WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:09.500 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.280 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:37.260 Today's scripture reading is from 1 Peter 2, verses 11-12 and 21, and chapter 3, verses 1-8. 00:00:38.380 --> 00:00:40.640 A reading from the first letter of Peter. 00:00:42.240 --> 00:00:48.260 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, 00:00:48.700 --> 00:00:50.859 which wage war against your soul. 00:00:50.859 --> 00:00:54.280 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, 00:00:54.780 --> 00:00:56.859 so that when they speak against you as evildoers, 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:02.179 they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 00:01:04.039 --> 00:01:08.099 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:11.700 leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. 00:01:13.939 --> 00:01:17.079 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, 00:01:17.079 --> 00:01:19.560 so that even if some do not obey the word, 00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:23.259 they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives 00:01:23.259 --> 00:01:26.019 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:28.980 Do not let your adorning be external, 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:33.019 the braiding of hair, the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear, 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:36.539 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart 00:01:36.539 --> 00:01:39.879 with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:42.920 which in God's sight is very precious. 00:01:42.920 --> 00:01:47.560 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, 00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:52.900 by submitting to their own husbands as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:58.719 And you are her children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:03.920 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, 00:02:04.540 --> 00:02:06.680 showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, 00:02:07.020 --> 00:02:10.060 since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, 00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:12.319 so that your prayers may not be hindered. 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:18.699 Finally, all of you have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, 00:02:19.180 --> 00:02:21.479 a tender heart, and a humble mind. 00:02:22.099 --> 00:02:23.460 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:25.240 Thanks be to God. 00:02:28.340 --> 00:02:30.840 Thank you, Denise, for that scripture reading. 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:37.020 You know, normally with a tough and touchy passage like ours today, 00:02:37.159 --> 00:02:40.879 I like to start off with some humor and give our lead pastor, Jonathan, 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:44.620 a hard time for sticking me with yet another difficult text. 00:02:45.340 --> 00:02:46.379 But he's not here. 00:02:46.460 --> 00:02:47.259 He's on vacation. 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:53.240 And honestly, this text weighed on me pretty heavily this week. 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:58.860 First of all, I'm not coming at this as the perfect husband with the perfect marriage. 00:02:58.860 --> 00:03:02.060 I feel very unsuited to preach today's text. 00:03:02.620 --> 00:03:04.600 That's mostly addressed to wives, right? 00:03:04.660 --> 00:03:08.180 Six verses to wives and then one to the husband. 00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:13.780 And then secondly, I'm also aware that domestic abuse is real, right? 00:03:14.020 --> 00:03:17.620 And that it harms women much more than it harms men. 00:03:18.220 --> 00:03:22.640 And I just think about all the ways that this text and others like it in the Bible 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:30.059 and this thing we call God's Word have been used by Christians to ignore and silence and oppress women, 00:03:30.339 --> 00:03:34.199 particularly isolated, desperate, hurting wives. 00:03:34.539 --> 00:03:40.619 And so honestly, I tremble under the responsibility of preaching this text 00:03:40.619 --> 00:03:46.819 that's so often been misunderstood and misapplied and used to support male supremacy 00:03:46.819 --> 00:03:51.219 and to harm and hurt rather than to help and to heal. 00:03:51.500 --> 00:03:56.759 I think of one woman in particular that I met very briefly about 15 years ago at this church, 00:03:56.840 --> 00:04:00.319 this church that I really admired when I visited it. 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:04.379 But just last year, I learned in a Christianity Today article 00:04:04.379 --> 00:04:11.680 that this same woman had been physically abused, sent to the hospital by her husband. 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:16.800 And in that article, I also learned that one of her pastors had counseled her, 00:04:18.180 --> 00:04:20.660 based on passages like this one today, 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:24.060 he counseled her to return home without calling the police. 00:04:25.280 --> 00:04:28.139 And her takeaway from their very first counseling meeting, 00:04:28.280 --> 00:04:31.319 this meeting with the pastor of counseling at this church, 00:04:31.399 --> 00:04:36.620 was that submission to her husband was of a higher priority than her physical safety 00:04:36.620 --> 00:04:39.480 and that her job was just to not rile him up. 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:46.100 On another occasion, she had called 911 because she and her husband had gotten into a fight in the car. 00:04:46.780 --> 00:04:49.800 And when the cops themselves told her not to return home with her spouse, 00:04:49.900 --> 00:04:54.400 another pastor from the same church told her to submit to her husband as to the Lord 00:04:54.400 --> 00:04:56.280 and not to provoke him. 00:04:57.020 --> 00:05:00.780 The article continued and revealed that there were many other women in this church 00:05:00.780 --> 00:05:02.700 who had received similar counsel. 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:07.460 And while I'm not the kind of pastor that's hoping to counsel you in this way, 00:05:07.459 --> 00:05:13.979 I also recognized that, you know, these things could come from pastors. 00:05:14.299 --> 00:05:15.699 I'm susceptible to error. 00:05:16.579 --> 00:05:17.919 And, you know, this was just one church. 00:05:18.259 --> 00:05:21.740 But it's a church, and it's a church I know that has done a lot of good things, 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:23.740 even alongside of these terrible things. 00:05:23.819 --> 00:05:29.439 So I really tremble preaching this text because I know the dangerous ways it can be interpreted and applied, 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:33.560 and I know that I'm just as susceptible to these errors as any other pastor. 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:37.620 And even if I preach this, like, perfectly, right, thread the needle, 00:05:37.879 --> 00:05:41.240 I also just fear the ways that, you know, people still might take it, 00:05:41.280 --> 00:05:43.259 even apart from my intentions. 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:48.620 So I want to pray right now and ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance upon my speech, 00:05:48.740 --> 00:05:52.800 upon your ears and your hearts, that we would take God's Word seriously 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.100 and apply it rightly. 00:05:55.579 --> 00:05:56.920 All right, so will you pray with me? 00:05:56.920 --> 00:06:05.280 Father, we always need your help when we listen to your Word, 00:06:05.340 --> 00:06:07.439 when we interpret your Word, and when we apply it. 00:06:08.460 --> 00:06:15.460 Lord, would we understand your Word and apply it in a way that lifts up people made in the image of God, 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:19.920 in a way that lifts up the glory and the beauty of Jesus Christ, 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:24.259 and in a way that dignifies all those around us. 00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:30.620 Would we apply it that way, in love, guided by your Spirit, in the way of Jesus. 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:31.860 Amen. 00:06:33.080 --> 00:06:37.860 All right, so, you know, while a big part of me wishes that I didn't have to preach this text 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:41.960 or that I could, you know, pick which parts of the Scripture I agreed with, 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:46.159 the better part of me, I think, the Holy Spirit-led part of me, 00:06:46.479 --> 00:06:52.459 believes that our discomfort, our contemporary culture's discomfort with texts like these, 00:06:53.939 --> 00:06:58.899 well, that is precisely the reason, I think, why these texts need to be preached rather than ignored. 