WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.419 The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 00:00:03.820 --> 00:00:10.580 So the last several decades in particular have seen a great surge in what we call feminism. 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:17.219 And a professor at Dartmouth College of Philosophy and Women's Gender Studies, Amy Allen, 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:19.240 summarizes how it's developed. 00:00:19.820 --> 00:00:23.300 And she talks about how there were several waves. 00:00:23.660 --> 00:00:27.839 And in the second wave of feminism, she says there was a tension, two camps in tension. 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:36.219 And first camp sought to emphasize the supposedly masculine traits in women, 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:40.159 to emphasize reason versus emotion and initiative versus passivity, 00:00:40.740 --> 00:00:44.579 to make it so that women can function just like men in society. 00:00:45.219 --> 00:00:49.600 And the second camp, during that second wave of feminism, in contrast, 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:55.640 tried to emphasize the feminine values, they would say, or the feminine priorities, 00:00:55.640 --> 00:01:00.679 and tried to get the wider society to actually embrace those values in societies 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:03.380 as opposed to relegating to secondary roles. 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:08.340 And it seems that where we are now in the third wave of feminism, 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:10.599 that the first camp kind of won out. 00:01:11.500 --> 00:01:15.840 And even though feminism has accomplished a lot, 00:01:15.939 --> 00:01:19.079 and the laudable efforts to secure gender equality and inclusion 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:24.439 have unfortunately had the collateral damage of minimizing gender distinction. 00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:30.120 And yet, notwithstanding this drift of our culture, 00:01:30.739 --> 00:01:36.140 scripture consistently makes gender distinction the main point of marital relationships. 00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:41.079 And it's easy for us, with maybe modern feminist sensibilities, 00:01:41.759 --> 00:01:43.000 to balk at the biblical teaching. 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:48.239 Because it's not familiar to us, it seems foreign to us. 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:52.000 But we have to remember that if God affirms gender distinction, 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:54.560 it's because there's rich blessings in it, 00:01:54.739 --> 00:01:56.739 and He wants us to live in it. 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:00.359 And it's something that He intends for us to grasp of Himself in it. 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:04.140 And that's exactly what's happening, I think, in Genesis 1, 27, 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:07.680 when it says that God created man in His own image. 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:10.379 In the image of God, He created him. 00:02:10.379 --> 00:02:12.500 Male and female, He created them. 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:16.199 So both male and female are created in the image of God. 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:20.300 And for that reason, we see a fuller vision of the image of God 00:02:20.300 --> 00:02:25.340 when in the intergenderedness, rather than monogenderedness. 00:02:25.580 --> 00:02:31.240 Which is exactly why marriage is intended to be intergendered, not monogendered. 00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:38.759 And so I think this passage teaches us that the wives are to submit to their own husbands, 00:02:38.759 --> 00:02:42.500 and husbands are to honor their own wives for the Lord's sake. 00:02:43.300 --> 00:02:46.400 So we've been going through the various relationships in society. 00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:49.639 We've talked about how we're supposed to be subject to human institutions, 00:02:50.219 --> 00:02:52.000 and then as all people, all believers, 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:58.099 and then also how workers or slaves were supposed to be subject to their employers or masters. 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:02.939 And now here we're in a place where we're talking about how wives are to be subject to their husbands, 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:04.560 and the husbands are to honor their wives. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:08.539 So let's talk about what does it mean for the wife to submit. 00:03:08.539 --> 00:03:14.379 So Peter had previously instructed slaves to submit to their masters with all respect, 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:16.340 or in all fear of the Lord. 00:03:16.500 --> 00:03:18.019 That's chapter 2, verse 18. 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:22.419 And then now he begins his instructions to Christian wives with the same qualification. 00:03:22.859 --> 00:03:25.139 And we know that because he starts with likewise. 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:29.060 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands. 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:34.319 And the word likewise grounds this command in the rationale that he gave earlier, 00:03:34.640 --> 00:03:38.560 namely that Christians ought to be subject to these authorities or human institutions, 00:03:38.740 --> 00:03:40.960 not by virtue of their own merit, 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:44.560 or because they deserve it or are worthy of that, 00:03:44.640 --> 00:03:48.340 but because we are submitting out of our respect for the Lord, 00:03:48.420 --> 00:03:49.340 out of our fear of the Lord. 00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:54.020 And the command to be subject, you know, 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:57.960 it invokes images of really kind of servile people, 00:03:58.199 --> 00:03:59.460 you know, who might not want to, 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:02.900 who have no backbones, who don't stand for anything, 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:05.539 and just kind of get pushed over all over the place. 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:09.060 But that's not the kind of being subject that the Bible is talking about. 00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:11.980 In fact, submission is a cardinal Christian virtue, 00:04:12.300 --> 00:04:15.280 as traditionally theologians, Christian theologians have talked about it. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:20.139 And Jesus' submission to the Father was hailed as a model for every Christian to follow, 00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:20.819 as you guys know. 00:04:22.019 --> 00:04:26.360 And so then when the Christian wife is called to be subject to her husband, 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:33.519 then this is not a call to be subject because the husband is intrinsically more worthy, 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:36.199 but for God's sake, according to his will. 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:38.959 So it's not a sign of weakness or an inferiority, 00:04:39.019 --> 00:04:43.279 rather it's a sign of strength and of faith and of dignity in God's eyes. 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:49.839 And because the reason for a Christian's wife's submission to her husband is the Lord, 00:04:49.939 --> 00:04:53.500 that's the ultimate grounding of this command, not the husband himself, 00:04:53.899 --> 00:04:57.379 that means that the Christian wife can never follow her husband into sin. 00:04:58.359 --> 00:05:03.959 And when the husband tries to lead her astray and lead her into sin, 00:05:04.059 --> 00:05:07.839 then the Christian wife must react as the apostles did 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:10.759 when they were charged not to preach in the name of Jesus. 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:13.099 They said, we must obey God rather than men. 00:05:13.279 --> 00:05:15.259 In Acts 5, 17, 42. 00:05:16.239 --> 00:05:23.979 But her general disposition and inclination still should be to yield to the husband's leadership. 00:05:24.739 --> 00:05:28.339 Because I think that's what it means to be subject here. 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:31.019 Because it takes into account the fact that, you know, 00:05:31.099 --> 00:05:36.339 even the most godly and submissive wife is bound to run into situations 00:05:36.339 --> 00:05:39.539 where she just doesn't agree with the husband 00:05:39.539 --> 00:05:43.699 or just can't, you know, reconcile with what the husband is seeking to do. 00:05:44.099 --> 00:05:47.560 And that's why it's important to recognize that submission doesn't mean blind obedience. 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:50.319 It doesn't mean that you check your brain at the door when you got married. 00:05:50.659 --> 00:05:50.859 Right? 00:05:50.899 --> 00:05:52.899 It means that you have a disposition, 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:56.699 you cultivate an inclination to follow his leadership and to submit. 00:05:56.699 --> 00:05:59.560 But with the understanding that the root, 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.219 the grounding for the submission is your fear of the Lord, 00:06:02.339 --> 00:06:03.360 not the fear of your husband. 00:06:05.659 --> 00:06:10.839 And this submission that Peter talks about has a very definite objective. 00:06:11.039 --> 00:06:11.719 It has a purpose. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.019 And he talks about this in verses 1 to 2. 00:06:14.019 --> 00:06:17.799 He says, 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:37.139 Now, the caveat without a word is added here 00:06:37.139 --> 00:06:41.939 because in this culture it was shameful for the wife to try to instruct her husband. 00:06:41.939 --> 00:06:44.920 And so he's kind of accommodating that. 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:48.360 But the point is that this is evangelistic. 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:52.600 It's a form of suffering, right, to submit in this manner, 00:06:52.699 --> 00:06:56.579 just like being subject to even unjust authorities is a form of suffering. 00:06:57.100 --> 00:07:01.180 It just says a slave being subject to their masters is a form of suffering. 