God has established different roles within the home, not to create hierarchy or inferiority, but to reflect His order and love. Wives are called to submit to their husbands, not as an act of blind obedience or inferiority, but as a way to honor God’s design and to be a witness to those who do not yet believe. This submission is not a license for husbands to be controlling or abusive, but a call for mutual respect and value, recognizing that both husband and wife are equal in God’s eyes. True submission is rooted in humility and a desire to honor God above all, even when it is difficult or misunderstood. [29:06]
1 Peter 3:1-6 (ESV)
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
Reflection: In what specific ways can you honor God’s order in your home this week, even when it feels difficult or countercultural?
Being a Christian is not just about attending church or knowing about God; it is defined by a life of obedience to God’s Word. True belief is demonstrated by putting God’s commands into practice, even when it is challenging or when we fall short. God calls His people to read, understand, and live out His Word daily, not relying on past knowledge or upbringing, but on a present, active faith that seeks to obey Him in all things. This obedience is not about perfection, but about a heart that desires to follow God and is willing to be corrected and transformed by Him. [32:15]
James 1:22-25 (ESV)
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
Reflection: What is one area of God’s Word you know but have hesitated to obey—how can you take a step of obedience today?
God values the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit far above outward appearance. While it is not wrong to care for your appearance, true beauty in God’s sight is found in the hidden person of the heart—character shaped by humility, gentleness, and peace. This kind of beauty is imperishable and has the power to draw others to Christ, especially within the home. Focusing on inward transformation rather than external adornment allows God’s love and character to shine through, making a lasting impact on those around you. [49:18]
1 Peter 3:3-4 (ESV)
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
Reflection: How can you intentionally cultivate inner beauty—gentleness, humility, and peace—this week, and let it shape your interactions?
When facing unfair treatment or suffering in relationships, God calls His people to entrust themselves to Him rather than seeking revenge or acting out of hurt. Just as Christ suffered without retaliation and entrusted Himself to the Father, believers are called to respond with forgiveness, humility, and trust in God’s justice. This does not mean tolerating abuse or disobeying God, but rather seeking His wisdom, praying for strength, and choosing to do good even when wronged. God sees every situation and promises to be with those who honor Him, giving grace to endure and to be a witness for Christ. [42:20]
1 Peter 2:23 (ESV)
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Reflection: Is there someone who has wronged you that you need to forgive or entrust to God’s care today—how can you take a step toward that?
Becoming more like Christ is not about achieving perfection, but about daily coming to Him, admitting our need, and allowing Him to change us from the inside out. God does not expect us to do this in our own strength; He invites us to rely on His grace, to repent when we fall short, and to seek His help in every area of life. Growth happens as we plan, pray, and pursue Christ intentionally, asking Him to reveal areas for change and to empower us by His Spirit. The journey of spiritual formation is ongoing, marked by humility, dependence, and a desire to reflect Jesus more each day. [01:05:36]
Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Reflection: What is one specific area where you sense God calling you to grow in Christlikeness, and what step can you take this week to pursue that growth?
Today’s teaching centered on the call to live out our faith authentically, especially within the home, as described in 1 Peter 3. The focus was on the role of wives in marriages where their husbands may not share their faith, and how their conduct can be a powerful witness. The passage challenges us to understand biblical submission—not as blind obedience or inferiority, but as a reflection of Christ’s humility and God’s order, where different roles do not mean different value. The call to “be subject” is not a license for husbands to dominate or abuse, but a call for wives to live out their faith in a way that points their husbands to Christ.
Obedience to God’s word is the true mark of a believer, not just church attendance or Christian heritage. This obedience is not about perfection, but about direction—continually growing, confessing, and seeking to become more like Christ. Wives are encouraged to invest personally in their husbands’ spiritual journey, starting at home, rather than outsourcing spiritual influence to the church. This principle extends to all relationships: our witness begins in the everyday, imperfect realities of family life.
The teaching also addressed the importance of inward beauty over outward appearance. While caring for one’s appearance is not wrong, true beauty in God’s sight is the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. This inner transformation is what truly attracts others to Christ, far more than any external adornment. The example of Sarah and the holy women of old was given—not as a cultural relic, but as a model of humility, courage, and hope in God.
Submission, however, is not absolute. There are clear boundaries: it never requires disobedience to God, submission to abuse, or violation of a Spirit-led conscience. When suffering or injustice occurs, the call is to entrust ourselves to God, just as Christ did, and to seek His help in responding with humility and forgiveness. Ultimately, none of this is possible in our own strength. We are reminded to come to Christ, who alone can change us from the inside out, and to rely on His grace as we seek to live out these truths in our homes and relationships.
