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1 Peter
3:1 In the
same
way, you
wives, be
submissive to
your
own
husbands
so that
even
if
any of them are
disobedient to
the
word, they may
be
won
without a
word by the
behavior of
their
wives, (NASB:
Lockman) |
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Greek:
Homoios
[ai]
gunaikes
hupotassomenai
(PPPFPN)
tois
idiois
andrasin,
hina
kai
ei
tines
apeithousin
(3PPAI)
to
logo
dia
tes
ton
gunaikon
anastrophes
aneu
logou
kerdethesontai
(3PFPI)
Amplified:
IN LIKE manner, you married women, be submissive to your own husbands
[subordinate yourselves as being secondary to and dependent on them,
and adapt yourselves to them], so that even if any do not obey the
Word [of God], they may be won over not by discussion but by the
[godly] lives of their wives, (Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
NLT:
In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands,
even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will
speak to them better than any words. They will be won over (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Phillips:
In the same spirit you married women should adapt yourselves to your
husbands, so that even if they do not obey the Word of God they may be
won to God without any word being spoken (Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest:
In like manner, wives, put yourselves in subjection to your own
husbands with implicit obedience, in order that even though certain
ones obstinately refuse to be persuaded by the Word and are therefore
disobedient to it, they may through the manner of life of the wives
without a word [from the wives] be gained, (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal:
In like manner, the wives, be ye subject to your own husbands, that
even if certain are disobedient to the word, through the conversation
of the wives, without the word, they may be won, |
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IN THE SAME
WAY YOU WIVES: Homoios (ai) gunaikes:
(Ge
3:16; Esther 1:16-20; Ro 7:2; 1Co 11:3; 14:34; Ep 5:22, 23, 24,33; Col
3:18; 1Ti 2:11,12; Titus 2:3, 4, 5, 6)
In the same way
(3668)
(homoios from hómoios = like, resembling)
means similarly: likewise, of equal degree or manner and denoting
perfect agreement. In context Peter appears to refer to the previous calls to submission -
so just as all Christians should submit to the governing authorities
(1Pe 2:13-note), as slaves should submit to their masters (1Pe
2:18-note), and as
Christ gave us His perfect example of willing and complete submission
(1Pe 2:21, 22, 23, 24, 25 -see notes
1 Peter 2:21;
22;
23;
24;
25),
Peter says in the same way wives are to submit to
their own husbands.
BE (let it
be your habit) SUBMISSIVE TO YOUR OWN HUSBANDS: hupotassomenai (PPPFPN)
tois idiois andrasin:
Be
submissive
(5293)
(hupotasso= hupo = under + tasso
= arrange in an orderly manner) (Click word study of
hupotasso) (1Pe 2:13, 18; 3:1, 5, 22;
5:5)
in the passive voice (as in this verse) means to submit oneself, to
subordinate oneself, to obey, to place oneself under, to put oneself
under orders, to align oneself under the authority of another.
Hupotasso in this present use has in view the maintenance of God’s
willed order, not personal inferiority of any kind. This word may
denote either voluntary or forced behavior, but not any sense of
inferiority.
Hupotasso was used as military term
to describe soldiers submitting to their superior or slaves submitting
to their masters. The word has primarily the idea of giving up one’s
own right or will. It meant to arrange [as for
example troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a
leader. Submission then is not so much to a person per se as to the
position of rank that is established to ensure order rather than
chaos. The buck private in the army may be a "better person"
than the five-star general, but he is still a buck private. Slaves in the average Roman household in fact were "better people" in
many ways when compared to their masters, yet they still had to be
under authority to ensure order in the household. In non-military use hupotasso described "a voluntary attitude of giving in,
cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden".
"Hupotasso"
is not a spineless submission but, as one writer has eloquently
described it, a "voluntary selflessness."
Constable paraphrasing
material from the Family Life Conference writes that...
Submission involves at least four
things. First, it begins with an attitude of entrusting oneself
to God (1Pe 2:23, 24, 25-notes
1Pe 2:23;
24;
25). The focus of our life must be on Jesus Christ.
Second, submission requires respectful behavior (1Pe 3:1,2-notes).
Nagging is not respectful behavior. Third, submission involves
the development of a godly character (1Pe 3:3, 4, 5-see notes
1Pe 3:3;
3:4;
3:5). Fourth,
submission includes doing what is right (1Pe 3:6-note).
It does not include violating other Scriptural principles. Submission
is imperative for oneness in marriage. (Expository
Notes)
Keep the historical context in mind reference
to pagan husbands should be understood against the social background
in which a wife was expected to accept the customs and religious rites
of her husband.
Submission for Paul and Peter is a voluntary submission based on
one’s own recognition of God’s order.
It is the submission which is based on the death of pride on one hand
and the
desire to serve on the other. Ideally it is the submission not
of fear but of perfect love. Christ Himself is the perfect example
(see notes
1 Peter 2:21;
22;
23;
24;
25) of a servant Who submitted without
reservation to His Father's perfect will (see notes
Philippians 2:5;
2:6;
2:7;2:8). Thus there is
nothing degrading about submitting to authority and accepting God’s
ordained order that alone ensures the proper functioning of the
marriage bond between a husband and
wife.
The
present tense of the verb hupotasso calls for a attitude
(make it a continual practice) of willingness to be under the order established by
God. For women this does not come naturally (nor does it come
naturally for men because of our fallen nature) because of sin entering
the perfect environment in Genesis 3.
As a result of Eve's usurpation
of Adam's headship, part of the consequence of her sin was that her
desire
would be for her husband (Genesis
3:16). Genesis 3:16 could be interpreted as a passionate yearning or longing for one's
husband but the difficulty with that interpretation is fourfold:
(1) The statement by God is clearly
given in the context of judgment for sin.
(2) The root
word (shuwq Strong's # 7783) for "desire"
(teshuwqah: Strong's #8669) according to Strong's
Hebrew lexicon
means to "overflow" and (from another source) the Arabic root means "to control", either
definition
lending itself to the interpretation that Eve's desire would be to
rule over Adam.
(3) The Greek translation (Septuagint) for "desire"
is the verb
apostrepho can mean to turn away from or
abandon a former relationship or association which certainly does not
picture the woman longing for the man.
(4) The closest contextual use
of the same Hebrew word is (Gen 4:7) where God tells Cain that sin's "desire"
is to rule over him but that he must master it. Clearly the meaning of
desire here conveys a negative meaning of sin desiring to rule over,
dominate and control Cain.
The newly published
conservative, evangelical Net Bible translates Genesis 3:16 this way
"To
the woman he said, "I will greatly increase
your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You
will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you."
