1 Peter 3

1 Peter 3:1

More Precious Than Gold An EasyEnglish Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the first letter of Peter www.easyenglish.info Helen Pocock This commentary has been through Advanced Theological Checking.

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Chapter 3 Wives and husbands

v1 You wives must respect and obey your own husbands. Some husbands do not obey God’s word. When they see your good behaviour, they will want to know God. This will happen, even if you have not spoken to them about God. v2 They will see that your lives are pure and full of respect. v3 Do not try to make yourself look beautiful only on the outside. People do this by special hair styles, by gold, or by expensive clothes. v4 Your beauty must come from the inside. This beauty comes from a gentle and quiet spirit.

It will never wear out. God says that it is very precious. v5 The holy women who lived a long time ago trusted in God. They made themselves beautiful in their spirits. They respected and obeyed their own husbands. v6 Sarah obeyed her husband Abraham. She called him her master. You women should do what is right.

Do not be afraid of anything. Then you will be daughters of Sarah. v7 You husbands must live with your own wife in a way that shows that you understand her. Your wife has a weaker body than you have. You must honour her, because God has given both of you his gift of life. If you do this, it will not be so difficult for you to pray together.

Marriage is very important to God. He created marriage. You can read about this at the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis 2:20-25. God decided that a husband is the head. His wife should respect and obey him. A husband has more responsibility than his wife has. This does not mean that men are more important than women are. God loves everyone, but he does not give all people the same work to do. When Peter wrote this letter, it was unusual for a wife to have a different religion from her husband. Some women had become Christians, but their husbands had not. Peter had to explain how a Christian wife should behave in that situation.

Verses 1-2

A Christian wife must live a holy life (1 Peter 1:15). She should respect and obey her husband, even if he still does not obey God. But sometimes her husband may tell her to do something that is a *sin. This is the only time that she must not obey him. A husband will see that his wife behaves better because she is a Christian. One day he will want to know God too, but it may take a long time. She should pray for her husband. She herself should live a holy life and trust God.

Verses 3-4

A woman can make herself beautiful on the outside. This is not wrong. However, a Christian woman should be beautiful in her spirit too. A ‘gentle spirit’ means that she does not insist that she is always right. She does not make other people do what she wants to do. She does not argue or fight. A ‘quiet spirit’ means that she is peaceful in her spirit. Then she helps other people to feel peaceful too. This is what is important to God. 1 Samuel 16:7 says that people decide what other people are like by what they look like on the outside. But God looks at their spirit. Beautiful clothes will wear out. The good things in the spirit of a person will never wear out.

Verses 5-6

What Peter wrote in verses 1-4 is not new. It is true for all women in every country at all times. Abraham and Sarah lived nearly 2000 years before Peter wrote this letter. You can read about them in Genesis chapters 11-25. Sarah was a holy woman, because she trusted God. She did what was right. ‘She called him master’ means that she respected Abraham as her husband. ‘You Christian women are daughters of Sarah’. This means that all women who trust God are part of the same *spiritual family of God. Women who obey God will not be afraid of anything.

Verse 7

The way that a husband behaves is also very important. Every husband should learn how to care for his wife. A man has a stronger body, so that he can protect his wife. He must not think that it is bad that she is weaker. God decided to make men and women different. But they will receive an equal *inheritance from God (Galatians 3:27-29). ‘Gift of life’ refers to their new *spiritual life. A husband should honour and respect his wife, because she is precious. If a husband behaves badly towards his wife, he does not obey God. It is difficult for people to pray together when they have *sin in their lives.

There is more teaching about husbands and wives in Ephesians 5:21-33. Suffering for doing good

v8 Here is something else. You must all agree and sympathise with one another. Love each other because you are all members of the Christian family. Be kind and humble.

v9 You must not do evil things to a person who does evil things to you. Do not insult people who insult you. Instead, you must bless them. This is what God wants you to do. In that way you will receive his *blessing.

v10-12 The Bible says:  ‘If you want to enjoy life and have good days,  then do not say evil things. Do not tell lies.

 Do not do what is evil. Do what is good.  Look for peace and go after it.

