WINNING UNBELIEVING HUSBANDS to CHRIST (1 PET. 3:Lb-4)*

BIBLIOTHECA SACRA 153 (ApriKJune 1996) 199-211

WINNING UNBELIEVING HUSBANDS TO CHRIST (1 PET. 3:lb-4)*

James R. Slaughter A ^L ^^n important component of the argument of 1 Peter involves the extent of the submission of Christian wives to their husbands. The argument of the book can be stated as follows: "When believers encounter unfair circumstances, they should reflect a spirit of deference in all relationships as they follow Christ's example and anticipate future glory." In 1 Peter 3:lb-4 Peter applied this argument specifically to wives by exhorting them to submit to their husbands regardless of their husbands' spiritual condition. The way Peter phrased his instructions to these wives indicates that most of them were married to Chris tians.1 Leighton assumes that a believing wife will cheerfully re spect a believing husband,2 but such may not always be the case. Even believing husbands are capable of unloving behavior and unreasonable requests, and submitting to husbands such as this can be painfully difficult. However, marriage between two believers is not Peter's fo cus. Emphasizing deference toward those who treat them un fairly, Peter addressed the severest relationship for a wife,

James R Slaughter is Professor of Christian Education, Dallas Theological Semi nary, Dallas, Texas *This is article two in the three-part series "Instructions to Christians Wives in 1 Peter 3 1-6 " 1 The Greek text implies that most of the wives in Peter's audience had believing husbands The phrase και el ("even if) suggests unbelieving husbands would be unexpected or at least less common than believing husbands ¿ Robert Leighton, Commentary on First Peter (London Keble and Taylor, 1701, reprint, Grand Rapids Kregel, 1978), 248 200 BIBLIOTHECA SACRA / April-June 1996 namely, marriage to an unbelieving husband. A wife is to submit to her husband even if he is "disobedient to the word" (και el τινβς άπβιθουσιν τω λόγω). Vaughn and Lea comment that "disobedient" (άπβιβής), a strong word, implies open and active hostility to the gospel.3 Though the word means "unpersuaded," in Christian literature it always refers to disobedience toward God or His or dinances.4 Since the ultimate form of disobedience is refusal to believe the gospel, άπβίθής often means "to disbelieve, to be an un believer." This is its meaning in 1 Peter 3:1.5 Such a condition establishes the likelihood of an extremely trying, difficult mar riage for some of the women in Peter's audience. Swindoll ex plains the situation in this way: "I'm confident some of you wives are thinking, 'Sure, I will be glad to live like that as long as I have the right kind of husband.' But these verses were written es pecially to the wife who has the wrong kind of husband."6 Balch contends that in this passage the husband's disobedi ence includes "more than passive disbelief. Some husbands were almost certainly among those actively . . . slandering the Chris tians,"7 for a wife in this social context was expected to follow the religion of her husband. Not to do so constituted highly insubor dinate behavior on a wife's part in the eyes of her neighbors, and Christian wives of pagan husbands were viewed in this light.8 Religion played an important part in the marriage ceremony in the Roman era. When the procession reached the husband's house, custom de manded that the wife should anoint the doorposts with fat or oil. . . . Then the husband lifted her over the threshold, for it would have been a bad omen if she had touched it. Inside, she was re ceived by him into common possession of fire and water: together with him she lit the new hearth-fire, and she was then sprinkled with water. She was thereby admitted to share the domestic and religious life of her husband.

** Curtis Vaughn and Thomas D Lea, 1 & 2 Peter, Jude, Bible Study Commentary (Grand Rapids Zondervan, 1988), 72 4 Walter Bauer, William F Arndt, and F Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lex icon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2d ed , rev F Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W Danker (Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1973), 82 ^ Ibid Cf Bo Reicke, The Epistles of James, Peter, and Jude, Anchor Bible (Garden City, NY Doubleday, 1964), 101 " Charles Swindoll, Strike the Original Match (Portland, OR Multnomah, 1980), 44 ' David Balch, Let Wives Be Submissive The Domestic Code in 1 Peter (Chico, CA Scholars, 1981), 99 Ibid, 240-46 Winning Unbelieving Husbands to Christ (1 Pet. 3:1 b-4) 201

