Text: 1Peter 2:11-3:12
In our section today Peter deals with the practicalities of living the Christian life. I’ve tackled a big section of this letter making it difficult to cover it as closely to the text as I would like. I will try rather to develop the big picture behind the text or the underlying principles that govern how a Christian should live in this world. The first basic point is that Jesus himself serves as our primary model for how to live. He lived sinlessly. As we are in fact dead to sin, on account of his faith and obedience, so we strive to live in his faithfulness and obedience, making his life evident in our lives. Since he lives in us, we live accordingly. He lived righteously and he lived honourably, subjecting himself to the powers that be even though he was free of them, and he suffered and died for it. Accordingly as he suffered for doing good in this sin-distorted world, so will we. In the end this will bring glory to God and perhaps convince a few of God’s future plan.
Now let me spell this out a little further Peter says at verse thirteen, “For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution.” One view about the ordering of society that is presented in the Bible is that societal authority originates with God as a gift from God for a peaceable society. Government, marriage, family; all these orderings are a gift from God. Living righteously in these orderings should result in a just and peaceable society, but unfortunately, sin has mucked up the way we relate to God and one another, corrupting it totally. Instead of an ordered harmony among people that glorifies God, people use these orderings for the pursuit of their own pleasure and gain.
Peter deals with two societal orderings in our text today: government and the household. In his world as in ours the household is the basic building block of society. In his day, a household consisted of husband and wife, children, and servants. The economy to a large extent was also built on family business, which involved the household or an estate. Government was the means that provided for the peaceful co-existent of households. In Peter’s thought the household and the government were to be ordered under Christ. In the household, the relationship of husband and wife should reflect the relationship between Jesus and the church. So did the relationship between household servants and the master of the house. Peter also tells the people to honour the emperor because in a perfect world the relationship between emperor and people was to reflect the image of Christ and the church. Peter’s insight into how to live the Christian life is that if we each pattern ourselves after Christ’s way of life, the human institutions of order in society should begin to reflect Christ to the glory of God resulting in harmony, justice, and peace in society.
I would like to teach you a big word to help you understand Peter’s teaching. It is homeostasis. The word roughly means the state of being home or home base. It is somewhat of a plumbing term based on the law that water mysteriously seeks it’s own level. Every body of water has a flat, level surface. Someone a long time ago learned that if you put water in a pipe with up turned ends, when the water is the same distance from each opening, you have a level line between the two points and thus you have a level for creating orderly and sturdy structures. This self-leveling ability, when you apply it to a system, such as plumbing brings about homeostasis. If you have many points in you’re level environment and lower one point, all the water will rush to the lowest point because of gravity. This is why you always place you’re septic bed downhill.
I bring all this up because every societal grouping has it’s own state of homeostasis at which it has learned to function except it is grossly corrupted by human sin. Our global community has developed it’s own homeostasis which needs war, disease, famine, and at least one third of the people to live at or below subsistence levels so that less than eight percent of the population can have their SUV and grow obese. Every nation has its own homeostasis. Each family has it’s own unique homeostasis or pattern of relational balance that is normal to them. Reflecting on Peter's teaching, society has a homeostasis in which Christians must continue to live. We cannot withdraw from it nor can we take it over. Peter deals here with government and the household. With respect to government, we must respect the authority of government even if it means suffering for doing what is right. Peter sums it up here, “have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind” this approach by individual Christians is our participation in God’s will to heal the sin-diseased homeostasis in human society and restore his image within the creation.
Peter next provides us with the homeostasis of the household. Remember that the household is the basic building block of human society. The way Peter words his thoughts about marriage has largely been misunderstood and misapplied. His telling wives to subject themselves to their husbands' authority has unfortunately too often been used towards the subjugation of women all the while, if you dig a little deeper, you find Peter is saying the opposite. He sees men and women as equal in God’s eyes as we are both inheritors of the gracious gift of life. The church believes that marriage between a man and woman reflects the relationship between Christ and the Church. A husband’s authority is that of Christ and Jesus' authority is based on the principle that in weakness there is strength. So, husbands a husband lay down his life for his wife and family serving them as Christ served his disciples when he washed their feet. Husbands should listen and be understanding of their wives, bring honour to them, and not make them feel degraded or ashamed. Peter’s word to wives is for them to take a subordinate place to their husbands as they would to Christ because her husband is to love her as Christ loves her. She is to do this even if the husband is not Christian because her efforts to be like Christ may convince him.
Peter is not giving us a mandate for spouses to stay in abusive marriages. Marriage is the basic building block of homeostasis in human society. It is a holy institution. Therefore those who enter into the covenant of marriage are to honour Christ with it, indeed, use it to give testimony to Christ Jesus. When those in marriage carry on as if they were not married it destroys the basics of human society. Furthermore, it is just as damaging for those not married to behave as if they were. God gave us the bond of marriage to order the relationship between men and women in his creative love. Keep it holy for Christ’s sake.
In summary, Peter’s thoughts on living the Christian life follow this line. Through Christ Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit God has given the means for humanity to come to a new, healthy homeostasis or "normal" in the image of Christ. We Christians are called to live in this new order known as "in Christ" in the midst of the old until Jesus returns to make it complete. Therefore, pattern your lives after Christ Jesus who bore our sins in his body on the cross that we might be dead to sin and alive to righteousness. Live honourably and honour everyone. “Have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind” especially in your homes. Amen.