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:03.839 I'm increasingly convinced that it's precisely these challenging texts from God's Word 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:06.659 that actually demand more attention and not less. 00:07:06.659 --> 00:07:10.679 Because, you know, when we don't give proper attention to these challenging passages, 00:07:10.680 --> 00:07:14.819 I think we miss the incredibly unique and really astounding heart of God 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:18.560 and the masterful intentions that He has for this world. 00:07:19.459 --> 00:07:21.780 Like, when we don't give proper attention to these hard texts, 00:07:21.819 --> 00:07:25.379 what I think happens is that simplistic readings and interpretations, 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:32.680 they actually get to take center stage when we don't pay close attention to what God says in His Word. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:35.840 Okay, so I want to pay close attention to this text. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:41.060 Even as it says in verse 1, wives, be subject to your own husbands. 00:07:41.659 --> 00:07:41.939 All right? 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:46.599 And you know what's fascinating to me, though, is that people who are theologically liberal 00:07:46.599 --> 00:07:49.120 and then people who are theologically, you know, fundamentalist, 00:07:49.179 --> 00:07:52.819 they actually both interpret this in the same way, simplistically. 00:07:53.419 --> 00:07:57.419 Those on the right say, hey, this supports patriarchy and male dominance, 00:07:57.419 --> 00:07:58.839 so let's preach God's Word. 00:07:59.159 --> 00:08:05.139 Let's wield the Bible in our culture war to bring society back to our patriarchal values just as God intends. 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:10.139 And then those on the left also say, hey, this supports patriarchy and male dominance. 00:08:10.239 --> 00:08:11.159 They say the same thing, right? 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:13.639 But then they say, so let's not preach this. 00:08:13.939 --> 00:08:15.639 Let's not consider this as God's Word. 00:08:15.719 --> 00:08:22.599 Let's downplay and critique the authority of the Scriptures to bring our society to what we know is truly good for the world. 00:08:23.500 --> 00:08:27.319 So you see, while they might have different approaches and responses to this text, 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:31.179 their interpretation, their understanding of what Peter means is actually the same. 00:08:31.180 --> 00:08:38.060 But see, what I want to say, what I want to show you is that both of these sides aren't paying close enough attention to this text. 00:08:38.139 --> 00:08:39.680 They're both reading it simplistically. 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:46.840 And I think that they're missing the heart of God and His vision for the world and all of its splendid unity and diversity. 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:53.240 I'm convinced that if we are willing to seek God's heart with humility about our fallibility and our finitude, 00:08:53.240 --> 00:09:00.320 and yet also with confidence that He is able to communicate His truths to us clearly, even with our flaws and limitations, 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:07.759 if we prayerfully meditate on these hard passages in the Bible with open hands and a heart ready to repent and believe all that He says, 00:09:08.299 --> 00:09:16.419 what we will find is that God and His Word are far richer, far more nuanced, and far more liberating and dignifying than we initially realized. 00:09:16.419 --> 00:09:22.339 And that shouldn't surprise us as Christians, right, that God's Word is true, infinitely wiser than each of us, 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:30.259 pregnant with meaning, always relevant, and always full of good news, even and maybe even especially when it says things that are hard to accept. 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:37.059 So I want to challenge us to not lean on our own modern Western secular Bay Area understandings, 00:09:37.059 --> 00:09:45.739 which will predispose us to viewing the Bible as a dated, misogynistic text written by mere men who are unenlightened and just ancient. 00:09:46.259 --> 00:09:50.719 And I want to invite us to approach these words of Scripture as God's very truth, 00:09:51.019 --> 00:09:54.899 full of greater beauty, greater wisdom than we ever expected. 00:09:55.859 --> 00:10:00.559 Now let me remind you of the context of this letter surrounding what Peter just said about wives and husbands. 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:03.459 Remember, he's writing to exiles in modern-day Turkey, 00:10:03.460 --> 00:10:08.780 casting a vision for them as both beloved by God and at the same time sojourners and exiles. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:10.280 As it says here in verse 11, look, 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:17.060 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:17.820 Then he says, 00:10:17.820 --> 00:10:24.980 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, 00:10:25.180 --> 00:10:29.019 they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:30.139 He's pastoring them. 00:10:30.139 --> 00:10:36.759 He's pastoring them as religious minorities to be faithful and distinctive beacons of light to those around them, 00:10:36.819 --> 00:10:40.759 not for the sake of their mere survival, but for the ultimate purpose of what? 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:44.799 Of representing Christ and drawing people to Him. 00:10:44.860 --> 00:10:47.919 His main concern is that Christians choose the high road, 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:53.240 not to come to retaliation or winning in culture at any cost, but that they walk in the way of Jesus. 00:10:53.240 --> 00:10:59.659 So we saw Him in the last couple weeks, we saw Him tell them to submit to their pagan governing authorities. 00:11:00.299 --> 00:11:04.080 We saw Him tell the servants even to submit to their harsh employers, 00:11:04.620 --> 00:11:09.299 because they first submit to Jesus as Lord first. 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:12.759 And He acknowledges that this may lead to suffering, 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:16.060 but He also encourages them that this is the very example of Jesus. 00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:21.319 This is the way of the Lamb who, though innocent, did not retaliate or return evil for evil, 00:11:21.439 --> 00:11:27.459 but who endured suffering and trusted God, and then was ultimately vindicated in the end. 00:11:28.259 --> 00:11:30.699 Peter even calls this their calling in verse 21. 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:34.559 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, 00:11:34.819 --> 00:11:39.559 leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. 00:11:40.179 --> 00:11:42.799 So here in chapter 3, He's addressing wives in the same way. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:48.079 That's why He says in chapter 3, verse 1, likewise, just as He counseled them as religious minorities 00:11:48.079 --> 00:11:50.899 and as servants with harsh masters to submit, 00:11:51.139 --> 00:11:55.319 He also now counsels Christian wives to be subject to their husbands, 00:11:55.479 --> 00:11:57.659 even their husbands who are not Christians. 00:11:57.819 --> 00:12:02.079 Verse 1, likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:04.659 so that even if some do not obey the word, 00:12:05.139 --> 00:12:08.939 they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives 00:12:08.939 --> 00:12:12.179 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:16.779 Now let me just start off by saying what this doesn't mean, okay? 00:12:17.319 --> 00:12:19.699 It doesn't mean that husbands can do whatever they want, 00:12:20.099 --> 00:12:23.779 like abuse their wives and exert oppressive dominance upon them. 00:12:23.859 --> 00:12:26.679 This imperative for women to be subject to their husbands 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:29.799 is not a license for husbands to subject their wives 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:33.240 to their own selfish and sinful desires and wills. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:35.099 Remember, Peter says in chapter 2, 00:12:35.419 --> 00:12:38.439 be subject, yes, to these human institutions, to your harsh masters, 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:39.679 and here to your husbands, 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:42.419 but he also said in chapter 2, remember verse 13, he said, 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:43.759 be subject, what? 00:12:44.120 --> 00:12:45.299 For the Lord's sake. 