THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapter 3)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Timothy Sparks and Ben Bailey.
Timothy Sparks:
“Finally, all of you be of one mind” (1 Pet 3:8). I’m Timothy Sparks.
Ben Bailey:
And I’m Ben Bailey. Welcome to our study of 1 Peter. These lessons are being brought to you by loving, caring members of the churches of Christ. The churches of Christ in your area would like you to stop by and visit with them. They would be happy to study the Bible with you. If you do not know much about the church of Christ, they would be glad to explain to you the concept of the New Testament church, why we believe what we believe, and why we do what we do according to the Word of God. We, too, would like to help you in your study of the Bible. We are making this lesson available on CD or DVD. You might like to have a copy of it for yourself, or you might like to give it to a friend or relative to help them with their study of God’s Word. We will gladly make these available to you free of charge. We also have a four-lesson Bible correspondence course, if you would like to make use of it. It is an easy-yet-effective way for you to study the Bible. It will come to you in the mail (free of charge), and you can send it back in a self-addressed stamped envelope. It is a wonderful way to study, to learn, and to come to know God better. If you would like to enroll, or if you would like to order copies of today’s lesson, you can visit us at our website at www.thegospelofchrist.com, fill out the request form that you will find there, and we will assist you in whatever way we can.
In 1 Peter 3, Peter discusses the relationship between the husband and wife. Like the government and the Christian, or the master and the servant, the husband and wife also have a unique relationship. In the context of chapter 3, it may be the case that some of these people married before obeying the Gospel. Thus, one spouse might be a Christian, while the other one is not. In verse 1, Paul tells the wives, “Likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the Word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives.” It is obvious that, as Peter discusses how wives must be submissive to their husbands, he also is making the point that by doing so, they might bring their unbelieving mate to Christ. This will not be accomplished by a constant badgering or nagging, but instead by living a good Christian example.
Timothy Sparks:
In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul instructs the Christian mate to remain with a spouse who is not a Christian. Here, Peter is explaining how—by her chaste (holy, upright) conduct—a wife might win her mate to Christ without even speaking a single word. We do teach and preach by our example! As the old poem suggests,
“I’d rather see a sermon,
Than hear one any day.
I’d rather one walk with me,
Than merely tell the way.
For the eye is a better pupil,
And more willing than the ear.
Fine counsel can be confusing,
But example is always clear.
And the best of all the preachers
Are the men who live their creed.
For to see good put in action,
Is what everybody needs.
Though an able preacher charm me
With his eloquence, I say,
I’d rather see a sermon,
Than hear one any day.
This is the concept Peter has in mind when it comes to Christian women. Their conduct is their teaching tool. Without so much as saying a word, they might win their mate to Christ. I am reminded of the true story of the Christian fellow who was always happy, who was always vibrant, and who always had a smile on his face. When a friend asked him why he was also so joyful, cheerful, and happy, he replied as follows.
“I used to be a bartender. I didn’t hire bouncers, because I enjoyed that part of the job too much myself. I was the kind of guy who, if you looked at me the wrong way, I’d fight you. I’ve fought half the people in this county, so it seems. I was living for the devil. But my sweet wife was a Christian, and I didn’t like it. When she had women over for a Bible study, I’d jump in and try to cause trouble, hoping to make my wife mad. But she never once lost her temper. She always remained cool, calm, and kind. Eventually, I adopted the attitude of, ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,’ and I began attending worship services with my wife. Eventually, I came to realize that the life I was living was not the life I should be living. I gave up my job as a bartender. And I eventually became a Christian—all because of my wife’s Christian conduct.”
Eventually, this man became an elder in the Lord’s church. This is the type of thing that Peter is discussing here. All of us have an impact, of course. But don’t women have a special kind of impact on husbands, and on all the males in their lives?
Ben Bailey:
Yes they do. Where would the church be today without godly women who do everything they can to serve? But in 1 Peter 3, Peter does not address just wives. In verse 7, he goes on to say, “Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.” The wife is to have a submissive spirit that is in accord with the will of God. But husbands have their own part to play, too. They are to be people of understanding. Sometimes, husbands can be a little quick to judge or a little stubborn. Sometimes, husbands do not think through things clearly, or they fail to consider how their actions might make others feel. Husbands need to possess the type of understanding attitude that can help someone else grow as a Christian. If husbands do not possess such an attitude, verse 7 indicates that it can “hinder their prayers.” The relationship between a husband and wife is such that if it is not right, then it can affect their spiritual lives as well.
