1 Peter 3:1-7 “Husbands and Wives”

OLAF: The message this morning must actually start way back at the beginning of the world as is recorded in the Good Book in Genesis. We can read that God created man and woman in God’s own image. As we can see from the scripture, God first created man, and his name was Adam. Then, out of Adam God created Eve.

So, dear wife: The question to you is if God has put women in second place since the very Creation?

HELEN: Genesis 1:27 “. . . .In the image of God, God created them, male and female God created them.” In other words, both genders are the image of God. The order in which they are created, listed as male first and female second is of little importance if both are of that same essence and likeness. And, in fact, in the Hebrew understanding, what comes later is always better than what comes first. This is the way that Semitic peoples construct knowledge in their worldview.

You know, it is like you always say: never buy the first model year of a new vehicle. One should always wait for the engineers to work the bugs out of the vehicle first. We might like to think that men are the first model year that comes with all the defects and recalls.

You wouldn’t buy the first model of a car, would you?

OLAF: Well, no! Of course not. That is a good point that what comes after in the Hebrew rhetorical style is what is better! You know, it is like the original Oreos or the double-stuffed Oreos. They are both Oreos, just the better ones came after.

HELEN: My turn to ask a question. Why does this even come up in Peter’s writing? Why is he concerned about gender issues at all?

OLAF: You see, in those days under the Roman occupation, rebel men were being watched by the Romans. They could not speak freely. The women, however, were generally free to speak all they wanted about anything they wanted. So, the news of the Resurrection was carried out to the rest of the disciples by the women. You may recall that it was Mary of Magdala to whom Jesus first announced himself at the Resurrection.

The other thing to note was that as the Christians were not being allowed to worship in the Jewish synagogues anymore, rich widows opened up their homes to become the first “house churches.” Without the women, the early church would have had no place to worship together. Please also recall that in the Jewish understanding, the title to property stays with the matriarch. The right of inheritance is also through the woman. To this day, you are a Jew if your mother is a Jew. Fathers do not count. So, the women were beginning to exert this power over the church. This was causing controversy with the men of the early church who believed that the women should not wield such power.

Here I am a pastor, but you have certainly been more important in the faith formation of our children than me. Don’t you think so?

HELEN: Yes, generally speaking women still today take a greater role in raising children and therefore in the faith formation of the next generation.

The other interesting footnote here is that it seems that women were attending church without their husbands even back then. So, Peter puts in the line that woman can save the souls of their husbands by their own virtuous lives. Back then, the church was extremely focused on the near and eventual coming of Christ in the Apocalypse. So, the women in that day were not just concerned with how to keep their husbands in this world, but also in the next.

In verse 2 our pew bibles translate the word “phobos” in the Greek as “reverence.” The word is really “fear,” isn’t it, like in the English word “phobia”? But, what do the women have to fear? They are firm in their faith that Jesus will come sometime in their lifetimes. They want to make sure that their husbands, the father of their children, will not be “left behind” because they do not believe. So, the spiritual salvation of the entire family depends on the women! It is up to the women to get the men to heaven.

In the Bible we have the story of Eunice, who was the mother of Timothy. Her name “ev-niki” in the Greek means “good victory.”. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy while he was serving as appointed first bishop of Ephesus, as we read in 2 Timothy 1:4-5, “Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.”

We see how the women here are passing the faith to men. It is funny that the grandfather and father are not mentioned at all. The fact that we have the actual names of the mother and grandmother also means that they were well known in the early church—otherwise Paul would not have bothered to mention them.

My turn to ask the question now! Why does Peter say that I should not adorn myself as a woman? How does that even matter?

OLAF: Peter is asking both genders that we be plain on the outside and beautiful on the inside. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians 2:14 we read, “Do all things without murmuring or arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.” Do you want to look like a star? Then, you have to shine that light from the inside out. So, let us all focus on that inner adornment.

I will just share with you a personal aside: The way that some people are adorning themselves today, I find myself really quite abhorred by their appearance. I find myself trying hard to look past the outer adornment to see that person’s Christ-like self. Piercings and tattoos or even the fancy earbuds hanging out of the ear hole all seem unnecessary. Romans 13:14, “Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.”

My turn to ask the question: The final verse of our scripture for today talks of women being the “weaker sex.” Is that a fair statement by Peter?

HELEN: As you would point out, the actual word here for “sex” or “gender” in the Greek would be better translated as “vessel.” Interestingly, the only other place in the entire bible that this word appears is when Jesus tells us “do not to put our candle under a bushel basket” in Luke 8, the Sermon on the Mount. So, Peter is pointing out that women are the vessels of new life in the world. We should read verse 7 as: “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as VESSELS and as heirs with you of the precious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” Sounds so much better, doesn’t it!

Because of this terminology, there is really no reason to argue as to whether women are ‘weaker’ than men. That does not seem to really be Peter’s point. I believe the reference is to the unique ability of women to carry new life within them. Peter seems to imply that women should be honored by men for the very fact that men cannot carry new life within them as a vessel.

It takes a lot to carry a child for nine months and go through childbirth. Let me assure you that it is harder than changing a tire!

OLAF: Right! In the Jewish understanding, the most godly thing that anybody on this planet can do is create life as God once did way back in the beginning of time. So, we come back to the understanding of Creation. This most precious of all godly gifts is given to women. For this, Peter is saying that women must be most greatly honored.

Verse 7 also states that we are “joint heirs.” Together men and women create life and pass on the faith of the life everlasting through Jesus Christ. That is also why we should probably talk about this in a joint sermon!

Last line: “—so that nothing may hinder your prayers.” What is the prayer that would be hindered?

HELEN: That we all, men and women, would be accepted into the heavenly Kingdom of God! Peter is focused on salvation—that behaviors and attitudes should not be obstacles to getting into Heaven. As we read at the beginning of Chapter 2: “…rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” Not only does our behavior towards God matters, it matters how we behave towards each other as well. And what more intimate and important relationship, besides our relationship with God, is there besides that of husband and wife? Partners should treat each other in the same way as they treat God. Otherwise, our prayers to God would be hypocritical hindrances, don’t you think?

And why make relationships difficult by creating obstacles in the first place?

I do sometimes ask you to open the mayonnaise jar for me. But, why do men put the lid on so tight to begin with?

OLAF: Why do men make things harder than they need to be? That is a rhetorical question, of course.

Amen.