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:47.659 The Lord is the Lord. 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:50.319 The husband is not the wife's ultimate Lord. 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:51.419 Jesus is. 00:12:52.219 --> 00:12:54.479 So domestic abuse should never be tolerated 00:12:54.479 --> 00:12:58.019 or even endured by those under the lordship of Jesus Christ. 00:12:58.120 --> 00:12:59.859 In the case of domestic abuse, 00:12:59.939 --> 00:13:02.359 you're not called to endure it as a martyr. 00:13:03.019 --> 00:13:03.719 Call the cops. 00:13:04.419 --> 00:13:05.099 Tell your pastors. 00:13:05.100 --> 00:13:06.659 I want to make that super clear. 00:13:06.779 --> 00:13:10.920 Be subject to your husbands does not mean subject yourself to his abuse 00:13:10.920 --> 00:13:12.360 and do nothing about it. 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:14.700 Peter speaks against this, actually, in verse 7 00:13:14.700 --> 00:13:18.019 when he gives the husbands an incredibly progressive command at the time, 00:13:18.259 --> 00:13:20.840 one that would have been unprecedented in the ancient world. 00:13:21.040 --> 00:13:21.639 He says, 00:13:22.040 --> 00:13:22.820 likewise, husbands, 00:13:23.680 --> 00:13:26.580 live with your wives in an understanding way, 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:29.580 showing honor to the woman as an equal. 00:13:29.820 --> 00:13:30.279 Later he says, 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:32.240 as an heir of the grace of life, 00:13:32.300 --> 00:13:32.940 just like you. 00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:34.500 And similarly, 00:13:34.880 --> 00:13:35.580 the Apostle Paul, 00:13:35.700 --> 00:13:36.620 in Ephesians chapter 5, 00:13:36.700 --> 00:13:38.400 when he encourages wives to do the same, 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:39.500 to submit to their husbands, 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:43.400 he then turns and calls husbands to love their wives 00:13:43.400 --> 00:13:45.280 like Christ loved the church, 00:13:45.420 --> 00:13:46.680 giving himself up for her. 00:13:46.760 --> 00:13:47.140 So really, 00:13:47.280 --> 00:13:50.100 it's an even greater sacrifice and cost, right? 00:13:50.760 --> 00:13:51.240 So, you know, 00:13:51.320 --> 00:13:54.600 I sometimes ask Chelsea for a favor in our household, 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:56.020 and she says no. 00:13:57.120 --> 00:13:58.320 And I jokingly say, 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:00.180 well, aren't you supposed to submit to me? 00:14:00.700 --> 00:14:01.480 Don't try that. 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:03.379 Or at least don't be serious if you say that at home, all right? 00:14:03.920 --> 00:14:04.800 She knows I'm joking. 00:14:04.860 --> 00:14:06.019 That's the kind of relationship we have. 00:14:06.320 --> 00:14:07.200 But when I say that, 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:08.639 aren't you supposed to submit to me, Chels? 00:14:08.740 --> 00:14:10.740 I need a foot massage or something like that. 00:14:11.980 --> 00:14:12.460 She'll be like, 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:13.759 no, you give me a massage, 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:17.560 because aren't you supposed to lay your life down for me? 00:14:18.200 --> 00:14:18.700 All right? 00:14:19.700 --> 00:14:21.240 And she is very right, right? 00:14:21.320 --> 00:14:23.620 And biblically astute to respond to me in that way. 00:14:23.659 --> 00:14:26.360 I'm supposed to lay down my life for my wife. 00:14:26.360 --> 00:14:28.379 So again, 00:14:28.460 --> 00:14:29.399 this text doesn't mean 00:14:29.399 --> 00:14:33.000 wives may be subjected to abuse from their husbands 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:34.820 or that husbands always get their way. 00:14:34.899 --> 00:14:35.960 That's not what this means. 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:40.000 And it also doesn't mean that wives are somehow inherently inferior 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:42.480 or of less value than their husbands. 00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:44.740 No, when Peter addresses Christians in chapter 2, 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:45.919 what does he call the whole church? 00:14:45.980 --> 00:14:46.980 He calls them a holy nation, 00:14:47.080 --> 00:14:47.820 a royal priesthood, 00:14:48.060 --> 00:14:48.919 beloved, special, 00:14:49.060 --> 00:14:50.840 chosen by God. 00:14:50.899 --> 00:14:51.980 He doesn't just mean the men. 00:14:51.980 --> 00:14:54.700 He doesn't see a hierarchy within this holy nation 00:14:54.700 --> 00:14:56.420 between husbands and wives. 00:14:57.039 --> 00:14:59.519 Now, just as his fellow apostle Paul writes to the Galatians, 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:01.639 there is neither male nor female, 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:04.639 but they are all one in Christ. 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:06.240 They're all one in Christ. 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:07.600 I love how Kathy Keller writes, 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:12.580 both women and men get to play the Jesus role in marriage. 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:15.240 Jesus in his sacrificial authority, 00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:17.940 Jesus in his sacrificial submission. 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:20.060 There is no inferiority here. 00:15:20.059 --> 00:15:22.439 In verse 7 again, Peter even reminds husbands 00:15:22.439 --> 00:15:25.279 that their wives are heirs of the grace of life, 00:15:25.479 --> 00:15:26.479 just like they are. 00:15:27.339 --> 00:15:29.659 And even when he refers to these wives, 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:30.559 I know you caught that, 00:15:30.619 --> 00:15:31.759 as the weaker vessel. 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:36.379 He's not making a comment on the worth and dignity 00:15:36.379 --> 00:15:38.279 or the utility of women, 00:15:38.459 --> 00:15:40.319 but most commentators believe 00:15:40.319 --> 00:15:42.559 he's simply making a generalized statement 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:44.039 about the comparative difference 00:15:44.039 --> 00:15:47.479 in physical strength between men and women 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:51.320 and how that does lead to lower levels of social agency 00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:53.000 and empowerment for women. 00:15:53.120 --> 00:15:56.100 But this is far from saying women are of lesser value 00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:57.659 and status in the eyes of God. 00:15:57.720 --> 00:15:59.860 In fact, it's an uplifting word for women 00:15:59.860 --> 00:16:01.320 and how they ought to be treated 00:16:01.320 --> 00:16:04.920 even when they are viewed as weak in society. 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:08.159 The commentator Karen Jobes writes, 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:10.199 how ironic it is that the words 00:16:10.199 --> 00:16:12.059 that first century wives would have read 00:16:12.059 --> 00:16:13.639 as affirming and empowering 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:15.879 are criticized by some today 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:17.799 as enslaving and oppressive. 00:16:18.779 --> 00:16:20.679 Because see, all throughout the ancient world, 00:16:20.839 --> 00:16:22.379 secular historians will tell you 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:24.039 that wherever the Christian gospel, 00:16:24.179 --> 00:16:26.099 the good news about Jesus Christ was preached, 00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:29.439 it was always perceived to be radical news, 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:31.860 radical news with unique implications 00:16:31.860 --> 00:16:33.439 for human equality. 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:34.560 People are like, what? 00:16:34.660 --> 00:16:36.780 Our slaves are our brothers in Christ? 00:16:37.180 --> 00:16:37.460 What? 00:16:37.560 --> 00:16:39.400 Our wives are co-heirs with us 00:16:39.400 --> 00:16:41.300 in our eternal inheritance with Christ? 00:16:41.680 --> 00:16:41.920 What? 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:45.100 Our ethnic enemies are citizens with us 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:46.440 in the kingdom of Christ? 00:16:47.060 --> 00:16:49.260 So what Peter is saying in verse one 00:16:49.260 --> 00:16:52.440 is not giving a license for husbands to be dominant. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:55.400 It's also not a statement about the value of women. 