1 Peter 3

Notes

Ver. 1, 2. And while Christian subjects and servants are careful to honour their religion by a conscientious performance of the duties of their station, do you, Christian wives, behave with the most obliging and affectionate submission to your husbands in all things lawful—that if any be ignorant, regardless, or contemners of the word and ordinances of God, those ordinary means of conversion, they may, by your meek, humble, sweet, and engaging temper and carriage, and your pure, sober, chaste, modest, and reverential deportment, influenced by a religious reverence of God, and regard to his authority, be allured and gained over to a good esteem of Christ and his ways: 3, 4. And labour to recommend yourselves and your religion to your husbands, not by the external ornaments of dress, but by knowledge, virtue, truth, grace, and holiness of heart, manifested by good works in your life, which are far more beautiful, excellent, advantageous, and lasting—particularly by a modest, humble, gentle, calm, tractable, and peaceable temper of spirit, free from pride and turbulent passion, which, however overlooked by vain minds, is inexpressibly valuable in God's account. 5, 6. For in this endearing and submissive manner the ancient holy women, who trusted in God for his blessings of time and eternity, endeavoured to ingratiate themselves with their husbands—particularly Sara, who in the very name she gave to her husband Abraham marked her high respect for him—whose daughters, not only in a natural, but in a moral and spiritual sense, ye are while ye behave rightly towards your husbands and others, without being deterred from your religion through fear of their displeasure, and without any unbelieving confusion or doubt relative to God's fulfilment of his promises.—7. And do you husbands on all occasions live with your wives in a faithful, friendly, and familiar manner, treating them with that decency, kindness, and cheerfulness which prudence and knowledge of the gospel require—delighting in their persons, consulting their comfort and happiness, supporting their credit and authority in the family, providing honourably for them, putting due confidence in them, and sympathizing with and helping them under their manifold infirmities, that, if Christians, they may be honoured and encouraged, as heirs of eternal happiness, equally with yourselves; and if not, may be allured to the Christian religion, and every proper method taken to promote your joint worshipping of God, by yourselves and with the family, in a manner comfortable to you and acceptable to God. 8, 9. In fine, let all of you who profess to believe in Christ labour to cultivate a mutual agreement in the important doctrines of the gospel, and answerable thereto, and a harmonious temper, feelingly sympathizing with one another in all afflictions.—As children of the same heavenly Father, maintain and exercise an affectionate brotherly-love, in thought, word, and deed, towards each other. Manifest the most tender sympathy towards such as are under weakness or afflictions, temporal or spiritual. And let your whole carriage be affable, friendly, and engaging to every one. Never return injuries or reproaches to such as have injured or reproached you, but earnestly pray for blessings to them, and watch for opportunities to do them real favours—knowing that ye are called, by the authority and example of Christ, to this amiable conduct, as a mean of his gracious bestowal of temporal, spiritual, and eternal blessings upon you, as his children and heirs of his promises. 10, 11. For nothing can be more plain, from the oracles of God, than that they who wish for peace, comfort, and prosperity in this world, ought to guard against all profane, filthy, opprobrious, false, or deceitful language, and to abhor and carefully avoid everything sinful in itself and prejudicial to others, and practise everything good and beneficial—labouring to the utmost of their power, and as far as they can with a good conscience, to live peaceably with all men, and studying to promote peace among neighbours, friends, or enemies. 12, 13. For the great Lord of all takes special notice of, dearly loves, and kindly watches over and cares for such as, being clothed with Jesus' blessed righteousness, are upright, holy, and righteous in their hearts and lives; and he is graciously attentive to and ready to answer all their prayers which are offered to him in humility, faith, and fervency; but in a terrible manner he manifests his just indignation against such as indulge themselves in wickedness. And if he be your Friend and Protector, what man or devil can do you any real hurt, while, depending on his grace, and devoted to his service, ye imitate him and his saints in goodness and holiness? Nay, what man would be so malicious or cruel as to seek the hurt of an inoffensive and beneficent neighbour? 14-16. But if God should permit any to reproach and persecute you for adherence to Christ and his gospel, his love and favour will render you happy under such treatment; never therefore be terrified, discouraged, or perplexed, as if their threatenings or abuse would issue in your disgrace or ruin, but always preserve high thoughts and a reverential fear of God in your hearts, and entire trust in his infinite wisdom, power, mercy, and faithfulness, for your security, and for ordering every event to your everlasting honour and joy. And in a dependence on his direction and assistance, be always ready, by word or deed, in courts of judicature, and everywhere else, to defend and account for the grounds of your hopes of salvation, according to the gospel, for which ye willingly suffer. And let this be done with a meek and modest air, temper, and language, and with a holy reverence of God and fear of offending him by unfaithfulness, and even with a cautious fear of offending those to whom ye speak by anything disrespectful—in everything conscientiously studying that if your enemies will reproach you as injurious to society or public welfare, your blameless, humble, and benevolent practice, springing from faith in Christ, may effectually confute them, and force them with shame to retract their slanders. 17. For if it please God that you should suffer for your adherence to his truths and ways, this is far more honourable, advantageous, and comfortable, than if you were to suffer for your own crimes and follies. 18. For in patiently and boldly suffering for righteousness' sake, ye are conformed unto your great Lord and Saviour, who, though infinitely holy and righteous in his divine nature, and perfectly pure in his manhood, did, once for all, offer up himself in his sufferings as an atoning sacrifice, in the room of us unrighteous and ungodly sinners, that he might reconcile us to God, and bring us to spiritual fellowship with him here, and immediate enjoyment of him hereafter—he having been crucified in his manhood, but quickly after raised again to an immortal life of blessedness and glory by the influence of his divine nature and of his Holy Spirit. 19, 20. By whom, through the ministry of Noe, in manifold admonitions and strivings, he preached the righteousness of faith, and the necessity of repentance and reformation, to those ungodly sinners who lived on the earth before the flood, but are now shut up in the prison of hell, for the punishment of their obstinate rebellion against God, and contemptuous abuse of his long-continued mercies and patience. 21, 22. And as then Noe and his family were saved out of, and even by means of, water, so baptism, not as a mere washing of our body with water, but as it represents and seals the application of Christ's blood and Spirit to our conscience, purifying it from dead works, and making us to act answerably to our solemn obligation to be the Lord's (therein contracted), is now a noted representation and mean of our salvation, by the death and resurrection of Christ our only Saviour, who, as a pledge, earnest, evidence, and security of it, and as our Forerunner, to open our way and prepare mansions for us, is now ascended into heaven, enthroned at the right hand of God, and invested with all power over angels, magistrates, and every other creature.

