In the Same Way

If you grew up a Hebrew in New Testament times, most of the people around you were also Hebrew. Yes, your country was occupied by Rome, but you were allowed to live your life according to Torah and follow the customs and culture of your people. As Christianity expanded throughout the Empire, and Gentiles began to follow the Way of Christ, they were faced with a new dilemma: What does it look like to faithfully live as a citizen in the Kingdom of Christ, when everyone around you worships Caesar and his Empire? 

Roman culture was steeped in the philosophy of the ancient Greeks, which taught that to be ethical and virtuous, one must participate in politics. Accordingly, since women could not participate in politics, they were not able to develop these characteristics. In fact, Aristotle thought women were “defective men” and were inferior in every way. Imagine the dignity that Christianity restored to slaves and women in that culture! 

In 1 Peter 2:11-12, Peter told the Church, “Don’t live like the Gentiles.  They may call you evildoers because of it, but as they observe your excellent behavior (in the face of opposition), there’s a chance they will one day glorify God because of the way you lived.” He then sets before them what these good deeds may look like for them as citizens, and for those who are servants. Now, he addresses wives and husbands. 

The text isn’t exhaustive. Peter doesn’t cover every possible scenario a new convert might face. He does give general examples, which follow one after the other. You may seem powerless in the face of Empire, but “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light.” You have been called out of darkness but still live in a world that is dark. Don’t be hasty to change your circumstances. Follow Christ where He has called you. Wives, in the same way that citizens submit to the government and servants submit to their masters, you submit to your husbands and develop your inner person, while trusting the Lord with your husband’s soul. Husbands, in the same way, you submit yourselves to these earthly authorities and live with your wives, not like they are “deformed men”, but as fellow heirs of the Kingdom. 

Today, we don’t live under Caesar’s rule, and in some respects the world is different. Yet, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Empires still oppress, and people are still in bondage. Wives still lean on their words, and husbands on their physical strength. But we don’t belong to the Empire, we belong to the Kingdom of Light. With Christ as our example, may we live like Him, so the whole world will see our good deeds and our love for one another and glorify our Father in heaven. 

His is the Kingdom!

Natalie