Timothy Sparks:
Husbands need to be sure that they fulfill their role as the head of the household. Peter mentions that the wife is “the weaker vessel.” This certainly is not speaking of the fact that the woman is weaker spiritually. Some have suggested that Peter is referring to the fact that women are weaker physically. In the context of Peter’s comments about submission, perhaps the actual meaning of the text is that she is “weaker” in the sense that she is submitting to her husband, in keeping with the will of God. The woman is indeed to submit to the husband as the head of house. But Ephesians 5 teaches that we are to submit ourselves to one another “in the fear of God” (vs. 21). Marriage is a “give and take” situation, where each person has a distinctive role to play. In God’s sight, of course, men and women are equal, as Galatians 3 points out. But He has set forth specific roles in which the man and the woman are to abide. When we read God’s instructions in the Bible, we learn that men should look and act like men, and women should look and act like women.
Ben Bailey:
We are not saying here that women are “inferior” in some way. Nor are we suggesting that men are to be a sort of “dictator.” That is not at all the idea. The concept we are stressing here is the same one that Paul stressed in 1 Corinthians 11:3 when he said, “I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” If we are all submitting to God, aren’t we on an equal plane anyway? Women are not inferior. Nor should men be domineering. That is not what Peter is saying. Ephesians 5:21-23 points out that husbands and wives must love one another, and, at times, submit to one another. Yet each one—the man and the woman—has a unique role. We must respect that role, and we must not neglect it. It is the responsibility of the husband and father to lead the home in a spiritual direction. It is the man’s responsibility to see to it that the family goes to worship, to initiate home Bible studies, to help the family grow spiritually, to help teach and train the children, etc. Titus 2 explains that mothers also have a great responsibility in the home—to teach the children, and to make the home a lovely place where spiritual growth can occur. We must respect our God-given roles, and succeed in those roles to the very best of our ability.
Timothy Sparks:
As Peter moves from the subject of the relationship between husbands and wives, he says, “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing” (vss. 8-9). Then, in verse 15, he offers “the great defense,” when he says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.” Each Christian has a responsibility to be able to offer a defense to people who ask us about our hope. We have to be people who have a knowledge of the Bible that will allow us to, as Peter said in 1 Peter 4:11, “speak as the oracles of God.” We have to be people who are always ready to stand up and be counted for the truth. In 2 Corinthians 4:7, Paul wrote, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” We are those “earthen vessels.” We must be ready, willing, and able to give to anyone who might ask us, an answer explaining the hope that lies within us. But notice that Peter says we are to offer such an answer “in meekness,” which means “in gentleness.” We also are to offer our reply “in fear,” which means with reverence and respect. When we respond to an inquiry, we must do so kindly and gently, with respect for the inquirer as well as for the inquiry. We must, as Ephesians 4:15 admonishes us to do, “speak the truth in love.” By our response, we can influence the eternal welfare of an individual’s soul.
Ben Bailey:
We need to always be ready to tell people about the Gospel, but we must never do that in a harsh or abrasive way. Our job is to present the Gospel in its purity in a loving, kind manner. When someone asks us why we are willing to suffer for our faith, we need to be able to provide a cogent, intelligent, legitimate response. In verse 17, Peter says, “For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” Peter’s point is very practical. He is asking, in essence, “If you are a Christian, and you end up suffering or dying because you do what God has commanded you to do, is that the worst thing that could happen to you?” Peter is asking if there is any reward associated with suffering for doing the will of God. His answer, of course, is “Yes, there is!” If we die for having done good as a faithful child of God, then we can go to Heaven. Look at the other side of that. If we suffer for doing evil, is there any spiritual reward from God for that? And the answer is, “Absolutely not!” There is no reward of any kind for doing evil. Even civil governments recognize that if you do evil, you deserve to be punished. As Peter continues, he enters into a discussion who suffered for having done evil, and who are still suffering as a result of that evil. In verses 19 and 20, Peter speaks of how Christ “went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”
Timothy Sparks:
Some people have misinterpreted Peter’s remarks to suggest that Christ actually entered Hell to preach to lost people to give them a sort of “second chance.” But that is not at all what Peter is saying.
Ben Bailey:
No, it is not. The key to understanding this difficult passage is to reach back to 1 Peter 1:11, where Peter spoke of “the Spirit of Christ that was in them.” The word “them” refers to the prophets of old. Thus, in 1 Peter 3:17, Peter is simply saying that “the Spirit of Christ” —through Noah—preached to the people who are now suffering because they refused to listen to what Christ (through Noah) said. The idea of people having some sort of “after-death second chance” is completely contrary to the teaching of Scripture.