00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:57.900 In fact, that Peter addressed wives 00:16:57.900 --> 00:16:59.960 and even here wives who were married to men 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:01.920 who were not Christians, that Peter saw them 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:03.779 and that he thought of them 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:05.119 in their difficult situations 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:07.659 and that Peter also saw them as having agency 00:17:07.659 --> 00:17:09.639 and influence in the household 00:17:09.639 --> 00:17:11.559 and as part of God's perfect purposes 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:13.180 to win the world to Jesus, 00:17:13.700 --> 00:17:15.039 that Peter in verse seven 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:17.159 even commands husbands to treat their wives well 00:17:17.159 --> 00:17:19.559 and with understanding and honor and equality 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:21.720 or else God will not attend to their prayers. 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:26.039 All of this was very unusual in the Greco-Roman world. 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:28.639 And really quite progressive and revolutionary 00:17:28.639 --> 00:17:32.019 in the early church because of the way of Jesus 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:34.259 and the way of the apostles and their teachings, 00:17:34.619 --> 00:17:36.420 women were dignified in the early church 00:17:36.420 --> 00:17:38.940 in unprecedented ways. 00:17:40.180 --> 00:17:41.639 I just want to say that, okay? 00:17:42.339 --> 00:17:44.659 But even while supporting the equality of wives 00:17:44.659 --> 00:17:47.119 and husbands, Peter doesn't promote though 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:49.720 a flat and simplistic equality 00:17:49.720 --> 00:17:51.079 that's without any distinction. 00:17:51.980 --> 00:17:53.980 Make no mistake, Peter teaches that husbands 00:17:53.980 --> 00:17:56.700 and wives are equals and precious to God 00:17:56.700 --> 00:17:58.900 while also having distinct 00:17:58.900 --> 00:18:02.480 yet equally valuable roles and callings. 00:18:03.099 --> 00:18:04.900 I love how this one African Christian writer, 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.480 Tiffany Mutoni Kiri writes about the differences 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:08.839 between wives and husbands. 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:11.559 She writes, although we were both created by God 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:13.620 in his image, we have different abilities, 00:18:14.099 --> 00:18:15.680 physical strengths and roles. 00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:18.960 Our differences are God's beautiful design. 00:18:19.059 --> 00:18:21.559 They aren't a disadvantage in the body of Christ. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:22.980 In fact, Elizabeth Elliot says, 00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:25.920 our inequalities are essential to the image of God. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:28.779 Difference doesn't indicate a discrepancy 00:18:28.779 --> 00:18:29.759 in worth or value. 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:32.079 Rather, it is God's design for his church, 00:18:32.460 --> 00:18:34.500 marriage, and society at large. 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:37.019 See, there is a specific role 00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:39.160 that Peter invites the Christian wives he writes to 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:41.900 to play in order to fulfill God's purposes. 00:18:42.059 --> 00:18:43.539 There is a specific kind of witness, 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:46.079 a specific kind of picture he has in mind 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:47.799 for Christian wives to beautifully 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:50.240 and uniquely display to the world. 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:51.039 And this is the picture. 00:18:51.519 --> 00:18:52.120 This is the picture. 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:56.739 It's a picture of prophetic, priestly queens. 00:18:57.699 --> 00:19:00.139 Women united with the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:02.099 fully equal with their husbands. 00:19:02.399 --> 00:19:05.039 It's a picture of these beloved daughters of the king 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:09.159 not asserting their worth and value and equality 00:19:09.159 --> 00:19:12.259 through forceful revolution against their husbands 00:19:12.259 --> 00:19:13.739 and against society. 00:19:13.859 --> 00:19:17.619 It's a picture of queens who are so secure, 00:19:17.779 --> 00:19:20.079 so convinced of their worth in the eyes of God 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:23.299 that winning their husbands into deeper relationships 00:19:23.299 --> 00:19:26.279 with Christ is even more important to them 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:29.519 than achieving some quantitative, objective, 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:32.240 empirical kind of fairness in their marriage. 00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:34.879 Just like we saw in Peter's advice 00:19:34.879 --> 00:19:37.319 to political and religious minorities 00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:38.939 and even to slaves in chapter 2, 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:41.960 the strategy of God's kingdom in this world 00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:43.139 to win this world, 00:19:43.140 --> 00:19:46.259 it isn't through asserting ourselves with hard power, 00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:48.759 the hard power of authoritarian demands 00:19:49.380 --> 00:19:50.980 and threats and power grabbing. 00:19:51.080 --> 00:19:53.480 No, the way of Jesus is to win the world 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:56.080 through the soft power of respectfulness 00:19:56.080 --> 00:19:57.920 and purity and holiness. 00:19:58.100 --> 00:19:58.340 Verse 1, 00:19:58.380 --> 00:19:59.320 Be subject to your husbands 00:19:59.320 --> 00:20:02.320 so that they may be won without a word 00:20:02.320 --> 00:20:05.000 by the conduct of their wives. 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:06.560 When they see you're respectful and pure conduct. 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:10.079 We're to win the world with our conduct. 00:20:11.019 --> 00:20:12.299 So do you see what Peter is doing here? 00:20:12.339 --> 00:20:15.299 He's not just giving practical advice, 00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:18.039 but he's reframing our whole outlook 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:19.940 on the often challenging relationships 00:20:19.940 --> 00:20:21.759 between husbands and wives. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:24.460 See, ever since Adam and Eve turned away from God 00:20:24.460 --> 00:20:26.639 and mixed up their roles and blamed each other 00:20:26.639 --> 00:20:29.700 and traded their harmonious complementarian relationship 00:20:29.700 --> 00:20:32.139 with each other for a power struggle, 00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:36.380 husbands and wives have been caught up now 00:20:36.380 --> 00:20:37.940 in this battle of the sexes. 00:20:38.600 --> 00:20:40.140 But what Peter is doing here 00:20:40.140 --> 00:20:41.780 is he's saying to these Christian wives 00:20:41.780 --> 00:20:45.360 that the goal isn't to win against your husband. 00:20:46.560 --> 00:20:48.120 No, the goal is to win your husband, 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:49.759 not win against him. 00:20:50.120 --> 00:20:52.300 The primary goal isn't simply fairness 00:20:52.300 --> 00:20:54.259 and equity between spouses. 00:20:54.259 --> 00:20:56.920 The goal is winning our spouses 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:59.500 into deeper relationships with Christ, 00:20:59.620 --> 00:21:00.280 which, by the way, 00:21:00.279 --> 00:21:02.819 will result in more fairness in marriage 00:21:02.819 --> 00:21:03.299 and not less, 00:21:03.379 --> 00:21:04.899 but actually something even better than fairness. 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:07.339 The way of Jesus doesn't just lead 00:21:07.339 --> 00:21:09.779 to fair marital relationships, 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:10.759 it leads to gracious 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:15.279 and generous marital relationships, right? 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:17.220 Relationships where husbands and wives 00:21:17.220 --> 00:21:18.720 aren't even keeping score 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:20.960 about who has given up more for whom, 00:21:21.039 --> 00:21:22.339 who's washed more dishes, 00:21:22.500 --> 00:21:23.399 taken out the trash more, 00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:24.160 changed more diapers, 00:21:24.259 --> 00:21:26.279 who's sacrificed their career more, 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:28.759 or who is more valuable to the family, 00:21:28.839 --> 00:21:30.000 who earns more, 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:31.839 and thus deserves more leisure. 