Slaves to Righteousness
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:15-23)
We are called out of slavery to sin and death to become slaves of righteousness, but not in the way that we have come to understand slavery. We are slaves to righteousness in a way that means that all our needs are met by our master. We are lacking in resources to provide for ourselves, and we are unable to obtain freedom unless the master wills it. We are hopelessly and completely dependent on him. As the notes from the ESV Study Bible on Matthew 18:2-4 similarly explain, "The humility of a child consists of childlike trust, vulnerability, and the inability to advance his or her own cause apart from the help, direction, and resources of a parent."
It also means that all our service is for the purpose of fulfilling the will of the master. Our daily tasks are not prioritized in accordance with our own pleasures; rather, our time, strength, talents, and abilities are given to the master in obedience to him, used for his purposes. 2 Timothy 2:26 tells us that we "escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him (God) to do his will."
But rather than fearing being captured by this Master, remember this, "He who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men." (1 Corinthians 7:22-23) And God is unlike any master of men. Always fair, always just, yet merciful and full of grace thanks to the sacrifice of His own Son, slaves of Christ want for nothing, having been granted true freedom and life in Him. As Peter answered to Jesus himself, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (John 6:68)
Imperishable Beauty
Furthermore, Peter instructs us as wives to submit to our husbands as a sign of obedience and of love. The way we relate to our husbands is a sign to the world of the way we relate to God. Our submission to our husbands demonstrates our love for them, and as Christians, our submission to authority shows the world that we love God and trust him ultimately and completely.
Peter later goes on to say that we are to "always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame." (vv. 15-16) Our love and submission is not meant to be shown only by the way we live our lives in silence, but also with words. Let us use our conduct and our words to show our husbands that we both love and respect them as the leaders of our homes, and let us also speak with well-seasoned words to our husbands and anyone else who will hear about the hope that is within us.
Along with preparing a defense that is delivered with gentleness and respect, Peter instructs wives that a "gentle (also translated 'meek') and quiet spirit is very valuable in God's eyes" (v. 4). We've heard of this value before, in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus promises, "the meek...will inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5). In the editor's footnote to Calvin's commentary on 1 Peter 3:4, meekness is defined as "not given to passion or wrath, patient, not proud nor arrogant; quiet, peaceable, not garrulous, not turbulent, nor given to strife and contention." So this meekness is not to be confused with timidity, but rather describes the spirit that is at peace in all circumstances, whether in opposition to or agreement with their given human authority, knowing that the true and final authority of Jesus, our loving and gracious Lord, kind and gentle master, will stand forever. We are called to "submit to every human authority", but it is "for the Lord's sake" that we do so (1 Peter 2:13). Let us never lose sight of who we are always ultimately in submission to. In John 18:36, Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting... But my kingdom is not from the world.” It is how we live in submission to Christ that will matter in the end.
As I was thinking today about how to describe to my six-year-old daughter what it mean to be truly beautiful, I thought of this passage in 1 Peter, as well as the "greatest commandments" listed by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-39, "And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Loving others as yourself is a demonstration of true inner beauty. And isn't that what submission is at its essence? Loving someone else more than yourself? Submitting to their will over your own? All of us as Christians are called to this in relationship with our Lord and Savior, the Bridegroom. And we as wives are called to this with our own husbands as well.
True beauty points to a depth within. Just as outward beauty can only attract others for so long without an inward beauty beneath it, a life of submission is only as meaningful as the love behind it. This is the true beauty of a wife to her husband. Hairstyles will change, clothes will go out of style, and even our bodies will change in many ways over the years. But one thing that can remain constant over all the years, with God's grace, is to live a life of love for others. Love for others is often the common thread in describing someone who is really beautiful. This is my desire for my daughter and myself. So please don't be afraid or anxious, wives, to live a life of submission to your husband and those in leadership. When Jesus comes to return for his Bride, your beauty will shine forth greater than any reflection you've ever seen in the mirror, because you will be truly and singularly beholding Jesus in all His radiant glory, and you belong to Him!
I pray that reading these chapters of 1 Peter will bless you as you grow in understanding of Biblical submission, and I pray, as always, that the Spirit would speak truth to you through God's word, with your eyes open to see and your ears open to hear. To God alone be the glory.
Verse 1
Likewise, wives, you, must
Accept the authority
Of your own husbands
1 (continued)
So that even if
Some disobey the word, they
May be won over
1 (continued)
Your godly conduct
And beautiful way of life
Will speak without words
1-2
When they see that you
Conduct yourselves with pure and
Respectful conduct
3
Your beauty should not
Consist of outward things like
Elaborate hair
3 (continued)
Nor from the wearing
Of expensive jewelry
Or fine apparel
4
Instead, your beauty
Should come from within, where it
Cannot be destroyed
4 (continued)
The beauty of a
Gentle and quiet spirit
Is precious to God
5
For this is how the
Holy women who hoped in
God adorned themselves
5 (continued)
They trusted in God
And accepted their husband's
Own authority
6
As Sarah obeyed
Her husband Abraham and
Called him her master
6 (continued)
You are her daughters
When you do what's right and do
Not give way to fear
7
Husbands, in the same
Way be considerate as
you live with your wives
7 (continued)
Show honor to your
Wife as a weaker but most
Delicate partner
7 (continued)
Live as co-heirs of
The grace of life, that your prayers
May not be hindered
8
Finally, all of
You must live in harmony,
Be sympathetic,
8 (continued)
Love one another
As brothers: compassionate,
Merciful, humble
9
Don't repay evil
For evil; when insulted,
Don't retaliate
9 (continued)
Instead, bless, for to
This you were called, that you may
Obtain a blessing
10
For the Scriptures say,
"Whoever desires to love
Life and see good days,
10 (continued)
"Let him keep his tongue
From evil and his lips from
Deceitful speaking
11
"He must turn away
From evil and do good; seek
Peace and pursue it
12
"For the eyes of the
Lord are on the righteous, and
His ears hear their prayers
12 (continued)
"But the countenance
Of the Lord is against those
Who do what's evil."
13
Who will harm you if
You are deeply committed
To doing what's good?
14
But even if you
Should suffer for the sake of
Righteousness, you're blessed
14 (continued)
And do not fear their
Intimidation; don't be
Troubled or upset
15
Instead, honor the
Messiah as Lord in your
Hearts and in your lives
15
Always be ready
To answer anyone who
Asks about your hope
16
But do this in a
Gentle and respectful way;
Keep your conscience clear
16 (continued)
That those who slander
Your good behavior in Christ
Will be put to shame
17
It's better, if God
Wills, to suffer for doing
Good than for evil
18
For Christ suffered once
Also for sins, the righteous
For the unrighteous
18 (continued)
That He might bring us
To God, having been put to
Death in the body
18-19
But made alive in
The Spirit, He went and preached
To prison's spirits
20
Who in the past were
Disobedient, when God
Waited patiently
20 (continued)
In Noah's days while
The ark was being built; eight
Were saved by water
21
Baptism, which is
Symbolized by that water,
Now saves you also
21 (continued)
Not the removal
Of dirt from the flesh but as
An appeal to God,
21
The pledge of a good
Conscience toward God, effective
Because of Jesus
21-22
His resurrection
Is what saves you, and now Christ
Has gone to heaven
22
Seated at God's right
Hand with angels, rulers, and
Powers subjected
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