The majority of evangelical, conservative
commentaries on Ge 3:16 definitely favor the interpretation that Eve
would have latent within her fallen nature, her flesh, the desire to
rule over, dominate and be independent of her husband. If one accepts
this interpretation of (Gen 4:7) as reasonable, it would certainly
explain why even the most devout, godly and "dead to self" wife would
still have a tendency to chaff at God's call for her to submit to her
husband. In a class I led on "Marriage without Regrets" one meek,
mild, godly young woman raised her hand and confessed how during the
preceding week's homework on submission she had experienced a feeling
of resentment rising up from deep within and how this feeling
surprised her. If one understands the "root cause" of this fleshly
reaction from a study of (Gen 4:7), it at least helps one be aware of
where the resistance might originate from.
Constable
notes that the reason Peter calls for wives to be submissive is ...
that God has so ordered the human
race that we must all observe His structure of authority so that peace
and order may prevail. (Constable's Expository Notes on the Bible)
Own (2398)
(idios) means belonging to oneself and not to another,
one’s own, peculiar. It denotes "ownership".
Husbands (435)
(aner) means man, an adult male person. Aner is used to
speak of men in various relations and circumstances where the context
determines the proper meaning, as in this verse clearly referring to
husbands.
Peter does not require women to
be subordinate to men in general but to their husbands as a function
of order within the home. A wife is to accept her place in the family
under the leadership of her husband whom God has placed as head in the
home.
Plutarch writing in a secular
connotation said that wives were to subordinate themselves and the man
is to exercise control
"as the soul controls the body, by entering
into her feelings and being knit to her through goodwill."
Rienecker in the
Linguistic Key to the NT adds that
"submission of wives to their
husbands should be viewed in the light of the society of that day
especially in the light of the wild activities of women in the worship
of Dionysus and Isis". He goes on to add that Plutarch wrote
that wives were to subordinate themselves, and the man was to exercise
control "as the soul controls the body, by entering into her
feelings and being knit to her through goodwill".
In every sphere of ancient civilization, women had no rights at all.
Under Jewish law a woman was a thing; she was owned by her husband in
exactly the same way as he owned his sheep and his goats; on no
account could she leave him, although he could dismiss her at any
moment. For a wife to change her religion while her husband did not
was unthinkable. In Greek civilization the duty of the woman was "to
remain indoors and to be obedient to her husband." It was the sign of
a good woman that she must see as little, hear as little and ask as
little as possible. She had no kind of independent existence and no
kind of mind of her own, and her husband could divorce her almost at
caprice, so long as he returned her dowry.
Under Roman law a woman had no rights. In law she remained forever a
child. When she was under her father she was under the patria potestas,
the father's power, which gave the father the right even of life and
death over her; and when she married she passed equally into the power
of her husband. She was entirely subject to her husband and completely
at his mercy.
The Roman Cato wrote:
"If
you were to catch your wife in an act of infidelity, you can kill her
with impunity without a trial."
What a contrast with Christianity which commands husbands to love
their wives unconditionally!
Roman matrons were prohibited from
drinking wine, and Egnatius beat his wife to death when he found her
doing so.
Sulpicius Gallus dismissed his wife because she had once
appeared in the streets without a veil.
Antistius Vetus divorced his
wife because he saw her secretly speaking to a freed woman in public.
Publius Sempronius Sophus divorced his wife because once she went to
the public games.
The whole attitude of ancient civilization was that
no woman could dare take any decision for herself. What, then, must
have been the problems of the wife who became a Christian while her
husband remained faithful to the ancestral gods? It is almost
impossible for us to realize what life must have been for the wife who
was brave enough to become a Christian.
><> ><> ><>
Today in the
Word - A magazine for Christian leaders published a cartoon that
showed a pastor peering out anxiously from inside a World-War-II-style
bunker, which was behind the pulpit. The well-protected pastor
announced, “My text for today is 1 Peter 3:1-7.”
Today, it’s very socially and politically incorrect to suggest that
marriage is built on a wife’s loving submission and respect and a
husband’s loving tenderness and consideration. We shouldn’t be
surprised that the world labels this concept outmoded, even dangerous.
As the magazine cartoon suggests, Christians often seem just as
reluctant to stand by what the Bible teaches. However, Peter lets us
know that couples need these qualities for the success of their
relationship. Moreover, this issue affects how God relates to us.
Tommy Nelson, puts it on the line for married believers. “If your
relationship to God does not show itself in being a tender husband and
a responsive and respectful wife, then it is not penetrating the most
essential area of your life.”
This requires serious reflection. Our reading indicates how essential
the relationship between a wife and husband is. Much of a woman’s
sense of self is tied to the way she presents herself, both outwardly
and inwardly. The Bible has been accused of trying to shut away women
at home in a subservient role, but that distorts Peter’s message.
Accepting her husband’s leadership is not a statement of a wife’s
inferiority. Both partners are equally valuable before God.
Peter’s caution against a woman investing her wealth and worth in her
physical appearance to the detriment of her spirit reflects the same
principle Jesus taught on several occasions. That is, believers cannot
afford to invest their resources in things on earth to the neglect of
eternal issues (Matt. 6:19-21; Luke 12:21).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY -You may recall the blast of media criticism that
erupted in 1998 when a major Christian group dared to state that a
wife should “lovingly submit” to her husband” (Copyright
Moody Bible Institute. Used by permission. All rights reserved)
><> ><> ><>
SO THAT EVEN
IF ANY OF THEM ARE
DISOBEDIENT TO THE WORD: hina kai ei
tines apeithousin (3PPAI) to logo:
(1Peter
1:22; 4:17; Ro 6:17; 10:16; 2Th 1:8; Heb 5:9; 11:8)
The word “if”
represents a fulfilled condition. The "if" in this passage introduces
a first class conditional clause which assumes the reality of the
condition...specifically that the husbands of some of the woman
reading the letter were in fact unsaved and disobedient to the word.
Disobedient
(544)
(apeitheo from "a" = negating what
follows, without + peithes = obedient)
literally describes one who refuses
to be persuaded and who disbelieves willfully and perversely.
They are unpersuaded and express an obstinate rejection to the will of
God.
Apeitheo is an attitude
(present
tense) of unbelief which involves deliberate
disobedience and conscious resistance to authority. There were
disobedient husbands then just as there are today.
The
present tense
indicates that this is their lifestyle, the way the carry on their
life is in continual disobedience against God! To be sure, we all
disobey from time to time. That is not what Peter is referring to
here. Instead he is describing the individual with an unregenerate
heart who habitually, continually
disobeys (as a lifestyle) what he
or she knows to be the truth.
Apeitheo is translated in
the KJV as believe not, 8; disobedient, 4; obey not, 3;
unbelieving, 1 and in the NAS it is rendered - disbelieved, 1;
disobedient, 10; do not obey, 1; obey, 2.
