1 Peter 3:7

1 Peter 3:7

In the same way, men: while conducting yourselves according to understanding as to the weaker vessel the woman, while assigning honor as also to fellow heirs of the grace of life in order that your prayers are not to be hindered.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

You might notice that this verse translates very awkwardly.  The reason for this awkward nature is that in the whole of the verse there is no verb.  It’s hard to have a sentence without a verb, much less a compound sentence like this.  When people writing in Greek omitted verb there were two solutions.  The first solution is to insert a verb of being like am, is, or are.  But that doesn’t really make sense in this case.  The second solution is to go back and capture the verb in the prior sentence.  In this case, it is a grammatical construction intended to bring emphasis because you have to think about it.  Your mind can’t just hear the words, you have to think about the message and retrieve the right verb.  I think this is what Peter is doing here, especially because Peter begins this section with the words “in the same way.”  The reason that this is interesting is because the prior verb in 1 Peter 3:6 is “to become [children]” (γίνομαι [τέκνον]).  Peter is emphasizing that men and woman are no different.  We become children of faith the same way: do good.  The calling of a man is virtually no different than the calling of a woman.  There is no difference.

Are you surprised to find this logic assertion in Peter’s words?  What does it mean to you that Peter is logically equating men and women in a letter written almost two-thousand years ago?

Second Thought:

If we look at the end of this sentence we find further evidence of this.  Peter calls women “fellow heirs” (συγκληρονόμος).  Here is another word that implies equality.  Woman are not different than men, they are co-heirs.  They share the same status, the same reward, and the same expectations.

What does it mean to you to be a fellow heir to the promise?  If you think about it, what does it really say about God’s love that we can all be fellow heirs to people the likes of Paul, Peter, James, John, and any of the other great people of faith who have come before us?  How should this understanding truly promote equality among people?

Third Thought:

I don’t want to leave this passage without addressing Peter’s comments about the woman being the “weaker vessel.”  There are some who use this description to make this verse contradict the very message that I fleshed out in the first two points.  I believe that to be a complete misinterpretation.  Peter isn’t saying that because they are weaker they should be treated any more different!  Actually, what Peter is saying is that even though they are weaker, women should be treated the same!  And let’s face it.  Given a typical man and a typical woman, the man is going to be physically stronger, able to carry more weight, etc.  But that’s really Peter’s point in this passage.  Our status of equality comes from God through His ability to do good through us.  I’m not great because I’m tall, strong, and can carry a lot of things.  I’m great because God redeemed a sinner and called me to partake in His greatness.  Thus, regardless of the physical stature of another person, we should give them honor because God has chosen to allow each of us to partake in His greatness.

Are you quick to show honor to the weaker people?  How does this teaching actually follow the model of God’s opinion of us?  How are we weaker than God yet show us honor?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Peter 3:8-9