Feed My Sheep

Chapter 1, verses 1-2 “To God’s elect . . .who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” Now Peter begins to explain God’s task to save sinners. It is a task in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit work together in unison. The word “trinity” is not mentioned in the Bible, but salvation is the result of the triune God. With our human language, we are limited in describing what is involved in the salvation plan. That is why no commentary can explain the event step by step but can simply illuminate the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father

God is the initiator of our salvation. He enters into every person’s thought life. The subject of “election/chosen” and “free will” represents an impossibility in many people’s minds. Sometimes election is stressed in preaching and sometimes free will, but in proclaiming the whole gospel there is a place for both. God’s election encompasses man’s free will. That is why election is not the resting place, nor should it hinder how we react toward offered salvation.

In Hebrew, the word for “beloved” and “elect” is used interchangeable. In Jn 3:16 we read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.” Through Jesus Christ, his Son, God “loved” or “elected” all men to be saved (2 Co 5:12). God did not determine who is going to be saved, but he determined the way to receive eternal life. Jesus Christ is the only way, the only Mediator, and it is God’s requirement that everyone must believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior (Ac 17:31). In his second letter, Peter states, “The Lord is not slow . . .He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to parish, but everyone to come to repentance”(2Pe 3:9). On the day we are born again, God’s election is “mission accomplished in us.” Being born again holds the proof of election. * * * *

Chapter 3, verse 1 “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives.”

The first seven verses of chapter three deal with the responsibility of wives and husbands. Six of those verses are addressing the Christian women. It is important, even in today’s society, to recognize the place of both marriage partners the Bible laid out for us. In the first part of the verse (the one we are looking at), Peter speaks to Christian women. In the second part, he addresses women who are married to an unbeliever.

Wives in the same way . . .In the same way as who? Peter was talking earlier about slaves to be submissive to their masters (1 Pet 2:18), so wives should be submissive to their husbands. In earlier social settings, women often took the next rank after farm workers and slaves, especially if their husbands did not share their wife’s new found faith. God’s word sheds light even in the intimately small union, where trouble brews under the disguise of a happy marriage. God has a “right” to advice marriage partners; because he was the one who initiated marriage in the first place and also assigned their respective places. The reason given for submission is given to us in: Gen 2:18; 3:16; 1 Co 11:7-12; 1 Tim 2:11-14. The emphasize in the Greek language is “your” (husband), that’s why the submissive position should not be applied to women in a general sense.

Because women and men are very different from each other, each has his/her field of responsibility in marriage. If the man is the head, the woman is the heart. If the man is the breadwinner, the women could be the safe-keeper. The man defends the family from outside dangers. The woman creates warmth inside the home. Where these opposite positions are observed, there is no place for the husband to take a dictatorial stand, nor a slavish submission for the wife.