Wives and Husbands

1 Peter 3:1-7

Wives are to be subject to their own husbands.

“In other words, don’t put your hope in attracting a husband in the first place, or your husband throughout your marriage, through physical beauty. It will fade. If your husband is only attracted to you because of your physical beauty, what will happen when it fades?” —Juan Sanchez

“This passion of external adornment comes at a terrible cost for today’s women—the sense of never looking good enough, never being pretty enough, never measuring up. Women are made to feel inferior, ugly, and unlovable. And the consequences are mounting.” — David Helm

“If we were to sum up all that is meant by ‘a gentle and quiet spirit’ in a single word, it would simply be: trust.” — Carolyn Mahaney

“She served her husband as her master, and did all she could to win him for You, speaking to him of You by her conduct, by which You made her beautiful. … Finally, when her husband was at the end of his earthly span, she gained him for You.” — Saint Augustine

Husbands are to live with their wives in an understanding way.

“The ‘knowledge’ Peter intends here may include any knowledge of God’s purposes and principles for marriage; knowledge of the wife’s desires, goals, and frustrations; knowledge of her strengths and weaknesses in the physical, emotional and spiritual realms; etc. A husband who lives according to such knowledge will greatly enrich his marriage relationship—yet such knowledge can only be gained through regular study of God’s Word and regular, unhurried times of private fellowship together as husband and wife.” —Wayne Grudem

“God designed male/female relationships to be a beautiful dance where a man leads and a woman follows. When two people know how to dance, they are of one mind. The man anticipates where he will lead the women, and the woman anticipates where she will be led. Like dancing, though, this is easier said than done.” —Juan Sanchez