 The *Lord cares for everyone who obeys him. He listens to their prayers.  But the *Lord opposes everyone who does evil’ (Psalms 34:12-16). v13 Who will hurt you, if you always want to do good things?

v14 However, you may suffer even when you do what is right. But God will bless you. The Bible says, ‘Do not be afraid and do not worry’ (Isaiah 8:12). v15 Honour Christ in your heart as *Lord. People may ask you to explain the *hope that you have. Always be ready to answer them. Answer them in a gentle way and with respect. v16 Keep your conscience innocent. Sometimes people will say bad things about you, because you live a good Christian life. But they will feel shame. v17 It is better for you to suffer for doing right things than for doing wrong things. God may allow this to happen.

v18 Christ suffered and died once. It was for all time. He was not guilty of *sins. However, he died for everyone who is guilty of *sin. Christ did this to bring you back to God. People killed his body, but the Holy Spirit made him alive again.

v19 In the Spirit, Christ went and *preached to the spirits in prison. v20 A long time ago, they had refused to obey God. God was kind and waited while Noah built a big boat. Only 8 people did not die when God flooded the earth. God kept them safe as they came through the water.

v21 That water shows you what *baptism is like. It saves you. It does not save you because it washes dirt from your body. It saves you because God forgives you. Now you come to God with a clean conscience. It saves you because Jesus Christ rose from death. v22 He has gone into heaven now and is at the right hand of God. Even *angels, who have great authority and power, obey him.

Verse 8

Members of a family sometimes argue and fight. This can happen even in a Christian family. God does not want this. People argue because they are selfish and proud. Sometimes they do not love each other. Christians must learn to agree and not to argue. Humble people care more about other people than they care about themselves. They are kind and do not fight.

Verse 9

It is quite easy to behave well when people are kind. When people behave badly towards another person, that person’s natural reaction is to be bad in return. This is not what Jesus did (see chapter 2:23). Whatever other people say, a Christian should always reply with good words. God only blesses people when they do what is right.

Verses 10-12

To ‘enjoy life and have good days’ does not mean that Christians can live without troubles in their lives. It means that God will care for them, if they live the right way. They should be careful what they say. Sometimes Christians say evil things and tell lies. This causes trouble. Instead, they must do and say things that encourage peace. Then God will listen to their prayers and help them. If they live the wrong way, then God will oppose them. Their lives will not be happy.

Verses 13-14

When people do what is right, they usually receive *praise (1 Peter 2:14). Christians should always do what is right. This is important, even if they suffer for it. Christians are not to be afraid of anything. Nothing can take away the Christian’s *blessings. God cares for everyone who does what is right.

Verse 15

Christ is *Lord of all circumstances. He has all authority. The people who do bad things to Christians are not in control. Christians should always trust Christ. Other people will notice this. They may ask you about this ‘*hope’ that you say you have. Sure *hope in Jesus Christ is what makes Christians different from other people. You can tell them that Jesus Christ died to forgive our *sins. Christians who suffer can explain about their *inheritance in heaven (1 Peter 1:2-5). Christians should be kind and patient as they answer, because only God can change a person’s outlook.

Verse 16

‘Conscience’ is the part of people that feels guilty when they do wrong things. If people obey God, their conscience will be innocent. Christians should not worry when people oppose them. One day God will give these people a guilty conscience, because they have spoken what is wrong.

Verse 17

God sometimes allows even good people to suffer. They must continue to trust God. This will show that they have a genuine *faith in God (chapter 1:7). Suffering is the right punishment only when a person does evil.

Verse 18

This is another verse that explains the good news about Jesus in a very simple way. God is holy. *Sin separates people from God. The punishment for *sin is death (Romans 6:23). Jesus died to forgive *sins. Jesus himself did not *sin. But he died to take away the *sins of other people. Men killed his body, but he did not stay dead. He rose from death and God made him alive with *spiritual life. Now people can have a relationship with God again.

Verses 19-21

The story about Noah and the flood is in Genesis 6:11-9:17. Noah was a *righteous man, but the rest of the people at that time were wicked. God decided to destroy the wicked people. He told Noah to build a big boat. He was patient while Noah took many years to build it. Then God flooded the world and all the wicked people drowned. God kept 8 people safe in the boat until the flood was over. These 8 people were Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives.

Verses 19-20

In his second letter, Peter says that Noah was a *preacher of right behaviour (2 Peter 2:5). The Holy Spirit spoke through Noah. He warned the people to stop their wicked behaviour. But they would not obey God, so they died in the flood. When Christ rose from death, he went and *preached to the spirits in prison. The ‘prison’ refers to the place of dead people.

Verse 21

*Baptism does not make someone a Christian. Their *faith in Jesus Christ does. But *baptism is a sign of what has happened. The water is like the flood that washed away all the evil in the days of Noah. The boat is like *salvation that saves people from death. A Christian comes out of the *baptism water and begins a new life. When people put their trust in Jesus, God forgives their *sins. That takes away their bad conscience. Because Jesus rose from death, he gives *eternal life to those who trust him.

Verse 22

God lives in heaven. God is a spirit. He does not have a body. Jesus is now ‘at the right hand of God’. This means that Jesus has the same power and authority as God. Even powerful *angels with great authority are under his control.

© 1999-2001, Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

December 2001

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