Глава III

Instructions for wives (7); for husbands (1–6); and to all Christians (8–17). The redemptive sufferings of Christ the Savior and their saving consequences (18–23). 1 Peter 3:1. Likewise, you wives, be submissive to your husbands, so that those of them who do not obey the word may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives. 1 Peter 3:2. when they see your pure, God-fearing life. The Apostle now offers instructions similar in nature to the previous private instructions to slaves (1 Peter 2:18) to Christian women; He advises all of them to submit to their own husbands, with a special purpose, probably emphasizing the concept of submission - wanting to prevent the desire of Christian wives to refuse submission to their husbands - pagans or Jews: examples of such mixed marriages in early Christianity were not uncommon (cf. 1 Cor. 7:12 et seq.). Like the Apostle Paul (1 Cor 7:16), Ap. Peter expects a missionary feat from a Christian wife against a non-Christian husband: the meekness, good behavior, and holiness of a Christian woman could win over an unbelieving husband to Christianity. “The pagans receive a good concept of faith and zeal for it, which also produces our obedience to the authorities, and for our sake they thank Christ, and for Christians there is great praise when for our sake and for the sake of our good behavior the pagans bless the name of God. The words “without a word there will be captivity” mean either that they are acquired without any reasoning or contradiction, or that proof from deeds is stronger than words and artificiality, just as the holy man said: “a deed not accompanied by a word is better than a word not accompanied by deed” (Blessed Theophilus). 1 Peter 3:3. Let your adornment not be the outward braiding of your hair, or gold jewelry, or elegance in clothing, 1 Peter 3:4. but the hidden man of the heart is in the imperishable beauty of a meek and silent spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. More honestly and closely, the Holy Apostle depicts the moral character of a Christian woman, on the one hand, rejecting and condemning the custom and passion of pagan women for luxury in clothing and decoration (v. 3), on the other hand, highlighting and demanding from Christian women the inner, enduring beauty of the spirit, that is, a spiritual mood created and directed by the Spirit of God (cf. 2 Cor 4:16; Eph 3:16). and indicating as the main virtues that adorn the spirit of a Christian woman, meekness (lack of pride, irritation, anger, etc.) and silence, quietness, calmness, equanimity. These properties of the spirit, according to the Apostle, are of great value in the eyes of God. 1 Peter 3:5. Thus, once upon a time, holy women who trusted in God adorned themselves, obeying their husbands. 1 Peter 3:6. So Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him master. You are her children if you do good and are not embarrassed by any fear. To reinforce his exhortation to Christian wives to submit to their husbands, the Apostle points to ancient, Old Testament examples of virtuous wives who were adorned most of all by submission to their husbands. Of the biblical women, the Apostle especially singles out (v. 6) Sarah, the ancestor of the Jews, who testified her marital respect and subordination to her husband Abraham by the very name of him as her master (Hebrew baal, Greek κύριος), Gen. 18:12. The example of Sarah was especially impressive for Jewish Christians, but pagan Christians could also be called daughters of Sarah in spirit, like all Christians. Paul refers to the children of Abraham, the father of those who believe (Rom. 4:16). Such a spiritual relationship between Christian women and Sarah is also suggested by Ap. Peter here, when he conditions this kinship on two circumstances: a) if you do good, and b) you are not embarrassed by any fear: “with the decoration appropriate for Christian women, he convinces them to be merciful, without fear of punishment from their husbands... With such an elevated speech, convincing thrifty and cowardly women to give away household items more generously, the Apostle also keeps their husbands from being strict with them.” 1 Peter 3:7. Likewise, you, husbands, treat your wives prudently, as with the weakest vessel, showing them honor, as joint heirs of the grace of life, so that there is no hindrance in your prayers. The subordination of a wife to her husband in Christianity should not have a slavish character; on the contrary, it should have the character of free moral obedience with a reciprocal kind attitude towards her from her Christian husband. The relationship of Christian husbands to their wives, according to the Apostle, should be distinguished by prudent care in treating them as the weaker party, and, in addition, by special deference, delicacy, and respect. Both features represent a new, purely Christian foundation: women, together and equally with men, are joint heirs of grace-filled life and eternal salvation (cf. Gal 3:28); more specifically, mutual, joint prayer of spouses, at home and in public (cf. 1 Cor 7:5; 1 Tim 2:8-9), requires a reconciled and undisturbed Christian spirit, and this is possible only with the purely moral mutual relations of Christian spouses required by the Apostle. 