Apeitheo means not to allow
oneself to be persuaded; not to comply with and to refuse or withhold
belief (in the truth, but elsewhere in Christ, in the gospel)
Apeitheo speaks of a
stubborn, stiff-necked attitude. It speaks of disbelief manifesting
itself in disobedience. It is opposed to
pisteuo,
the verb translated "believe".
Marvin Vincent in discussing
apeitheo in
John 3:36
writes that..
"Disbelief is regarded in
its active manifestation, disobedience. The verb
peitho
means to persuade, to cause belief,
to induce one to do something by persuading, and so runs into the
meaning of to obey, properly as the result of persuasion...Obedience,
however, includes faith. (Ed Note: See discussion of phrase "obedience
of faith" at
Romans 1:5)."
(Vincent, M. R. Word studies in the New Testament Vol. 2, Page 1-109)
From the above comments, it should
not surprise you to discover that in the New Testament the word group
translated disobey, disobedience, etc (apeitheo and
related words) does not stand in contrast with obedience but in
contrast with faith!
The word
(3056)
(lógos from légō
= to speak intelligently source of English "logic, logical")
(Click for in depth discussion of
lógos)
means something said and describes a communication whereby the
mind finds expression in words.
The Christian wife
is exhorted to be in subjection to her unsaved husband, in order that
he might won without a word, not "the
Word" (the
gospel), be won by the behavior of the wife.
Keep in mind the social context of Paul's time, in which a wife was
expected to accept the customs and religious rites of her husband.
THEY MAY BE
WON WITHOUT A WORD BY THE BEHAVIOR OF
THEIR WIVES: dia tes ton gunaikon anastrophes aneu logou
kerdethesontai, (3PFPI):
(1Co
7:16; Col 4:5) (Won: Pr 11:30; 18:19; Mt 18:15; 1Co 9:19, 20, 21, 22;
Jas 5:19,20)
Spurgeon
writes -
Could any men be won to Christ
without the Word? Yes, it was even so in the apostle’s day. When they
refused to attend the little Christian meetings that were being held,
and so could not hear what was there said, yet, at home, they saw the
change that the gospel of Christ had wrought in their wives, and they
said, “She is quite different from what she used to be. Certainly, she
is a far better wife than any heathen woman is; there must be
something in the religion which can make such a change as that.” In
this way, without the Word, many of them were won to Christ by the
godly conversation of their wives. (1
Peter 3 Commentary)
Won (2770)
(kerdaino from kerdos = gain or profit,
interest on money)
was originally a term of commerce referring to financial gain or
profit and meant to acquire by effort or investment. Kerdaino in the present context is applied figuratively of gaining or
winning someone over to one's side, in this case to the side of
Christ.
Behavior
(391) (anastrophe
from anastrepho = to turn up, to move about <> aná =
again, back + strépho = turn) literally means "a turning about" and in
the NT refers to how one conducts one's life, with a focus on overt
daily behavior. It refers to how we live or conduct ourselves.
Note that Peter does
not advise the wife to leave her heathen husband (1Cor 7:13, 14, 15,
16). Peter
does not tell her to insist that there is no difference between slave
and freeman, Gentile and Jew, male and female (Col 3:11), but that all
are the same in the presence of the Christ whom she has come to know.
Peter wants the Christian women to win their husbands by a life of
reverence and purity expressed in a submissive attitude that honors
him as the head of the home. It is the character and conduct of the
wife that will win the lost husband—not arguments, but such attitudes
as submission, understanding, love, kindness, patience. These
qualities are not manufactured; they are the fruit of the Spirit that
come when we are submitted to Christ .
The New Living
Translation has a very nice paraphrase of this verse
In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands,
even those who refuse to accept the Good News. Your godly lives will
speak to them better than any words. They will be won over
Without
a word does not however mean “without the Word of God”. There is
no definite article before the second use of the word word No
one has ever been won to the Lord Jesus apart from the
Word of God because salvation comes through the
Word. Jesus clearly explained one has to hear the "word"
before he or she can "believe" the word, declaring
"Truly, truly, I
say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me,
has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out
of death into life." (Jn
5:24).
There is a play on the word logos.
The wives are to remain silent—without a word—so
that the husbands disobedient to “the word” may be
converted!
What without a word
really means is in essence “without talk, without a lot of speaking.”
How true it is that Christian wives who preach at their husbands often
only drive them farther away from the truth. Peter was not forbidding
speaking to unsaved husbands about the Lord or sharing Scripture if
the husband would be receptive. His point was that a godly wife’s
conduct is going to be more influential than anything she may say.
John
MacArthur adds...
So how do you win an unsaved
partner? By living an exemplary Christian life. Just that simple, just
that simple. Whether you are in the government, seeing yourself as a
citizen. On the job as an employee. In the home as a marriage partner.
The role is always the same, you submit to God's ordained pattern for
that social relationship, and you live it out to the maximum to please
God. And God will honor you as a testimony wherever you are. (1
Peter 3:1-7)
Peter is exhorting these wives who have given the gospel to their
husbands time after time, to stop talking about it lest they start
nagging, and instead, live the gospel before them. If the husband is
so obstinate as to refuse to listen to her, well then, the next best
thing is to keep quiet and let the gospel speak through a Christ like
life. He may refuse to listen to her words, but he cannot but see the
Lord Jesus in her life.
An excellent example of such a
godly wife (and mother) was Monica, the mother of Augustine. God used
Monica’s witness and prayers to win both her son and her husband to
Christ, though her husband was not converted until shortly before his
death. Augustine
wrote in Confessions,
“She served him as her lord; and did her
diligence to win him unto Thee... preaching Thee unto him by her
conversation [behavior]; by which Thou ornamentest her, making her
reverently amiable unto her husband.”
In the context of
Peter's exhortation, it is interesting to contrast that of pagan
writer Plutarch (AD50-120) who said that “it is becoming for a wife
to worship and know only the gods that her husband believes in, and to
shut the front door tight upon all queer rituals and outlandish
superstitions.”
Spurgeon...
A husband was a very loose,
depraved man of the world, but he had a wife who for many years bore
with his ridicule and unkindness, praying for him night and day. One
night, being at a drunken feast with a number of his companions, he
boasted that his wife would do anything he wished; she was as
submissive as a lamb. "No w,"
he said, "she has gone to bed hours ago, but if I take you all to my
house at once, she will get up and entertain you and make no
complaint." The matter ended in a bet, and away they went.
In a few minutes she was up and
remarked that she was glad that she had two chickens ready, and if
they would wait she would soon have a supper spread for them. The
table was spread, and she took her place at it, acting the part of
hostess with cheerfulness. One of the company exclaimed, "Madam, I am
at a loss to under-stand how it is you receive us so cheerfully, for
being a religious person you cannot approve of our conduct."