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:05.720 In the same way a wife submitting to her husband is a form of suffering. 00:07:06.180 --> 00:07:09.680 It's because he says not just to good husbands, 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:11.300 not just to only Christian husbands, 00:07:11.300 --> 00:07:14.480 but he says even to those who do not obey the word. 00:07:15.840 --> 00:07:18.199 And so that's why it could be a form of suffering 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:20.060 and just being submissive in this way. 00:07:21.180 --> 00:07:23.300 And the whole point is evangelistic. 00:07:23.420 --> 00:07:25.980 The whole thrust of it comes from chapter 2, verse 12, 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:26.420 where he said, 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:28.900 Keep your conduct among Gentiles honorable 00:07:28.900 --> 00:07:31.199 so that when they speak against you as evildoers, 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:34.780 they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 00:07:34.779 --> 00:07:40.819 The command then is to keep your conduct respectful, honorable, and pure 00:07:40.819 --> 00:07:45.939 so that the Christian wife then can win over her husband into the faith. 00:07:46.739 --> 00:07:49.159 And this was a particular concern for Peter, 00:07:49.259 --> 00:07:50.379 especially in this age, 00:07:50.419 --> 00:07:56.079 because he knew that for the Christian wife to become Christian 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:57.679 and to hold on to her Christian faith 00:07:57.679 --> 00:08:00.919 would have caused tension within the marriage and within the family, 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:03.500 especially if the husband was not a believer. 00:08:04.220 --> 00:08:07.920 In fact, a Greek historian and essayist, Plutarch, 00:08:08.060 --> 00:08:09.740 writes about this in his book, Advice. 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:10.120 He says, 00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:13.019 A wife ought not to make friends of her own, 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:16.079 but to enjoy her husband's friends in common with him. 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:19.220 The gods are the first and most important friends. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:21.879 Wherefore, it is becoming for a wife to worship 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:24.480 and to know only the gods that her husband believes in, 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:27.800 and to shut the front door tight upon all queer rituals 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:29.399 and outlandish superstitions. 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:33.000 So the wife in Greco-Roman culture 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:35.879 was expected to subscribe to the religion of her husband. 00:08:36.620 --> 00:08:39.299 And she was not allowed even to have friends of her own. 00:08:39.299 --> 00:08:42.699 And this is important because the Romans believed 00:08:42.699 --> 00:08:45.099 that serving the gods, appeasing the gods, 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:48.279 was the basis for societal well-being. 00:08:48.859 --> 00:08:51.519 And so to have this kind of disturbance within the family 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:52.819 or this kind of disturbance 00:08:52.819 --> 00:08:55.679 would mean a societal disorder as well. 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:58.459 So they were very concerned about the domestic household code 00:08:58.459 --> 00:09:01.740 and they wanted to ensure that every wife 00:09:01.740 --> 00:09:03.740 worshipped the god of their husbands. 00:09:03.740 --> 00:09:10.820 And this is helpful for us to see this context 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:14.639 because it shows us how different Peter's perspective is from this 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:19.360 because there's several really important ways 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:23.159 in which he deviates from the culture that he's in 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:25.860 and the way they teach about the way the men are supposed to relate to women. 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:28.580 And the first is like we talked about last week, 00:09:28.580 --> 00:09:31.360 the slaves were never addressed directly. 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:34.139 And in the same way Aristotle taught that women, 00:09:34.360 --> 00:09:36.220 the wives are never to be addressed directly, 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:37.759 rather only through their husband. 00:09:37.980 --> 00:09:39.120 That's what Aristotle taught. 00:09:39.560 --> 00:09:42.420 But here Peter directly addresses the wives 00:09:42.420 --> 00:09:43.840 and speaks to them, 00:09:44.259 --> 00:09:46.360 recognizing that they have their moral agents 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:48.500 who are able to act on their own. 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:53.500 And secondly, the teaching assumes here 00:09:53.500 --> 00:09:56.540 that a wife can be instructed by someone other than her own husband 00:09:56.539 --> 00:10:00.079 because here the apostle of Jesus Christ is instructing 00:10:00.079 --> 00:10:02.759 or the word of God here instructs the Christian wives. 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:05.120 So that's again adds another authority 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:06.879 and another wrinkle to the relationship. 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:10.740 And even though then Peter is teaching the Christian wife 00:10:10.740 --> 00:10:13.419 to submit to her husband as society expects her to, 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:16.199 it is obvious that the Christian wife does so 00:10:16.199 --> 00:10:19.620 no longer in accordance with the principles of Greek moral philosophy 00:10:19.620 --> 00:10:22.480 but now in accordance with the commands of God 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:25.059 according to the pattern and authority 00:10:25.059 --> 00:10:26.799 of the crucified Jesus Christ. 00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:31.079 And this teaching then, in this case, 00:10:31.159 --> 00:10:34.459 would have been tremendously liberating for women in this age. 00:10:34.859 --> 00:10:36.179 It was not considered oppressive. 00:10:36.819 --> 00:10:39.919 In fact, you see this even in the example of Sarah 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:41.419 if you look at verses 5 to 6. 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:42.339 It says, 00:10:42.439 --> 00:10:44.959 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God 00:10:44.959 --> 00:10:48.159 used to adorn themselves by submitting to their own husbands 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:50.779 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. 00:10:51.099 --> 00:10:52.639 And you are her children if you do good 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:54.439 and do not fear anything that is frightening. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:56.480 It's interesting here. 00:10:56.540 --> 00:10:56.740 It says, 00:10:57.060 --> 00:10:57.900 Sarah obeyed Abraham. 00:10:58.280 --> 00:10:59.060 And you actually, 00:10:59.160 --> 00:11:01.740 if you look at the Genesis accounts, 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:03.540 there's actually only one place 00:11:03.540 --> 00:11:06.100 where it's the word obedience is used 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:08.520 in relation between Sarah and Abraham. 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:11.120 And what's interesting is here, 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:12.620 it's not Sarah that's obeying, 00:11:12.700 --> 00:11:13.940 it's Abraham that's obeying. 00:11:14.300 --> 00:11:16.860 Because you see Genesis 16 verses 1 to 2. 00:11:16.920 --> 00:11:17.620 Behold now, 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:19.900 the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. 00:11:20.020 --> 00:11:21.880 This is Sarah talking to her husband. 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:23.340 Go into my servant, 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:25.519 and maybe that I shall obtain children by her. 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:26.720 And right after that, 00:11:26.820 --> 00:11:27.659 at the end of this verse, 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:27.919 it says, 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:30.240 And Abraham listened to the voice of Sarah. 00:11:30.879 --> 00:11:33.620 And the word listen actually is the same word for obey. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:35.539 So from this, 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:36.419 we see clearly, 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:39.700 so the fact that the wife is supposed to cultivate 00:11:39.700 --> 00:11:41.759 this disposition of submission 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:45.820 doesn't mean that the wife is going to listen to her husband 00:11:45.820 --> 00:11:48.879 every time that only the husband gets to decide what to do, 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:51.340 and the wife must follow and submit to everything. 00:11:51.740 --> 00:11:53.320 That was clearly not the case with Sarah. 00:11:53.439 --> 00:11:55.320 Sarah was no pushover by anybody's measure. 00:11:56.080 --> 00:11:59.360 And that's not what Peter intends for us. 00:11:59.460 --> 00:11:59.659 Rather, 00:11:59.779 --> 00:12:02.299 there is a mutual responsibility and honor, 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:04.919 yet the general tenor of their relationship, 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:06.779 Peter is exhorting Christian wives 00:12:06.779 --> 00:12:08.340 to have the inclination, 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:10.340 the disposition to submit. 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:13.320 And that's why Sarah is praised as an exemplar here, 00:12:13.620 --> 00:12:14.500 because she did that. 00:12:14.500 --> 00:12:17.820 And this is really staggering, 00:12:17.940 --> 00:12:18.879 if you think about it, 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:22.399 the remarkable consistency of biblical teaching across the ages. 00:12:22.840 --> 00:12:24.840 Because Sarah is from 2000 BC, 00:12:25.320 --> 00:12:27.639 and now here in the first century, 00:12:27.779 --> 00:12:29.919 Peter is using her as the exemplar 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:34.320 for wifely relations to her husband. 