1 peter 3

Read 1 Peter 3 at Bible Gateway.

1 Pet 2:11-3:16 chiastic structure:

1a) 1 Pet 2:11-12, Let your good works speak well of you when they speak against you as evildoers;

central axis) 1 Pet 2:13-3:7, The three submissions;

1) 1 Pet 2:13-17, Citizens, submit yourselves to the governmental authority;

1a) 1 Pet 2:13-14a, Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to king or governers;
1b) 1 Pet 2:14b, Sent by him to punish evildoers + praise those who do good;
central axis) 1 Pet 2:15a, For this is the will of God;
2b) 1 Pet 2:15b-16, By doing good you silence the ignorance of the foolish, as bondservants of God;
2a) 1 Pet 2:17, Honor all people/ Love the brotherhood/ Fear God/ Honor the king;

2) 1 Pet 2:18-25, Servants, be submissive to your masters;

3) 1 Pet 3:1-7, Wives, be submissive to your own husbands;

2a) 1 Pet 3:8-16, Refrain your tongue from evil/ let your good conduct shame those who defame you;

1a) 1 Pet 3:8-9a, Have compassion for one another/ do not return reviling for reviling;
1b) 1 Pet 3:9b, But instead bless, as you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing;
1c) 1 Pet 3:10a, For “He who would love life and see good days;”
central axis) 1 Pet 3:10b-12a, “Let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers;”
2c) 1 Pet 3:12b, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil;”
2b) 1 Pet 3:13-14a, Who will harm you if you do good? But if you should suffer, you are blessed;
2a) 1 Pet 3:14b-16, Let your good conduct shame those who revile + defame you as evildoers.

This structure spoke so powerfully to me today, the day after an election of massive prophetic significance. I woke up to news that organized rioting, funded by foreign interests, had been staged in major cities in the U.S., in order to destabilize our country for foreign political purposes. The central axis of three submissions shows that submission to legitimate delegated authority is the will of God, for He, as the absolute authority, has established the delegated authorities of husband, parent, priest, prophet, judge, and national government. This submission is at the heart, and surrounding it is the admonition to refrain our tongues from evil; when we are reviled, to not return reviling but instead blessing. Why does Peter say that we bless, because we were called to bless? This refers back to the call of Abraham:

Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Gen 12:1-3

We do not revile back or speak evil back, because he who curses Abraham and his seed (us, hello!) is self-inviting a curse on his own head. We do not need to add to it. But we bless others because we can afford to be generous. It is from the good and generous Lord’s hand that we inherit our blessing, after all! We must let our good conduct of lawfulness, not lawlessness, of honor, love, forgiveness, kindness, tenderheartedness, seeking peace, turning from evil, and refraining from reviling speak louder than whatever false evil they are accusing us of.

The lesson of the structure is this: if your heart is settled, and truly in the submissive place God desires, the fruit of your lips of blessing, of refraining from evil speaking, will flow from that settled heart. The tongue which speaks evil is a red flag on top of a heart which still struggles with rebellion, in some way. Help me always recognize the temptation of evil speaking as an attack against your own sovereignty, Father. ♥