1 Peter 3:7
7 Likewise [homoios], ye husbands [aner], dwell with [sunoikeo] them
according to [kata] knowledge [gnosis], giving [aponemo] honour [time] unto the wife [gunaikeios],
as [hos] unto the weaker [asthenes] vessel [skeuos], and [kai] as [hos] being heirs
together [sugkleronomos] of the grace [charis] of life [zoe]; that [eis] your [humon] prayers [proseuche] be [ekkopto] not [me] hindered [ekkopto]. KJV-Interlinear
7 You husbands likewise, live
with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is
a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that
your prayers may not be hindered. NASB
Throughout the ages,
women have been relegated to the lower rungs of the social ladder. In every religion, except Christianity, women
have been considered as unequal's, or lower than their male counterparts, and
therefore inferior.
Only in Christianity,
is the female guaranteed an equal status in life and in heaven.
The woman is certainly
not less intelligent than men.Women are
certainly not less capable than men.
Women are certainly not inferior in many ways, than their male
counterparts.But throughout history,
women have been handed the lesser roles, the short stick as it were, the more
humiliating places in life.
When war came the woman
was ravaged and treated with tremendous disrespect. Even in marriage, many a woman has been
taken advantage of by husbands that were less than honorable, to say the least. Getting a decent inheritance was near
impossible.
But here, God places a
tremendous burden of responsibility on the husband.
In Ephesians 5, the
husband is commanded to love his wife, how?
As Christ loved the Church.And
how did Christ love the church?He loved
it first before Himself, and second, He gave His life for it.
So now this places mans
command authority in a different perspective.
But Peter now teaches
us that we are to love our wife, according to knowledge. And what is
that?According to doctrine.
Any person placed in a
position of authority, is expected to learn his responsibilities and
obligations.Whether it is a general, a
president, a teacher, a parent, or a husband, it makes no difference. Any person in authority is expected to learn
the limits and responsibilities of his authority.
The husband may not
boast of his position.The husband may
not demand respect.The husband may not
abuse his position, or take advantage of others.
The husband may not
ignore Bible doctrine, and this is the bottom line. Without doctrine in your soul, you forfeit
your rights, and God is the only one who promotes or demotes in this regard.
The woman is the weaker
vessel in that she does not hold this marital position. The woman has been taken advantage of
throughout the ages.She may be smarter,
stronger, more able, but Peter does not refer to her soul, but to her
vessel.And the vessel is the biological
physical body that we have all come to recognize as the female.
And who placed her in
that body?God. And why did God place her there? Because she was better able to deal with the problems
that she would encounter in her life.
That is true of anyone of course. We are all placed where we are,
because God saw down through the tunnel of time, that we would be better off
where we are, as opposed to being someone or somewhere else. What those
alternatives might have been, we will not likely ever know. We are now, what we are.
Therefore, unlike all
other religions, cults, philosophies, etc., Christianity elevates the woman, especially
the wife, as an equal.In the spiritual
life, she is entitled to the same opportunities, the same blessings, the same
inheritance, the same positions, the same rights and titles, and so forth, as
any man.
To consider the woman
as anything else, is nothing more than a form of prejudice and stupidity. And anyone who takes advantage, or abuses his
position as a man, will be dealt with by God, for this violation of Gods
mandate.