00:12:35.539 --> 00:12:37.419 And then church throughout the centuries, 00:12:37.700 --> 00:12:38.039 in fact, 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:39.919 every major stream of Christianity, 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:41.080 the Protestants, 00:12:41.259 --> 00:12:41.580 Catholics, 00:12:41.779 --> 00:12:42.200 and Orthodox, 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:44.179 have all taught this, 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:45.759 and until the late, 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:46.099 you know, 00:12:46.239 --> 00:12:47.559 the 20th century, 00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:49.899 we have not had serious debate about this issue. 00:12:50.539 --> 00:12:50.620 Right? 00:12:50.699 --> 00:12:51.179 And so that's, 00:12:51.319 --> 00:12:52.759 so if you consider that, 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:54.359 that body of history, 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:58.019 and the way in which the scripture has consistently taught 00:12:58.019 --> 00:12:59.979 the relationship between a husband and wife, 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:01.500 it really is staggering. 00:13:01.620 --> 00:13:02.699 There is staggering consistency, 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:06.519 which is in stark contrast to the academicians, 00:13:06.819 --> 00:13:07.539 or the philosophers. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:09.159 Look at what Plato said. 00:13:09.259 --> 00:13:10.359 Look at what Aristotle said. 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:11.799 Look at what the philosophers today say. 00:13:11.839 --> 00:13:12.799 It's completely different. 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:16.679 Look at what the philosophers back in the days of Sarah said. 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:17.019 Right? 00:13:17.059 --> 00:13:18.159 The pagan writers, 00:13:18.439 --> 00:13:19.019 what they said. 00:13:19.299 --> 00:13:20.319 Completely different. 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:21.500 But in scripture, 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:25.099 there is remarkable consistency and unity in their witness. 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:28.159 And, 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:31.219 and if this passage still seems regressive, 00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:33.839 or oppressive toward a woman, 00:13:33.959 --> 00:13:35.740 then I think we also need to ask ourselves, 00:13:35.859 --> 00:13:37.240 and entertain the idea, 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:41.159 that perhaps we are repulsed by this idea in scripture, 00:13:41.159 --> 00:13:43.259 because in our particular culture, 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:44.379 this text is problematic. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:45.039 Right? 00:13:45.899 --> 00:13:47.060 Because even today, 00:13:47.180 --> 00:13:48.440 in certain Asian cultures, 00:13:48.659 --> 00:13:48.879 right, 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:50.379 and Islamic cultures, 00:13:50.580 --> 00:13:53.379 the wife is fully expected to submit to her husband. 00:13:53.379 --> 00:13:56.360 And, 00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:56.980 and indeed, 00:13:57.100 --> 00:13:58.179 to people in these cultures, 00:13:58.500 --> 00:14:00.139 this passage will not seem regressive. 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:00.620 In fact, 00:14:00.659 --> 00:14:01.840 it will seem too progressive. 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:02.840 Right? 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:04.279 And so then, 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:05.299 we have to ask ourselves, 00:14:05.419 --> 00:14:06.399 if you think about it, 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:06.840 so if, 00:14:06.840 --> 00:14:08.379 if we're, 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:10.200 if we're all about being multicultural, 00:14:10.439 --> 00:14:11.799 if we're all about getting, 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:12.120 you know, 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:14.279 valuing everybody else's opinions, 00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:15.159 and values, 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:15.899 and where they come from, 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:17.379 where the other cultures come from, 00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:19.120 then why do we now say, 00:14:19.179 --> 00:14:20.320 when we come to this issue, 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:23.400 that our cultural sensibilities must trump everybody else's? 00:14:23.900 --> 00:14:24.000 Right? 00:14:24.640 --> 00:14:25.240 In fact, 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:27.240 I think if the Bible is God's word, 00:14:27.320 --> 00:14:28.400 then I think it makes sense, 00:14:28.460 --> 00:14:29.220 that at some point, 00:14:29.260 --> 00:14:30.540 it offends our own sensibilities. 00:14:31.500 --> 00:14:32.620 And if it didn't, 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:33.060 then we, 00:14:33.060 --> 00:14:34.800 we should be wary of the fact, 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:36.860 that maybe we're reading it with our own lenses, 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:38.260 and interpreting it the wrong way. 00:14:38.840 --> 00:14:40.420 If God's word never offends us, 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:42.540 and never contradicts or challenges our sensibilities. 00:14:43.379 --> 00:14:44.760 As the English writer, 00:14:44.860 --> 00:14:46.180 G.K. Chesterton puts it, 00:14:46.400 --> 00:14:48.300 fallacies do not cease to be fallacies, 00:14:48.300 --> 00:14:48.740 because they, 00:14:48.820 --> 00:14:50.180 because they become fashion. 00:14:51.060 --> 00:14:52.540 The times have changed, 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:56.140 and that's why the word of God may seem strange or foreign to us, 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:56.420 but, 00:14:56.460 --> 00:14:58.220 but God's word has not changed. 00:14:59.980 --> 00:15:00.600 And then, 00:15:00.860 --> 00:15:00.980 it, 00:15:01.140 --> 00:15:03.060 something interesting happens in verses 3 to 4, 00:15:03.180 --> 00:15:03.360 it says, 00:15:03.460 --> 00:15:05.320 Do not let your adorning be external, 00:15:05.820 --> 00:15:06.740 the braiding of hair, 00:15:06.820 --> 00:15:08.180 and the putting on of gold jewelry, 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:09.300 or the clothing you wear, 00:15:09.700 --> 00:15:12.100 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart, 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:15.640 with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, 00:15:15.800 --> 00:15:18.000 which in God's sight is very precious. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:19.259 Now, 00:15:19.340 --> 00:15:23.259 why is this included here in the teaching about wife's relationship with her husband, 00:15:23.559 --> 00:15:24.840 about wife's meeting to her husband? 00:15:25.419 --> 00:15:30.460 And the reason it's included here is because the external adornments in Greco-Roman culture, 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:32.740 outward adornments and jewelry and all this stuff, 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:35.259 were perceived as instruments of seduction. 00:15:35.259 --> 00:15:38.240 And for that reason, 00:15:38.379 --> 00:15:40.259 in light of the setting that we're in, 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:44.179 and Peter's exhorting Christian wives to be faithful to their husbands, 00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:45.500 to submit to their husbands, 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:51.539 when Christian wives leave the home to gather with the church to worship, 00:15:52.200 --> 00:15:55.519 the fact that she does not adorn herself externally, 00:15:55.939 --> 00:15:57.740 but that she goes in simple clothing, 00:15:57.740 --> 00:16:03.419 is a clear signal that she is going to attend worship, 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:04.519 not a trist, 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:07.500 and not a rendezvous with a secret lover. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.220 It's another way in which the wife submits her husband and supports her husband, 00:16:12.600 --> 00:16:16.879 and by adorning herself with simplicity and simple beauty of the inner life. 00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:20.919 And this is, historians can actually, 00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:23.000 like he talks about the braiding of hair and such, 00:16:23.379 --> 00:16:29.519 and historians can actually track what age that people were in, 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:33.279 depending on the hairstyle of the woman that was depicted, 00:16:33.399 --> 00:16:35.879 because it became increasingly more complicated. 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:40.940 There were more and more adornments in the hair as the Roman Empire progressed. 00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:43.980 And in fact, during this time, 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:45.799 around the time in Peter's writing, 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:47.339 there were empresses, 00:16:47.819 --> 00:16:49.519 for example, like Messalina, 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.019 the empress, the wife of Roman Emperor Claudius, 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:55.199 as well as Poppeia, the empress and wife of Emperor Nero. 00:16:55.579 --> 00:16:58.299 They were all, they had these ornate hairs, 00:16:58.579 --> 00:17:02.059 and they were known throughout the empire for their promiscuity. 