1 Peter 3:8. Finally, be all of the same mind, compassionate, brotherly, merciful, friendly, humble in wisdom; 1 Peter 3:9. Do not repay evil for evil or insult for insult; on the contrary, bless, knowing that you are called to this in order to inherit the blessing. From private instructions to individuals in individual states, the Apostle again turns to general instructions to all Christians in general, and the essence of these instructions is the commandment about love and its types and manifestations. “Having completed the private instructions concerning husbands and wives, he generalizes the conviction to everyone... I tell everyone in general. For this is the end, everyone has one goal - salvation, everyone has one law - love. From here comes all virtue, humility, compassion, mercy, etc. Of these, “one soul” is a completely indifferent agreement on something. “Compassion” is the same pity for those who suffer as for ourselves. “Brotherly love” - the disposition towards neighbors is the same as should be towards brothers. “Benevolence” is a spiritual desire for homogeneous charity. “Love-wisdom” is meekness and friendliness with everyone, as with acquaintances and friends. “Humility” or “humble wisdom” - enduring blasphemy from another, awareness of one’s sinfulness, enduring accusations, which could be called good-naturedness. “Annoyance” (“swearing”) is a tendency to slander that comes from a bad habit. Adorn yourself with these virtues” (Blessed Theophilus). 1 Peter 3:10. For whoever loves life and wants to see good days, keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech; 1 Peter 3:11. turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and strive for it, 1 Peter 3:12. because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are on their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil (to destroy them from the earth). The Apostle reinforces his previous instructions with a reference to the words of the psalmist, Psalm 33:13-17, as if to say: “whoever loves life, that is, who transforms himself for the true life and wants to show it as desirable (for this is indicated by the expression “wanting to love”, as if to show it desirable for people before the interruption), let him unswervingly adhere to what together with me he also offers a prophetic word” (Blessed Theophilus). 1 Peter 3:13. And who will harm you if you are zealous for good? 1 Peter 3:14. But even if you suffer for the truth, then you are blessed; but do not be afraid of their fear and do not be embarrassed. 1 Peter 3:15. Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; Be always ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and reverence. 1 Peter 3:16. Have a good conscience, so that those for whom you are slandered as evildoers may be put to shame by those who reproach your good life in Christ. 1 Peter 3:17. For, if the will of God pleases, it is better to suffer for good deeds than for evil ones; The Apostle expresses a sublime view of virtue, which has such original dignity that no external evil can cause significant damage to the virtuous (v. 12; cf. Rom. 8:33), on the contrary, he exalts its justifying power (v. 14; Matt. 5:10). At the same time, the Apostle expresses the admonition to Christians not to be afraid of the threats of persecution, as well as the admonition to be zealous for the glorification of the Lord in the souls of believers, in the words of the Old Testament, namely the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 8:12–13). The internal sanctification of God in the hearts of Christians must also be combined with his external confession before people, the readiness of believers to give an account of their hope to everyone who asks. “The Apostle commands a faithful person to always be ready to give an account of faith, so that whenever they ask us about faith, we can always easily answer, and do it with meekness, like everyone else, as if in the presence of God Himself... It should be noted that the actual words of the Apostle do not contradict the saying of the Lord. When the Lord says that when they bring us before the rulers and authorities, we should not worry about what to answer (Luke 21:14), and Peter now commands us to prepare for an answer, then the Lord speaks of testimony, and the Apostle Peter speaks of teaching” (Blessed Theophilus). Hope, according to the Apostle, forms the very essence of true spiritual Christian life, and the response or report of this hope, based on faith, should be “with meekness and reverence,” out of reverent respect for Divine truth and without a shadow of arrogance. Here is a lesson for all times to all confessors, defenders and missionaries of the Christian faith! In Art. 17 repeats and substantiates the idea of ​​verse 14 that it is better to suffer for good deeds than for evil ones (cf. 1 Pet. 2:20). 