1 Peter 3 carries the theme of Christlike submission into the home and then into a hostile world. Wives can win unbelieving husbands by their lives; husbands are to honour their wives as “heirs together of the grace of life.” All believers are to repay insult with blessing, and to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.” Then Peter points once more to Christ, who suffered, “the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,” and to Noah’s ark, a picture of the salvation that baptism represents.
A study in 1 Peter 3 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 15 min read
Won Without The Word
“Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.”
1 Peter 3:1-6
“Likewise” connects these verses to what came just before: Christ, who suffered without retaliating and entrusted Himself to God (2:21-23). Peter is not setting out a chain of command. He is showing what Christlike humility looks like in each relationship: citizens, servants, wives, husbands, and “all” believers (verse 8).
Peter has a particular situation in mind: a Christian woman married to a husband who does “obey not the word.” In the ancient world, a wife was expected to follow her husband’s religion. A wife who became a Christian on her own was taking a courageous and risky step. How could she win her husband? Not by preaching at him, but “without the word,” by her “chaste conversation” — a pure, respectful life he could watch day after day.
Her real beauty, Peter says, is not in elaborate hairstyles, gold jewellery or expensive clothes, but in “the hidden man of the heart… the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” Meekness is not weakness. It is strength under God’s control, the spirit of Christ Himself (Matthew 11:29).
“The inward adorning of a meek and quiet spirit is priceless. In the life of the true Christian the outward adorning is always in harmony with the inward peace and holiness.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 523
A Christlike wife builds up her husband and her home, as Christ would do. She does not lift herself up by tearing others down. And she is “not afraid with any amazement” — she does not live in fear, because like Sarah she trusts in God.
Heirs Together Of The Grace Of Life
“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.”
1 Peter 3:7
Then Peter turns to husbands, and in that culture his words were revolutionary. Husbands are to live with their wives “according to knowledge” — understanding them, considerately. They are to give their wives “honour.” “The weaker vessel” refers to physical strength, not worth, intelligence or spirituality; it calls for protection and gentleness, not domination.
And above all, husband and wife are “heirs together of the grace of life.” Before God they stand as equals, co-heirs of the same salvation. A husband who treats his wife harshly should not expect his prayers to go unhindered: Peter warns that God will not hear a man who dishonours the one He has made his fellow heir.
Not Rendering Evil For Evil
“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”
1 Peter 3:8-12
“Finally, be ye all” — every believer. Unity, sympathy, brotherly love, tenderness and humility. And when insulted, “not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing.” Peter had once drawn a sword in Gethsemane. Now he writes as a man who learned from Jesus.
“He who on the mount gave the precept, ‘Love your enemies,’ Himself exemplified the principle, not rendering ‘evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing.’ Matthew 5:44; 1 Peter 3:9.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 265
Peter backs it up with Psalm 34:12-16. The good life is not found in getting even. It is found in guarding the tongue, turning from evil, doing good, and pursuing peace. And the Lord watches over those who live that way.
A Reason Of The Hope That Is In You
“And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”
1 Peter 3:13-17
“And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” No one can do real, lasting harm to a person who belongs to God. People may cause suffering, but “if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye” — blessed, as Jesus said in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:10).
“‘The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers…. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?’ 1 Peter 3:12, 13.”
Ellen G. White · The Great Controversy, p. 529
Instead of fear, “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts” — set Christ apart as Lord in the place where fear would otherwise rule. And then “be ready always to give an answer.” The word is apologia, a reasoned defence. Every Christian should know why he believes what he believes, and be able to explain it. But notice how: “with meekness and fear,” gently and respectfully, never with arrogance. And the explanation must be backed by “a good conscience” and a good life, so that slanderers end up ashamed.
In The Days Of Noah
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”
1 Peter 3:18-22
Why is it worth suffering for doing right? Because that is what Christ did. “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.” One of the clearest statements of the atonement in Scripture: the innocent for the guilty, once for all, to bring us home to God.
Verses 19-20 are among the most debated in the New Testament. Some take them to mean that between His death and resurrection Christ went to the underworld to preach to the spirits of the dead. But Scripture teaches that the dead “know not any thing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) and that there is no second chance after death (Hebrews 9:27). And the passage itself tells us when this preaching happened: “when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing.”
The Spirit of Christ spoke through the prophets (1:11), and Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5). By His Spirit, Christ preached through Noah to the people of that generation, people who were held captive by sin, the “prisoners” Isaiah says Christ came to set free (Isaiah 42:7; 61:1). They “were disobedient,” and they rejected the message. When Peter wrote, they were in the prison of death, awaiting judgment. God waited patiently for them for a hundred and twenty years (Genesis 6:3).
“Of the vast population of the earth before the Flood, only eight souls believed and obeyed God’s word through Noah. For a hundred and twenty years the preacher of righteousness warned the world of the coming destruction, but his message was rejected and despised. So it will be now.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 102
“Eight souls were saved by water.” The same flood that destroyed the world carried the ark to safety. And that, Peter says, is a “figure” of baptism. The water of baptism does not wash away dirt from the body, nor does it save by any power of its own. It saves as “the answer of a good conscience toward God” — a believer’s pledge of faith, going down into the water as into a grave and rising “by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” to a new life. Baptism by immersion pictures exactly that (Romans 6:3-4).
And the chapter ends in triumph. The Christ who suffered “is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.” The persecuted believers could face any earthly power, because every power in the universe is subject to their Lord. That is “the hope that is in you,” and it is always worth being ready to explain.