00:17:03.339 --> 00:17:08.200 And actually, they had, throughout the Asian nations, 00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:12.119 the Roman Empire placed statues of empresses as well, 00:17:12.259 --> 00:17:13.799 with these ornate hairs and such. 00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:16.259 And so, if you consider that background, 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:20.099 then it's not unlike Peter telling modern day people, 00:17:20.579 --> 00:17:22.200 you know, don't look at, you know, 00:17:22.879 --> 00:17:26.220 the celebrities, the female celebrities in your lives, 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:28.720 and then determine from that what beauty is, 00:17:28.859 --> 00:17:29.859 and how you should look, 00:17:29.919 --> 00:17:30.759 and how you should dress, 00:17:31.019 --> 00:17:32.399 and how you should wear your hair. 00:17:32.639 --> 00:17:35.059 But rather, no, look to a biblical example. 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:36.460 Look to a godly woman. 00:17:36.539 --> 00:17:37.500 Look to someone like Sarah. 00:17:37.579 --> 00:17:38.720 That's what Peter is doing here. 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:41.640 He's pointing us back to the biblical example. 00:17:43.940 --> 00:17:46.360 And what would that mean? 00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:48.100 And I think it doesn't go into, 00:17:48.460 --> 00:17:50.680 it's hard to translate the specifics here, 00:17:50.740 --> 00:17:53.160 but I think the general principles are helpful for us, 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:53.940 as if you're a woman, 00:17:54.100 --> 00:17:56.279 and thinking about how you're supposed to dress, 00:17:56.740 --> 00:17:59.039 to strive for simplicity and modesty. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:05.119 Because the whole point of clothing, 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:08.700 right, when God first clothes Adam and Eve after their sin, 00:18:08.740 --> 00:18:10.399 it was a result of their sin, right? 00:18:10.619 --> 00:18:11.720 And after their sin, 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:13.059 they recognized that they were naked, 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:14.859 and they were ashamed, right? 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:16.859 The biblical account tells us in Genesis 3. 00:18:17.700 --> 00:18:19.139 Really, the point of clothing, 00:18:19.259 --> 00:18:20.539 if you look at it in a biblical sense, 00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:24.019 is to remind us of the glory we lost. 00:18:24.220 --> 00:18:25.619 Now we must cover ourselves, 00:18:25.619 --> 00:18:27.479 because we have lost our innocence, 00:18:27.639 --> 00:18:28.899 which is a shame, right? 00:18:28.979 --> 00:18:31.859 And to flaunt our nakedness, 00:18:31.959 --> 00:18:34.559 really is a blatant rebellion against that. 00:18:35.139 --> 00:18:36.459 And so then the clothes are not, 00:18:36.639 --> 00:18:38.859 it's supposed to point to what's hidden. 00:18:39.379 --> 00:18:40.139 It shows that, 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:42.279 it points to what we lost, 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:43.539 it points to what is hidden, 00:18:43.639 --> 00:18:44.139 the glory. 00:18:45.419 --> 00:18:45.819 So it's, 00:18:46.219 --> 00:18:47.619 the clothes are not meant to be, 00:18:47.979 --> 00:18:49.279 bring attention to themselves. 00:18:49.899 --> 00:18:50.799 What we do to ourselves, 00:18:50.879 --> 00:18:51.219 our body, 00:18:51.219 --> 00:18:52.879 they're not supposed to bring attention to themselves. 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:53.320 Rather, 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:54.520 they're supposed to, 00:18:54.520 --> 00:18:56.560 to point to what is hidden. 00:18:56.700 --> 00:18:57.320 It's the fact that, 00:18:57.420 --> 00:18:57.500 no, 00:18:57.600 --> 00:18:57.900 they're not, 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:00.240 these are not for people's, 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.360 entertainment for the feasting of men's eyes. 00:19:03.520 --> 00:19:03.800 Rather, 00:19:04.220 --> 00:19:04.380 no, 00:19:04.460 --> 00:19:06.380 the Christian wives are to dress with, 00:19:06.380 --> 00:19:07.260 with modesty, 00:19:07.520 --> 00:19:09.140 and with simplicity. 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:11.720 And that's what he is, 00:19:11.800 --> 00:19:13.420 what's intended here in the words, 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:14.980 the gentle, 00:19:15.540 --> 00:19:17.440 and the quietness he talks about. 00:19:18.320 --> 00:19:18.740 He says, 00:19:19.160 --> 00:19:20.060 but let your adorning, 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:20.720 in verse 4, 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:22.380 be the hidden person of the heart, 00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:24.000 with the imperishable beauty, 00:19:24.360 --> 00:19:26.000 of a gentle and quiet spirit, 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:28.579 which in God's sight is very precious. 00:19:30.140 --> 00:19:32.360 And the gentleness here is, 00:19:32.360 --> 00:19:32.700 is, 00:19:32.700 --> 00:19:34.079 is kind of a friendliness, 00:19:34.339 --> 00:19:36.740 that's contrasted with bad temper, 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:37.980 or brusqueness. 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:40.880 And being quiet here speaks of being calm, 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:41.360 and peaceful, 00:19:41.579 --> 00:19:42.700 as opposed to restless, 00:19:43.100 --> 00:19:44.000 or rebellious, 00:19:44.299 --> 00:19:45.579 and insubordinate. 00:19:45.579 --> 00:19:45.899 Right? 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:47.759 So then these again, 00:19:47.879 --> 00:19:49.919 apply to that context, 00:19:50.039 --> 00:19:50.939 in which, 00:19:51.099 --> 00:19:52.319 if the Christian wife, 00:19:52.439 --> 00:19:53.639 had an unbelieving husband, 00:19:53.980 --> 00:19:55.220 and using her Christian freedom, 00:19:55.299 --> 00:19:56.859 she started to be insubordinate, 00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:57.319 or to, 00:19:57.319 --> 00:19:58.759 to reject her husband's authority, 00:19:58.980 --> 00:19:59.460 back in the home, 00:19:59.819 --> 00:20:01.159 this would have caused great, 00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:02.699 this would have caused great embarrassment, 00:20:02.699 --> 00:20:03.759 not only for the church, 00:20:04.019 --> 00:20:05.500 but it would have also hurt their witness, 00:20:05.639 --> 00:20:06.220 in this culture. 00:20:06.819 --> 00:20:07.299 So this is, 00:20:07.379 --> 00:20:08.639 that's what Peter is referring to, 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:09.319 here. 00:20:09.319 --> 00:20:12.220 And there's one particular example, 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:12.980 that comes to mind, 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:13.960 as I think about this. 00:20:14.379 --> 00:20:15.299 And if you read, 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:16.480 Augustine's Confessions, 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:17.919 he talks at length, 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:18.659 about his mother, 00:20:19.259 --> 00:20:19.879 Monica. 00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:20.879 And, 00:20:20.939 --> 00:20:23.019 and she was a devout believer, 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:25.720 but she often had a rocky relationship, 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:26.759 with her son. 00:20:27.059 --> 00:20:27.980 Not because, 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:29.879 they had a bad relationship, 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:30.839 but because Augustine, 00:20:30.980 --> 00:20:31.599 was not a believer, 00:20:32.220 --> 00:20:33.220 at the time. 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:34.480 And, 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:35.939 and, 00:20:35.939 --> 00:20:36.859 and Augustine says, 00:20:37.059 --> 00:20:37.859 to God, 00:20:37.859 --> 00:20:39.599 to God, 00:20:39.679 --> 00:20:40.619 about his mother. 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:41.000 He says, 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:41.579 my mother, 00:20:41.859 --> 00:20:42.740 your faithful servant, 00:20:42.959 --> 00:20:44.399 wept for me before you, 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:45.679 more than mothers weep, 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:47.240 when lamenting their dead children. 00:20:47.679 --> 00:20:47.819 Right. 00:20:48.579 --> 00:20:49.199 He says, 00:20:49.479 --> 00:20:51.099 that Monica wept for him, 00:20:51.179 --> 00:20:51.799 for his salvation, 00:20:51.959 --> 00:20:53.179 more than when mothers weep, 00:20:53.199 --> 00:20:54.039 when their children die, 00:20:54.179 --> 00:20:54.519 physically. 00:20:54.879 --> 00:20:55.059 Right. 00:20:55.679 --> 00:20:56.240 And, 00:20:56.379 --> 00:20:56.919 and, 00:20:56.919 --> 00:20:57.059 and, 00:20:57.059 --> 00:20:59.240 and at one point, 00:20:59.419 --> 00:21:00.579 Monica is talking to, 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:01.240 the bishop, 00:21:01.479 --> 00:21:01.919 at the time, 00:21:01.959 --> 00:21:02.639 Bishop Ambrose, 00:21:02.779 --> 00:21:03.000 about, 00:21:03.179 --> 00:21:03.919 the plight, 00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:05.039 about her son, 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:05.419 Augustine. 00:21:05.459 --> 00:21:06.000 What do we do? 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:06.539 What do I do? 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:07.259 And she's pleading, 00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:08.220 and she's crying with him. 00:21:08.619 --> 00:21:10.079 And Ambrose is exasperated. 00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:10.980 She's trying to get away. 00:21:11.019 --> 00:21:11.839 He's trying to get away, 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:13.119 and he can't get away from her. 00:21:13.500 --> 00:21:14.460 And so he tells her this, 00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:15.759 it cannot be, 00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:17.740 that the son of these tears, 00:21:17.940 --> 00:21:18.680 should perish. 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:20.339 Saying that when, 00:21:20.519 --> 00:21:21.000 when, 00:21:21.099 --> 00:21:21.519 when he, 00:21:21.619 --> 00:21:23.980 she pleaded so earnestly, 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:24.720 with the Lord, 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:25.819 for the salvation of her son, 00:21:26.099 --> 00:21:26.660 and for her, 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:28.099 her husband as well, 00:21:28.220 --> 00:21:29.059 Patroclus, 00:21:29.140 --> 00:21:29.720 who was not, 00:21:29.720 --> 00:21:31.000 Christian either. 