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Proverbs 7:1-10
1 My son, keep my words, And treasure my
commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and live, And my law as the
apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the
tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," And call
understanding your nearest kin,
5 That they may keep you from the immoral
woman, From the seductress who
flatters with her words.
6 For at the window of my house I looked
through my lattice,
7 And saw among the simple, I perceived among
the youths, A young man devoid of understanding,
8 Passing along the street near her corner; And
he took the path to her house
9 In the twilight, in the evening, In the black
and dark night.
10 And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a
crafty heart.
Father God, give us the desire to pick up your Holy Word
and spend time with you each day to better understand what You are telling us
in the Bible. Help us to live what we learn. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Book of I Peter 3:7-13
NKJV
Peter continues with how saved
husbands are to treat their wives whether they are saved or unsaved, and he
goes on to how we are to treat others. As Christians we are to have relations
with others around us that display the righteousness of Christ our Lord. We are
to be a beacon of light and model Jesus footsteps. With our inherited sin
nature, this can, and is a difficult thing at times. Our feelings and emotions
often times get in the way and prevent us from displaying goodness. That is why
it is a daily struggle and we must be in the Word of God daily to gain strength
to do right.
7 Husbands,
likewise, dwell with them with
understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of
life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Husbands,
likewise, dwell with them with
understanding; Peter
now switches to the Christian husbands, saved husbands, and gives them
direction on how to act toward their wives. This verse puts a whole new twist
on how husbands are to treat their wives back in Peter’s time and before. This
was something totally new to the Christian Husbands. Wives were almost viewed
as servants; they tended to chores around the home and field; they were to be
seen and not heard; in some instances the wife was there to please the man. God
created woman to be a helper not a slave. Genesis
2:18 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be
alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."
God created woman to be a
companion; to share life together; to help one another. God took a rib out of
Adams side and created woman. This signified that man and women are to be
unified and work in unison with each other; respect and honor each other. Genesis 2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on
Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its
place. If God wanted
woman to lord over her husband He would have taken a bone from the top of Adams
head to form her, or if He wanted man to be a dictator over his wife, God would
have taken bones from Adam’s feet to form woman, but He didn’t, it was a rib
from Adams side, therefore husband and wife are to work together, be one, love,
respect, and honor each other. Just as Jesus is the head of the church, meaning
saved individuals, husbands are to be the head of the home. Being part of the
church, at times we get conviction of our actions, and don’t like it because it
is a chastening by God, but we submit to His guidance. It is out of love we
submit to Him and it is out of love He chastens us. Jesus and his bride the
church, is the example we are to follow in a marriage of one man and one woman.
Giving
honor to the wife; With
this phrase Peter is also emphasizing that with Christianity, being saved, the
woman is a partaker of Christianity also. We have to stop and think about the
customs of Peter’s times and how women were treated. There was an important
advance made in society when Christianity gave birth. Everywhere among the
pagans, and under all false systems of religion, women had little honor or
respect. She has been considered as a slave, or as a mere instrument to gratify
the passions of man. It is one of the elementary doctrines of Christianity,
however, that woman is to be treated with respect; and one of the first and
most marked effects of religion on society is to elevate the wife to a
condition in which she will be worthy of esteem. The particular reasons for the
honor which husbands are directed to show to their wives, are two: she is to be
treated with special kindness through love, respect, and honor; and she is to
be honored as the equal heir of the grace of life.
As to the weaker vessel; This phrase has been discussed and
discussed again as to what Peter is referring to here. Vessel isn’t the issue
here because we all know that our bodies are referred to as a vessel or a
container for our soul, (1 Thessalonians 4:4 that each of you should know how
to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor. Acts
9:15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he
is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the
children of Israel. Romans 9:22-23 What
if God, wanting to show His wrath
and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of
wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His
glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 For it is the God who commanded
light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen
vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.) the issue is the word weaker referring to
physical make up, although there are some women who can and do labor in jobs
that are very physical and strenuous. So what Peter is referring to is the
physical differences in the way man and woman are made, physical strength.
Women have mental capabilities equal to men, she may have moral qualities in
every way superior to his; but the God of nature has made her with a more
delicate frame.
And as being heirs together of the grace of life; What Peter is saying is that the
husband is to honor his wife because she is a joint-heir with him, of Eternal
Life, the Gift of God.
That
your prayers may not be hindered; Plain
and simple what Peter is telling us is that if we ignore the word of God that
was inspired by the Holy Spirit, our prayers that we pray may fall on deaf ears
of the Lord. Does Jesus hear the prayers of the saved and unsaved? If we are
disobedient and living for the pleasures of the world and self gratification,
are the prayers of the unsaved heard? We know of one instance where Jesus
prayed for the saved and not for those living for worldly things. John 17:9-10 "I pray for them. I
do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are
Yours. 10
And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am
glorified in them. What
a sobering thought to ponder!