Her reply was, "I and my husband
were both formerly unconverted, but by the grace of God I am now a
believer in the Lord Jesus. I have daily prayed for my husband and
done all I can to bring him to a better mind. But as I see no change
in him, I fear he will be lost forever. And I have made up my mind to
make him as happy as I can while he is here."
They went away, and her husband
said, "Do you really think I shall be unhappy forever?"
"I fear so," said she. "I would
to God you would repent and seek
forgiveness." That night patience accomplished her desire. He was soon
found with her on the way to heaven. (C H Spurgeon) |
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1 Peter
3:2 as they
observe your
chaste and
respectful
behavior. (NASB:
Lockman) |
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Greek:
epopteusantes (AAPMPN)
ten
en
phobo
hagnen
anastrophen
humon
Amplified:
When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct
yourselves, together with your reverence [for your husband; you are
to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to,
revere him—to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human
sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply
love, and enjoy your husband]. (Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
NLT:
by watching your pure, godly behavior. (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Phillips: simply by seeing the pure and reverent behavior
of you, their wives. (Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest: having viewed
attentively your pure manner of life which is accompanied by a
reverential fear; (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal:
having beheld your pure behavior in fear, |
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AS THEY
(closely & intently)
OBSERVE: epopteusantes (AAPMPN):
(1Pet
3:16; 1:15; 2:12; Php 1:27; 3:20; 1Ti 4:12; 2Pe 3:11)
Observe
(2029)
(epoteuo
from epoptes
= an eyewitness, a supervisor,
a beholder, an inspector, an onlooker.
Among the Greeks the word
was used of those who had attained to the third grade, the highest, of
the Eleusinian mysteries, a religious cult at Eleusis, with its
worship, rites, festival and pilgrimages; this brotherhood was open to
all Greeks) means to be
a spectator, to be an overseer, to view carefully, to watch over a period of time.
It means to to observe something, implying both continuity and intent. The unsaved
watch the saved very carefully.
Peter in the only other NT use of
epoteuo
exhorted his readers to
Keep your behavior
(one’s manner of life) excellent (Gk means lovely,
winsome, gracious, noble) among
the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander
(literally speak against, often involving speaking evil of or with a
suggestion of being false and exaggerated) you as
evildoers (early Christians were falsely accused of rebellion
against the government with such false accusations as: terrorism -
burning Rome, atheism - no idols or emperor worship, cannibalism -
rumors about the Lord’s Supper, immorality - because of their love for
one another, damaging trade and social progress, and leading slaves
into insurrection), they may on account of your good deeds (click
study on
good deeds), as they
observe (closely and intently - epoteuo) them
(pagans are on the watch for slips in moral conduct by those Who Name
Jesus as Lord and Savior), glorify (give a proper
opinion of) God in the day of visitation (common phrase in OT
warning of God’s “visitation” drawing near in either judgment or
blessing and in NT speaks of redemption)." (see note
1 Peter 2:12).
MacArthur explains that
Peter was teaching that when
the grace of God visits the heart of an unbeliever, he will respond
with saving faith and
glorify God because he remembers the testimony of believers he had
observed. Those who don’t believe will experience the visitation of
His wrath in the final judgment. (MacArthur,
J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word
or
Logos)
Almost inevitably we will be
criticized and so we need to remember that unsaved husbands and others
not saved are observing our conduct closely and
intently.
Application:
Applying the truths just
discussed, the question is "How would the unbelievers in your office,
school, home, etc describe YOUR behavior?"
YOUR CHASTE AND RESPECTFUL BEHAVIOR: ten en phobo hagnen anastrophen humon:
(1Pet 3:5,6,15; Ep 5:33; 6:5; Col
3:22)
Chaste
(53)
(hagnos)
means freedom from defilements or impurities. Hagnos
describes what is morally undefiled and when used ceremonially
describes that which has been so cleansed that it is fit to be brought
into the presence of God and used in His service. Although
hagnos refers primarily to that which is inwardly pure, this
purity also affects a person’s conduct. Here it indicates the
irreproachable conduct of the wife.
Hagnos means free from
admixture of evil, and is once applied to God, John writing that
everyone
who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (hagnos) (1Jn 3:3)
Hagnos
is used 8 times in the
NT in the NASB and is translated: chaste, 1; free from sin, 1;
innocent, 1; pure, 5.
2 Corinthians 7:11 For
behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has
produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation,
what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In
everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent (hagnos)
in the matter.
2 Corinthians 11:2 For I am
jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one
husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure (chaste)
virgin.
Philippians 4:8 (note) Finally,
brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good
repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,
let your mind dwell on these things.
1 Timothy 5:22 Do not lay
hands upon anyone too hastily and thus share responsibility for the
sins of others; keep yourself free from sin (morally and
ethically pure)
Titus 2:5 (note)
to be sensible, pure (chaste), workers at home, kind, being
subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be
dishonored.
James 3:17 But the wisdom
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable,
full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
1 Peter 3:2
as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.
1 John 3:3 And everyone who
has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
In the
Septuagint (LXX)
hagnos is
found 8 times (Lev. 23:40; Job 40:22; Ps. 12:6; 19:9; Prov. 15:26;
19:13; 20:9; 21:8) and often
signifies ceremonial purification and/or moral and ethical purity.
Psalm 12:6 The words of the
LORD are pure (Hebrew = tahowr = pure, ceremonially clean as it
referred to animals, ethically pure; Lxx = hagnos) words; As silver
tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. (See
Spurgeon's Comment)
Psalm 19:9 The fear of the
LORD is clean (pure) (Hebrew = tahowr = pure, ceremonially
clean as it referred to animals, ethically pure; Lxx = hagnos),
enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are
righteous altogether. (See
Spurgeon's Comment)
Proverbs 15:26 (KJV) The
thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words
of the pure (Hebrew = tahowr = pure, ceremonially clean as it
referred to animals, ethically pure; Lxx = hagnos) are pleasant words.
Hagnos is always
with a moral sense but is not limited to sins of the flesh, but
covering purity in motives as well as in acts. In
2Co 11:2, of virgin purity. In James
3:17, as a characteristic of heavenly wisdom.
Barclay (critique)
emphasizing
the secular origin and use writes that....
"hagnos and its root meaning is
pure enough to approach the gods. At first it had only a ceremonial
meaning and meant nothing more than that a man had gone through the
right ritual cleansings. So, for instance, Euripides can make one of
his characters say, “My hands are pure, but my heart is not.” At
this stage hagnos describes ritual, but not necessarily moral, purity.