00:21:31.579 --> 00:21:32.879 She was praying in tears, 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:33.680 for the salvation of people. 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:34.220 And he said, 00:21:34.220 --> 00:21:34.779 it cannot be, 00:21:34.879 --> 00:21:35.980 that the son of these tears, 00:21:36.299 --> 00:21:37.160 should perish. 00:21:37.259 --> 00:21:39.440 And, 00:21:39.579 --> 00:21:40.559 and later, 00:21:40.819 --> 00:21:42.180 it turns out that, 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:43.339 that eventually, 00:21:43.779 --> 00:21:45.279 both her wife, 00:21:45.519 --> 00:21:46.599 and her son, 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:47.480 become believers. 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:48.720 And, 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:49.819 and, 00:21:50.039 --> 00:21:51.680 and the son, 00:21:51.779 --> 00:21:52.559 and goes on to become, 00:21:52.700 --> 00:21:53.660 perhaps the greatest, 00:21:53.799 --> 00:21:54.579 Christian theologian, 00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:55.539 in the history of the world. 00:21:55.619 --> 00:21:55.839 I mean, 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:57.279 apart from the apostles. 00:21:57.900 --> 00:21:58.420 And, 00:21:58.500 --> 00:22:00.160 and, 00:22:00.220 --> 00:22:01.500 and this is what he writes, 00:22:01.640 --> 00:22:02.200 in summary, 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:02.859 in his book, 00:22:02.900 --> 00:22:03.480 in the Confessions, 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:05.620 of how her efforts, 00:22:05.740 --> 00:22:07.019 won her husband. 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:07.740 It says, 00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:08.400 the virtues, 00:22:08.400 --> 00:22:09.380 with which you, 00:22:09.460 --> 00:22:10.259 had adorned her, 00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:12.460 and for which he respected, 00:22:12.660 --> 00:22:12.900 loved, 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:13.880 and admired her, 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:15.940 were like so many voices, 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:17.680 constantly speaking to him, 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:18.039 of you. 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:20.339 Augustine says, 00:22:20.380 --> 00:22:21.940 that her dutiful attentions, 00:22:22.180 --> 00:22:23.599 and her constant patience, 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:24.360 and gentleness, 00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:25.759 finally broke through, 00:22:25.860 --> 00:22:26.339 the defenses, 00:22:26.860 --> 00:22:27.120 you know, 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:27.460 of, 00:22:27.460 --> 00:22:27.779 of, 00:22:27.779 --> 00:22:28.360 of, 00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:29.660 the husband. 00:22:30.680 --> 00:22:30.880 And, 00:22:31.579 --> 00:22:33.240 this is a powerful testimony, 00:22:33.380 --> 00:22:33.660 and really, 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:35.319 it models exactly what 1 Peter, 00:22:35.460 --> 00:22:36.319 is talking about, 00:22:36.380 --> 00:22:37.100 in chapter 3. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:38.259 And, 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:38.700 and that's, 00:22:38.700 --> 00:22:40.120 and that's the purpose of it, 00:22:40.140 --> 00:22:40.299 right? 00:22:40.420 --> 00:22:40.680 So, 00:22:41.120 --> 00:22:41.240 we, 00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:41.660 it, 00:22:41.840 --> 00:22:42.200 it is, 00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:44.460 it is humbling to be in that position, 00:22:44.740 --> 00:22:45.259 to be able to, 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:46.259 to have to submit, 00:22:46.500 --> 00:22:46.740 right? 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:47.539 But, 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:48.980 for the sake of the, 00:22:49.100 --> 00:22:50.680 for the salvation of that man, 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:51.360 of that husband, 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:53.140 for the sake of the witness, 00:22:53.360 --> 00:22:54.079 in this world, 00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:55.380 for our credible witness, 00:22:55.500 --> 00:22:56.140 can we give, 00:22:56.620 --> 00:22:57.400 can we sacrifice, 00:22:57.620 --> 00:22:58.420 can we humble ourselves, 00:22:58.500 --> 00:22:59.880 as Christ did himself, 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:00.400 for us? 00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:01.579 That's, 00:23:01.579 --> 00:23:02.259 the call, 00:23:02.420 --> 00:23:03.620 that he gives here. 00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:04.660 And, 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:05.640 and they don't, 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:06.960 are not to submit in fear, 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:07.380 right? 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:07.779 Because, 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:09.559 rather in hope in Christ, 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:10.480 in hope in God, 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:11.120 right? 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:11.740 It says, 00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:12.259 verse 5, 00:23:12.279 --> 00:23:13.819 for this is how the holy women, 00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:15.019 who hoped in God, 00:23:15.380 --> 00:23:16.420 used to adorn themselves, 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:17.940 by submitting to their own husbands. 00:23:19.500 --> 00:23:20.299 Holy women, 00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:21.420 submitted to their, 00:23:21.460 --> 00:23:22.819 submitted to their own husbands, 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:24.240 because they hoped in God. 00:23:25.019 --> 00:23:25.559 Their hope, 00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:26.819 was not in their husbands, 00:23:27.460 --> 00:23:29.160 like for a single woman, 00:23:29.500 --> 00:23:31.000 their hope is not in getting married, 00:23:31.380 --> 00:23:31.579 right? 00:23:32.059 --> 00:23:33.759 Their hope is in God. 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:36.460 And because their hope is in God, 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:37.779 they are able to submit, 00:23:37.860 --> 00:23:39.860 even to unbelieving husbands here, 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:40.680 like in this passage, 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:43.259 and not fear anything, 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:44.120 that is frightening. 00:23:44.900 --> 00:23:45.860 Because when you are, 00:23:45.860 --> 00:23:47.759 are completely disposed, 00:23:47.840 --> 00:23:49.120 and entrusted to, 00:23:49.620 --> 00:23:50.620 the sovereign God, 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:52.640 and know that, 00:23:52.779 --> 00:23:53.519 that sovereign God, 00:23:53.600 --> 00:23:54.620 loves you perfectly, 00:23:54.940 --> 00:23:56.060 and would want nothing, 00:23:56.299 --> 00:23:57.720 evil, 00:23:57.980 --> 00:23:58.580 for you. 00:23:59.340 --> 00:23:59.620 And, 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:00.600 and it's that God, 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:02.360 that calls you into this place of submission. 00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:04.660 Then you know, 00:24:04.740 --> 00:24:05.380 that you can bear, 00:24:05.779 --> 00:24:07.299 you don't have to fear anything, 00:24:07.299 --> 00:24:09.159 that he would provide strength, 00:24:09.339 --> 00:24:10.240 to bear it. 00:24:11.919 --> 00:24:12.359 And, 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:13.779 you might wonder, 00:24:13.919 --> 00:24:14.059 okay, 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:14.299 why, 00:24:14.339 --> 00:24:15.720 why does Peter address, 00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:18.220 the why for six verses, 00:24:18.460 --> 00:24:20.379 and address husband for one verse, 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:20.859 and why, 00:24:20.919 --> 00:24:22.240 why is there such an attention, 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:23.559 for what women should do, 00:24:23.919 --> 00:24:24.639 and isn't this, 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:25.000 again, 00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:25.899 a sign of oppression, 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:26.240 and, 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:26.579 and, 00:24:26.579 --> 00:24:27.419 and regressiveness, 00:24:27.419 --> 00:24:27.980 in scripture. 00:24:28.339 --> 00:24:28.759 And, 00:24:28.859 --> 00:24:29.079 and, 00:24:29.339 --> 00:24:31.259 and I don't think that's what's going on here, 00:24:31.399 --> 00:24:31.599 and, 00:24:31.659 --> 00:24:32.379 and the reason is, 00:24:32.460 --> 00:24:32.819 because, 00:24:33.399 --> 00:24:35.519 all throughout first Peter so far, 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:35.980 he's only, 00:24:36.059 --> 00:24:37.439 he's addressed the part, 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:39.579 the people that are supposed to be subject, 00:24:40.139 --> 00:24:41.559 the people that had no power, 00:24:41.679 --> 00:24:42.439 and no authority, 00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:42.720 right, 00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:42.919 he's, 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:43.559 so he addressed, 00:24:43.939 --> 00:24:46.319 the people who are to be subject to human authorities, 00:24:46.439 --> 00:24:46.919 and institutions, 00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:48.379 he addressed the slaves, 00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:50.139 who are supposed to be subject to their employers, 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:50.579 and masters, 00:24:50.659 --> 00:24:51.819 now he's addressing the women. 