1 Peter 3:7 - Husbands

“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

Ladies, aren’t you glad Peter finally turned his attention to the husbands?

Just like his instruction to wives, Peter begins teaching the husbands with; “in the same way…” which is important. Wives are to submit to God’s will by submitting to the leadership of their husbands. Husbands are to submit to God’s will by being considerate of their wives and treating them with respect as spiritual equals. They key in both situations is that husbands and wives are to submit, “in the same way” as Jesus submitted to God in humbly going to the cross (1 Peter 2). Consider that for a bit…

Always the realist, Peter acknowledges that wives are the weaker sex – meaning that they are typically weaker physically than their husbands and in the culture of the day, definitely weaker socially. Women had few rights and their main protection was through their husbands. When one partner has all the power, there is always the possibility for abuse. Actually, it is human nature for the strong to take advantage the weak – you see it in sports, politics, relationships, and especially children.

If Levi (my 16-month-old) has something Isaac (Nick’s 2-and-a-half-year-old) wants – Ike just takes it away from him. Ike is bigger and stronger and there is nothing Levi can do. (We have seen Levi do the same thing to smaller kids in the church nursery; all kids do it.) Of course Nick and Emily give Ike a-talking-to because they don’t want him to behave that way. Peter gives all husbands a-talking-to in this passage by saying, “you are stronger physically and socially, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to abuse your strength by taking advantage her weakness”.

While Peter acknowledges that women are weaker physically and socially, he states that wives are spiritually equal to their husbands because they are co-heirs of the gracious gift of life. Regardless of the cultural bias in that day (and in our day) wives are equal to husbands in the area that matters most – the eternal spiritual realm.

There are several New Testament passages that indicate that relational differences will hinder your prayer life (Matthew 5:23, 6:12,14-15). You can imagine that if you are mistreating your wife – God will not answer your prayers. We forget that God is not compelled to answer our prayers – if we are living in disobedience to His commands – he has every right to turn a deaf ear. If you want your prayers to be heard, you should honor, respect, and be considerate to your wife.

So guys, begin praying that God will prepare your heart so that when the time comes, you will be able to love and serve your wife and family like Christ loved and served the church. It takes the Spirit of God to be the husband you need to be…