But as time went on the word came to describe the moral purity which
alone can approach the gods. On the Temple of Aesculapius at Epidaurus
there was the inscription at the entrance: “He who would enter the
divine temple must be pure (hagnos); and purity is to have a mind
which thinks holy thoughts.
(Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press
or
Logos)
Chaste is
defined by Webster as free from all taint of what is lewd or salacious
and implies a
refraining from acts or even thoughts or desires that are not virginal
or not sanctioned by marriage vows.
Hagnos refers
to the irreproachable conduct of a godly wife. The believing
wife must live with the conscious awareness and conviction that all life is lived in the presence of
Christ. (cp note
Ephesians 5:21). Purity of life with
reverence for God is what the unsaved husband should observe
consistently.
Respectful
(5401)
(phobos) literally means fear but in context conveys the meanings
of honoring or reverencing her husband. Phobos reflects her attitude
toward her husband that parallels her attitude toward God’s will.
The Amplified
Version describes the wife's reverence for her husband as
follows...
"...you are to feel for him all
that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him—to honor,
esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that
is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your
husband."
George Müller
told of a wealthy German whose wife was a devout believer. This man
was a heavy drinker, spending late nights in the tavern. She would
send the servants to bed, stay up till he returned, receive him
kindly, and never scold him or complain. At times she would even have
to undress him and put him to bed. One night in the tavern he said to
his cronies,
“I bet if we go to my house, my wife will be sitting up, waiting for
me. She’ll come to the door, give us a royal welcome, and even make
supper for us, if I ask her.”
They were
skeptical at first, but decided to go along and see. Sure enough, she
came to the door, received them courteously, and willingly agreed to
make supper for them without the slightest trace of resentment. After
serving them, she went off to her room. As soon as she had left, one
of the men began to condemn the husband. “
What kind of a man are you
to treat such a good woman so miserably?”
The accuser got up without
finishing his supper and left the house. Another did the same and
another till they had all departed without eating the meal.
Within a half hour, the husband became deeply convicted of his
wickedness, and especially of his heartless treatment of his wife. He
went to his wife’s room, asked her to pray for him, repented of his
sins, and surrendered to Christ. From that time on, he became a
devoted disciple of the Lord Jesus. Won without a word!
George Müller
advised: Dearly beloved, don’t be discouraged if you have
to suffer from unconverted relatives. Perhaps very shortly the Lord
may give you the desire of your heart, and answer your prayer for
them. But in the meantime, seek to commend the truth, not by
reproaching them on account of their behavior toward you, but by
manifesting toward them the meekness, gentleness and kindness of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
|
|
|
1 Peter
3:3 Your
adornment must
not be merely
external
--braiding the
hair, and
wearing
gold
jewelry,
or
putting on
dresses; (NASB:
Lockman) |
|
Greek:
on
esto (3SPAM)
ouch
o
exothen
emplokes
trichon
kai
peritheseos
chrusion
e
enduseos
himation
kosmos,
Amplified:
Let not yours be the [merely] external adorning with [elaborate] p
interweaving and knotting of the hair, the wearing of jewelry, or
changes of clothes; (Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
NLT:
Don't be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy
hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Phillips: Your beauty should not be dependent on
an elaborate coiffure, or on the wearing of jewellery or fine clothes,
(Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest:
let your adornment not be that adornment which is from without and
merely external, namely, an elaborate gathering of the hair into
knots, and a lavish display of gold ornaments, or the donning of
apparel, (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal:
whose adorning -- let it not be that which is outward, of plaiting of
hair, and of putting around of things of gold, or of putting on of
garments, |
|
|
AND LET NOT
YOUR ADORNMENT BE MERELY EXTERNAL: on esto (3SPAM) ouch o
exothen: (1Ti
2:9,10; Titus 2:3-15; Ro 12:2)
Adornment
(2889)
(kosmos) (see study verb form
kosmeo) means literally “an ordered system” and speaks
of that which is congruous, fitting. The idea is that the wife's
clothing on the outside of the body should be an expression of what is
in the heart.
External (1855)
(exothen from éxo= out + suffix –then = from or at a place) means from without, outwardly.
Must not be
- Not is absolute negation = no exceptions.
Be
(2077)
(eimi = to be) is
present imperative.
As the Christian wife thus seeks to live
before her husband, the apostle commands (present
imperative = continuous
or habitual action called for) her not to depend
upon outward adornment to win her husband to the Lord.
Her adornment must come from within, from a heart permeated with the
beauty and fragrance of Christ for it the presence of the Lord
Jesus in the life of the wife that will
attract the disobedient husband and not the adornment she puts on.
BRAIDING THE HAIR: emplokes trichon:
Braiding (1708)
(emploke from empléko = to
interweave, braid in, entangle <> from en = in +
pléko = connect, tie, twine/braid) refers to a braiding, an
intertwining or a plaiting as of the hair in ornamentation.
Hair (2359)
(thrix) the hairs of the head.
She is not to depend upon the plaiting
of the hair in her effort to win her husband to the Lord. Reference is
made here to the extravagant and costly excesses to which women of the
first century went in hair ornament. The braiding of hair along with
bright clothes was important in the cult of Artemis (Diana) and Isis.
Vincent quotes an ancient writing
that gives additional insight into why Peter's instruction is so
specific:
"The attendants will vote on the dressing of the hair as
if a question of reputation or of life were at stake, so great is the
trouble she takes in quest of beauty; with so many tiers does she
load, with so many continuous stories does she build up on high her
head. She is as tall as Andromache in front, behind she is shorter.
You would think her another person”.
Thus, extravagant
excesses and intricate artificiality of hair dress are forbidden the
Christian woman as adornment. Ornaments of gold were worn round the
hair as nets and round the finger, arm, or ankle. (Things have
not changed much have they?)
AND WEARING
GOLD JEWELRY: kai
peritheseos chrusion: (Ge
24:22, 47, 53; Ex 3:22; 32:2; 33:4; 35:22; 38:8; 2Ki 9:30; Esther 5:1;
Ps 45:9; Is 3:18-24; 52:1; 61:10; Je 2:32; 4:30; Ezekiel 16:7-13;
23:40)
Wearing (4025)
(perithesis from peri = around + tithemi = place) means literally “to place around or hang
around,” as one hangs ornaments around a Christmas tree.
The wearing
of jewelry is not forbidden here, but it is clearly not to be a gaudy,
conspicuous, extravagant display. This would hardly serve to win a
disobedient husband to Christ.