00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:52.460 And, 00:24:52.460 --> 00:24:53.579 and the reason he does that, 00:24:53.679 --> 00:24:54.619 is because he's saying, 00:24:54.779 --> 00:24:56.000 that the pattern of Jesus, 00:24:56.519 --> 00:24:57.819 as the suffering servant, 00:24:58.139 --> 00:24:59.179 speaks to these people, 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:00.919 who are in weaker positions, 00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:01.639 right, 00:25:01.640 --> 00:25:03.140 in compromised situations, 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:03.600 right, 00:25:03.820 --> 00:25:04.800 and he's saying that it's the, 00:25:04.800 --> 00:25:05.700 the fact that Jesus, 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:06.900 who did not have to suffer, 00:25:07.060 --> 00:25:07.400 suffered, 00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:08.280 in our place, 00:25:08.360 --> 00:25:10.320 that's what enables us to suffer in this way, 00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:12.520 and that's why there's an emphasis on, 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:14.080 on the woman here in particular, 00:25:14.259 --> 00:25:15.280 in relation with the husband. 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:16.259 In fact, 00:25:16.300 --> 00:25:16.900 what's remarkable, 00:25:17.020 --> 00:25:17.300 I think, 00:25:17.340 --> 00:25:18.900 is that the husband is mentioned, 00:25:19.520 --> 00:25:20.720 and I think that's because, 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:21.140 the, 00:25:21.540 --> 00:25:22.580 Peter is keenly aware, 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:24.080 for the need for accountability, 00:25:24.600 --> 00:25:27.020 especially when the wife is called to submission, 00:25:27.320 --> 00:25:28.440 even to unbelieving husbands, 00:25:28.800 --> 00:25:29.759 because then the quickly, 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:31.020 we can go to the question of, 00:25:31.220 --> 00:25:31.240 well, 00:25:31.240 --> 00:25:32.640 then what if the husband is abusive? 00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:34.460 What if the husband is, 00:25:34.460 --> 00:25:35.120 is not, 00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:36.039 then you're leading a, 00:25:36.140 --> 00:25:36.799 and then how, 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:37.299 then what, 00:25:37.380 --> 00:25:39.480 what does it mean for the wife to submit, 00:25:39.640 --> 00:25:39.819 right? 00:25:41.180 --> 00:25:41.579 So, 00:25:41.700 --> 00:25:43.000 he doesn't leave the man off the hook, 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:43.420 right? 00:25:43.460 --> 00:25:43.559 So, 00:25:43.559 --> 00:25:43.759 he says, 00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:44.960 men are not off the hook, 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:46.559 and to behave however they wish, 00:25:46.779 --> 00:25:49.160 and then to insist that their wives submit to them, 00:25:49.620 --> 00:25:50.839 because if you look at it, 00:25:50.900 --> 00:25:51.019 like, 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:52.700 it's the wives that are supposed to submit, 00:25:53.400 --> 00:25:55.420 husbands are not supposed to make them submit, 00:25:55.960 --> 00:25:56.359 right? 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:56.980 That is a key, 00:25:57.079 --> 00:25:58.319 that is an important difference there. 00:25:58.319 --> 00:26:00.980 The husbands are not called to make their wives submit. 00:26:01.299 --> 00:26:03.139 The wife submits voluntarily, 00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:03.980 herself, 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:07.359 and when the focus in a marriage becomes about submission, 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:09.339 then that's already an indicator that there's a problem, 00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:09.779 right? 00:26:10.139 --> 00:26:10.579 And to say, 00:26:10.639 --> 00:26:10.819 no, 00:26:10.919 --> 00:26:13.799 if the husband is having conversation with his wife, 00:26:13.859 --> 00:26:13.960 saying, 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:14.299 no, 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:15.179 you need to submit to me, 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:16.000 you need to do this to me, 00:26:16.039 --> 00:26:17.679 that there is already a problem there, 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:18.000 right? 00:26:18.220 --> 00:26:19.700 Because the husband is supposed to lead, 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:20.259 and to honor, 00:26:20.359 --> 00:26:21.339 and to care for his wife, 00:26:21.339 --> 00:26:23.399 and the wife is the one that's supposed to submit, 00:26:23.559 --> 00:26:23.720 right? 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:25.720 And, 00:26:25.879 --> 00:26:28.319 and it's just like in any healthy relationship, 00:26:28.539 --> 00:26:28.699 right? 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:28.939 If, 00:26:29.019 --> 00:26:32.419 if all you can think about is how the other person is supposed to change, 00:26:32.759 --> 00:26:33.559 there's a problem, 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:33.959 right? 00:26:34.639 --> 00:26:36.519 We have to recognize how we ought to change, 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:37.299 how we are weak, 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:38.119 how we are broken, 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:38.959 how we are sinful, 00:26:38.959 --> 00:26:39.459 right? 00:26:41.079 --> 00:26:41.439 And, 00:26:41.559 --> 00:26:43.240 and, 00:26:43.500 --> 00:26:44.480 note here that it's, 00:26:44.839 --> 00:26:46.059 it begins the same transition, 00:26:46.220 --> 00:26:47.019 with the same transition, 00:26:47.159 --> 00:26:47.500 likewise, 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:48.099 husbands, 00:26:48.220 --> 00:26:49.859 live with your wives in an understanding way. 00:26:49.859 --> 00:26:50.339 Again, 00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:51.199 husbands also, 00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:52.139 also honor, 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:53.819 live with their wives in an understanding way, 00:26:54.039 --> 00:26:55.059 and show honor to, 00:26:55.199 --> 00:26:56.099 to their wives, 00:26:56.539 --> 00:26:58.539 with respect to God, 00:26:58.740 --> 00:26:59.000 with the, 00:26:59.099 --> 00:27:00.039 all fear of God. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:01.719 And, 00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:02.039 it says, 00:27:02.379 --> 00:27:04.659 to show honor to the woman as the weaker vessel. 00:27:06.279 --> 00:27:06.719 And, 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:07.619 what does that mean, 00:27:07.719 --> 00:27:09.459 for her to be a weaker vessel? 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:09.799 I mean, 00:27:09.859 --> 00:27:10.179 this could, 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:12.719 this is another thing that could come across as really offensive, 00:27:12.959 --> 00:27:13.439 to, 00:27:13.539 --> 00:27:13.819 to, 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:14.959 with modern sensibilities. 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:15.740 And, 00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:16.000 and, 00:27:16.139 --> 00:27:16.319 I, 00:27:16.379 --> 00:27:17.079 I think it, 00:27:17.139 --> 00:27:18.199 it could mean a couple things, 00:27:18.199 --> 00:27:18.599 but the, 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:19.559 I think the most, 00:27:19.559 --> 00:27:22.079 the first thing that would come to mind, 00:27:22.159 --> 00:27:23.019 for someone reading this, 00:27:23.099 --> 00:27:23.259 is, 00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:24.639 is probably physical weakness. 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:26.399 In that, 00:27:26.539 --> 00:27:27.440 and that men are, 00:27:27.679 --> 00:27:28.700 especially in the upper body, 00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:29.720 generally speaking, 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:31.179 30% stronger than women. 00:27:31.399 --> 00:27:31.539 Right. 00:27:32.259 --> 00:27:34.299 And men also have larger hearts and lungs. 00:27:34.299 --> 00:27:34.740 Right. 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:35.679 And so, 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:36.579 that means when, 00:27:36.919 --> 00:27:39.079 and that's because of the higher level of testosterone. 00:27:39.399 --> 00:27:39.579 Right. 00:27:39.940 --> 00:27:40.259 And, 00:27:40.419 --> 00:27:40.819 and, 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:41.919 and when, 00:27:42.099 --> 00:27:43.839 and that, 00:27:44.039 --> 00:27:46.539 the higher level of testosterone produces more red blood cells, 00:27:46.539 --> 00:27:47.319 so that it enables, 00:27:47.519 --> 00:27:49.119 and there quickens their recovery as well. 00:27:49.559 --> 00:27:49.679 So, 00:27:49.679 --> 00:27:52.179 what that means then is when a man and woman is running, 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:53.299 when are running together. 00:27:53.519 --> 00:27:53.659 Right. 00:27:53.699 --> 00:27:55.579 And I've used this example before. 00:27:56.019 --> 00:27:57.559 If they're running at the same pace, 00:27:57.599 --> 00:28:00.539 then the woman is running at 70% of her capacity, 00:28:00.719 --> 00:28:03.339 while the man's probably running at about 50% of, 00:28:03.399 --> 00:28:04.299 of his capacity. 00:28:04.679 --> 00:28:04.819 Right. 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:05.399 So, 00:28:05.459 --> 00:28:07.500 if you see a husband and wife running together, 00:28:07.619 --> 00:28:08.919 that means the wife's in better shape. 00:28:08.919 --> 00:28:09.239 Right. 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:10.719 And, 00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:11.079 so, 00:28:11.159 --> 00:28:11.619 so that's, 00:28:11.719 --> 00:28:15.259 he could be talking about that kind of a physical difference in weakness. 00:28:15.259 --> 00:28:15.500 Yes. 00:28:15.940 --> 00:28:17.579 There's also a difference in, 00:28:17.700 --> 00:28:18.000 I mean, 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:18.980 there's general differences. 00:28:19.140 --> 00:28:19.200 So, 00:28:19.240 --> 00:28:19.559 for example, 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:20.579 women have a, 00:28:20.579 --> 00:28:20.940 a, 00:28:20.940 --> 00:28:23.059 a part of the brain called the splenium, 00:28:23.579 --> 00:28:23.879 uh, 00:28:23.879 --> 00:28:25.759 is much larger in women than in men. 00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:26.220 Um, 00:28:26.220 --> 00:28:30.859 and what that means then is that when an average man performs better on spatial tests, 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:31.799 mathematical tests, 00:28:31.980 --> 00:28:34.879 and an average woman performs better in verbal ability and memory. 