1 Peter 3

Theme: Believer’s Manual

\\#1:1-1:12\\ Salvation of the Believer
\\#1:13-2:12\\ Sanctification of the Believer
\\#2:13-3:13\\ Submission of the Believer
   \\#2:13-17\\ Rules for everyone concerning submission
   \\#2:18-25\\ Rules for slaves concerning submission
   \\#3:1-6\\ Rules for wives concerning submission
Perhaps it should be noted that long before Peter told the wives to submit
to their husbands, he told everyone to submit to each other. So did Paul
\\#Eph 5:21-22\\.

Many woman reject the idea of submission, not realizing that:
   a. All but a very, very few must learn submission.
   b. Submission is protection. The more earthly authority to which one is
       required to answer, the less that one is directly accountable to
       God. The less earthly authority to which one is required, the more
       that one is directly account to God.

#1 Notice the power of submission. It can win a lost husband to
    Christ without the power of God’s Word.

\\ 2\\ What’s the difference of "fear" here and "afraid with amazement"
   \\ 6\\. Wives should "reverence" the husbands not be "terrorized" of
   obeying them.

\\ 2\\ The power comes from the wives having a "chaste connversation"-in
    this context a submissive spirit to their husbands—with respect. Living
    such a life unleashes the power of God within the marriage.

   \\#3:7\\ Rules for husbands concerning submission
\\7\\ Notice a woman’s prayer life is not at jeopardy but a man’s is. Man
    is more directly accountable to God and so suffers spiritually for abusing
    his authority.

    \\#3:8-13\\ Rules for everyone concerning submission

\\10\\ Learning submission gives the promise of long life but (along with
     the other characteristics listed) also allows the believer to love the
     life given to him.

\\#3:13-5:14\\ Suffering of the Believer
   \\#3:13-3:17\\ Conduct in Suffering
   \\#3:18-4:6\\ Christ’s Example in Sufffering

\\13\\ Peter moves from the supposition that authority will be good to the
    prospect that some is bad.

\\#14\\ "But if" that is the case, suffer well. Sometimes faith greater
    than changing the problems is faith that will carry you through the
    problems.

    "happy are ye" - Being right with God in problems will yield more
     peace than being wrong in pleasures.

\\#15\\ So how do we deal with abusive authority? They treat us wrong
    when we are doing right?
    a. "sanctify the Lord in our hearts" - Don’t take these confrontations
        personally.  We are not living for ourselves but for the Lord.
    b. "be ready to give… an answer" - Have a Bibical reason for what
        you do and why.
    c. "meekness and fear" - Do not wear garments of pride, revenge,
        vindication, self righteousness, pity, retalation, etc. Instead, be meek
        and respectful.

\\19\\ "By the which" is a reference back to Holy Spirit, mentioned in the
    last part of \\3:18\\. From \\3:19-22\\, Peter turns from his main topic
    to discuss what Christ was able to do in the power of the Spirit.

\\19\\ The passage does not say that Jesus went to hell. It says that He
    preached to spirits that were in prison (still could be hell). Given the
    split nature of paradise at the time of Jesus’ death \\#Luke 16:19-31\\,
    it is understood by this writer that Jesus went to paradise where He
    preached the news of what He had done (the eternal damned also hearing
    it), then took the inhabitants of paradise to heaven \\#Eph 4:8-10\\.
    This did not afford the damned an opportunity to repent and be saved.
    Concerning the phrase "in prision," spirits on both sides of the gulf were
    restricted compared to the freedom of heaven.

\\4:6\\ This is not a reference back to the event of \\#1Peter 3:19\\.
    The gospel was preached to those now dead at a time when they were
    alive. It benefited them, making them alive "according to God in the
    spirit." This is not a verse to claim "second chances" to those already
    dead, for after death comes the judgment \\#He 9:27\\.

\\20\\ A second false doctrine comes from these verses concerning
    salvation by baptism. If this was the only verse in the Bible
    concerning baptism and salvation, we might likewise believe it. Yet it is
    not. We must understand that single verses pulled out of context can
    be used to prove one side of an argument. Any doctrine can be argued if
    the whole Bible is not used to balance the one side of a truth presented
    in a single verse.

\\#21\\ "like figure" - Baptism does not save but it is a picture of
    salvation (the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus). It is also the
    point of clearing the conscience.

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