The consummation of the marriage, which now followed, was governed by certain sacred customs The pronuba had already pre pared the marriage-bed and given the bride all necessary instruc tion The bride herself now prayed to Juno Virginensis and to Cincia, the goddess to whom the loosening of the girdle was con secrated The husband loosened his wife's girdle, and she sat down (probably naked) on the phallus of a god of fertility, named Mutunus Tutunus The sexual intercourse of the newly mar ried couple was superintended by a series of deities, whose names show that they represented the various moments of the sexual act On the day after the marriage, the bride received her rela tives and made her first sacrifice to the gods of her new home 9 The spreading of tradition from the city of Rome to the provinces included the "steady seepage of values from polis to vil lage "10 Christianity came into direct conflict with this decline of values The disruption of households due to a replacement of fam ily loyalties was not uncommon,11 and this was especially true of religious observances Speaking of families in the Roman Em pire, Meeks writes, "Feelings and attitudes [of kinship] could be expressed in various ways, including common religious prac tices It was ordinarily assumed that the subordinate members of the household would share the rehgion(s) of the master "12 Plutarch reflected the sentiment of his day regarding the wife's responsibility to honor her husband's religious preferences A wife ought not to make friends on her own, but to enjoy her husband's friends in common with him The gods are the first and most important friends Wherefore it is becoming for a wife to worship and to know only the gods that her husband believes in, and to shut the front door tight upon all queer and outlandish superstitions 13 When a wife was converted to Christ and rejected her hus band's gods and religious observances, she became vulnerable to sharp criticism and harsh treatment from him 14 No doubt some if not all of these pagan husbands would have been harsh and un-

9 Otto Kiefer, Sexual Life in Ancient Rome (New York Barnes and Noble, 1953) 20 21 10 Wayne A Meeks, The Moral World of the First Christians (Philadelphia Westminster, 1986), 39 11 Ibid 129 -^ Wayne A Meeks The First Urban Christians (New Haven, CT Yale Univer sity Press, 1983) 30 ^ Plutarch, Advice to Bride and Groom 19 14 Stephen Β Clark, Man and Woman in Christ (Ann Arbor MI Servant, 1980), 90 202 BIBLIOTHECA SACRA / April-June 1996 kind to their Christian wives 15 Tertulhan mentioned several difficulties Christian wives of unbelieving husbands may have encountered If a station is to be made, her husband will arrange to meet her at the baths, if fasts are to be kept, her husband will be giving a feast the same day, if she has to go out, never will family business be more hindering, for who would allow his wife to go round the town to other people's houses and especially to all the poorer cot tages for the sake of visiting the brethren? Who would willingly let her be taken from his side for meetings at night, if it should be her duty7 Who in short would put up with her absence all night at the Easter solemnities without misgivings7 Who would let her creep into a prison to kiss a martyr's chains or indeed to meet any one of the brethren for the kiss?16 Such a situation would create quite an awkwardness in the relationship between a husband and a wife What should her atti tude be toward a husband who rejected the gospel message, who set himself against Christ and against the church, who might have chided, demeaned, antagonized, and intimidated her because of her Christian faith? Reicke concludes, "According to ν la, it is necessary [even] in such instances for a Christian wife to be sub missive to her husband "17 Steele and Ryrie observe, "Even if her husband is not obedient to God she is to obey him Her submis sion and obedience display a confident trust in God to work through constituted authority, even when the person holding that authority is out of step with God's Word "18 Peter said a Christian wife is to place herself voluntarily un der her husband's authority not only if he is committed to Christ, but even if he maintains an antagonistic posture toward Christ and toward her for her faith In this exercise of submission she would be fulfilling her commitment to honor her husband in the human institution of marriage (2 13-17), and would be following the example of Christ who demonstrated this ideal by His own deference to authorities who treated Him unfairly (2 21-25)

