Both Jesus and Paul emphasized the importance of prayer, noting that people ought always to pray. . .
1 Peter 3:7King James Version (KJV)
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered
■■■▶ Prayer:
Matthew 7:7 Both Jesus (Luke 18:1) and Paul (1 Tim. 2:1) emphasized the importance of prayer, noting that people ought always to pray. Prayer includes asking and getting answers from God. But it is...
1 Peter 3
V 1–7: SPIRITUAL SPOUSES: The same high degree of conduct and consideration should apply both to wives and to their husbands. Submissiveness to their husbands and cultivating an inner life of beauty should be the wives’ concern. That is more important than wearing fashionable clothes and jewellery and having a nice hairstyle. Their godliness should be such a powerful testimony that it will win unsaved husbands for Christ. Christian husbands should treat their wives with great understanding and consideration as the weaker vessel. The test for husbands is whether they can pray openly with their wives after the way they have treated them. V 8–12: HUMBLE HARMONY: One-mindedness, com-passion, tender-hearted love, courtesy, giving way to others, and controlled speech are all tokens of the harmony that comes from a humble lifestyle marked by repentance and actively seeking what God wants. V 13–17: CLEAR CONSCIENCE: It is important that believers sanctify God in their hearts so that they can always give a response to anyone who asks why they hope in Christ. With good conscience, their testimony will be strong, and they will be upheld by God even if they suffer wrongly. V 18: EXCELLENT EXAMPLE: The excellent example of Christ is quoted. He ‘suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God’. No suffering we endure for Him, or for His cause or teaching, can compare with His suffering for us. V 19–22: SALVATION’S SYMBOL: In between Christ’s death and resurrection, He proclaimed His victory to departed spirits. Linking this with those who were disobedient in the days of Noah, Peter makes the connection between water and salvation and passes on to the picture of baptism as a mere symbol of salvation. Baptism can never cleanse the soul or conscience. The crucified and risen Christ does this for those who trust in Him.
Dictionary of Bible Themes:
- 5053 responsibility, for God’s world: All humanity has a moral obligation under God to one another, whether as national leaders, ministers, spouses, parents, children, believers or simply as human beings. This moral obligation is shown in the Scriptures to also include the animal kingdom and the environment.
- 5325 gifts: Presents, given freely and without payment. Scripture lays considerable emphasis on salvation as a gift given by God to sinful, undeserving men and women.
- 5701 heir: Property and power in biblical times normally descended from father to son. Jesus Christ is therefore called God’s heir, and believers are said to inherit in HIM.
- 5702 husband: The male partner in a marriage relationship. The origin of this God-ordained institution is traced back in the Bible to the Garden of Eden. Scripture stresses that marriage is a God-ordained institution, within which the husband is pledged to love and care for his wife. Scripture contains many examples, both good and bad, of how husbands behaved. The ultimate examples of a good husband in Scripture are God as the husband of Israel and Jesus Christ as the bridegroom of the church.
- 5705 inheritance, spiritual: Believers are privileged to receive a spiritual inheritance from their heavenly Father as a result of their adoption into the family of God through faith.
- 5707 male and female: God created humanity as male and female. Although gender differences are evident in behaviour and role, Scripture teaches the equality and complementarity of the sexes
- 5744 wife: The female partner in a marriage relationship. The origin of this God-ordained institution is traced back in the Bible to the Garden of Eden. Scripture stresses that marriage is a God-ordained institution, within which the husband should love and care for his wife, just as the wife should obey, honour and care for her husband. A good wife is portrayed as a great blessing, but a bad wife influences her husband for evil. In the OT, Israel is sometimes portrayed as God’s wife; in the NT, the church is described as Christ’s bride.
- 5745 women: God created both women and men in his image and likeness. Scripture shows women in a variety of roles, playing an important part in God’s salvation plan. In Christ, there is no fundamental distinction between believers on account of gender, race or social status. Women played a significant part in the life of Jesus Christ and in the early church. The NT both records their role and faces the questions thereby raised.
- 5876 helpfulness:
- 6240 rape: The sexual violation of an individual (normally, though not necessarily, female). This is a deeply traumatic and degrading experience for the victim and is an evil that Scripture condemns.
- 6646 eternal life, gift of: Eternal life cannot be earned or merited but must be received as a gift from God.
- 7120 Christians: Those who belong to Jesus Christ; other designations in Scripture are believers, disciples and the children of God. Originally a nickname, the term is only used three times in the Bible.
- 7797 teaching: The apostles’teaching formed the basis of the instruction given to the first Christians. Parts of the NT draw a distinction between preaching and teaching, seeing the former as a means of converting individuals, and the latter as a means of instructing them after conversion.
- 7923 fellowship, in the gospel: A mutual participation in the blessings of God’s grace. Believers are united with one another on the basis of their common reception of the benefits of salvation.
- 8242 ethics, personal: Scripture teaches that individuals have a responsibility before God for their conduct.
- 8299 love, in relationships: Human love is ennobled by being patterned on God’s love for his people. It is also safeguarded by God’s commands.
- 8471 respect, for human beings: Each individual, created in the image of God, should be honoured and esteemed, and this should be worked out in every area of life.
- 8616 prayerlessness: Without prayer any relationship with God is impoverished because vital communication is lost.
■■■▶ The Glory of Christian Suffering:
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