GOING DEEPER — 1 PETER 3:7
Husbands: What Does “Giving Honor” Mean?
Peter has just spoken at some length to Christian wives. Now he turns directly to husbands.
“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”
— 1 Peter 3:7, KJV
It is only one verse, but Peter says a great deal in it.
“Likewise, Ye Husbands”
Once again Peter uses the word “likewise.”
That is important.
The husband is not standing outside Peter's teaching about Christian conduct. He too has responsibilities before God.
In the Roman world, a husband normally possessed considerably more social and legal power than his wife. Peter does not tell him to use that position selfishly.
He tells him how to live with his wife as a Christian.
“Dwell With Them According to Knowledge”
A husband is to live with his wife “according to knowledge.”
This is more than simply living under the same roof.
The idea is that he should live with her with understanding. He should know her, consider her needs, and treat her thoughtfully.
Christian leadership in the home is never an excuse for thoughtlessness.
A husband cannot say, “I am the husband, so what I want is all that matters.”
Peter tells him to understand the woman with whom he shares his life.
What Does “The Weaker Vessel” Mean?
This expression has sometimes caused difficulty:
“as unto the weaker vessel.”
Peter does not say that women are spiritually weaker, intellectually inferior, or less valuable to God.
Most naturally, the expression recognizes the woman's generally lesser physical strength and, in Peter's society, her more vulnerable social position.
But notice what Peter does with that difference.
He does not say:
Because you are stronger, dominate her.
He says:
Give her honor.
Strength creates responsibility—not permission to mistreat someone who has less power.
“Giving Honour Unto the Wife”
That word “honour” deserves attention.
A Christian husband is commanded to treat his wife as someone of value.
That affects how he speaks to her, how he treats her privately, how he treats her before others, and how he uses whatever authority or strength he possesses.
A wife is not property.
She is someone the husband himself has been commanded by God to honor.
“Heirs Together of the Grace of Life”
Then Peter gives the theological reason:
“being heirs together of the grace of life.”
Before God, husband and wife stand together as recipients of grace.
The husband does not receive a greater salvation because he is male.
The wife does not receive a lesser inheritance because she is female.
They are heirs together.
Whatever differences Peter recognizes within marriage, they do not create different levels of worth before God.
“That Your Prayers Be Not Hindered”
Peter finishes with a warning that is easy to pass over.
A man's treatment of his wife affects his relationship with God.
Peter does not permit a husband to mistreat his wife all week and then imagine that his religious life is unaffected.
God sees what happens in the home.
The husband who dishonors his wife has a spiritual problem—not merely a marital one.
Put Verses 1–7 Together
It is important not to stop reading at verse 6.
Peter tells wives to live in a way that honors God.
Then he tells husbands to do the same.
The wife is called to respectful conduct.
The husband is called to understanding and honor.
And both stand before God as:
“heirs together of the grace of life.”
That final truth keeps us from turning Peter's teaching into a contest over who is more important.
Marriage between Christians is not about deciding which person has greater value. Both belong to Christ. Both live under His authority. And both will answer to Him for how they treat the other.
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