00:21:33.099 --> 00:21:34.140 Ask my wife Chelsea, 00:21:34.140 --> 00:21:35.519 if we were pursuing equity 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:37.440 and objective fairness in our marriage, 00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:39.720 man, I'd be in a huge debt to her. 00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:42.019 And she would have every reason 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:43.920 to resent me, actually. 00:21:44.839 --> 00:21:46.279 But because of the gospel, 00:21:46.599 --> 00:21:48.220 because Chelsea has a Savior 00:21:48.220 --> 00:21:51.119 who has loved and served her above and beyond, 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:53.119 Chelsea delights to serve me, 00:21:53.779 --> 00:21:55.420 her husband, and our whole family, 00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:57.620 even when she ends up giving more 00:21:57.620 --> 00:21:59.039 than she receives oftentimes. 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:00.539 Because to her, 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:02.920 it's an honor to be like Christ. 00:22:04.080 --> 00:22:05.180 And then for me, 00:22:05.259 --> 00:22:06.279 because of the gospel, 00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:07.920 I don't take her labors for granted. 00:22:08.080 --> 00:22:08.800 I thank her, 00:22:09.140 --> 00:22:10.660 and I marvel at her diligence 00:22:10.660 --> 00:22:11.600 and her generosity, 00:22:11.600 --> 00:22:13.180 and I see Jesus in her. 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:15.400 And I want to respond by serving her as well, 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:16.860 but not because I owe her. 00:22:17.540 --> 00:22:19.620 I do have a lot of work to do 00:22:19.620 --> 00:22:20.720 to be a better husband, 00:22:20.800 --> 00:22:21.400 to serve her better, 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:21.780 but again, 00:22:21.840 --> 00:22:22.880 not because I owe her, 00:22:23.340 --> 00:22:25.600 or to rebalance the scale 00:22:25.600 --> 00:22:26.700 to ensure equity, 00:22:26.840 --> 00:22:27.900 but just because I love her. 00:22:28.600 --> 00:22:29.580 There is no scale. 00:22:30.340 --> 00:22:31.060 There is no scale. 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:32.040 This is what God wants 00:22:32.040 --> 00:22:33.360 for our marriages. 00:22:34.299 --> 00:22:35.759 Relationships where husbands and wives 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:37.399 just love and sacrifice 00:22:37.399 --> 00:22:38.319 for one another 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.399 in mutual submission 00:22:39.399 --> 00:22:40.639 as equals, 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:42.039 yet with different gifts 00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:43.500 and callings and roles 00:22:43.500 --> 00:22:44.679 to contribute to each other 00:22:44.679 --> 00:22:45.659 and to their family 00:22:45.659 --> 00:22:46.699 and to the world. 00:22:47.879 --> 00:22:49.139 And this dynamic of wives 00:22:49.139 --> 00:22:50.459 submitting to their husbands 00:22:50.459 --> 00:22:51.979 and husbands sacrificially honoring 00:22:51.979 --> 00:22:52.579 their wives 00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:53.399 and living with them 00:22:53.399 --> 00:22:54.799 in an understandable way, 00:22:54.859 --> 00:22:55.799 it's going to look different 00:22:55.799 --> 00:22:57.000 in every household. 00:22:57.439 --> 00:22:58.019 The New Testament 00:22:58.019 --> 00:22:59.539 is interestingly silent 00:22:59.539 --> 00:23:00.579 about what exactly 00:23:00.579 --> 00:23:01.519 this looks like 00:23:01.519 --> 00:23:03.240 concretely across 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:03.960 cultures 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:04.940 and with all the unique 00:23:04.940 --> 00:23:05.519 personalities 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:06.660 and giftings 00:23:06.660 --> 00:23:07.259 and callings 00:23:07.259 --> 00:23:07.900 and situations 00:23:07.900 --> 00:23:08.559 that exist 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:09.900 in all kinds of marriages 00:23:09.900 --> 00:23:11.400 between husbands and wives, 00:23:11.460 --> 00:23:12.240 but the main point, 00:23:12.859 --> 00:23:14.440 it isn't about subjugation. 00:23:14.700 --> 00:23:16.000 It isn't about instituting 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:17.059 some kind of hierarchy 00:23:17.059 --> 00:23:17.859 within the marriage. 00:23:17.940 --> 00:23:18.720 It's about service 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:20.099 unto the Lord 00:23:20.099 --> 00:23:22.019 and service unto one another 00:23:22.019 --> 00:23:23.779 for the good of others 00:23:23.779 --> 00:23:25.420 and the glory of Christ. 00:23:26.140 --> 00:23:27.700 When Peter is suggesting here, 00:23:27.779 --> 00:23:28.460 what he's suggesting 00:23:28.460 --> 00:23:29.160 is that there is 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:30.339 a better way to live 00:23:30.339 --> 00:23:31.620 than fighting 00:23:31.619 --> 00:23:33.759 within the husband-wife 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:34.879 power struggle. 00:23:35.759 --> 00:23:37.519 As those united with Christ, 00:23:37.959 --> 00:23:38.879 wives can know 00:23:38.879 --> 00:23:39.399 and trust 00:23:39.399 --> 00:23:40.899 that they are already equal 00:23:40.899 --> 00:23:43.459 just because God says so. 00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:45.119 And therefore, 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:45.839 they are free 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:46.679 from the power struggle, 00:23:46.819 --> 00:23:47.579 free from the burden 00:23:47.579 --> 00:23:48.879 of having to win 00:23:48.879 --> 00:23:49.979 or gain their equality 00:23:49.979 --> 00:23:50.959 or claw it back 00:23:50.959 --> 00:23:52.159 from their husbands. 00:23:52.579 --> 00:23:53.399 And I'm not saying 00:23:53.399 --> 00:23:54.339 women shouldn't advocate 00:23:54.339 --> 00:23:55.759 for women's rights 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:56.539 and equal treatment 00:23:56.539 --> 00:23:57.539 in society, 00:23:57.539 --> 00:23:58.879 but what I am saying 00:23:58.879 --> 00:24:00.480 is that wives, 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:01.920 you do not have to be 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:02.859 your own saviors. 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:04.980 You don't have to devote 00:24:04.980 --> 00:24:05.980 your life to winning 00:24:05.980 --> 00:24:07.339 the battle of the sexes 00:24:07.339 --> 00:24:08.220 in this fallen world. 00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:09.519 You don't have to seek 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:11.559 to win by any means necessary. 00:24:11.700 --> 00:24:12.339 Peter says there's 00:24:12.339 --> 00:24:14.139 a better way to live, 00:24:14.680 --> 00:24:15.899 not for the ultimate goal 00:24:15.899 --> 00:24:16.659 of winning the battle 00:24:16.659 --> 00:24:17.319 of the sexes 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:18.279 against your husband, 00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:19.680 but simply living 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:20.700 to win your husband 00:24:20.700 --> 00:24:21.799 to Jesus 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:23.159 and for Jesus. 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:24.879 And do you know 00:24:24.879 --> 00:24:25.519 what this does 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:26.819 when we reframe 00:24:26.819 --> 00:24:27.619 the power struggle 00:24:27.619 --> 00:24:28.799 and think in terms 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:29.940 of winning our spouses 00:24:29.940 --> 00:24:31.839 to Jesus and His agenda 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:32.500 rather than winning 00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:33.539 against our spouses 00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:35.700 for our own selfish agendas? 00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:36.339 Do you know what happens 00:24:36.339 --> 00:24:36.980 when we do this? 00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:38.639 If our aim as spouses 00:24:38.639 --> 00:24:39.740 is to lead them 00:24:39.740 --> 00:24:41.379 into deeper relationships 00:24:41.379 --> 00:24:42.539 and intimacy with Christ, 00:24:42.619 --> 00:24:43.240 then the very way 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:44.359 we seek to influence 00:24:44.359 --> 00:24:45.200 our spouses 00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:46.200 and our whole society 00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:47.279 is radically changed. 00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:48.379 I think this is what 00:24:48.379 --> 00:24:49.639 Peter has in mind 00:24:49.639 --> 00:24:50.879 and why he goes on 00:24:50.879 --> 00:24:51.779 in verse 3 00:24:51.779 --> 00:24:52.279 to speak about 00:24:52.279 --> 00:24:52.859 how wives should 00:24:52.859 --> 00:24:53.579 adorn themselves. 00:24:53.740 --> 00:24:53.940 You see, 00:24:54.019 --> 00:24:54.740 in the ancient world 00:24:54.740 --> 00:24:55.720 and really still today, 00:24:56.259 --> 00:24:57.079 how is it that women 00:24:57.079 --> 00:24:57.759 have often sought 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.740 to influence men 00:24:58.740 --> 00:24:59.880 and win them over 00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:00.720 and gain power 00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:01.440 and prestige 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:03.380 in male-dominated societies? 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:05.339 Well, typically men 00:25:05.339 --> 00:25:06.759 utilize their bodily strength, 00:25:06.839 --> 00:25:07.019 right? 00:25:07.059 --> 00:25:07.779 But a unique way 00:25:07.779 --> 00:25:08.700 that women have often 00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:09.240 gained influence 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:10.480 in this kind of world 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:12.859 is through their bodily beauty, 00:25:13.140 --> 00:25:13.380 right? 00:25:14.200 --> 00:25:15.640 But if you think about it, 00:25:15.940 --> 00:25:17.000 while it might gain women 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:17.920 some influence, 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:18.839 it's still playing 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:20.319 the man's game, right? 00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:21.220 Still giving him reason 00:25:21.220 --> 00:25:22.759 to objectify women 00:25:22.759 --> 00:25:23.680 and see them 00:25:23.680 --> 00:25:24.740 as less than equal 00:25:24.740 --> 00:25:26.759 and not the image of God. 00:25:27.379 --> 00:25:28.799 So Peter is saying here 00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:29.720 that that is not 00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:30.640 how Christian wives 00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:31.940 are to win their husbands 00:25:31.940 --> 00:25:33.700 and influence society, 00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:34.740 not by their outward 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:35.980 perishable beauty, 00:25:36.059 --> 00:25:37.119 but by their inner 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:38.359 unfading beauty. 00:25:38.460 --> 00:25:39.099 See here in verse 3, 00:25:39.180 --> 00:25:39.640 Peter isn't, 00:25:39.859 --> 00:25:40.819 he's not mansplaining, 00:25:40.900 --> 00:25:41.559 he's not imposing 00:25:41.559 --> 00:25:42.599 some legalistic, 00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:44.359 arbitrary dress code 00:25:44.359 --> 00:25:45.160 when he says, 00:25:45.319 --> 00:25:46.400 do not let your adorning 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:47.379 be external, 00:25:47.500 --> 00:25:48.359 the braiding of the hair, 00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:49.500 the putting on of gold jewelry, 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:50.319 or the clothing you wear. 00:25:50.379 --> 00:25:50.879 Peter's not saying, 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:51.500 don't braid your hair, 00:25:51.500 --> 00:25:52.400 don't wear gold jewelry. 00:25:52.539 --> 00:25:52.900 He's saying, 00:25:53.539 --> 00:25:54.420 let your adorning be, 00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:55.500 let the thing 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:56.400 that is most beautiful 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:58.319 and compelling about you 00:25:58.319 --> 00:25:59.579 be something 00:25:59.579 --> 00:26:00.519 that's imperishable, 00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:01.740 something that lasts, 00:26:02.319 --> 00:26:03.579 something that's truly admirable, 00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:04.980 a beautiful heart, 00:26:05.099 --> 00:26:06.380 a gentle, quiet, peaceful, 00:26:06.519 --> 00:26:07.839 and tranquil spirit. 00:26:08.980 --> 00:26:09.460 Verse 4, 00:26:09.619 --> 00:26:10.460 but let your adorning 00:26:10.460 --> 00:26:11.259 be the hidden person 00:26:11.259 --> 00:26:11.920 of the heart 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:13.819 with the imperishable beauty 00:26:13.819 --> 00:26:14.519 of a gentle 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:15.700 and quiet spirit 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:16.980 which in God's sight 00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:18.259 is very precious. 00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:20.619 Peter invites his readers, 00:26:20.619 --> 00:26:22.319 both husbands and wives 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:23.639 to see with God's eyes, 00:26:23.859 --> 00:26:25.199 align our values with his, 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:25.979 to view as precious 00:26:25.979 --> 00:26:27.259 what he views as precious, 00:26:27.539 --> 00:26:29.419 not the perishable externals, 00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:29.959 but the beauty 00:26:29.959 --> 00:26:30.799 of someone's heart 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:32.019 and character. 00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:32.799 He wants us to see 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:34.219 the powerful beauty 00:26:34.219 --> 00:26:34.699 of a wife, 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:34.939 again, 00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:35.859 so secure 00:26:35.859 --> 00:26:37.399 and so convinced 00:26:37.399 --> 00:26:38.879 of her worth in Christ 00:26:38.879 --> 00:26:39.979 that she can willfully 00:26:39.979 --> 00:26:40.879 submit to her husband, 00:26:41.139 --> 00:26:42.419 not because she's inferior, 00:26:43.219 --> 00:26:44.339 but because she is equal 00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:45.059 to her husband 00:26:45.059 --> 00:26:46.619 and because she wants 00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:47.259 to be humble 00:26:47.259 --> 00:26:48.899 like her Lord. 00:26:48.900 --> 00:26:51.180 Not because she's dependent 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:52.200 upon her husband, 00:26:52.560 --> 00:26:53.140 but ultimately 00:26:53.140 --> 00:26:54.100 because she submits 00:26:54.100 --> 00:26:55.780 to her husband ultimately 00:26:55.780 --> 00:26:56.960 as a way of hoping 00:26:56.960 --> 00:26:58.700 and trusting in God. 00:26:59.340 --> 00:27:00.340 For, as Peter says 00:27:00.340 --> 00:27:01.040 in verse 5, 00:27:02.040 --> 00:27:03.220 this is how the holy women 00:27:03.220 --> 00:27:04.960 who hoped in God 00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:06.300 used to adorn themselves 00:27:06.300 --> 00:27:06.840 by submitting 00:27:06.840 --> 00:27:08.140 to their own husbands. 00:27:08.920 --> 00:27:09.860 When Christian wives 00:27:09.860 --> 00:27:11.280 submit to their flawed husbands, 00:27:11.380 --> 00:27:12.100 they are not hoping 00:27:12.100 --> 00:27:12.840 in their husbands, 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:14.640 but they are demonstrating 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:15.680 their hope in God, 00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:17.240 trusting His plan 00:27:17.240 --> 00:27:18.319 and His purposes, 00:27:18.819 --> 00:27:19.440 seeking beauty 00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:20.460 in His eyes. 00:27:21.160 --> 00:27:22.559 This is what Sarah did 00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:23.259 with Abraham. 00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:23.819 Verse 6, 00:27:23.900 --> 00:27:25.400 Sarah obeyed Abraham, 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:26.620 calling him Lord. 00:27:27.180 --> 00:27:27.960 And you are her children 00:27:27.960 --> 00:27:28.839 if you do good 00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:30.000 and do not fear anything 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:30.980 that is frightening. 00:27:31.059 --> 00:27:32.059 Think about Sarah's example 00:27:32.059 --> 00:27:32.620 for a second. 