1 Peter 3:1-7

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Christian Husbands and Wives

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. Christian wives should respect and submit to their husbands.

  2. Christian husbands should understand and honor their wives.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Husbands, are your prayers being answered?

QUESTIONS

  1. Who is the source of all authority? See Romans 13:1

  2. Who was the Roman Emperor when Paul wrote Romans 13?

  3. Name the four God-ordained areas of authority.

  4. What is our Christian responsibility of duty in reference to these four areas of authority?

  5. Is there an exception within this framework?

  6. Refer to 1 Peter 3:1-2. When the wife is submissive to her husband, what is a potential positive effect?

ANSWERS

  1. God is the source of all authority and He has ordained or appointed certain lines of authority between Himself and man.

  2. Nero was the pagan Roman Emperor.

  3. The four areas of authority are: a. state or government b. church c. family d. labor

  4. When we have authority, we are not to abuse it or misuse it. When we are under authority, we are to submit.

  5. Yes. The only time we disobey is when the authority above us requires us to do something that is completely contrary to the word of God. Then we obey the higher authority, namely, God Himself, because all authority finds its source in God. See Acts 5:29.

  6. She may win her husband to the Lord when he observes the chase conduct of her life and her reverence for God.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Read 1 Peter 3:1-2. Wives are exhorted to submit to their own husbands, a line of authority in the home, where the husband is the head of the family. There are a number of Christians, both men and women who dispute the validity of these verses as applicable or needful in today’s society. How would you deal with this refusal to honor the word of God?

  2. Read 1 Peter 3:7. Husbands have the greater responsibility before God – to understand their wives and be sensitive to their spiritual, emotional and physical needs. See Ephesians 5:25. Husbands are to remember that they and their wives together are heirs of the grace of life, and that his headship position does not make them any better or more privileged. How would you deal with the husband who “lords” it over his wife?

CHALLENGE

  1. Husbands, check this out. Are your prayers being answered? If not, it may be that in 1 Peter 3:7 you will find the answer. Examine your relationship with your wife.

KEY VERSES

  • “Wives, 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, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.” 1 Peter 3:1-2

  • “Let your adornment be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” 1 Peter 3:3-4

  • “Husbands, dwell with your wives 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.” 1 Peter 3:7



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