THE LIMITS OF A HUSBAND'S AUTHORITY In most cases Christians are to obey those whom God places in authority over them (Rom 13 1-7, Eph 5 22-6 9, 1 Pet 2 13-3 6)

15 Wayne Grudem 1 Peter Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids Eerdmans 1988) 138

16 Tertulhan Ad Uxorem 2 5 2

Reicke The Epistle? of James Peter and Jude 101

18 Paul E Steele and Charles C Ryrie Meant to Last (Wheaton IL Victor 1983) 32 33 Winning Unbelieving Husbands to Christ (1 Pet. 3:1 b-4) 203

However, in certain circumstances God's people rightly refused to obey when to do so would have meant disobeying God. Egyptian midwives spared the lives of baby boys born to Israelite women, thereby disobeying Pharaoh's edict (Exod. 1:15-22). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar's image (Dan. 3:1-30), and Daniel himself violated the command of Darius by continuing his regular prayer life (6:1-28). The apostles continued to preach the gospel in Jerusalem against the high priest's orders. When he confronted them, they responded, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). Though the apostles were disobeying the high priest by their continued preaching, they were exercising obedience to God, as an angel had commanded them, "Go your way, stand and speak to the peo ple in the temple the whole message of this life" (5:20). The Lord's ultimate authority, higher than that of any indi vidual, shows that a husband's authority over his wife is limited. She is not responsible to submit to her husband if it means dis obeying God (e.g., by renouncing Christ, lying, committing an immoral act, etc.).19 To commit sin in obedience to her husband would be to disobey Christ, her higher authority. By doing so she would be violating Peter's earlier injunction to be holy (1:15).20 Steele and Ryrie offer the following practical example re garding the limitations of the husband's authority. We are a part of an evil world which is capable of great wrong Because of that, the waters are often muddied as to what a person should do in specific cases While the possible situations are too varied to deal with in detail here, some guidelines might be helpful All authority has limitations except for the authority of God When a person in authority requires us to do something that is clearly forbidden by a higher authority, we are free to respectfully disobey Jane is a case in point She came to me [Steele] with a sad tale of a husband who was insisting on her being involved in a morally compromising situation with two other couples Her ques tion was obvious "Do I have to submit to that7" I answered with a question "What does the Bible say about that kind of activity7" She answered, "It expressly forbids it " "So, what must you do7" "Refuse7" she said hesitatingly "Yes, but why7" "Because God's authority is greater than Fred's authority " The apostles refused to obey the authority of the Sanhedrm for the same reason "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5 29) 21

iy Grudem, 1 Peter, 139 ^ Cf James R Slaughter, "Submission of Wives (1 Pet 3 la) in the Context of 1 Pe ter," Bibhotheca Sacra 153 (January-March 1996) 74 21 Steele and Ryrie, Meant to Last, 32-33 204 BIBLIOTHECA SACRA / ApriKJune 1996

A wife's decision to disobey her husband out of obedience to God is a sober proposition. She should first appeal to God and to her husband that the situation might change. Before a Christian wife refuses to submit to her husband, she should have sound bib lical evidence that to obey him would require her to disobey God.

THE EVANGELISTIC IMPACT OF A WIFE'S SUBMISSION: WINNING WITHOUT A WORD

By deferential behavior toward their unbelieving husbands Christian wives may be used of God to win their husbands to Christ ("so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word," 1 Pet. 3:1b). The word "won" or "won over" translates κβρδαίνω, a commercial term meaning "to get commercial gain, to win something/'22 Kelly notes, however, that in Christian usage the word meant to lead a person to Christ.23 It has this meaning in its five occurrences in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22. Probably Christian wives with unbelieving husbands sought to explain their newfound faith in Christ to their partners. Some husbands may have visited the local assembly to observe a wor ship service or other meeting. Discouraging attitudes, remarks, and behavior of the unbeliever toward his wife should not have been unexpected, especially if religion were a significant issue in the relationship. However, an unbelieving husband, Peter wrote, could be drawn to Christ through his wife's deferential be havior rather than through her sharp rhetoric or well-constructed arguments. The witness of these Christian wives consisted, at least in part, of submissive behavior characterized by a nonargumenta tive spirit. Having used λόγος in the technical sense of the "gospel message" (disobedient to the "word"), Peter then used λόγος a sec ond time in the ordinary sense of normal conversation. The Greek construction amounts to what grammarians refer to as antanaclasis, commonly known as a pun.24 Used without the definite article, "word" denotes the oral pleas of the wife. If the husband will not yield to the authoritative spo ken word of the gospel, he may be reached by the wife's silent

^ Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 430

^ J Ν D Kelly, A Commentary on the Epistles of Peter and Jude (Grand Rapids Baker, 1981), 128

** J H A Hart, "First Peter," in The Expositor's Greek Testament, ed W Robert son Nicoli, 5 vols (reprint, Grand Rapids Eerdmans, 1974), 5 63 Winning Unbelieving Husbands to Christ (1 Pet. 3:1 b-4) 205

demonstrations of its transforming power in her daily conduct In stead of trying to coax and argue her husband into becoming a Christian, she will be more effective by quietly living out its sav ing power before him His conscience will be forced to admit the presence of a divine power in her faith that he has often mocked 25 Kelly suggests "without a word" means "without verbal pro paganda "26 Davids interprets it as a witness without "continual nagging "27 These interpretations suggest the apostle may not be calling wives to subscribe to a code of abject silence regarding their faith, but rather to express their submission to their hus bands in a nonargumentative spirit Later Peter enjoined all be lievers (including wives) always to be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks them to give an account for the hope that is m them, but to do so with gentleness and respect (1 Pet 3 15) While believers are to verbalize their hope, they nevertheless are to show deference through their gentle, respectful behavior Winning her husband "without a word" may not mean saying nothing at all, but may refer to the nature, frequency, purpose, and even tone of her words Clearly 1 Peter 3 1 focuses on the power of behavior over rhetoric to influence a non-Christian husband for Christ

WINNING THROUGH GODLY BEHAVIOR The wife's witness is to be primarily through her behavior {αναστροφή, 3 2), and particularly through the deference she shows her unbelieving husband As he observes (εποπτεύω) the way she behaves toward him, he is more likely to be struck by the selflessness of her actions He may ultimately become convinced that such a response in light of their theological and philosophical differences must be supernatural, which thereby confirms the truth of the gospel message He may recognize in his wife's be havior toward him a "victorious power which overcomes every thing"28 and which finds its source in Christ Peter wrote that the deferential behavior which will attract a husband's attention is sincere and respectful (την έν φόβω άγνήν αναστροφής υμών) Interpreters disagree about Peter's meaning here and about the translation and use of έν φόβω and άγνήν 29

& D Edmond Hiebert, 1 Peter (Chicago Moody, 1984), 184 ^ Kelly, A Commentary on the Epistles of Peter and Jude, 49 27 Peter Davids, The First Epistle of Peter (Grand Rapids Eerdmans, 1990), 116 ^ Werner Neuer Man and Woman in Christian Perspective, trans Gordon J Wenham (Wheaton IL Crossway, 1990), 133 29 This is the only occurrence of the term αγνός in Peter 206 BIBLIOTHECA SACRA / Apri Wune 1996

Scholars differ in their interpretation of έν φόβω in 3:2. Does "fear" describe the believing wife's relationship to God or to her husband?30 Hiebert maintains that φόβω refers to the wife's rever ence toward God,31 and Kelly suggests the same: "What is meant is clearly not that Christian wives should dread their husbands, but that 'godly fear' . . . should be the mainspring of their lives."32 Others believe φόβω in 3:2 refers to a wife's respect for her husband.33 Foh says this "fear" is a godly respect for "a divinely appointed authority."34 Zerr says this fear is the wife's "deep con cern to show proper respect [to her husband] and not to be remiss in any duty."35 To show respect for one's husband means simply to honor and esteem him, to show consideration or regard for him.36 Interpreting έν φόβω as the wife's respect for her husband fits Peter's argument better than viewing it as reverence for God. Pe ter exhorted his audience to maintain a posture of deference in all relationships in which they encounter unfair circumstances. The New American Standard Bible translates φόβος as "respect" in 2:18 and έν φόβω as "respectful" in 3:2. This idea of respect proba bly is its sense in both passages.37 Sylva argues that "fear" of masters in 2:18 means "respect" for masters because fear of good masters does not make sense. Now it would not be easy to "fear good and gentle masters" and hard to "fear" bad masters but it would be easy to "respect" good masters and hard to "respect" bad masters Thus, phobö in 2 18 must mean respect towards men and therefore this is also its meaning in 3 2 38