Timothy Sparks:
Peter tells us that some people were lost (those who refused to hear and obey Noah’s message), while some people were saved (Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their three wives —eight people in all) “through water.” That is to say, the water “lifted up” the people in the ark so that they remained above the death and destruction that lay beneath. Peter goes on to say, “There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ)” (vs. 21). Peter was clear that it is not the washing away of any fleshly filth that saves us. Rather it is “the answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Baptism saves us because it is in baptism that we come in contact with the blood of Christ. Naaman mocked the idea of being baptized—which is what he was commanded to do. Elisha commanded Naaman to dip seven times in the River Jordan, and Naaman’s response was, “Isn’t there a cleaner river around here? Why can’t you just wave your hand, call on your God, and cleanse me?” Naaman initially walked away in a fit of rage. But his servants asked him, “If the prophet had commanded you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?” Naaman, upon further reflection, decided to obey God’s will and dip seven times in the River Jordan. It was only when Naaman obeyed God that he was cleansed of his leprosy. He was not cleansed after having dipped one time, or three times, or six times. He was cleansed when he dipped seven times—exactly has God had commanded. The same principle applies to baptism. There is nothing “magical” in the water itself that can wash away sins. When we obey the will of God and are baptized, forgiveness takes place in the mind of God. Sadly, so many in the religious world today refuse to acknowledge the importance of this verse and its teaching about the essentiality of baptism.
Ben Bailey:
We are not saying that we can do something to “earn” or “merit” our salvation. Nor are we saying—in keeping with the concept known as “baptismal regeneration”—that there is something “special” in the water. Forgiveness of sins has nothing to do with the water itself. It has to do with the fact that we do what God tells us to do. Consider the account of the city of Jericho in Joshua 6. God told the Israelites that He would give them the city of Jericho. It was a free gift. But did the Israelites receive the city at that very moment? No, because there were things they had to do. They had to march around the city, one time for each of six days, and seven times on the seventh day. On the last day, they had to blow on their trumpets and stomp their feet. Did those actions on their part do something to the walls to make them fall? No. Then how did they receive the city? They received it when they did what God told them to do. The same principle applies when it comes to baptism. We receive the free gift of salvation when we do what God has told us to do. It is interesting that in 1 Peter 3:21, Peter said, “baptism does now also save us.” He did not say that baptism alone saves us. Rather, baptism “also” saves us. To be obedient to God’s will, we must combine several things that God has told us to do. For example, we must believe in Jesus as the Son of God. In John 8:24, Jesus said, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” We also must repent, as Jesus stated in Luke 13:3—“I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” We also much confess Jesus as the Savior. We read in Romans 10:10, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Then we must be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins. Baptism is essential. In Acts 2:38, Peter said to those Jews who had crucified Christ, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.”
Timothy Sparks:
On the Day of Judgment, when those people who refused to obey God stand before Jesus, He will say to them, “Depart from me; I never knew you” (Mt. 7:23).
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Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. Explain what Peter mean when he said that husbands, “even if some do not obey the Word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives” (1 Pet. 3:1).
2. In 1 Peter 3:7, Peter says that husbands must dwell with their wives “with understanding.” What does that mean?
3. In the context of 1 Peter 3, what did Peter mean when he spoke of the woman as “the weaker vessel”?
4. Explain Paul’s comment in Ephesians 5:21 that husbands and wives are to “submit to one another in the fear of God.”
5. According to 1 Corinthians 11:3, what is the biblical “order of submission”?
6. Titus 2 speaks of a very important role that wives and mothers must fill. What is that role?
7. Peter commands Christians to “not return…reviling for reviling” (1 Pet. 3:9). What does he mean by that?
8. In 1 Peter 3, we find a single verse that often is referred to as “the great defense.” What is that verse?
9. What does it mean for a Christian to “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11)?
10. In 2 Corinthians 4:7, Paul said that God had placed the Gospel in “earthen vessels.” What, or who, are those earthen vessels?
11. Explain the connection between 1 Peter 3:15 and Ephesians 4:15.
12. What did Peter mean when he wrote, “For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil” (1 Pet. 3:17)?
13. In 1 Peter 3:19-20, Peter speaks of Christ having “preached to the spirits in prison.” Explain the meaning of this text.
14. In 1 Peter 3:21, Peter referred to the fact that Noah and his family were saved “through water.” What did he mean by that statement?
15. According to 1 Peter 3:21, what is the purpose of baptism?
16. What did Peter mean when he said in 1 Peter 3:21 that “baptism does also now save us”?
17. What is the lesson we should learn from the Old Testament story of Naaman?
18. What could cause Jesus to tell people to “depart from Him” on the Day of Judgment?
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, 607 McLish Ave., Ardmore, OK 73401; (580) 223-3289; www.thegospelofchrist.com