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Family Ministry Center │ Sarah Obeyed Abraham

FAMILY DEVOTIONS

Wives

Part Nine

SARAH OBEYED ABRAHAM

Abraham received instructions from God to leave his home in Ur of the Chaldees, and move to the promised land.  As part of the covenant God made with Abraham, the LORD later appeared to Abraham, and Sarah, and told them that they would have a child, even though both of them were advanced in years.  Sarah specifically said: “Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also'” (Genesis 18:12, pages 24-25)?   Sarah called her husband “my lord” (“אדֹנִי“).  This word “lord” is often used of God, a respected man, or as a term of honor.  In the New Testament, Peter then uses Sarah as an example of the respect a Godly woman shows to her husband, even if he is disobedient to the Word of God.

1 Peter 3:5, Page 1896

“For in this way in former times, the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands;”

Adorning The Hidden Person of the Heart. Peter illustrated the the way that wives should submit to their husbands from the life of Abraham, the father of the Jews.  Peter first showed that holy women of old submitted themselves to their own husbands.  Notice that “holy” women of old submitted to their husbands.  Without God’s power, women cannot submit themselves in holiness.  They may be obedient, but they lack the holiness component of this submission.  God also emphasized that the holy women of old used to hope in God.  In contrast to women without God, the holy women founded their hope upon God, and by implication, not their husbands.  While the holy woman may have loved her husband, she hoped in God.   Peter made the point that the holy women of old used to adorn themselves with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit.  The Holy Spirit did not move Peter to command women to treat their husband consistent with contemporary cultural norms at the time of Christ, but rather He commanded them to follow the example of holy women of old.  That timeless quality, and the pattern of spiritual adornment, was just as fitting for Sarah approximately two thousand years before as it was for the women of Peter’s day.  This same timeless quality God has always prized, and continues to support today.  The imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit improved the spiritual appearance of all women, both in the ancient world and today.  Therefore, anyone who argues that this passage does not apply in the world today should consider that Peter wrote about cultures separated by thousands of years, just as we are separated from Peter by two thousand years.  True submission, by holy women, centers upon the outworking of the inner and imperishable quality of the hidden person of the heart, and it is timeless.

1 Peter 3:6, Page 1896

“just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children, if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.”

Sarah Called Abraham Lord.  In our present environment of evil, the world teaches wives to think of herself as the equal to her husband in every respect.  God, however, teaches us how we should live in marriage to please Him.  From the standpoint of salvation, men and women stand equal before God (Galatians 3:28, page 1823).  Even so, God has established an order in creation that permeates the functional aspects of marriage.  We have seen that God commands women to submit to their own husbands, in just the same way that Christ submits to His Father.  Jesus does not become less God by such submission, but rather functions in harmony with God.  We see Jesus submitting His will to the Father so that Jesus says the Father’s words and does the Father’s actions.  Jesus does not speak, but the Father speaks through Jesus (John 12:49, page 1682).  In the same way, the wife submits to the husband.  Peter cited the example of Sarah, the wife of Abraham, as an example of Godly submission.  In Genesis 18:12, pages 24-25, we read about Abraham and Sarah.  You can become the child of Sarah by acting like Sarah.  Jesus used this same line of reasoning with the Jews of His day.  Jesus told them that if the Jews before Him were truly the children of Abraham, they would do the deeds of Abraham (John 8:39-40, page 1672).  Now the Holy Spirit uses Peter to explain how every wife may be a child of Sarah, by being submissive.  He also addresses the concept of fear.

Doing Good without Any Fear.  Every wife should do what is right without any fear.  The text here provides two possible meanings: (1) the woman should fear no intimidation; or (2) the woman should fear no terror.  In both instances, the wife should not live in fear of her husband, or be so terrified of her husband that she cannot imagine submitting to him.  Living in submission means that you live in holiness before God, and take all of your orders from God.  Please recall that God commanded women to live “in fear” in verse 2, as we have discussed previously.  In this case, the wife must not fear (“μὴ φοβούμεναι“) with any terror as she submits to her husband.  Instead, she must focus upon doing what is right, literally “good” (“ἀγαθοποιοῦσαι“).    Please recall that Jesus said only God was good (“ἀγαθὸς“) (Mark 10:18, page 1577).  Therefore, we see that the holy wife should follow the example of Sarah, and have a reverence for God that causes her to use respect and honor her husband.  Must a wife call her husband “lord” today?  We all know if a wife did that in public in America today people would think she was nuts.  But, in her heart, she should always have that same attitude that was in Sarah, calling her husband lord, as a testimony of her faithfulness to God.  The gentle and quiet spirit, an imperishable and timeless quality of holiness, should clothe every Christian wife as she lives daily before God.

