit of Christ, the believers can leave the sins and evils to abide by the laws above the laws of the secularity, so that to have a good conscience -- the good law comes from God.
1 PETER 3:22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
(NOTES)
“heaven” refers to where God dwells in. “God's right hand”; “right hand” shows the respect and honor (1Ki 2:19; Psa 20:6; Mat 20:21). The Bible mentions that LORD is at the right hand of God for many times (Act 7:56; Rom 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; Heb 1:3; 8:1; 10:11-12).
“with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him”.
This verse can be referred to the word of LORD in (Mat 28:18-20). All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to LORD Jesus. Therefore, the disciples should go and make disciples of all nations, and suffer fearlessly for doing His will. It is because our LORD Jesus Christ has overcome and received all the authorities in heaven and on earth.
Reference:
1. Zhongdao Chen: “The Lectures on the Bible Studying of the Letters in New Testament”.