00:28:34.879 --> 00:28:35.200 Right. 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:35.740 So, 00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:36.079 there's, 00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:36.339 uh, 00:28:36.339 --> 00:28:36.579 these, 00:28:36.680 --> 00:28:36.859 uh, 00:28:36.859 --> 00:28:37.920 these differences between, 00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:38.259 uh, 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:39.240 men and women. 00:28:39.240 --> 00:28:40.160 And this, 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:43.740 and I think the physical weakness is especially in view because he's saying it's, 00:28:43.740 --> 00:28:43.759 it's, 00:28:43.779 --> 00:28:43.799 it's, 00:28:43.799 --> 00:28:44.720 it's a weaker vessel, 00:28:44.900 --> 00:28:45.140 uh, 00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:45.660 honor, 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:46.720 show honor to the woman. 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:47.859 But, 00:28:48.180 --> 00:28:49.279 so this makes sense. 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:49.519 Uh, 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:51.259 and I think maybe partly this is in view, 00:28:51.400 --> 00:28:53.720 but I think it's a secondary thing that's in view. 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:54.500 In fact, 00:28:54.539 --> 00:28:56.319 I think what's even more primary, 00:28:56.640 --> 00:28:56.960 uh, 00:28:57.079 --> 00:28:57.359 uh, 00:28:57.359 --> 00:28:57.660 is, 00:28:57.839 --> 00:28:58.220 is, 00:28:58.380 --> 00:28:58.819 uh, 00:28:58.819 --> 00:29:01.279 what Paul talks about in first Corinthians 12. 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:01.779 So, 00:29:01.819 --> 00:29:02.539 if you have your Bible, 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:04.579 if you want to turn with me to first Corinthians 12, 00:29:04.620 --> 00:29:05.099 I think there, 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:09.220 there's a very suggestive parallel that helps us understand what it means. 00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:09.819 When Paul, 00:29:09.960 --> 00:29:11.500 Peter tells us to show honor to the, 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:13.359 to the wife as a weaker vessel. 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:16.440 Cause it says in first Corinthians 12, 00:29:16.579 --> 00:29:17.880 21 to 25, 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:18.920 the, 00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:20.319 I cannot say to the hand, 00:29:20.539 --> 00:29:21.579 I have no need of you, 00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:22.519 nor again, 00:29:22.620 --> 00:29:23.500 the head to the feet. 00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:24.680 I have no need of you. 00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:26.079 On the contrary, 00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:29.039 the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. 00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:32.160 And on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, 00:29:32.279 --> 00:29:33.660 we bestow the greater honor. 00:29:34.460 --> 00:29:37.160 And our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 00:29:37.339 --> 00:29:38.859 which are more presentable parts. 00:29:38.859 --> 00:29:39.639 Do not require, 00:29:40.139 --> 00:29:42.139 but God has so composed the body, 00:29:42.359 --> 00:29:44.719 giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 00:29:44.939 --> 00:29:46.679 that there may be no division in the body, 00:29:46.819 --> 00:29:50.179 but that the members may have the same care for one another. 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:50.879 Now, 00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:54.259 I think this is an important parallel in the Bible because one, 00:29:54.379 --> 00:29:56.279 it has the same word weaker, 00:29:56.579 --> 00:29:56.779 right? 00:29:56.779 --> 00:30:00.779 And it also has the same theme of showing honor, 00:30:01.099 --> 00:30:01.299 right? 00:30:02.339 --> 00:30:02.759 And, 00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:03.019 and, 00:30:03.139 --> 00:30:04.440 and if you look at this way, 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:06.319 it's structured in verse 22. 00:30:06.859 --> 00:30:07.279 So on the contrary, 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:10.960 the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:17.039 So the weaker here seems to be parallel to being thought of or considered as more 00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:17.799 dispensable. 00:30:18.019 --> 00:30:19.180 And then verse 23, 00:30:19.240 --> 00:30:21.640 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:23.279 we bestow the greater honor. 00:30:23.340 --> 00:30:23.640 So again, 00:30:23.700 --> 00:30:27.539 the parallel seems to be that weaker refers to being considered perhaps less 00:30:27.539 --> 00:30:28.079 honorable, 00:30:28.279 --> 00:30:28.480 right? 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:29.500 And so I, 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:30.140 I think what, 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:32.079 and what is in view then here is, 00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:32.779 is that women, 00:30:32.980 --> 00:30:36.920 the wives have placed themselves in a position of weakness. 00:30:36.920 --> 00:30:38.799 They're equal to men and, 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:40.660 and have not inferior to men in any way, 00:30:40.779 --> 00:30:46.180 yet they have placed themselves as wise out of fear of the Lord in submission to the 00:30:46.180 --> 00:30:46.460 husband. 00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:49.140 They've placed themselves in a position of weakness and vulnerability. 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:50.440 And, 00:30:50.440 --> 00:30:50.920 and because, 00:30:51.099 --> 00:30:54.620 and though they're in a position that can be considered less honorable or more 00:30:54.620 --> 00:30:55.400 dispensable, 00:30:55.819 --> 00:30:55.920 the, 00:30:55.920 --> 00:30:56.519 the, 00:30:56.519 --> 00:30:56.920 the, 00:30:56.920 --> 00:30:57.480 the fact, 00:30:57.579 --> 00:30:58.420 the truth of the matter is that, 00:30:58.420 --> 00:31:00.080 they are not more dispensable. 00:31:00.200 --> 00:31:00.400 In fact, 00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:01.860 they are not less honorable. 00:31:01.860 --> 00:31:05.200 And that's the whole point of this body imagery is that in fact, 00:31:05.240 --> 00:31:06.519 the part that we think less of it, 00:31:06.560 --> 00:31:08.140 we're supposed to be still more honor, 00:31:08.320 --> 00:31:08.620 right? 00:31:09.620 --> 00:31:09.980 And, 00:31:10.060 --> 00:31:12.220 and when I think of weaker vessel, 00:31:12.340 --> 00:31:14.400 like if a vessel is a container, 00:31:14.620 --> 00:31:14.800 right? 00:31:14.840 --> 00:31:15.279 It's, 00:31:15.400 --> 00:31:15.480 and, 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:16.759 and I think of, 00:31:16.840 --> 00:31:17.080 uh, 00:31:17.080 --> 00:31:18.019 what we use in, 00:31:18.220 --> 00:31:18.480 uh, 00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:19.660 in our home as vessels, 00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:20.440 as cups, 00:31:20.539 --> 00:31:20.960 for example. 00:31:21.120 --> 00:31:21.220 And, 00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:22.060 um, 00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:23.400 we generally use, 00:31:23.460 --> 00:31:25.080 if you guys have been over to our house for dinner, 00:31:25.220 --> 00:31:25.500 um, 00:31:25.500 --> 00:31:26.460 when we have a lot of people, 00:31:26.560 --> 00:31:27.980 we use plastic cups like this, 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:28.579 uh, 00:31:28.579 --> 00:31:28.860 but, 00:31:28.940 --> 00:31:29.120 uh, 00:31:29.120 --> 00:31:30.019 generally we use, 00:31:30.019 --> 00:31:30.259 uh, 00:31:30.319 --> 00:31:30.860 corning wear. 00:31:31.019 --> 00:31:32.380 I don't know if you guys know of that. 00:31:32.440 --> 00:31:32.579 It's, 00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:33.339 it's those kind of, 00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:33.660 uh, 00:31:34.019 --> 00:31:34.299 uh, 00:31:34.360 --> 00:31:34.519 it, 00:31:34.700 --> 00:31:35.940 they never break. 00:31:36.259 --> 00:31:37.099 And it's pretty incredible. 00:31:37.099 --> 00:31:37.519 Like Hannah, 00:31:37.620 --> 00:31:39.960 like dropped one earlier this week in the kitchen, 00:31:40.059 --> 00:31:40.720 the tile floor, 00:31:40.900 --> 00:31:41.759 and it doesn't break. 00:31:42.140 --> 00:31:42.500 Right? 00:31:42.500 --> 00:31:45.660 And so that's why we use it because we know that it can handle the use. 00:31:45.779 --> 00:31:47.079 We know that it's not going to break. 00:31:47.200 --> 00:31:47.359 It's, 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:48.019 it's kind of a, 00:31:48.579 --> 00:31:48.920 uh, 00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:49.259 it's, 00:31:49.359 --> 00:31:50.619 it's not as vulnerable, 00:31:50.880 --> 00:31:51.039 right? 00:31:51.079 --> 00:31:51.259 It's, 00:31:51.339 --> 00:31:52.559 it's a pretty strong vessel. 00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:56.180 But then we also have these two mugs, 00:31:56.180 --> 00:31:56.539 uh, 00:31:56.539 --> 00:31:58.559 that we got as a gift from the Millers, 00:31:58.559 --> 00:31:58.960 uh, 00:31:59.559 --> 00:31:59.880 and, 00:31:59.980 --> 00:32:00.140 uh, 00:32:00.140 --> 00:32:00.299 that, 00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:02.039 that Lauren actually made, 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:02.480 uh, 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:02.980 and it's a, 00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:03.559 it's a, 00:32:03.700 --> 00:32:04.420 it's ceramic. 00:32:04.420 --> 00:32:05.759 So we know it's brittle, 00:32:05.960 --> 00:32:06.380 right? 00:32:06.540 --> 00:32:08.100 But that's precious to us, 00:32:08.100 --> 00:32:08.340 right? 00:32:08.500 --> 00:32:08.820 Uh, 00:32:08.820 --> 00:32:10.940 we don't use that every day. 00:32:11.120 --> 00:32:13.820 And we use that on special occasions and we care, 00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:14.180 use, 00:32:14.300 --> 00:32:16.220 we use it with a special care and, 00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:16.440 and, 00:32:16.440 --> 00:32:17.260 and delicacy, 00:32:17.400 --> 00:32:17.560 right? 