™ Reicke (The Epistles of James, Peter, and Jude, 101), C L Winberg ("Ethical Issues in 1 Peter," Theological Educator 13 [1982] 68), and R Leighton (Commentary on 1 Peter, 251) suggest φόβω refers here to both fear of God and fear of husbands 31 Hiebert, 1 Peter, 185 on Kelly, A Commentary on the Epistles of Peter and Jude, 128 33 Lumby, "The Epistles of St Peter," 111 *** Susan Τ Foh, Women and the Word of God (Philhpsburg, NJ Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979), 185 * Ε M Zerr, Bible Commentary, 6 vols (St Louis Mission Messenger, 1955), 6 259 * Mary A Kassian, Women, Creation and the Fall (Westchester, IL Crossway, 1990), 74 *** Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 871, and W Mundle, "Fear," in New Inter national Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 623 In 1 Peter 3 15 the apostle urged his readers to share their faith "with gentleness and respect" (μετά πραντητος και φόβου) Ephesians 5 33 is another example of φόβος- used in refer ence to wives toward their husbands *** Dennis Sylva, "Translating and Interpreting 1 Peter 3 2," Bible Translator 34 (January 1983) 147 Winning Unbelieving Husbands to Christ (1 Pet. 3:1 b-4) 207

For some, αγνός here means "holy,"39 similar in meaning to άγιος in 3:5 ("holy" women). But the two words mean different things. 'Αγνός conveys the idea of cleanness (especially in refer ence to moral purity) and sincerity or innocence.40 Peter's argu ment suggests he used αγνός not to refer to the purity of a wife's Christian character in general (which would call for the use of άγιος), but specifically to purity, cleanness, and sincerity in her relationship to her unbelieving husband. The wife's pure behav ior involves being subject to her own husband;41 it is purity re flected in her behavior toward him.42 Evans calls it "innocence refined by testing."43 Αγνός is simplicity or sincerity of mind44 which keeps a Christian wife from manipulating her unbeliev ing husband to her own ends. The behavior an unbelieving husband was to observe in his wife, and which would attract him to her faith in Christ, was her voluntary subordination expressed through her sincere and re spectful behavior toward him. Her sincerity about being a godly, submissive wife, and her respectful treatment of a husband who opposed and perhaps belittled her convictions demonstrates the reality of her supernatural faith. Her deference toward him in the severity of their differences and in the face of unfair treatment can become a means of winning him to the Savior. An argumen tative spirit expressed in an attempt to dominate and convince him through a battle of words will never achieve harmony be tween a wife and her husband. However, the objective might be reached by sincere, respectful, deferential, Christlike behavior.

WINNING WITH INTERNAL BEAUTY Christian wives also reflect a spirit of deference by revealing a beauty that is internal rather than external, a beauty character ized by a gentle and quiet spirit: "and let not your adornment be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with

