On Sunday, January 31 
we looked at the topic of ‘Responding to Home Leadership: Women and Wives’ from 1 Peter 3:1-7
. The whole issue of being a Christian woman is complicated; there are so many different opinions, from the feminist view of complete independence from men through to the women’s magazine view of the picture-perfect model. But what does the Bible say?
The word that sums up the role of women and wives in the New Testament is the word ’submit’. It is not a word we like or a word we understand well. 1 Peter 3:1-2 speaks of wives being subject to their husbands. When we look back the chapter before, the same word is used of citizens submitting to their government (1 Pet 2:13) and slaves submitting to their masters (v18). There are many ways we all submit to different authorities God has placed over us. All these things are done following the example of Jesus submitting to his Father. Jesus is not inferior to the Father, He has a different role to play. Submission is not conditional, it is not cultural, is not not about personality. It is recognizing God set men in authority over women; there is difference in role, not a difference in worth or value.
1 Peter 3 also has a lot to say about women responding to God’s headship as well. Women are to show humility, a gentle and quiet spirit. God is interested in inner beauty, not outer beauty. Christian women need to consider whether they work on their character as much as on their outward appearance.
So what does this mean if you are a Christian woman? You need to see that you have a large influence on the men in your life, whether that is your husband, your children or your father or friends. You can make this a really positive influence to help people be more like Jesus, or it can be a negative influence. Your character matters a great deal. A godly Christian woman can influence so many people just by how they treat others and how they see the world. Are you working on the inside as well as the outside?