So we learn more about spiritual wives today and their role in daily devotions.

       ●  Being a wife in Christ means that you remember the timeless spiritual qualities that God has always promoted in holy wives.

       ●  Being a wife in Christ means that you will be a child of Sarah if you submit yourself to your husband, just as Sarah called her husband Abraham lord, because she submitted herself to the Lord Jesus Christ.

       ●  Being a wife in Christ means that you live “in fear” of your husband, but that “fear” never includes terror or extreme intimidation.  Holy wives will focus upon doing what is right, before God.   

Application for Today

Sometimes modern culture must give way to ancient examples of holiness.  Just as Sarah called her husband “lord,” so also the holy and submissive wife must seek to do good every day towards her husband, by the power of God.    God never seeks for the wife to live in terror, or to suffer extreme intimidation, but rather to concentrate on doing good.  Wives should always being showing every other member of the family, every day, what holiness inside the wife produces through her gentle and quiet spirit and its timeless virtues.  Will you do right today, and live in holiness without fear today?

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Christ Assembly dedicates this website to the Family Ministry Center. Special content on this website focuses upon fathers, mothers, children, families and spiritual life. The family of God relates directly to the kingdom of God. You cannot see the Kingdom of God without being born again. Likewise, you cannot join the family of God without being born again. Many people living in the family of God have severe spiritual challenges in their lives. Adult children who have embraced sin and fallen into a life of sin cause great concern. Spouses who do not believe. All kinds of issues face the family of God. At Christ Assembly, we seek to minister to all families, particularly the family of God. Christ Assembly provides free access to various studies from the Bible, the Word of God.

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Christ Assembly dedicates this website to the Family Ministry Center. Special content on this website focuses upon father, mothers, families and spiritual life. Christ Assembly provides free access to various studies from the Bible, the Word of God. The studies in this website are not inspired, but God produced the Bible, consisting of sixty-nine books (39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament). The Holy Spirit inspired authors to produce original autographs of the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Those original authors wrote over the course of many centuries. They wrote divinely inspired words and every word was divinely inspired. The authors communicated in their own styles, and with their own vocabulary, but God breathed out every word of the final autographs. The words in the Bible really matter, and deserve careful study. 
 
As we study, we seek to love Jesus more because His word has instructed us so that we learn His ways. Eternal life consists in knowing God the Father, and Jesus Christ Whom God sent. As the eternal God of Glory, One with His Father, the Son of God took flesh and dwelt among us. Because of His death, He used His blood to purchase our redemption. He was raised for our justification. We now live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved us and gave Himself for us. By the grace of God, the Holy Spirit abides in every born-again believer and fills us with His presence and blessings. He leads us into all truth. Jesus is the truth, and the way, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Jesus, our Lord. 
 
We look forward to His imminent return to the clouds of earth, to snatch away the believers alive on earth, so that we may be forever with the Lord. When He returns to the clouds, He will bring with Him all those people in Christ who died before His return to the clouds. We encourage one another with the promises of God, Who makes our path grow brighter and brighter, until the full light of day shines forth. We love Jesus and look forward to seeing Him soon. After Jesus removes the believers from the earth, then a terrible period of seven years follows where God brings measured and precise judgments upon the people alive on earth. God cut those days of  Tribulation short, or no flesh would have been saved. Jesus will then return to earth, slay His enemies, and place His feet on the Mount of Olives where He ascended to heaven. He will then reign on earth for a thousand years, and believers will reign with Him. After the Millennial Reign of Christ, all unbelievers will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, and they will suffer according to their deeds done on earth. They will be cast into the Lake of Fire, a place of torment night and day for eternity, because they never received the free gift of salvation while alive on earth. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God. Today we invite you to come and see Jesus, and learn from Him, for He is gentle and humble in heart. Take His yoke upon you, for His burden is easy and His yoke is light. He will give you rest for your soul as you trust Him. We receive salvation only from Jesus, by faith alone in Jesus, Who gives us the free gift of eternal life. 
 
We accept the teaching of the Word of God. As born again believers, baptized by Jesus with the Holy Spirit, the anointing from God teaches us all things. We love to study the Word of God as we abide in Christ Jesus our Lord. God blesses all of us when we read His word, hear His word, and heed His word. We share original studies of the Word of God without cost and we do not receive donations. We support the finances of this ministry through private means, so that we are not a burden to anyone. We oppose charging people to read books, articles, journals or other studies of the Word of God. Such work should be supported by donations, but not in prescribed amounts and not as a requirement to gain access to what God has freely provided. What God has freely given, we should freely share. Just as Paul worked making tents, so we work to support this ministry. 
 