^ Sylva, "Translating and Interpreting 1 Peter 3 2," 1, and Hiebert, 1 Peter, 185 J R Lumby translates it "pure life" ("The Epistles of St Peter," 111) ^ Friedrich Hauck, "αγνός," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 1 (1974) 122 41 Grudem, 1 Peter, 139 42 Davids, The First Epistle of Peter, 116 ** William Evans, Peter The Epistles of Living Hope (Hollywood, CA Gospel Light, 1941), 30 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek, trans William Urwick (1878, reprint, Edinburgh Clark, 1962), 58 208 BIBLIOTHECA SACRA / Apri Wune 1996 the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is pre cious in the sight of God" (1 Pet. 3:4).45 The characteristics of such a gentle, quiet spirit stand in direct antithesis to the ostentatious spirit portrayed through a woman's excessive attention to her ap pearance. Her husband will not be won by superficial attraction to her beautiful hair, fine jewelry, or lavish wardrobe.46 But con centration on externals was common among women in Peter's day. They often wore their hair elaborately prepared, braided tier on tier, frequently requiring the services of a professional hair dresser.47 Elaborate combs and nets held the tiers in place.48 Women sometimes feared going to sleep at night out of concern for spoiling the design of their hair.49 Juvenal describes the de tailed hair designs which Roman fashion prescribed for "the Park" and for attendance at the "Mysteries of Adonis."50 Women's apparel also included expensive jewelry, such as gold rings, chains, and bracelets piaceri around the neck, ankles, arms, and fingers.51 And sometimes women wore ornaments suspended from their earlobes.52 Peter's use of ενδύσεως ("putting on [dresses]") may indicate the practice of wearing a great variety of dresses,53 that is, main taining and making frequent use of an extensive wardrobe. But Peter wrote that such showy attire would not help win a husband to Christ. Michaels contends that Peter did not approve of "braided hair and conspicuous jewelry with dresses to match."54 Most commen tators, however, do not interpret the apostle's words as a total pro-

For a discussion of the construction of 1 Peter 3 3-4, including Peter's use of the relative clause, the appositional use of the genitive case for definition and the rela tionship between the article and the substantive, see Hiebert, 1 Peter, 185-86; Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 498-99, 779, 949-50; James Η Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek (Edinburgh Clark, 1906), 84, 236, and F Blass and A Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, trans Robert W Funk (Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1961), 168 ^ Hiebert suggests that the strategy for winning husbands to Christ raises the is sue of women's attractiveness (1 Peter, 185) 47 Ibid, 186 48 Hart, "1 Peter," 63 49 Clement of Alexandria, Paedagogus ("Tutor") 3 11 50 Juvenal, Satires 6 492-504 51 Hiebert, 1 Peter, 187 52 Ibid 53 Ibid 54 J Ramsey Michaels, 1 Peter, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, TX Word, 1988), 160 Winning Unbelieving Husbands to Christ (1 Pet. 3 1b-4) 209 hibition Leighton suggests Peter no more condemned the use of gold ornaments than he did other attractive wearing apparel, but that Peter contrasted ostentatious adorning with "the ornament of a meek spirit "55 Though early writers (e g , Clement of Alexan dria, Paed 3 2 66, Tertulhan, De orat 20, Cyprian, De hob virg 8) may have taken Peter's words literally as a wholesale ban on feminine finery, the apostle's purpose was to instill a proper sense of values 56 Lumby sees an example in the gifts given to Rebekah "The patriarch who sent to Rebekah (Gen 24 53) jewels of silver and jewels of gold, did not leave his own wife unadorned Nor does the language of St Peter condemn Rebekah's bracelets, if they be worn with Rebekah's modesty "57 Hiebert's summary grasps the essence of Peter's meaning The design of the passage is not to encourage slovenliness or sor did indifference toward female attire Neither does it constitute an absolute prohibition of braids or the use of jewelry any more than it forbids putting on clothes It is a warning against extrav agance and self centered display For the Christian wife sim ply to rely on external, gaudy, immodest adornment like the world uses would give her husband a wrong impression of her and would frustrate her spiritual purpose 58 A Christian wife's deference toward her unsaved husband may be demonstrated by the way she dresses, not to impress or persuade him through sensual attire, but to win him through his growing appreciation of her spirit The deference of a Christian wife, which God might use to bring her husband to Christ, is an internal adornment, the "hidden person of the heart" (ο κρυπτός της καρδίας άνθρωπος), which demonstrates her voluntary submission to him "Hidden person of the heart" contrasts with undesirable conspicuous or namentation Hiebert comments, "The inner work of grace has implanted a spiritual beauty that is real and abiding, contrary to the external, artificial ornaments that can be removed at will "59 The hidden person of the heart is the wife's "inward nature, her true personality "60 In contrast to external ornamentation, inter nal adornment is "imperishable" (άφθαρτις) Such internal adornment is characterized by a gentle (πρανς)

