Husbands represent Jesus well in marriage when they live in a way that brings honor to Jesus and their wives...

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of 1 Peter. We looked at 1 Peter 3:7 and discovered that living as part of God’s kingdom community should result in husbands representing Jesus well in marriage. In 1 Peter 3:7, we see Peter reveal for us two ways that living as part of God’s kingdom community should result in husbands representing Jesus well in marriage.

Tuesday, we saw Peter reveal for us the reality that husbands represent Jesus well in marriage when they live they live in a way that demonstrates an awareness of where their wives are at in their lives. Husbands demonstrate a respect for their wives by exercising an awareness of where their wives are at when it comes to having a relationship with God.

And husbands demonstrate a respect for their wives by exercising an awareness of how their wives have been wired by God. Husbands are to exercise an awareness that their wives have been wired differently physically and are to treat them accordingly in a way that results in the spiritual good, growth, and flourishing. And husbands are to exercise an awareness that their wives have been wired differently emotionally and are to treat them accordingly in a way that results in the spiritual good, growth, and flourishing. Peter then reveals a second way that husbands represent Jesus well in marriage in the second half of 1 Peter3:7. Let’s look at the entire verse again:

You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

Now when Peter uses the word honor, here, this word refers to honor as a possession. In other words, honor here refers to the respect that one is to enjoy. So Peter here is commanding husbands to give their wives respect as a result of the commitment that they had made to their wives to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Peter then explains that the reason why they were to give their wives respect was due to the fact that she is a fellow heir of the grace of life. But that does that mean?

With this phrase, Peter is referring to God’s transformational intervention and activity in the world through Jesus that results in one experiencing eternal life in relationship with God.  Peter’s point is that both men and women are equal recipients of the inheritance that comes as a result of being a part of God’s kingdom community called the church. Both men and women equally have a new identity as a part of God’s kingdom community as a result of God’s transformational intervention and activity through Jesus in their lives. And because of that reality, husbands were to treat their wives with respect.

Peter then warns husbands throughout history that failure to treat their wives with honor and respect would result in their prayers being hindered. You see, how we live out our horizontal relationships with others here on earth impacts the depth and intimacy that we have in our vertical relationship with God. You see, here’s the thing: the reason why the health of you marriage is so important in God’s eyes: the reason why God has a divine design for the roles that men and women are to have within a marriage relationship is that marriage has been divinely designed by God to be a picture on earth of the intimacy that we will have for all eternity with Jesus.

Marriage was designed by God to be a word picture to the unbelieving world around us of the vulnerability, the transparency, and the intimacy that followers of Jesus will experience for all eternity with Him. Again, Peter is concerned with the key question “Are followers of Jesus representing Jesus well? What is the reputation of followers of Jesus in the eyes of unbelievers?”

Peter recognized that as these early followers of Jesus lived as citizens of God’s kingdom community, that they would be watched closely by those around them as they lived distinctively different lives than those in the community around them. And nowhere would that dynamic be more evident than in relationship between a husband and a wife. Peter recognized the power that a healthy, vibrant marriage that was lived out according to God’s design would have to be used by God to bring those around them to the place where they became followers of Jesus as well.

And it is here that we see Peter reveal for us the reality that husbands represent Jesus well in marriage when they live in a way that brings honor to Jesus and their wives. Husbands bring honor to Jesus and their wives by recognizing their equal inheritance as a part of God’s kingdom community. Husbands bring honor to Jesus and their wives by treating their wives as those who have an equal inheritance as a part of God’s kingdom community as a result of equally experiencing God’s transformational activity in their lives that results in them equally receiving eternal life through faith in Christ.

And husbands bring honor to Jesus and their wives by recognizing that failing to honor their wives slows their spiritual progress. You see, when husbands bring honor to Jesus and their wives, the result is a marriage that serves as an apologetic for the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to the unbelieving world around them, as they live faithfully as a part of God’s kingdom community. And for Peter, living as part of God’s kingdom community should result in husbands representing Jesus well in marriage.

As part of God’s kingdom community, husbands represent Jesus well in marriage when they live they live in a way that demonstrates an awareness of where their wives are at in their lives. Husbands demonstrate a respect for their wives by exercising an awareness of where their wives are at when it comes to having a relationship with God and when it comes to how their wives have been wired by God.

And as part of God’s kingdom community, husbands represent Jesus well in marriage when they live in a way that brings honor to Jesus and their wives. Husbands bring honor to Jesus and their wives by recognizing their equal inheritance as a part of God’s kingdom community. And husbands bring honor to Jesus and their wives by recognizing that failing to honor their wives slows their spiritual progress.

So with that in mind, men here is a question to consider: Are you representing Jesus well in your marriage? Are you demonstrating an awareness of where your wives are at in their lives? Are you aware of where your wives are at spiritually? Emotionally? Are you living out your marriage relationship in a way that brings honor to Jesus and your wife? Are you struggling in your relationship with Jesus because you have not been honoring Jesus by how you treat your wife?

Because, the timeless reality is that living as part of God’s kingdom community should result in husbands representing Jesus well in marriage...