1 Peter 3: 1-7
Go Deep
(1 Peter 3:1-7)
Read 1 Peter 3:1-6. How would you answer a critic who used this passage to support the claim that Christians are sexist and misogynistic?
Ponder: Should a Christian woman endure physical violence from her husband as an expression of biblical submission? Why or why not?
Since societal roles change over time, should Christians think that a passage like this no longer applies? Do you think a 21st century Christian’s response to this passage would be identical to a 1st century Christian’s response?
To what do the words “In the same way” (verse 1) refer? In the same way as what – or who?
Why do you think that Peter (like Paul) tells wives to be submissive to their own husbands? Might it be easier to submit to someone else’s husband?
Do you think that submission by a wife (or by other Christians, see vv. 13, 18) might bring hardship or suffering? Or will God make sure that his obedient child doesn’t go through such things? Explain your answer.
What is the purpose of a Christian wife’s submission according to verse 1?
Do you think that people can really be won over without a word?
Read verse 2. Do you think a person who has purity and reverence will necessarily be different from others? Will they be odd?
Read verses 3 and 4. How would a person go about responding to this instruction? Do you think it is as countercultural today as when Peter wrote it?
Verse 6 says that Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him “lord” (a sign of respect). Yet Genesis says that God once told Abraham to do whatever Sarah told him to do. How do these different details fit together?
Read verse 7. What would it mean for a Christian man to live together with his wife according to knowledge (literal translation)? Knowledge of what? How might a man set about fulfilling this instruction?
What can you apply from this passage?