1 Peter 3:18. because Christ, in order to lead us to God, once suffered for our sins, the righteous for the unjust, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, 1 Peter 3:19. to whom He and the spirits in prison went down and preached, 1 Peter 3:20. once disobedient to God's long-suffering that awaited them, in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved from the water. Substantiating the idea just expressed about the innocent suffering of a Christian (v. 1 Pet. 3:14-17), the Apostle now (v. 18) says that Christ Himself suffered innocently; at the same time, the Apostle, “to show the power of the One who suffered, added: “once” (Blessed Theophilus), and the immeasurably higher, world-historical redemptive significance of the suffering of Christ the Savior, the Apostle showed “the righteous for the unjust”; The goal and salvific consequence of the suffering of Christ is that He, as the True High Priest, led us to God, that is, He opened access to God for sinful humanity, just as the Old Testament priesthood had the duty and power to be a mediator in the reconciliation of a people defiled by sin with God. From the second half of Art. 18 The Apostle expounds the dogmatic Christian teaching about the descent of Christ after death and before the resurrection into hell for preaching to pre-Christian humanity. The state of Christ the Savior after death, indicated by the Apostle by the expression “having been put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit,” is accurately conveyed in the famous Easter church hymn “in the grave carnally, but in hell with the soul like God...” Passive form of the verb Z ωοποιηθεις – proper. “being brought to life” - stands with the Apostle in accordance with his usual usage of words: the saving actions of Jesus Christ in the work of housebuilding Ap. Peter usually represents the actions of God the Father: “God raised Christ” (Acts 2:24, 3:15); “Christ was exalted by the right hand of God” (Acts 2:33). According to Art. 19 Christ in his quickened or quickened spirit - but even before His resurrection from the dead, He descended into the underground prison (φυλαχή), that is, Sheol, or hell (cf. Eph 4:9-10) for the purpose of preaching the Gospel (cf. Mt 4:23) to the spirits who were there. The content of this sermon could only be the gospel of the accomplished redemption and its saving fruits, with calls to all spirits to repentance and faith, Eph 4:6. According to the belief of the Orthodox Church, the sermon of Christ in hell was preceded by the sermon about Him there by the Forerunner and Baptist of Christ (Troparion of the Forerunner). In Art. 20 Of all those to whom Christ preached repentance and salvation in hell, for the sake of example, the wicked contemporaries of Noah are named, who at one time resisted or were disobedient to the long-suffering of God, who awaited their repentance and deliberately called them to him through Noah, through his preaching and by the very act of building the ark (Gen. 6:3 et seq.). If the saving preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ extended to such great sinners, then, without a doubt, His preaching touched all sinners and righteous people (cf. Ps 15:10) who lived before Noah and after Noah, before the coming of Christ. Contemporaries of Noah in v. 20 are named precisely for the sake of example and, probably, in connection with the further course of the Apostle’s speech (v. 20b-21a), where he, in the image of Noah and his family, saved from the flood, shows the salvation of Christians through baptism; Moreover, in general in the New Testament, the times of Noah are repeatedly presented as typical in relation to subsequent Christian times (Matt. 24:37 et seq.; 2 Pet. 2:5, 3:6–7; Heb. 11:7, etc.). 1 Peter 3:21. So now baptism, similar to this image, does not wash away the uncleanness of the flesh, but the promise to God of a good conscience, saves us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 1 Peter 3:22. Who, having ascended into heaven, is at the right hand of God, and to whom the Angels and Authorities and Powers submitted. In the concept of the historical worldwide water flood, the Apostle now takes not the punitive, but the saving side of it, which determines the construction of the speech of 1 Peter 3:20: “were saved from (more precisely from the Greek δια: through) water.” The apostle “imagined that salvation was preached to people from the beginning, but they, due to their inclination towards vanity, neglected it, and while there were countless people, only eight souls obeyed the preaching and were saved in the built ark. Since salvation was in water, he by the way refers this to holy baptism and says that this water pointed to our baptism, for it will destroy rebellious demons and save those who come with faith into the ark, that is, into the church, and just as water washes away uncleanness, so does baptism, only it produces the deposition of impurity that is not carnal, but through an external sign it produces the washing away of filth. soulful. It is, as it were, a pledge and delivery of a good conscience before God” (Blessed Theophilus). Baptism, later transformed (άντίτυπον), the Apostle essentially defines partly negatively, contrasting it with the various Jewish ablutions, which cleansed only bodily, but not spiritual uncleanness, - partly positively as “the promise to God of a good conscience” (συνειδήσεως αγαθής έπερώτημα εις θεόν), by which the Apostle expresses both the grace of forgiveness or cleansing of sins and reconciliation with God, granted at baptism from God, and, on the other hand, the prayer of the baptized person for the preservation of this good conscience for the future. This power of baptism is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His subsequent ascension into heaven, and the heavenly spirits freely submitted to Him, as the God-man (v. 22. Compare Heb. 1:4). You might be interested in: