◄ 1 Peter 3 Devotional Commentary ►

1 Peter 3:1

There are a number of passages in the Bible that give clear instructions about the attitude and behaviour of wives in the home, and their role in the wider fellowship of believers.

Paul reminds women to submit themselves to their own husbands in the same way that we should willingly yield to the Lord Jesus, Himself. Wives are to submit to their husbands in everything, because it is appropriate for those who belong to the Lord, to do so.

Other read more...

1 Peter 3:3

In this passage, Peter has built up the picture of a believer whose life is honouring to God. We are to grow in grace through the nourishment of the Word of God and, as living stones, are to be built up into a holy nation, a spiritual house, and a holy priesthood that is honouring to God. Our lives are not to mimic the unruly behaviours of evil-doers but to be a light to glorify the Father and to point others to our Lord Jesus Christ.

read more...

1 Peter 3:4

Although Peter deals with the general conduct of Christian men and women in their church fellowships and wider communities, he also gives specific advice to different groups of believers, and in this passage addresses the conduct and character of wives and the relationship they should foster with their husbands.

First, he advises them to be submissive, chaste, and respectful towards their men, because godly behaviour and a read more...

1 Peter 3:5

The lasting beauty and attractiveness that radiates from a spiritual woman of God, comes from an inner purity of heart which honours the Lord and is submissive to her husband.

There were many such holy women mentioned in the Bible, both from the Old and New Testaments, and from each emanated a loveliness from deep within. They did not rely on their outer adornments to recommend themselves to others, but nurtured a heart that was submissive to their own read more...

1 Peter 3:7

Peter spent a significant part of his letter covering Christian conduct and the respect that believers should show towards one another and the community at large. He also gave clear guidelines when dealing with those having governmental authority: "Honour all people, love the brotherhood, fear God and honour the king," is his comprehensive charge.

Having dealt with society at large, he moved on to Christian slaves and the read more...

1 Peter 3:8

Peter set out to console Christians in their sufferings and to call believers to godly, submissive living. After his long treaties on our call to be holy, the need to submit to authority, the different role of family members, and a section on Christ's example of patient endurance in suffering, Peter finally begins to sum up his epistle with a series of short, simple statements on living a submissive Christian life.

What a read more...

1 Peter 3:9

Love for God and love for other people threads its way through this apostle's writings, and in summing up his first epistle, Peter offers the do's and dont's of Christian living in a few pertinent phrases. After stressing the need for unity, brotherly love, sympathy, and compassion for other people, he urges believers not to repay evil for evil nor to respond to an insult with an equally disparaging remark. On the contrary, we are entreated to give blessings: read more...

1 Peter 3:10

The believers to whom Peter was writing were facing hard times of persecution and difficulty, but his advice to them was based on king David's song, when he found himself in deep distress and facing life-threatening danger.

Both David and Peter encouraged others to have a positive attitude towards life, by faith in God Who has promised to be with us always, even when things are difficult, even when we are facing persecution and read more...

1 Peter 3:11

Knowing the devastating results of following after the evils of this world, Peter is encouraging the believers in Christ to refrain from speaking falsities, but rather to seek and pursue after peace.

The Lord Jesus Himself told us that peacemakers are blessed by God and are called His children, but in a fallen world, peace is something that is only found in Christ - and we must seek after it and actively work to maintain read more...

1 Peter 3:12

We are exhorted, as children of God who are born-again in Christ, towards purity of heart, the pursuit of peace, compassion, mercy, and godly living... and yet this epistle is written during a time of severe suffering and increasingly intense Christian persecution.

Peter cautioned the Church that in the midst of this heightened hatred for God and escalating animosity towards those that are His, we are to maintain a clear read more...

1 Peter 3:13

As Christians, we are given all we need for righteous living in order to have a right standing with God. Paul instructed us to walk in spirit and truth, and we learn from the Lord Jesus that this means that we are to abide in Him and He in us... as we journey through life.

We are to rest in His love and to trust in His Word, even during those difficult times so that we may live godly in Christ Jesus. As believers, we have read more...

1 Peter 3:14

None of us want to suffer. Often we actively resist suffering, and sometimes we view it as correction or punishment from God, especially if it is a fellow believer who is suffering! And yet in his first epistle, Peter tells his readers that if we suffer at the hands of ungodly people for righteousness' sake, we are blessed indeed.

Paul reminds us that believers are not only called to trust in the Lord Jesus for salvation but read more...

1 Peter 3:15

Peter finished his godly advice to husbands and wives with guidance on suffering for the sake of righteousness. He gave wise instruction on how to grow in grace and live a godly life, and he encouraged them (as he encourages us) to live in harmony with our Christian brothers and sisters.

Peter encourages us to guard our hearts and our speech, and to turn from evil and do good. We are to seek peace and to pursue it, and we are to read more...

1 Peter 3:18

The Lord Jesus Christ is the righteous One, the sinless Man that suffered and died for the sins of the whole world. He suffered and died once for all the unrighteous race of humanity so that He might bring all who believe in Him into eternal fellowship with God.

As fully Man He was required to die as a man, body, soul, and spirit, but as the sinless Son of Man Who willingly gave His life as a ransom for many, He paid the purchase read more...

1 Peter 3:18

When Peter writes: "Christ also suffered for sins once," he points to the Lord Jesus as the perfect example of One Who through His suffering, fulfilled the will of His Father in heaven. He was identified as the perfect example of a Man Who suffered unjustly at the hands of wicked men, in order to fulfil the plans and purpose of a holy God: "To bring us to God."

The Lord Jesus was indeed read more...

1 Peter 3:21

This verse has caused much controversy and is used as a proof-text that 'water baptism' is necessary for salvation, but that is not what this verse teaches.

Baptismal regeneration is unbiblical, and when this verse is read in its correct context and in conjunction with every other passage on salvation, the 'baptism' that saves is clearly Christ's 'baptism unto death'. 

When a thorough read more...