00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:20.640 And it's the same thing is that the wives, 00:32:20.820 --> 00:32:22.000 your wife as Christian, 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:28.280 your Christian wife has placed himself in a position of vulnerability for the sake of serving the Lord and for, 00:32:28.280 --> 00:32:28.580 as, 00:32:28.680 --> 00:32:30.860 and to support the husband and to be, 00:32:31.080 --> 00:32:31.620 be, 00:32:31.620 --> 00:32:31.940 uh, 00:32:31.940 --> 00:32:34.660 his helper as God has called her to do. 00:32:34.660 --> 00:32:37.560 And in doing so she's placed herself in this place of vulnerability. 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:38.100 And that, 00:32:38.220 --> 00:32:38.980 for that reason, 00:32:39.220 --> 00:32:43.460 the husband is supposed to show even greater honor and even greater care. 00:32:43.460 --> 00:32:45.600 And to make sure that she is not, 00:32:45.600 --> 00:32:45.960 uh, 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:46.519 uh, 00:32:46.519 --> 00:32:48.620 she's not for the sake, 00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:49.740 in the place of vulnerability, 00:32:49.860 --> 00:32:53.000 she's played abused or mistreated. 00:32:57.360 --> 00:33:00.440 So show honor to the woman as a weaker vessel, 00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:03.460 since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, 00:33:03.460 --> 00:33:05.720 so that your prayers may not be hindered. 00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:07.740 And this is the reason that Paul gives, 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.880 since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, 00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:12.160 right? 00:33:13.019 --> 00:33:13.380 Right? 00:33:13.400 --> 00:33:13.740 In this, 00:33:13.900 --> 00:33:14.840 in the Greco-Roman culture, 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:15.240 again, 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:17.640 only men receive inheritance, 00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:18.360 right? 00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:22.799 But in the kingdom of God, 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:24.640 as it says here, 00:33:25.539 --> 00:33:25.880 women, 00:33:26.519 --> 00:33:26.840 wives, 00:33:27.019 --> 00:33:31.180 they're heirs with you of the grace of life, 00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:35.380 there's no distinction in God's eyes, 00:33:35.460 --> 00:33:37.799 and what he bestows on a husband and a wife, 00:33:37.900 --> 00:33:38.519 they are equally, 00:33:38.880 --> 00:33:40.700 the grace of God extends to them all, 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:42.539 and we're co-heirs together, 00:33:43.019 --> 00:33:44.820 of the grace that God's given to us. 00:33:45.700 --> 00:33:47.480 And this is how much God cares about this. 00:33:47.539 --> 00:33:47.799 He says, 00:33:48.140 --> 00:33:50.320 so that your prayers may not be hindered. 00:33:50.940 --> 00:33:51.200 In fact, 00:33:51.220 --> 00:33:54.940 if you are abused that place of a story that God's placed you in, 00:33:54.940 --> 00:33:56.920 and mistreat your wife, 00:33:57.840 --> 00:33:59.279 your prayers will not, 00:33:59.480 --> 00:34:00.279 will be hindered. 00:34:00.620 --> 00:34:02.160 I will not listen to your prayers, 00:34:02.259 --> 00:34:02.779 says God. 00:34:03.640 --> 00:34:05.799 That's how important this is to the Lord. 00:34:07.580 --> 00:34:07.740 And, 00:34:07.880 --> 00:34:09.659 and I think it's, 00:34:09.720 --> 00:34:14.840 the whole difference between the genders, 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:15.500 the distinction, 00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:17.320 that the intergenderness, 00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:19.320 that it's supposed to, 00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:19.660 uh, 00:34:20.160 --> 00:34:21.660 show the greater picture, 00:34:21.740 --> 00:34:22.940 I think the fullness of the image of God, 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:24.320 in the sense that we have things, 00:34:24.800 --> 00:34:25.120 we have, 00:34:25.240 --> 00:34:25.980 each have strength. 00:34:26.080 --> 00:34:26.740 Women have strength, 00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:27.539 and men have strength. 00:34:27.780 --> 00:34:28.400 And together, 00:34:28.519 --> 00:34:29.700 they can show a fuller, 00:34:29.700 --> 00:34:30.160 uh, 00:34:30.160 --> 00:34:31.720 sense of what that's supposed to look like. 00:34:32.280 --> 00:34:32.480 Um, 00:34:32.500 --> 00:34:32.700 and, 00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:33.000 and, 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:34.140 and women, 00:34:34.300 --> 00:34:34.980 as they submit, 00:34:35.100 --> 00:34:35.920 and as they help, 00:34:36.100 --> 00:34:36.160 and, 00:34:36.240 --> 00:34:38.160 and as they support their husbands, 00:34:38.660 --> 00:34:39.800 and the men then, 00:34:39.860 --> 00:34:40.080 in that, 00:34:40.260 --> 00:34:41.240 they can't run, 00:34:41.340 --> 00:34:42.200 ruptured over the women, 00:34:42.320 --> 00:34:43.480 and over the wives that they've given them, 00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:44.440 but rather they care, 00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:45.140 they show honor. 00:34:45.460 --> 00:34:46.200 And in doing that, 00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:48.239 there's such a beautiful picture of mutuality, 00:34:48.299 --> 00:34:48.559 and, 00:34:48.619 --> 00:34:49.219 and harmony, 00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:50.159 and unity, 00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:52.460 that we see in the Trinity itself. 00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:54.779 As 1 Corinthians 11, 00:34:54.879 --> 00:34:55.099 3, 00:34:55.199 --> 00:34:55.399 it says, 00:34:55.480 --> 00:34:58.239 now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, 00:34:58.699 --> 00:35:00.419 and the head of the woman is man, 00:35:01.139 --> 00:35:03.359 and the head of Christ is God. 00:35:03.659 --> 00:35:03.739 Right? 00:35:05.699 --> 00:35:07.079 And I want you to also, 00:35:07.299 --> 00:35:07.859 I forget, 00:35:07.960 --> 00:35:09.019 I forgot to mention this earlier, 00:35:09.259 --> 00:35:09.460 note, 00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:10.000 uh, 00:35:10.359 --> 00:35:11.899 the very important qualifications, 00:35:12.319 --> 00:35:12.559 when, 00:35:12.659 --> 00:35:12.960 uh, 00:35:13.679 --> 00:35:15.219 Peter tells wives to be subject. 00:35:15.379 --> 00:35:15.599 He says, 00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:17.139 to be subject to your own husbands. 00:35:17.139 --> 00:35:17.539 Right? 00:35:18.360 --> 00:35:18.639 Um, 00:35:19.159 --> 00:35:20.960 they're not supposed to be subject to any other men. 00:35:21.860 --> 00:35:22.059 Uh, 00:35:22.059 --> 00:35:24.259 they're supposed to be subject to their own husbands. 00:35:24.699 --> 00:35:24.980 Uh, 00:35:25.019 --> 00:35:25.279 and, 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:25.599 and, 00:35:25.819 --> 00:35:26.079 and, 00:35:26.139 --> 00:35:26.579 and here, 00:35:26.699 --> 00:35:26.860 again, 00:35:26.900 --> 00:35:28.699 it's talking about the husband and wife relationship, 00:35:28.819 --> 00:35:29.599 in 1 Corinthians 11, 00:35:29.599 --> 00:35:29.960 3. 00:35:30.159 --> 00:35:30.880 And he says, 00:35:31.019 --> 00:35:32.940 that the head of every man is Christ, 00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:34.500 and the head of the woman is man. 00:35:34.559 --> 00:35:34.839 It's his, 00:35:34.940 --> 00:35:35.139 it's, 00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:35.960 it's her husband. 00:35:36.420 --> 00:35:37.759 And the head of Christ is God. 00:35:37.960 --> 00:35:38.860 And we teach, 00:35:38.960 --> 00:35:39.219 that, 00:35:39.360 --> 00:35:39.519 you know, 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:40.119 God the Father, 00:35:40.219 --> 00:35:40.719 God the Son, 00:35:40.799 --> 00:35:41.619 and God the Holy Spirit, 00:35:41.679 --> 00:35:42.880 are all equal in power, 00:35:42.960 --> 00:35:43.380 and dignity, 00:35:43.519 --> 00:35:43.980 and a deity, 00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:44.599 and authority. 00:35:44.599 --> 00:35:45.400 Yet, 00:35:45.559 --> 00:35:46.119 in the Trinity, 00:35:46.259 --> 00:35:47.699 the Son submits to the Father. 00:35:48.360 --> 00:35:49.679 And that's his humility, 00:35:49.819 --> 00:35:51.500 as 1 Peter 2 talks about. 00:35:51.599 --> 00:35:51.699 In, 00:35:51.819 --> 00:35:53.299 even though he was in very nature, 00:35:53.400 --> 00:35:54.920 God did not consider equality with God, 00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:55.920 something to be grasped. 00:35:56.139 --> 00:35:57.880 And it's in that same manner, 00:35:57.880 --> 00:35:59.199 that the wife submits to her husband. 00:35:59.199 --> 00:36:00.440 Not because she is inferior, 00:36:00.440 --> 00:36:03.079 but because that's what Christ has done. 00:36:03.480 --> 00:36:06.980 And Christ has shown in the pattern in which he lived while he was here on earth. 00:36:07.559 --> 00:36:09.200 And I think in doing that, 00:36:09.260 --> 00:36:11.079 and living as husband and wife in this manner, 00:36:11.220 --> 00:36:15.000 we show the watching world what the Christian community looks like. 00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:18.019 And what the beauty and the harmony and the unity, 00:36:18.380 --> 00:36:22.380 and the complementary we see in the divine Godhead is like. 00:36:22.380 --> 00:36:25.680 And so with that in mind, 00:36:25.780 --> 00:36:27.119 I'd love for us to pray. 00:36:27.460 --> 00:36:31.880 And pray especially for married couples in our church, 00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:33.700 but also for singles, 00:36:33.699 --> 00:36:35.899 as they, 00:36:36.159 --> 00:36:36.500 you know, 00:36:36.939 --> 00:36:39.339 that men and women alike, 00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:41.379 that they would have their hope in God, 00:36:41.439 --> 00:36:43.319 not in a potential spouse, 00:36:43.439 --> 00:36:44.699 or their current spouse. 00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:46.559 And that it's that hope in God, 00:36:46.579 --> 00:36:47.299 and fear of God, 00:36:47.299 --> 00:36:50.619 that would enable us to live in light of this complementarity, 00:36:50.799 --> 00:36:53.019 that Peter teaches us. 00:36:54.460 --> 00:36:56.939 So let's pray out loud together.