LIKEWISE… PART 2 OF 4

This post is the continuation of this first post.  I thought it might be helpful to give a more direct and detailed study of 1 Peter 3:1-6. This is part two.

Peter then moves on to give a few examples of areas of life where this witness might be exhibited: regular citizens with human institutions, slaves with their masters, wives with their husbands, husbands with their wives, and all of us with one another (2:13-4:6).

Before we talk about each of these, take notice of a recurring theme in the letter: we are being who we are, and doing what we do, in Christ and in imitation of Christ (2:21; 3:9, 13-16; 4:1, 13). In other words, in giving the reader directions for how to live in a world where the wheels have fallen off, we are to focus on being like our Lord and Savior, and to do it as a way to change the world, not as a way to escape the world. Jesus did not “take” his suffering, he willingly laid down his life for his people and entrusted himself to the one who judges justly (2:23). He knew that he was in the lap of God, serving God, and doing it for God’s glory and his future joy (cf. Heb. 12:1-2).

In the light of all this, how should we live with the civil government when they are not Christian? Peter says that we should submit ourselves first to God, and then to the institutions that God has established. Peter might be quoting or referring to what Jesus said when he said, “And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mt. 22:21). Or Paul when he said, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Rom. 13:1). Or in the letter to Titus, “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,” (Tit. 3:1). The point is that when a Christian lives like a Christian in front of his civil magistrates, evil is confounded, ignorance and foolishness is silenced and God is glorified (1 Pet. 2:17).

In the same way that the normal citizen should live as a Christian in front of the civil magistrates, so too slaves should live in a particular way with regard to their masters. Slaves are to be submissive to their masters with all fear (or respect). It is interesting that none of the commentators talked about who the slaves should fear. The assumption is that the slave should submit in a respectful way to their human master. But I would assert that the slave should submit with respect because they have a good conscience before God. In other words, they should submit to their masters because they are already submitting to God. I say this because Peter goes on to tell slaves that they should let Christ be their example (2:21). Jesus committed himself to the father (2:23) and in the process gave himself over to those who persecuted him. He suffered at human hands the way he did because he had committed himself to the one who judges justly. He did not, therefore, need to defend himself, to revile, to threaten, or even to “poof” the soldiers out of existence, because he had committed his life to one who would judge on his behalf.

When Jesus suffered, he did not go limp. He was not in a defensive position when he was beaten, insulted, had his clothes torn off, and his hair pulled out. He was actively loving those people who killed him. He could have, at any moment, walked right through those who were killing him (Jn 8:59), but he chose to let them nail him to the cross as an aggressive act of love. And this is the kind of submission Peter was calling the slaves to. He was not telling the slaves to go limp, to hang their heads, and give up. He was telling them to serve their masters in the same way that Jesus took his suffering; in an active, submission to the father, with the purpose of letting their lives preach to the non-Christian world, which as you will remember is the main point of Peter’s letter.

We now come to the wives (3:1-6). Peter’s first word in this section is ‘likewise.’ Some translations have “In the same way” or even, “in a similar way.” But what is Peter referring to here? Wayne Gruden gave us these options:

Here the word might mean: (1) similar to the example of Christ in 2:21–25; or (2) similar to the way in which servants are to be submissive in 2:18; or (3) another possibility is that homoiōs simply means ‘also’, introducing a new subject in the same general area of discussion (relationships to authority), without implying similarity of conduct (see BAGD, p. 568, and 3:7; 5:5).^[1]

There is a fourth option: some would suggest that this referred back to 2:13 where Peter said, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake…” and then he went on to flesh out what he meant by “ordinance of man.” It would go something like this, “submit to governing authorities (this way), submit to masters (this way), and submit to husbands (this way).”  The problem with this view is that Peter also used the word ‘likewise’ when he was talking to husbands about how they should treat their wives (3:7). He did not tell husbands to submit to wives, rather he told them to live with their wives “in an understanding way,” etc. Which is a much more Christ-like position than a submissive position (cf. Eph. 5:25 ff). Further, in 3:9, Peter said, “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.” His repetition of what Jesus did for us when he laid down his life (cf. 2:23), tells us that Peter had more in mind for slaves, wives and husbands than simply to suffer like passive blobs. So, while the passage in question comes after 2:13 it is more properly in a larger context. At the end of the day, the readers are all (people to governing authorities, slaves, wives, husbands, etc.) to suffer in the way that Christ suffered. The context is about how to suffer well for the glory of God.

Referring back to the quote by Wayne Grudem, I submit that options 1 and 2 should be combined where applicable. Wives should submit to their husbands like slaves to masters and both should imitate Jesus, but it is the attitude of Jesus that is primarily invoked in the word ‘likewise.’ In other words, the wife is being enjoined to respond to her husband in the same way the slave should respond to his master (we see this in Peter’s use of the word ‘submit’). Moreover, the wife should imitate the slave’s attitude in her submission by imitating Jesus in his passion. ‘Likewise,’ at the beginning of First Peter 3:6, then, is referring to imitating the way slaves are told to live with unbelieving masters. But this is not just, or even primarily, in their basic behavior, but in their attitude toward God and their masters. So, in the same way that slaves should submit to their masters because they have given their lives to Christ and are trusting in him, wives should submit to their husbands because they have already submitted themselves to “the one who judges justly (2:23).

Besides making good sense of what Peter is telling slaves and wives, this view also takes into consideration how husbands are to treat their wives in a “likewise” way. And, while the word, ‘likewise’ is not used in verse 8, the repetition of 2:23 and the sense continues the purpose of 2:13-3:7. That is,

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:11–12)

Combined with,

“And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 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; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:13–17)

The goal of all of this is to build the kingdom in the midst of suffering by living godly and holy lives in front of the non-Christians.

Another item that adds credence to this view of husbands’ treatment of their wives (I know I’m going out of the range of this paper), is that this agrees with the way Paul tells husbands to treat their wives in Ephesians 5:25ff.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5:25–27).

How would a husband love his wife well, like Paul is telling husbands, without studying her? How could he live with his wife in an understanding way (1 Pet. 3:7) without studying her? Paul and Peter are saying essentially the same thing. Loving your wife will change her into Christ’s likeness. Love is efficacious.

In summary of the context, Peter is telling his readers how to live as Christians in a world that hates them and is actively trying to destroy them. But Peter is not telling them to go slack on one hand or to rebel on the other. Peter is telling us to live in a hostile world as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ and this representation will be something the world has no antidote for. God is working through his people to change them and the world.

^[1] Grudem, W. A. (1988). 1 Peter: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 17, pp. 142–143). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.