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:34.740 When Abraham heard from God 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:35.579 to leave his homeland 00:27:35.579 --> 00:27:36.839 and his country 00:27:36.839 --> 00:27:38.079 and everything he knew 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:39.240 to move from place to place 00:27:39.240 --> 00:27:39.980 to who knows where, 00:27:40.059 --> 00:27:41.880 it wasn't just by Abraham's faith 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:42.980 that they moved 00:27:42.980 --> 00:27:43.839 and pressed on 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:44.480 as sojourners 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:45.440 and eventually blessed 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:46.019 the whole world. 00:27:46.019 --> 00:27:48.339 It was also by Sarah's faith, 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:50.099 which she expressed 00:27:50.099 --> 00:27:51.099 by submitting 00:27:51.099 --> 00:27:52.599 to her husband Abraham. 00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:53.180 So really, 00:27:53.299 --> 00:27:53.920 just as Christians 00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:55.700 are called sons of Abraham 00:27:55.700 --> 00:27:56.819 if they share his faith, 00:27:56.920 --> 00:27:58.059 so also can wives 00:27:58.059 --> 00:27:59.879 be called daughters of Sarah 00:27:59.879 --> 00:28:02.379 if they share her submission 00:28:02.379 --> 00:28:03.500 to their husbands, 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:05.579 not with faith in their husbands, 00:28:05.660 --> 00:28:06.559 but trusting God 00:28:06.559 --> 00:28:07.819 without fear 00:28:07.819 --> 00:28:09.039 and continuing to pursue 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:10.180 what is good 00:28:10.180 --> 00:28:11.240 and what is beautiful 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:11.940 in God's eyes. 00:28:12.259 --> 00:28:13.700 These are the kinds of wives 00:28:13.700 --> 00:28:15.220 that Peter imagines 00:28:15.220 --> 00:28:16.019 will not only win 00:28:16.019 --> 00:28:16.519 their husbands, 00:28:17.180 --> 00:28:17.900 but these are the kinds 00:28:17.900 --> 00:28:18.579 of Christians 00:28:18.579 --> 00:28:20.539 that will win the world. 00:28:21.180 --> 00:28:22.200 Not by political 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:23.900 or forceful revolution 00:28:23.900 --> 00:28:24.880 like we saw someone 00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:25.819 tried to do yesterday, 00:28:26.339 --> 00:28:27.860 nor by tipping the scales 00:28:27.860 --> 00:28:29.220 toward one party 00:28:29.220 --> 00:28:29.900 or another 00:28:29.900 --> 00:28:31.160 or even tipping the scales 00:28:31.160 --> 00:28:32.640 to try to get toward equity 00:28:32.640 --> 00:28:34.079 by any means necessary. 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:34.420 No, 00:28:34.579 --> 00:28:35.620 but through Christians 00:28:35.620 --> 00:28:37.500 who are so secure in Christ 00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:38.680 that they will gladly submit 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:39.259 to God 00:28:39.259 --> 00:28:40.339 and to others. 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:41.140 Christians committed 00:28:41.140 --> 00:28:42.080 to living righteous, 00:28:42.460 --> 00:28:42.740 holy, 00:28:43.120 --> 00:28:43.460 pure, 00:28:43.620 --> 00:28:44.160 respectful, 00:28:44.700 --> 00:28:45.120 gentle, 00:28:45.740 --> 00:28:46.500 quiet lives 00:28:46.500 --> 00:28:47.840 of deference. 00:28:48.580 --> 00:28:49.320 Christians seeking 00:28:49.320 --> 00:28:50.020 something better 00:28:50.020 --> 00:28:50.660 than equity. 00:28:50.860 --> 00:28:52.080 Christians seeking lives 00:28:52.080 --> 00:28:53.320 of sacrificial love 00:28:53.320 --> 00:28:54.700 and generosity 00:28:54.700 --> 00:28:56.660 and benevolent grace 00:28:56.660 --> 00:28:57.440 extended toward 00:28:57.440 --> 00:28:59.020 the people around them 00:28:59.020 --> 00:28:59.840 in the name of Jesus 00:28:59.840 --> 00:29:00.920 and in the way of Jesus. 00:29:01.060 --> 00:29:01.200 You see, 00:29:01.259 --> 00:29:01.840 Peter here, 00:29:02.220 --> 00:29:02.860 he isn't calling 00:29:02.860 --> 00:29:03.720 the Christian wives 00:29:03.720 --> 00:29:04.420 in Asia Minor 00:29:04.420 --> 00:29:06.000 to be more ladylike. 00:29:06.580 --> 00:29:07.100 That's not what 00:29:07.100 --> 00:29:08.000 this passage is about. 00:29:08.359 --> 00:29:09.460 He's not calling the wives 00:29:09.460 --> 00:29:10.319 to be more ladylike. 00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:12.019 He's simply calling them 00:29:12.019 --> 00:29:13.759 to be Christlike. 00:29:14.660 --> 00:29:16.200 That's what he's calling them to. 00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:18.140 So if we have a problem 00:29:18.140 --> 00:29:19.220 with what Peter is commending 00:29:19.220 --> 00:29:20.059 to these wives 00:29:20.059 --> 00:29:21.099 in being subject 00:29:21.099 --> 00:29:22.000 to their husbands, 00:29:22.819 --> 00:29:23.720 what if the problem 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:24.519 isn't that Peter's 00:29:24.519 --> 00:29:25.319 being chauvinistic? 00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:26.059 What if the problem 00:29:26.059 --> 00:29:27.539 is that our imaginations 00:29:27.539 --> 00:29:29.099 are too limited 00:29:29.099 --> 00:29:30.299 to see the dignity 00:29:30.299 --> 00:29:31.339 and the beauty 00:29:31.339 --> 00:29:32.720 of Christlike submission? 00:29:33.660 --> 00:29:34.660 What if the problem 00:29:34.660 --> 00:29:35.619 is that what we view 00:29:35.619 --> 00:29:36.119 as precious 00:29:36.119 --> 00:29:36.900 and beautiful 00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:37.619 and admirable 00:29:37.619 --> 00:29:38.519 is quite different 00:29:38.519 --> 00:29:39.779 than what God views 00:29:39.779 --> 00:29:40.259 as precious 00:29:40.259 --> 00:29:41.079 and beautiful 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:41.959 and admirable? 00:29:42.899 --> 00:29:43.699 What if the problem 00:29:43.699 --> 00:29:44.459 is that we've made 00:29:44.459 --> 00:29:45.000 an idol 00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:46.439 out of headship 00:29:46.439 --> 00:29:46.939 and leadership? 00:29:47.099 --> 00:29:48.359 What if we are the ones 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:49.079 who wrongly think 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:49.539 of submission 00:29:49.539 --> 00:29:50.659 as necessarily 00:29:50.659 --> 00:29:52.919 entailing inferiority? 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:54.239 See, 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:55.219 if we have problems 00:29:55.219 --> 00:29:56.299 with the kind of submission 00:29:56.299 --> 00:29:57.839 that God calls wives 00:29:57.839 --> 00:29:58.359 to here, 00:29:58.419 --> 00:29:59.000 if we think 00:29:59.000 --> 00:29:59.759 that the Scriptures 00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:00.500 are calling wives 00:30:00.500 --> 00:30:01.159 to some sort of 00:30:01.159 --> 00:30:02.359 inferior status 00:30:02.359 --> 00:30:03.119 that diminishes 00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:04.079 their value, 00:30:04.159 --> 00:30:04.959 and if we cannot see 00:30:04.959 --> 00:30:05.559 this invitation 00:30:05.559 --> 00:30:07.419 submission as something 00:30:07.419 --> 00:30:09.079 beautiful and admirable, 00:30:10.139 --> 00:30:10.980 then what does that say 00:30:10.980 --> 00:30:12.059 about how we view Jesus? 00:30:13.539 --> 00:30:14.659 If we cannot see 00:30:14.659 --> 00:30:15.179 the beauty 00:30:15.179 --> 00:30:16.619 and the strength 00:30:16.619 --> 00:30:17.700 and the unique, 00:30:17.839 --> 00:30:18.399 subversive, 00:30:18.539 --> 00:30:19.619 countercultural power 00:30:19.619 --> 00:30:20.279 of submission 00:30:20.279 --> 00:30:21.299 and holiness 00:30:21.299 --> 00:30:22.240 and respect 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:23.019 and purity 00:30:23.019 --> 00:30:23.759 and gentleness 00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:25.059 and quiet tranquility, 00:30:25.940 --> 00:30:26.579 then we're missing 00:30:26.579 --> 00:30:27.259 the majesty 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:28.139 of the gospel. 00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:29.619 We're missing 00:30:29.619 --> 00:30:30.159 the goodness 00:30:30.159 --> 00:30:31.059 of the good news 00:30:31.059 --> 00:30:31.679 of Jesus. 00:30:31.799 --> 00:30:32.839 He was the high king 00:30:32.839 --> 00:30:33.740 of heaven, 00:30:34.619 --> 00:30:35.819 yet he humbled himself 00:30:35.819 --> 00:30:36.939 as a man, 00:30:37.720 --> 00:30:38.959 submitting to his father 00:30:38.959 --> 00:30:39.339 in heaven, 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:40.319 subjecting himself 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:41.480 to birth in a manger, 00:30:41.639 --> 00:30:42.599 life as a refugee, 00:30:43.059 --> 00:30:43.459 homelessness, 00:30:43.779 --> 00:30:44.079 hunger, 00:30:44.459 --> 00:30:44.879 rejection, 00:30:45.419 --> 00:30:45.659 wicked, 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:46.240 oppressive, 00:30:46.419 --> 00:30:47.279 governing authorities, 00:30:47.439 --> 00:30:47.959 and ultimately 00:30:47.959 --> 00:30:50.119 an unjustified murder. 