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The author of all original material on this website retains all legal and equitable rights to the properties at issue. The author granted Christ Assembly a limited-use, revocable license to publish material on this website, while reserving all ownership rights to the original author. You may use any original material on this website to the glory of God, but you may not receive anything of value for such use. You may not receive any donations related to any original material on this website. All use of original material on this website is subject to the revocable, limited license above. You must conspicuously indicate on any use of the original material that it originated from ChristAssembly.org.  Any revocation of the license shall be posted on this website and all rights to use material may be revoked without prior notice. By copying and using any original material from this website, you consent to such license. Christ Assembly opposes any payment for access to studies, articles, journals, or other publications of studies concerning the Word of God. As God has freely given, so also the products of His grace should be freely shared. 

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Christ Assembly provides free access to various studies from the Bible, the Word of God. The studies in this website are not inspired, but God produced the Bible, consisting of sixty-nine books (39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament). The Holy Spirit inspired authors to produce original autographs of the Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Those original authors wrote over the course of many centuries. They wrote divinely inspired words and every word was divinely inspired. The authors communicated in their own styles, and with their own vocabulary, but God breathed out every word of the final autographs. The words in the Bible really matter, and deserve careful study. 
 
As we study, we seek to love Jesus more because His word has instructed us so that we learn His ways. Eternal life consists in knowing God the Father, and Jesus Christ Whom God sent. As the eternal God of Glory, One with His Father, the Son of God took flesh and dwelt among us. Because of His death, He used His blood to purchase our redemption. He was raised for our justification. We now live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved us and gave Himself for us. By the grace of God, the Holy Spirit abides in every born-again believer and fills us with His presence and blessings. He leads us into all truth. Jesus is the truth, and the way, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Jesus, our Lord. 
 
We look forward to His imminent return to the clouds of earth, to snatch away the believers alive on earth, so that we may be forever with the Lord. When He returns to the clouds, He will bring with Him all those people in Christ who died before His return to the clouds. We encourage one another with the promises of God, Who makes our path grow brighter and brighter, until the full light of day shines forth. We love Jesus and look forward to seeing Him soon. After Jesus removes the believers from the earth, then a terrible period of seven years follows where God brings measured and precise judgments upon the people alive on earth. God cut those days of  Tribulation short, or no flesh would have been saved. Jesus will then return to earth, slay His enemies, and place His feet on the Mount of Olives where He ascended to heaven. He will then reign on earth for a thousand years, and believers will reign with Him. After the Millennial Reign of Christ, all unbelievers will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, and they will suffer according to their deeds done on earth. They will be cast into the Lake of Fire, a place of torment night and day for eternity, because they never received the free gift of salvation while alive on earth. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God. Today we invite you to come and see Jesus, and learn from Him, for He is gentle and humble in heart. Take His yoke upon you, for His burden is easy and His yoke is light. He will give you rest for your soul as you trust Him. We receive salvation only from Jesus, by faith alone in Jesus, Who gives us the free gift of eternal life. 
 
We accept the teaching of the Word of God. As born again believers, baptized by Jesus with the Holy Spirit, the anointing from God teaches us all things. We love to study the Word of God as we abide in Christ Jesus our Lord. God blesses all of us when we read His word, hear His word, and heed His word. We share original studies of the Word of God without cost and we do not receive donations. We support the finances of this ministry through private means, so that we are not a burden to anyone. We oppose charging people to read books, articles, journals or other studies of the Word of God. Such work should be supported by donations, but not in prescribed amounts and not as a requirement to gain access to what God has freely provided. What God has freely given, we should freely share. Just as Paul worked making tents, so we work to support this ministry. 
 

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The author of all original material on this website retains all legal and equitable rights to the properties at issue. The author granted Christ Assembly a limited-use, revocable license to publish material on this website, while reserving all ownership rights to the original author. You may use any original material on this website to the glory of God, but you may not receive anything of value for such use. You may not receive any donations related to any original material on this website. All use of original material on this website is subject to the revocable, limited license above. You must conspicuously indicate on any use of the original material that it originated from ChristAssembly.org.  Any revocation of the license shall be posted on this website and all rights to use material may be revoked without prior notice. By copying and using any original material from this website, you consent to such license. Christ Assembly opposes any payment for access to studies, articles, journals, or other publications of studies concerning the Word of God. As God has freely given, so also the products of His grace should be freely shared.