Ver. 2. With fear. Not slavish fear, but 'respectful deportment.' C.

Ver. 3. Whose adorning, &c. To be understood in a comparative sense; that is, for 'not,' read 'not so much as' (Bloomfield). It is, however, by no means clear that any scriptural example, even Mat. 9.13, will fully bear out this comparative sense of ουχ. See Robinson's Gr. Lex. ου, δ. The prohibition is easily understood by giving the emphasis to 'adorning,' when, compared with 1 Ti. 2.9, the meaning will appear thus: 'whose adorning'—that is, all beyond what is necessary for comfort and decency, and a due regard to rank and circumstances—'let it not be that outward adorning,' &c. C.

Ver. 6. And are not afraid. Induced by any timidity to deny the truth, as even Sarah did, Ge. 18.15. Imitate her graces, avoid her faults. See ver. 14. C.

Ver. 7. According to (your) knowledge of what is becoming in believers of the gospel.—That your prayers be not hindered. Through any want of domestic harmony.—Note, If a man do not seek to preserve peace with his own family, how can he imagine that he is seeking 'peace with God?' C.

Ver. 12. The righteous. 'The just (the justified) who live by faith' on Jesus the Son of God and Saviour of sinners. C.

Ver. 15. Sanctify. Venerate, glorify 'the Lord in your hearts,' in the midst of all the troubles he may please to send. C.

Reflections.—Modesty, meekness, and humility, from a principle of faith in God, are the most engaging ornaments of women, married or unmarried. And an honourable, humane, and tender treatment of a wife is the most substantial evidence of a husband's affection. Never ought a family to exist without much daily fervent prayer, both secret and private. And it is an honour to the Christian religion, and a comfort and happiness to professors, when harmony in sentiment, unanimity in affection, readiness to render good for evil, useful converse, a steadfast cleaving to every good principle and practice, and readiness to account or suffer with meekness for their religion, constantly and everywhere prevail.—A holy, humble, benevolent, and circumspect practice is the best confutation of every calumny. And the more we live in the fear of God the less we shall be influenced by the fears or reproaches of men.—Why should we ever repine at suffering for Christ, that God-man who suffered for us, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God? Deep was his debasement, and high his glory that followed. And rich, full, and extensive is that salvation from sin and wrath which he secured and gives. How important an ordinance is baptism! Alas! unhappy is the thought that many rest on it, as if it were a Saviour, while others use it as a mere ceremony or fancied charm!