OR PUTTING
ON DRESSES: e enduseos himation kosmos:
Putting
on
(1745) (endusis from
enduo
[Click
in depth word study on
enduo] = put on in turn from
en = in + duo = sink, go in or under, to
put on) means the putting on or wearing of clothes. In one secular
writing it is used to describe "a beloved spouse who attired herself
unobtrusively 'ornatus non conspiciendi'")
So here Peter says that
dependence upon apparel is forbidden. The purpose of clothing is for
the protection of the body and what Peter is forbidding is the donning
of apparel for the purpose of making ourselves pleasing in the eyes of
the unsaved so that we may win them to a saving faith in the Lord
Jesus.
Wuest has an instructive
question asking...
"Why does not dependence upon
outward adornment help us to win souls to the Lord Jesus? First, it is
because the Holy Spirit does not use the styles of the world in
winning a soul to the Lord, as He seeks to work through the believer.
Second, it is because such an elaborate display satisfies the lust or
desire of the eyes of the unsaved one whom we are seeking to win. When
a Christian worker thus appeals to the fallen nature of the sinner,
she cannot at the same time appeal to him to trust in the Lord Jesus.
Third, it is because such a display destroys the personal testimony of
the soul winner. We may be fundamental in our doctrine, and yet defeat
the power of the Word we give out by the modernism of our appearance.
The unsaved person will say, “What you appear to be on the outside
speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.” For these
reasons, no dependence must be placed upon outward adornment as we
seek to win the lost. Instead of this, we are to depend upon the
hidden person of the heart. (see v4) The expression refers to the
inner heart life of the Christian in which the Lord Jesus reigns
supreme. When we depend upon that (Him) for our adornment, then the
Lord Jesus is seen in the life, His beauty, His sweetness, His
simplicity. (cf note
Romans 13:14)
This the Holy Spirit uses as He gently woos a soul to the Savior. The
more of the Lord Jesus which the sinner sees in the believer’s life,
the more powerful is the latter’s testimony, the more usable her
words, usable to the Holy Spirit (cf Jn 3:30). Alas, as someone has
said, “What cheap perfume we sometimes use” This brings us to certain
principles regarding adornment. If a personality is to be seen at its
best, it must be seen alone, not merged with another personality.
Either the Lord Jesus is seen in all His beauty, or the personality of
the believer is seen and her adornment. The Holy Spirit attracts
sinners to the Lord Jesus, not by displaying the latest styles in
dress, but by exhibiting the Lord Jesus. If the sinner is attracted by
the modernism of the believer’s adornment, the fundamentalism of the
believer’s doctrine will be neutralized. When a Christian woman
depends upon the Lord Jesus for her adornment, the manner of wearing
the hair, the kind and amount of ornament she wears, and the kind of
clothing she puts on, will all be in keeping with the purity,
simplicity, and beauty of the Lord Jesus. All will be attractive
without attracting from the Lord Jesus. All will be beautiful without
detracting from Him. All will have character without attracting one to
the person herself. Then the sinner will see the Lord Jesus in the
heart and life of the believer, and in her adornment as well. Then
will the Holy Spirit be able to work through the soul winner,
attracting sinners to the Savior.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos)
Beautiful People -
Our society idolizes the so-called "beautiful people" -popular
entertainers and models whose youthful faces dominate the pages of the
magazines at the supermarket checkout. But such attractiveness has
nothing to do with the kind of beauty that delights the heart of God.
We tend to think of beauty in terms of something lovely that evokes a
feeling of pleasure within us. But God wants us to place more value on
what's in a person's heart than we do on superficial things (1 Pet.
3:3-4).
As William Dyrness explains, something is lovely by God's standards
"if it displays the integrity that characterizes creation and that in
turn reflects God's own righteousness." In other words, a truly
beautiful person is one who serves God's purposes.
Regardless of our outward appearance, then, all of us can be
beautiful. By God's transforming grace, we can have the beauty of
holiness and integrity that mirrors the character of His Son. As we
devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the fulfillment of the Lord's
purposes in our lives, we will develop the kind of God-honoring
beauty that does not fade (Prov. 31:30). That's the only way to
become one of the truly beautiful people.-- VC Grounds (Our
Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by
permission. All rights reserved)
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in
me,
All His wonderful passion and purity;
O Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine,
Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.
Beautiful
people are those who mirror Christ. |
|
|
1 Peter
3:4
but
let it be the
hidden
person of the
heart, with the
imperishable
quality of a
gentle and
quiet
spirit,
which
is
precious in the
sight of
God. (NASB:
Lockman) |
|
Greek:
all'
o
kruptos
tes
kardias
anthropos
en
to
aphtharto
tou
praeos
kai
hesuchiou
pneumatos,
o
estin (3SPAI)
enopion
tou
theou
poluteles.
Amplified:
But let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of
the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and
peaceful spirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up, but] is very
precious in the sight of God. (Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
NLT:
You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the
unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to
God. (NLT
- Tyndale House)
Phillips:
but on the inner personality - the unfading loveliness of a calm and
gentle spirit, a thing very precious in the eyes of God. (Phillips:
Touchstone)
Wuest:
but let that adornment be the hidden personality in the heart,
imperishable in quality, the adornment of a meek and quiet
disposition, which is in the sight of God very costly. (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal:
but -- the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible thing of the
meek and quiet spirit, which is, before God, of great price, |
|
|
BUT LET IT
BE THE HIDDEN PERSON OF THE HEART: all o kruptos tes kardias anthropos:
(Ps 45:13; 51:6; Mt 23:26; Lk
11:40; Ro 2:29; 6:6; 7:22; 2Co 4:16; Ep 4:22-24; Col 3:3,9,10)
Spurgeon
writes -
There is no ornament like that. No
taste can ever conceive anything so lovely as a holy character. No
expensive materials, and no ingenious fashioning of them, can ever
produce such true beauty as “a meek and quiet spirit.” You must have
known some godly matrons, venerable Christian women, whose gentle
piety has blessed the whole household of which they formed a part.
They attained supreme authority over all simply by yielding; they
gained a queenly position in the house by gentleness and quietness.
Nobody dared to offend them; — not because they would have been in a
passion, but because they were themselves so inoffensive, so kind, so
gentle. (1
Peter 3 Commentary)
Hidden (2927) (krupto,
English - cryptic) secret, concealed.
The idea of hidden person of
the heart is that...
the personality of the Christian
woman is made beautiful by the ministry of the Holy Spirit in
glorifying the Lord Jesus and manifesting Him in and through her
life....The adornment must be spiritual, not physical. Personality is
after all far more important than either physical beauty or the
adornment which mere clothing affords. A person ought to be bigger
than any consideration of outward decoration. One can dress up a fence
post. If one finds it necessary to depend upon either physical beauty
or clothing in order to make a favorable impression upon others, that
fact shows that that person realizes his lack of those personal and
spiritual qualities that make a virile Christian character."