1 Peter 3:1-6 (ESV) — > Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
So Peter is not talking about this. He's using this as an example. There's there's different roles in the home, right? Husband and wife, they have different roles. They have the same value, right? God created us as equals. So different roles but the same value. And wives, yes, they should submit to the husbands because God has assigned different roles in the home. [00:28:42]
The definition of a Christian is not just someone who who goes to church and and learns some stuff, but is someone who believes and who obeys, right? So ask yourself, are you a believer? Yeah, I believe. What does it mean to you? Obey God's word. That is the key. [00:31:49]
We have to do it. But we always fall short. But that's not an excuse. Ah, nobody's perfect, so no big deal. The call is you need to obey. the word as a believer. So read the Bible. Peter writes to these believers, right? He he writes to the elect exiles. [00:32:49]
Wives, submit to your unbelieving husbands. So that they may not they will there's not a promise here guarantee but they may be one they may you may get them over to your side but it's not about you okay it's about their for for their sake not for your sake is so they can meet Jesus they can they can get to know Jesus so how do you do this well you submit but you you can't do this by yourself okay we don't change people's hearts you cannot change your husband's heart you can just live in a way that reflects Jesus. [00:33:24]
God is the one who works in in our in in people's hearts. We cannot do that. Right? But there's some principles. So Peter brings up this idea. Okay? They can be one and he says without a word don't talk. Okay? Now talking is important but you know what sometimes we talk too much right and you know maybe there's some I don't know nagging. [00:34:01]
You witness with your life, with your conduct. Not with words, but with the conduct of their wives. And I want to I want to give you three three areas maybe that you can focus on. First one is invest personally. What does that mean? Well, wife, Christian wife, you are responsible, okay, to to share with your husband to live in a in an understanding way and to to to witness to him. [00:35:36]
Parents, you bring up kids in the Lord. That is first of all, you invest personally. Don't outsource this to the church. Okay? It's not like here is my kid now. Convert him and make him holy, right? And then bring him back home. No, you start at home. That's your that's the main meal, main dish. Okay. And then you supplement that with church. The church can help and the church must help. [00:36:56]
Focus on perfection. You're not going to be perfect. Focus on the direction. It's about your attitude, your humility. You confess, you know, if you do wrong, I'm sorry. You can apologize. You try to honor Christ in your life. Be honest. Be real. Right? and then continue to grow to become more like Christ. It's a process. [00:38:18]
So connect with your husband. And when they see that, when they see your respectful and pure conduct, they might be one over. As you live your life, you respect him and you say, "No, no, he doesn't deserve my respect." Well, it's not actually about him. Just like it's not about Pilot or Nero or or or the unjust employer. [00:40:19]
If someone hits you or or harms you or breaks your toy or whatever it is, right? They're wrong. But that doesn't give you the right to do wrong as well. Okay, one person's sin against us does not give us an excuse to sin against them. Does that make sense? If sin is always wrong, it doesn't matter why we do it, right? [00:42:13]
But if we're Christian, we're calling ourselves Christ followers. Then we're supposed to follow him. We should supposed to imitate him. It's like, "No, I can't do that." Of course, you can't do that. Nobody can. So pray to God. God help me with this because this is difficult. Self-denial is difficult. If it's easy, then everybody's a Christian. [00:43:05]
But wives, your respectful, your pure conduct can win your husband over to Christ. That's a good thing. And then Peter talks about about beauty to explain how how a wife can guide guide her husband to God by being gorgeous. Okay, gorgeous girls guide guys to God. [00:43:31]
You want to be beautiful, start on the inside. That's what matters. Don't be shallow. Right? Imagine the wife comes back and says, "Honey, I went to a beauty." No, I went to a different kind of beauty clinic. Okay? And then she she changes her character and she's loving and kind and and she displays the fruit of her spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, all these things. [00:47:08]
Let the adorning be the hidden person of the heart. Imperishable beauty. Something that doesn't perish. Okay. Again, hair. Hair is here today and gone tomorrow, right? Gone yesterday, way long time ago. Okay. It doesn't last. If you have beautiful hair, some of you have nice full hair. Great. It will it will not last. [00:48:24]
Focus on the imperishable imperishable beauty. What is it? Gentle and quiet spirit. Be gentle, meek, humble like Christ. Quiet. Be quiet. No, no, that's not about being quiet. Okay, it's not about not talking, but be calm. Have a calm spirit. Free from from inner turmoil. Free from making turmoil. [00:49:12]
Christian submission never requires us to disobey God. It never requires us to submit to abuse. And also, and I like this one, not to participate in what our Holy Spirit directed conscience forbids. Okay? Not just my conscience. Oh, well, I kind of don't feel comfortable. I won't do that. Sorry. It's not just about our preferences. It is guided by the Holy Spirit. [00:53:42]
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