8 Finally,
all of you be of one mind,
having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be
courteous;
Finally; Peter is closing his exhortations of
how our relations should be with brothers, sisters, husband, wives, and people in
general.
All
of you be of one mind; If we are Born Again Christians we
should all be of one mind. Why is that, because when a person has a Spiritual
Birth the Holy Spirit takes up residence within the heart of the believer. 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and
that the Spirit of God dwells
in you? A believer
will have the disposition of not arguing over trivial things. They won’t argue
about what the Bible says because they have the truth inside them. They will try
to explain what the Gospel is, but not argue about it. All a person can do is share
the Gospel and then pray that the individual will see the light and come to Jesus
with an open and contrite heart. The old saying is that you can lead a horse to
the water trough, but you can’t make him drink the water.
Compassion for one another; A true believer will have compassion
for another true believer’s welfare because they are brothers and/or sisters in
Christ.
Love as brothers; There love for each other is more than
just a friendship love, it is a type of family love because of being saved. It
is an unconditional love, an understanding of what being saved is all about,
forgiveness, justification, sanctification, and grace. There is a special bond
that is hard to explain when one Born Again Saint meets another, that special bond
is because the Holy Spirit resides in both of them.
Be
tenderhearted; In
other words caring about another believer and their well being.
Be
courteous; Being
friendly and of good cheer, often times soft spoken.
9 not
returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing,
knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
Not returning evil for evil or
reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing; A saved individual will not seek
revenge or wish hardship on a person that wrongs them. They will pray for the
person that causes harm to them. They will ask God to forgive their offenders
because they don’t know what they are doing or have done. They will follow
Jesus example when He was on the Cross and He asked His Father to forgive them
for what they had done.
A
true believer will accept the things of life even if they are innocent of no
wrong doing and not seek revenge, however they will stand up for the truth of
God’s Word. Take Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis for example. She wouldn’t and
won’t issue a marriage license to same sex couples with her name on the
certificate. She spent a weekend in jail because of her belief; she is standing
up for God; she has gone through persecution because of her belief in the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Is she seeking revenge for what has been done to
her, no, she is standing up for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a huge
difference in seeking evil or reviling compared to standing up for Jesus.
Knowing that you were called to this,
that you may inherit a blessing; What
this phrase is saying is that a person that is Born Again will all of a sudden
realize they had been living a life of enmity against God, but when they
answered the call of God and accepted Jesus into their heart, they became fully
aware of the inherited blessing they had just received. Romans 8:7-8 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God,
nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please
God.
10 For "HE WHO WOULD LOVE LIFE AND SEE GOOD
DAYS, LET HIM REFRAIN HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL, AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.
11 LET HIM TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; LET HIM
SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.
Verses
10, 11, and 12 are taken from Psalm 34:12-16. The first part of verse 10, “HE WHO
WOULD LOVE LIFE AND SEE GOOD DAYS”, is telling us that if we walk in God’s
righteousness we will see good days and love life. Verse 10 and 11 also gives
us a recipe for a happy life and blessings from God:
1.
Speak
right – Speak helpful words to other.
2.
Do
right – Do good deeds to others.
3.
Live
right – Live at peace with others.
Doesn’t
this recipe fit in with the second greatest command from Jesus, Love thy
neighbor as thy self? So here again we have the NT reinforcing what is in the
OT and vice versa. Everything in the OT is restated in the NT but with
different words. If a person knows their Bible they will pick up on these links
between the old and new no matter what part of the Bible they are reading. It
is part of studying and seeking the truth of God.
12 FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE ON THE RIGHTEOUS,
AND HIS EARS ARE OPEN TO THEIR PRAYERS; BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST
THOSE WHO DO EVIL."
This
verse also makes a statement that some may find hard to accept, that is, God
hears the cries of His children, but not necessarily of the unsaved. A saved
person is part of God’s family and God will hear the prayers and requests of
His children before that of the unsaved. This also reinforces the last phrase in
verse seven above.
It
is just like a mother or father, they will cater to their children’s needs over
the needs of a child of another family, so it is no different with God taking
care of His children. He watches over those that love Him and have their faith
what Jesus did for them on the altar of the Cross. He is the
Great Shepherd and watches over His sheep for their good to see that their
needs are met. His face is turned against the unrighteous. He harkens to the
cries of the righteous; His ears are open to their cries for help; He gladly hears
their prayers and promptly sends them help.
13 And who is
he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?
Peter
is making a statement here that if you are a follower of Jesus (Born Again), He
will protect you and see you through the trials and tribulations of life here
on earth. It is all about faith in Jesus through knowledge and wisdom of why
Jesus had to die on the Cross, be raised from the dead three days later, and believe
that He now sits at the right hand of God the Father.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All
things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners
Prayer; Pray this, and if you believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John 3:16,17; Romans
3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians
2:8-10; 1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10)
(Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph.
5:3-7)
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