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos)
The hidden person of the heart is the
best sermon the wife could preach to win her husband for Christ. There are
few passages where the value of a lovely Christian life is so vividly
stressed.
WITH THE
IMPERISHABLE
QUALITY OF A GENTLE: en to aphtharto tou
praeos:
(1Peter 3:15; Ps 25:9; 147:6;
149:4; Is 11:4; 29:19; 57:15; 61:1; Mt 5:5; 11:29; Mt 21:5; 2Co 10:1;
Gal 5:23; Ep 4:2; Col 3:12; 2Ti 2:25; Titus 3:2; Jas 1:21; 3:13, 14,
15, 16, 17)
Imperishable (862)
(aphthartos
from a = negates
what follows + phtheiro = to corrupt)
means nothing can
corrupt or ruin, not liable to pass away, not subject to corruption,
decay or dissolution and so imperishable. Absolutely nothing can ruin
your eternal inheritance beloved.
In secular Greek aphthartos
described something that had not been ravaged by an invading army.
Note that the gentle or meek spirit here is in fact a word
of power, not of weakness as many think.
Gentle
(4239)
(praus)
(Click for in depth study of the related noun translated
"gentleness' =
prautes) refers to one who is not overly impressed by a sense of
one’s self-importance and is gentle, humble, considerate, meek and
unassuming.
Praus describes
the man or woman whose temper is always under complete control. He or
she knows when to be angry and when not to be angry. He or she
patiently bears wrongs to himself or herself but is ever chivalrously
ready to spring to the help of others who are wronged.
Praus is used 4 times in the
NT in the NASB (Mt
3x;
1Pet)
(see uses in Matthew below)
and is always translated "gentle" but could be
translated as “meek” or “tender.”
Praus and
prautes convey the idea of
tenderness and graciousness, and can be accurately translated
“meekness” and “meek” respectively. But unlike those English
words, the Greek terms do not connote weakness but rather power
under control. The adjective praus was
often used of a wild horse that was broken and made useful to its
owner. For believers, to be gentle is to be willingly under the
sovereign control of God. Numbers 12:3 describes Moses as
“very
meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.”
Yet that same Moses could act decisively, and flared up in anger when
provoked.
Praus is often
used of a gentle voice, a gentle breeze, or a gentle
animal. As noted above the Greeks characterized meekness as power
under control and in the case of the Spirit filled believer this means
that he or she is under the control of God's Spirit. From a practical
standpoint, the individual who is "praus" exhibits a
freedom from malice, bitterness, or any desire for revenge. The only
way to truly define meekness is in the context of relationships
because it refers to how we treat others. A gentle spirit
should characterize our relationship with both man and God.
How would you
describe your attitude, beloved? Are you meek, humble, gentle, and
mild, or do you tend to display an arrogant, selfish attitude toward
others? Test yourself with the following questions: Are you harsh? If
you are mean in your treatment of others, if there is an absence of
gentleness in your treatment of others, take heed. Are you continually
grasping? If you make sure you always get yours first, if numero uno
is the subtle driving force in your life, if you care little about how
your actions affect others, beware. Are you vengeful? If you are
known as someone never to cross, if you always get your "pound of
flesh," be on your guard. Are your emotions uncontrolled? If rage
fills your soul so that life is a series of explosions occasioned by
the "fools" in your life, watch out. None of these traits emanates
from a meek, gentle spirit.
Gentleness is a God-honored
character trait, one the nine fold aspects of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:23) and is never
bitter, malicious, self-seeking, self-promoting, arrogant, or
vengeful.
The person who is "gentle"
or "meek" sees everything as coming from God and
accepting it without murmuring and without disputing. Meekness and
weakness are not synonymous.
The "gentle, meek" person
(empowered by the indwelling Spirit, gentleness being one aspect of
the Spirit's fruit, Gal 5:23) is
enabled to say
"God, in this situation (whatever it might be),
You are in control. You are sovereign and You rule over all.
You have a purpose and that one aspect of Your purpose is to make me
more like Christ."
Gentleness or meekness is to
characterize everyone in the kingdom of God. In the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus said,
Blessed are the gentle (praus),
for they shall inherit the earth (see note
Matthew 5:5).
Our Lord used praus of
Himself in His famous invitation to all who are weary and heavy laden
to
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle (praus) and humble in heart (Mt 11:29).
In fulfillment of Zechariah's
prophecy (Zech 9:9),
as Jesus prepares for His triumphal entry in His last week in
Jerusalem, Matthew records
BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING
TO YOU, GENTLE (praus), AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A
COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.' (Mt 21:5)
Robert Johnstone (in his excellent nineteenth-century commentary on
James) has some insightful comments on meek or gentle
writing...
I do not know that at any point the
opposition between the spirit of the world and the Spirit of Christ is
more marked, more obviously diametrical, than with regard to this
feature of character. That “the meek” should “inherit the
earth”—they who bear wrongs, and exemplify that love which “seeketh
not her own," (see note
1Corinthians 13:5)—to a world which believes in high-handedness and
self-assertion, and pushing the weakest to the wall, a statement like
this of the Lord from heaven cannot but appear an utter paradox. The
man of the world desires to be counted anything but “meek” or “poor
in spirit,” and would deem such a description of him equivalent to a
charge of unmanliness. Ah, brethren, this is because we have taken in
Satan’s conception of manliness instead of God’s. One Man has been
shown us by God, in Whom His ideal of man was embodied; and He, “when
He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not,
but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously” (1Peter
2:21-23); He for those
who nailed Him to the tree prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they
know not what they do.” (Lu 23:34, cf Acts 7:60) The world’s spirit of wrath, then, must be
folly; whilst than a spirit of meekness like His, in the midst
of controversy, oppositions, trials of whatever kind, there can be no
surer evidence that “Jesus is made of God to His people wisdom. (Johnstone,
Robert : A Commentary on James. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1977,
p261–62)
Strong's
note on praus states that
"Meekness toward God is that
disposition of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good,
and therefore without disputing or resisting.
In the OT, the meek are those
wholly relying on God rather than their own strength to defend them
against injustice. Thus, meekness toward evil people means knowing God
is permitting the injuries they inflict, that He is using them to
purify His elect, and that He will deliver His elect in His time." (cf
Isaiah 41:17)
William Barclay
(critique)
has a lengthy discussion of praus
(and the related word prautes) writing that praus has two main lines
of meanings...
(a) Aristotle, the great Greek
thinker and teacher, has much to say about praotēs (related to praus).
It was his custom to define every virtue as the mean between two
extremes. On one side there was excess of some quality, on the other
defect; and in between there was exactly its right proportion.
