3
Wives, follow the lead of your own husbands. Suppose some of them don't believe God's word. Then let them be won to Christ without words by seeing how their wives behave. 2 Let them see how pure you are. Let them see that your lives are full of respect for God. 3 Fancy hairstyles don't make you beautiful. Wearing gold jewellery or fine clothes doesn't make you beautiful. 4 Instead, your beauty comes from inside you. It is the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Beauty like this doesn't fade away. God places great value on it. 5 This is how the holy women of the past used to make themselves beautiful. They put their hope in God. And they followed the lead of their own husbands. 6 Sarah was like that. She obeyed Abraham. She called him her master. Do you want to be like her? Then do what is right. And don't give in to fear. 7 Husbands, consider the needs of your wives. They are weaker than you. So treat them with respect. Honour them as those who will share with you the gracious gift of life. Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers.
8 Finally, I want all of you to agree with one another. Be understanding. Love one another. Be kind and tender. Be humble. 9 Don't pay back evil with evil. Don't pay back unkind words with unkind words. Instead, pay back evil with kind words. This is what you have been chosen to do. You will receive a blessing by doing this. 10 Scripture says,
‘Suppose someone wants to love life
and see good days.
Then they must keep their tongues from speaking evil.
They must keep their lips from telling lies.
3:1–9 Peter taught wives and husbands to live in certain ways. Many of these ways were different from what was common in Peter's time. The main point of his instructions was to help believers show unbelievers who God is. They showed this by the way they lived. Another point was to help married believers to pray together. In the first churches, it was common for women to become believers before men did. This gave a wife the opportunity to show her husband how much Jesus changes people. Peter taught that a wife's real beauty doesn't come from the way she looks. It comes from the hope she has in God. This hope makes her full of gentleness instead of full of fear. Real authority for a husband doesn't come from forcing his wife to do things. It comes from honouring her as equal before God. The husband must use his strength to protect and care for his wife. Both men and women who are believers receive God's gift of eternal life. Because of this, Peter taught all the believers to be humble towards one another. They mustn't do wrong to people who do wrong to them. Instead they were to offer kind words and love. This was one way to do good deeds that unbelievers would notice.
11 They must turn away from evil and do good.
They must look for peace and go after it.
12 The Lord's eyes look on godly people, and he blesses them.
His ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord doesn't bless those who do evil.’ (Psalm 34:12–16)
13 Who is going to hurt you if you really want to do good? 14 But suppose you do suffer for doing what is right. Even then you will be blessed. Scripture says, ‘Don't fear what others say they will do to hurt you. Don't be afraid.’ (Isaiah 8:12) 15 But make sure that in your hearts you honour Christ as Lord. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you about the hope you have. Be ready to give the reason for it. But do it gently and with respect. 16 Live so that you don't have to feel you've done anything wrong. Some people may say evil things about your good conduct as believers in Christ. If they do, they will be put to shame for speaking like this about you. 17 God may want you to suffer for doing good. That's better than suffering for doing evil. 18 Christ also suffered once for sins. The one who did what is right suffered for those who don't do right. He suffered to bring you to God. His body was put to death. But the Holy Spirit brought him back to life. 19 After that, Christ went and made an announcement to the spirits in prison. 20 Long ago these spirits did not obey. That was when God was patient while Noah was building the ark. And only a few people went into the ark. In fact, there were only eight. Those eight people were saved through water. 21 The water of the flood is a picture. It is a picture of the baptism that now saves you too. This baptism has nothing to do with removing dirt from your body. Instead, it promises God that you will keep a clear sense of right and wrong. This baptism saves you by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. 22 He has gone into heaven. He is at God's right hand. Angels, authorities and powers are under his control.
3:10–22 The believers reading Peter's letter were being treated badly for following Jesus. Peter gave them instructions about how to deal with this. His instructions were to keep doing good and honouring Jesus as Lord. They should be gentle and respectful when they answered questions about the hope they had. Peter also encouraged the believers by reminding them that people had made Jesus suffer unfairly. Jesus was willing to suffer so that he could bring people back to God. Bringing people back to God means making them right with God. Jesus was killed and then the Holy Spirit brought him back to life. That is how Jesus won victory and control. He won control over the devil and all evil spiritual beings, powers and authorities. Peter called these the spirits in prison. Jesus' resurrection was an announcement to them that their power is broken. Baptism reminded the believers that they could be sure about Jesus' power to save them. God had brought Noah's family safely through the flood hundreds of years before. God will bring believers through all that they suffer as they follow Jesus faithfully.