Leighton Commentary on First Peter 252 *** Kelly A Commentary on the Epistles of Peter and Jude 129 57 Lumby The Epistles of St Peter 11112 58 Hiebert 1 Peter 187 ™ Ibid 60 Grudem 1 Peter 140 210 BIBLIOTHECA SACRA / April-June 1996 and quiet (ήσύχιος) spirit.61 The adjective πραϋς occurs three other times in the New Testament (Matt. 5:5; 11:29; 21:5). Its related noun ήσύχιος occurs more frequently and means "gentleness, not insistent on one's own rights, not pushy, not selfishly assertive, not demanding one's own way."62 Ήσύχιος has the sense of being calm, peaceful, and tranquil as opposed to restless, rebellious, disturbed, or insubordinate.63 The term indicates a person who does not retaliate. He or she can suffer evil without bitterness and vengeance, knowing God will judge justly in the end (Num. 1:33; Matt. 5:5; 11:29; 1 Pet. 1:17; 2:23). This concept expresses the heart of the Apostle Peter's argument that believers' behavior is to re flect a spirit of deference, not a spirit of retaliation, when they en counter unfair circumstances. God considers such a gentle and quiet spirit precious, expensive, costly, of great value (πολυτελές). This is the same attitude manifested by His Son, the Lord Jesus.

SUMMARY While most of the wives in the early church who read Peter's epistle had Christian husbands, the letter's underlying argument led the apostle to focus in 1 Peter 3:lb-4 on Christian wives mar ried to unbelieving husbands. Such unequal marriages were un doubtedly the source of much consternation and suffering for Christian women. Roman law and tradition required a wife to worship her husband's gods and to follow his religious practices. The turning of the wife from devotion to the family gods to devo tion to Christ created conflict that might escalate into unkind, in timidating behavior by the husband. In such conflict a Christian wife was to submit voluntarily to her unbelieving husband. Though a husband's authority over his wife was limited, a wife's submission to God usually called for submission to her husband. The exception would have been a husband's requiring his wife to disobey God (e.g., through some act of immorality or idolatry). In such a case the wife was to obey God, the higher au thority.

bl "Spirit" in this passage is the human spirit, not the Holy Spirit (J W C Wand, The General Epistles of St Peter and St Jude [London Methuen, 1934], 91, Charles Bigg, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles of St Peter and St Jude, International Critical Commentary [Edinburgh Clark, 1902], 152, and Davids, The First Epistle of Peter, 119) "2 Grudem, 1 Peter, 140, cf Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 350 The word also can mean "courtesy, considerateness, forbearance, kindness" (James H Moulton and George Milhgan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament Illustrated from the Papyru and Other Sources [Grand Rapids Eerdmans, 1930], 534) 63 Davids, The First Epistle of Peter, 119 Winning Unbelieving Husbands to Christ (1 Pet. 3:1 b-4) 211

As a benefit of the deference of Christian wives, their hus bands might be won to Christ. The witness of Christian wives would consist first in submitting to their husbands in a nonar gumentative spirit. Wives were to avoid using verbal propa ganda and continual nagging in their evangelistic efforts. The most powerful witnessing tool is their Christlike behavior shown by a sincere effort to be godly wives, and by their respectful treat ment of their husbands. While the husband would be impressed by his wife's sincere, respectful, nonargumentative behavior, he would also be attracted by the beauty of her gentle and quiet spirit. She should not hope to impress him through a flashy display of feminine apparel. Such an approach would conflict directly with the spirit of deference Peter called for. Internal beauty, not external beauty, is of God and demonstrates true deference. Wh&t is precious to God and attractive to unbelieving husbands is not selfish assertiveness but mildness and tenderness; not rebelliousness or insubordination, but calmness and peacefulness. Behavior that reflects a spirit of deference represents the spirit of Christ worked out in the be liever's life, thus serving as the best witnessing tool for Christian wives married to unbelieving husbands. ^s

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