Aristotle defines praotēs (related to praus) as the mean between being
too angry and never being angry at all. The man who is praus is the
man who is always angry at the right time and never angry at the wrong
time. To put that in another way, the man who is praus is the man who
is kindled by indignation at the wrongs and the sufferings of others,
but is never moved to anger by the wrongs and the insults he himself
has to bear. So, then, the man who is (as in the Authorized Version),
meek is the man who is always angry at the right time but never angry
at the wrong time.
(b) There is another fact which
will illumine the meaning of this word. Praus is the Greek for an
animal which has been trained and domesticated until it is completely
under control. Therefore the man who is praus is the man who has every
instinct and every passion under perfect control. It would not be
right to say that such a man is entirely self-controlled, for such
self-control is beyond human power; but it would be right to say that
such a man is God-controlled. (Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press
or
Logos)
Praus conveys the idea of "controlled strength" and is
that humble and gentle attitude that expresses itself in a patient
submissiveness.
Think about it...if gentleness or meekness governs the
circumstances we encounter rather than the circumstances governing us, it has to be
powerful.
Meekness is the opposite of
self-assertiveness and self-interest.
Meekness is an equanimity of spirit that
is neither elated nor cast down because it is not occupied with self
at all.
The perfect example of praus is our Lord Jesus Christ
and how He walked
and responded even to those who mistreated and falsely accused Him
(see notes
1 Peter 2:18;
19;
20;
21;
22;
23;
24;
25). He did not operate with deceit, did not return derogatory
remarks and did not threaten even though He had more right to do so as
Creator than anyone ever created. He kept His mouth closed & prayed.
He continually entrusted Himself to God, knowing that God knew his
unjust treatment & that He would judge righteously. Jesus' purpose was
not to judge (at least not as a Man) but to win over the sinner. Jesus then is the wife's (and all believer's)
Example, Role model and
most importantly our Enabler (through the Spirit of Christ Who
indwells all believers) to supernaturally exhibit this gentle spirit. (see
note
1Thessalonians 5:24).
So in Peter's message to the wife is to do all you can to win your
husband with your meekness & with a quiet spirit, with that
tranquility that arises from within and remains unshaken by
circumstances. This is not an easy command, especially in our modern
liberated feminist era where women are taught independence &
self-assertion. Yet God speaks there truths for He knows & understands
the hearts of all mankind and He knows what is best. That is why He
tells us not to lean on our own understanding but to acknowledge Him
in all our ways and He is responsible to make our paths straight. His
thoughts & ways are much higher than ours. Peter says to the wife to
take the high road that she might live in the highest plane.
Here is the KEY to this dynamic -- it is in a sense letting go of
trying to "work" on one's husband, giving up on one's own
(self)
efforts and trusting God to work on him. All the while the wife by
God's grace exercises the godly discipline of a gentle and
quiet spirit. Now we begin to see why it is characterized as
"precious". It is not the wife's job to make the husband holy.
It is God's job and only within His power.
AND QUIET
SPIRIT (disposition): kai hesuchiou pneumatos:
(Ps 131:2; Jer 51:59; 1Th 4:11; 2Th 3:12; 1Ti 2:2)
Quiet
(2272) (hesuchios) means quiet, tranquil (free from agitation
of mind or spirit and suggesting a suggests a very deep quietude or
composure), without turmoil,
well ordered or undisturbed from without and exhibiting a peaceful
attitude. It does not mean she should be silent at all times and never
express an opinion. Compare the description of a "virtuous
woman" (Pr 31:10-31).
Spirit -
In this context refers to one's general disposition.
WHICH IS
PRECIOUS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD: o estin (3SPAI) enopion tou
theou poluteles:(1Sa
16:7; Ps 147:10,11; 149:4; Lk 16:15)
Precious
(4185) (poluteles is from polus = much or great +
telos = expense or cost) means very expensive,
costly or sumptuous and in the present context means "very precious".
In the sight
of God - The Greek word enopion (from en = in + ops = face or eye)
is literally in the face of, in the presence of and thus before. This
picture makes her manifestation of a gentle and quiet spirit
virtually a sacrificial act of worship!
Cultural context: Christianity came into a world of luxury and
decadence combined. Purple was the favourite colour for clothes. One
pound weight of the best Tyrian purple wool, strained twice
through, cost 1,000 denarii, 43.50 pounds. A tyrian cloak of the best
purple cost well over 100 pounds. In one year silks, pearls, scents
and jewelry were imported from India to the value of 1,000,000
pounds. Similar imports of luxury came from Arabia. Diamonds,
emeralds, topazes, opals and the sardonyx were favourite stones.
Struma Nonius had a ring valued at 21,250 pounds. Pearls were loved
most of all. Julius Caesar bought for Servilia a pearl which cost him
65,250 pounds. Earrings were made of pearls and Seneca spoke of women
with two or three fortunes in their ears. Slippers were encrusted with
them; Nero even had a room whose walls were covered with them. Pliny
saw Lollia Paulina, wife of Caligula, wearing a dress so covered with
pearls and emeralds that it had cost 450,000 pounds.
The Birthmark
- Charles William Eliot (1834-1926), former president of Harvard
University, had a birthmark on his face that bothered him greatly. As
a young man, he was told that surgeons could do nothing to remove it.
Someone described that moment as “the dark hour of his soul.” Eliot’s
mother gave him this helpful advice: “My son, it is not possible for
you to get rid of that hardship. But it is possible for you, with
God’s help, to grow a mind and soul so big that people will forget to
look at your face.”
PRECIOUS
(Source unknown) ”Of
great price, costly, valuable, very dear, highly esteemed,
expensive.” People and things are said to be precious to us;
yet, how much more precious to us should things of a spiritual
nature be. Peter loved to use the word, “precious” in his
epistles. Note Peter’s precious treasures.
1.
Precious Trials—”That the trial of your faith, being much more
precious than of gold that perisheth” (see note
1 Peter 1:7).
2.
Precious Blood—”Redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as
of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (see notes
1 Peter 1:18;
1:19).
3.
Precious Corner Stone—”To whom coming, as unto a living stone,
chosen of God, and precious, a chief corner stone, elect,
precious” (see notes
1 Peter 2:4;
2:6).
4. Precious Lord—”Unto you therefore which believe He is
precious” (see note
1 Peter 2:7).
5. Precious Faith—”To them that have obtained like precious
faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ” (see note
2 Peter 1:1).
6. Precious Promises—”Whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world
through lust” (see note
2 Peter 1:1).
7. Precious Death—”Precious in the sight of the LORD is the
death of His saints” (Psalm
116:15;
See Spurgeon's Note)
This last verse
is not from Peter, but should be included in the list of God’s
precious things, serving, as it does, as the final evaluation of the
things of this life. It is a precious, comforting thought to know that
to
be absent from the body (is) to be present with the Lord (2
Corinthians 5:8).
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