Living As A Godly Husband Series

Living As A Godly Husband

Text: 1 Peter 3:7

Introduction

1. "God intends and expects marriage to be a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman, based on the principles of biblical love. The relationship between Jesus Christ and His church is the supreme example of the committed love that a husband and wife are to follow in their relationship with each other." ~ John C. Broger http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/21-powerful-christian-marriage-quotes/#ixzz2aCSq3vdl

2. Last week we talked about how a wife is to respond to her husband. Now this week it is the guys turn get marriage advice from Peter.

3. Peter tells husbands...

a. Honor Your Wife

b. Your Equal Partner

c. Your Prayer Receptor

4. Let's stand as we read together 1 Peter 3:7

Proposition: Husbands are to love their wives just has Christ has loved us.

Transition: Above all husbands should...

I. Honor Your Wife (7a).

A. Honor

1. We are dealing in this message with only one verse, but it is packed with content.

a. It took Peter 6 verses to give instructions to wives to only 1 verse for the guys.

b. However, Peter packs more into this one verse than do in an entire paragraph.

2. The beginning of the verse says, "In the same way..."

a. As you might recall, this is the same way that Peter started his address to the wives in the church.

b. In case you weren't with us, this phrase harkens back to 1 Peter 2:13, "For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority..."

c. It has to do with submission and respect.

d. You see we all have to be submissive. We all are to submit to those in authority; wives are to submit to their husbands; and husbands are to submit to the Lord.

e. It is God's desire gentlemen that we treat our wives in a way that is fitting for a follower of Christ.

3. The way Peter insists that we do this is "...you husbands must give honor to your wives."

a. Just as the wives were to accept authority, so the husbands in the same way were to give honor to their wives.

b. This phrase is literally, "rendering honor."

c. The word here has several aspects to this word.

d. First of all it carries with it the idea of "honor as an element in the assignment of status to a person" (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Symantic Domains, (87.4-87.18)".

e. Secondly, it carries with it the idea of "the worth or merit of some object, event, or state - 'worth, value.,' (620).

f. In other words, Peter is telling us to realize just how valuable our wives are to us.

g. To realize that they are a precious gift from God, and He has placed her in our lives to share, help in, and sweeten our lives.

h. We are to value them not in a monetary sense, but in a treasured sense over and beyond material value.

i. In a sense that our lives would be empty and incomplete without them, regardless of how much or how little are earthly possessions.

B. Cherish

1. Illustration: When Tina and I were dating, there came a point in our relationship, as all couples do, where I asked myself, "Can you see yourself living the rest of your life without this woman?" The conclusion that I came to was no I cannot see being happy in this life without her. There was something about her that made my life complete, and 29 years later that has not changed.

2. Outside of a relationship with Christ, our wife is the most important thing in our lives.

a. Proverbs 31:10-11 (NLT)

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. 11 Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.

b. She adds sweetness to our lives.

c. She fills in all of our empty holes.

d. She takes our lives complete.

e. She is a gift from God!

Transaction: In addition, we are to see our wives as...

II. Your Equal Partner (7b).

A. Equal Partner

1. Peter now follows up on the idea of honor by expressing to us the way we should treat our wives.

2. He says, "Treat your wife with understanding as you live together."

a. Having addressed the wives of unbelieving husbands, Peter now addresses Christian husbands.

b. He assumes that their wives are Christians too, so his exhortation to them moves in a different direction.

c. Inasmuch as his exhortation to them to "be considerate" borrows its force from the verb of 2:13, it is best to see here a specific kind of "living under the order" for husbands, a kind of submission, yet distinct from it.