00:30:51.319 --> 00:30:51.639 And yet, 00:30:51.879 --> 00:30:52.579 is it not 00:30:52.579 --> 00:30:53.599 the very humility 00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:55.079 and submission 00:30:55.079 --> 00:30:56.359 and self-giving nature 00:30:56.359 --> 00:30:57.039 of Jesus, 00:30:57.199 --> 00:30:57.859 the Son of God, 00:30:57.859 --> 00:30:58.459 that we find 00:30:58.459 --> 00:30:59.299 most beautiful 00:30:59.299 --> 00:31:00.659 about him? 00:31:01.620 --> 00:31:02.200 Is it not 00:31:02.200 --> 00:31:03.019 these qualities 00:31:03.019 --> 00:31:03.880 that most lift 00:31:03.880 --> 00:31:04.700 our hearts up 00:31:04.700 --> 00:31:05.259 to worship 00:31:05.259 --> 00:31:06.300 and adore him 00:31:06.300 --> 00:31:07.380 as our humble 00:31:07.380 --> 00:31:08.900 savior king? 00:31:09.420 --> 00:31:10.180 The one who, 00:31:10.420 --> 00:31:10.900 though he was 00:31:10.900 --> 00:31:11.660 in the form of God, 00:31:11.740 --> 00:31:12.740 did not count equality 00:31:12.740 --> 00:31:13.420 with God a thing 00:31:13.420 --> 00:31:14.380 to be grasped, 00:31:15.080 --> 00:31:16.259 but emptied himself 00:31:16.259 --> 00:31:17.660 by taking the form 00:31:17.660 --> 00:31:18.200 of a servant 00:31:18.200 --> 00:31:19.019 and being found 00:31:19.019 --> 00:31:19.840 in human form, 00:31:19.880 --> 00:31:20.519 he humbled himself 00:31:20.519 --> 00:31:21.500 by becoming obedient 00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:22.860 to the point of death, 00:31:23.240 --> 00:31:23.920 even death 00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:24.759 on a cross. 00:31:25.080 --> 00:31:25.480 Therefore, 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:26.380 Paul says, 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:26.800 therefore, 00:31:26.940 --> 00:31:27.960 because he humbled himself, 00:31:28.080 --> 00:31:28.320 therefore, 00:31:28.580 --> 00:31:29.320 God has what? 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:30.779 highly exalted him 00:31:30.779 --> 00:31:32.419 and bestowed on him 00:31:32.419 --> 00:31:33.019 the name that is 00:31:33.019 --> 00:31:33.960 above every name. 00:31:34.059 --> 00:31:34.799 This is the way 00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:36.299 and pattern of Jesus 00:31:36.299 --> 00:31:38.659 that Peter is inviting us into. 00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:39.399 And this is a word 00:31:39.399 --> 00:31:40.139 to all of us, 00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:41.399 not just to husbands 00:31:41.399 --> 00:31:41.960 and wives. 00:31:42.339 --> 00:31:43.259 Following in the footsteps 00:31:43.259 --> 00:31:43.879 of Jesus 00:31:43.879 --> 00:31:44.919 is to live a life 00:31:44.919 --> 00:31:45.859 of divestment, 00:31:45.939 --> 00:31:47.039 is to divest ourselves 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:48.000 of our privileges 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:49.079 and our power 00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:50.039 and our influence 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:51.220 and time and money 00:31:51.220 --> 00:31:52.460 for the good of others, 00:31:52.859 --> 00:31:54.439 particularly those 00:31:54.439 --> 00:31:55.279 in our households, 00:31:55.579 --> 00:31:56.460 such as our spouses. 00:31:57.679 --> 00:31:58.179 And for wives, 00:31:58.180 --> 00:31:58.920 this means submitting 00:31:58.920 --> 00:31:59.560 to their husbands 00:31:59.560 --> 00:32:00.560 even while equals. 00:32:00.680 --> 00:32:00.920 However, 00:32:01.180 --> 00:32:02.120 you may work that out 00:32:02.120 --> 00:32:03.000 in your household. 00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:04.620 It means not undermining 00:32:04.620 --> 00:32:05.220 your husbands, 00:32:05.400 --> 00:32:06.220 but supporting them 00:32:06.220 --> 00:32:07.100 and following them 00:32:07.100 --> 00:32:08.400 as they follow Christ. 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:09.880 And for husbands, 00:32:10.019 --> 00:32:11.320 it means honoring our wives, 00:32:11.580 --> 00:32:12.799 seeking to understand them 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:14.740 deeply and thoughtfully 00:32:14.740 --> 00:32:16.320 and compassionately, 00:32:16.640 --> 00:32:18.259 even when they might seem 00:32:18.259 --> 00:32:19.700 weak or frail to us 00:32:19.700 --> 00:32:20.440 in certain ways. 00:32:20.519 --> 00:32:21.400 We're not to take advantage 00:32:21.400 --> 00:32:23.320 of them or dominate them, 00:32:23.860 --> 00:32:24.820 but value them 00:32:24.820 --> 00:32:26.560 as co-heirs with Christ. 00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:28.559 And for all the rest of us 00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:29.339 who aren't husbands 00:32:29.339 --> 00:32:30.220 or wives, 00:32:30.299 --> 00:32:31.539 we can walk in these ways too, 00:32:31.639 --> 00:32:32.559 humbly submitting 00:32:32.559 --> 00:32:33.200 to one another 00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:34.299 out of faith 00:32:34.299 --> 00:32:36.220 and trust in God's plans, 00:32:36.339 --> 00:32:37.220 not needing to always 00:32:37.220 --> 00:32:37.839 get our way 00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:38.839 because we know God 00:32:38.839 --> 00:32:39.720 will have His way 00:32:39.720 --> 00:32:40.579 in the end. 00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:41.940 And because of this, 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:43.619 we can focus on earnestly 00:32:43.619 --> 00:32:44.240 just seeking 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:45.779 to lead those around us 00:32:45.779 --> 00:32:47.259 into deeper relationships 00:32:47.259 --> 00:32:48.099 with Christ, 00:32:48.200 --> 00:32:48.759 making that 00:32:48.759 --> 00:32:50.480 our number one mission. 00:32:50.980 --> 00:32:52.019 Freely walking 00:32:52.019 --> 00:32:53.200 in Jesus' footsteps, 00:32:53.460 --> 00:32:54.859 honoring the so-called weak 00:32:54.859 --> 00:32:55.679 amongst us, 00:32:55.740 --> 00:32:56.759 treating them as equals 00:32:56.759 --> 00:32:57.599 and as precious 00:32:57.599 --> 00:32:58.939 in the eyes of God, 00:32:59.099 --> 00:33:00.099 sacrificing for them, 00:33:00.579 --> 00:33:01.639 slowing down for them, 00:33:01.779 --> 00:33:02.679 giving them our hearts 00:33:02.679 --> 00:33:03.259 and our time 00:33:03.259 --> 00:33:03.979 and our attention, 00:33:04.139 --> 00:33:05.119 laying our lives down 00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:05.839 for the weak 00:33:05.839 --> 00:33:07.819 and really for all others 00:33:07.819 --> 00:33:09.819 because that is exactly 00:33:09.819 --> 00:33:11.599 what our Lord and Savior, 00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:12.500 Jesus Christ, 00:33:13.139 --> 00:33:14.000 has done for us 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:16.399 and oh so much more, right? 00:33:17.199 --> 00:33:18.139 That is how people 00:33:18.139 --> 00:33:19.259 who believe the gospel 00:33:19.259 --> 00:33:20.219 live. 00:33:20.859 --> 00:33:21.419 That is how people 00:33:21.419 --> 00:33:22.399 who believe the gospel 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:24.580 is the best news live 00:33:24.580 --> 00:33:25.720 in their households 00:33:25.720 --> 00:33:26.960 and in the world. 00:33:27.600 --> 00:33:28.180 Let's pray. 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:35.460 Lord, we confess 00:33:35.460 --> 00:33:38.000 the ways that we often 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:38.920 don't find Jesus 00:33:38.920 --> 00:33:40.080 and His ways beautiful. 00:33:41.980 --> 00:33:43.180 Lord, we ask for 00:33:43.180 --> 00:33:44.360 a clearer vision 00:33:44.360 --> 00:33:46.160 to see the beauty 00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:46.880 of Christ 00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:48.259 who laid down His life 00:33:48.259 --> 00:33:49.540 in submission 00:33:49.539 --> 00:33:51.200 and we ask 00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:51.819 that You would fill us 00:33:51.819 --> 00:33:52.339 with Your Spirit 00:33:52.339 --> 00:33:53.119 to be those kinds 00:33:53.119 --> 00:33:53.579 of people 00:33:53.579 --> 00:33:54.879 for the good 00:33:54.879 --> 00:33:55.920 of those around us, 00:33:56.159 --> 00:33:56.859 for the glory 00:33:56.859 --> 00:33:57.599 of Your name 00:33:57.599 --> 00:33:59.299 as a testimony 00:33:59.299 --> 00:34:01.079 to the glorious, 00:34:01.420 --> 00:34:02.279 unique beauty 00:34:02.279 --> 00:34:04.059 of Jesus Christ, 00:34:04.599 --> 00:34:05.619 the crucified King. 00:34:06.879 --> 00:34:07.859 Would He be lifted up 00:34:07.859 --> 00:34:08.639 in the way we live, 00:34:08.739 --> 00:34:10.059 we pray in His name. 00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:10.940 Amen. 00:34:10.940 --> 00:34:11.039 Amen. 00:34:11.039 --> 00:34:11.079 Amen. 00:34:11.079 --> 00:34:11.099 Amen.