Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 130th. Edition.
Dear People of whom the World Is not Worthy,
Today’s passage (1 Peter 3:5-6) is the final installment on the theme of the submission. The previous passage encouraged godly women to prioritize the inner beauty of a gentle and peaceful spirit, something that God is pleased with.
We now move on to the matter of Trust. The holy women who put their trust in God in times have left us an example (v. 5). They made submission their chief adornment. While the disagreements and controversies about this position will continue until “Kingdom Come,” it is noteworthy that the underlying definition of the women is “holy” – meaning that they set themselves apart for God. The submission argument has been used to abuse and oppresses women, but that by no means negates the fact that godly women showcased their holiness through submission. In fact, one such example went to the Extreme (v. 6). Sarah not only submitted to Abraham, but she also obeyed him and called him Lord.
Christian women are told that they will be Sarah’s daughters if they practice goodness and courage. The big question is whether they should obey their husbands, as she did. This is a difficult matter, but two considerations may help us to make sense of it. The first is that Sarah obeyed her husband and joined him in lying (Genesis 12:10-20). We are instructed to not “share in other people’s sins” and to keep ourselves pure (1 Timothy 5:22), so obviously it was not advisable for Sarah to participate in the husband’s lies.
Just imagine what would have happened if God had not intervened. So, obviously, Sarah’s obedience is not to be imitated wholesale. The second consideration is that the second part of this verse (v. 6) is not dependent on the content of the first part, because it drifts from Sarah’s obedience to goodness and courage, which she obviously had, but which also is not the subject of her obedience.
What we can conclude from this passage is that submission does at times demonstrate obedience (if the husband is right, then what options does the wife have?). But such obedience must not be blind and a woman must not divorce her intellect or violate her conscience, in the name of submission. In our next passage, we will look at the husband’s responsibility.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.