The Weaker Vessel?

Simon Peter had never heard of “political correctness.” He was a creature of his times as we are of ours and, accordingly, he may have said things that were perfectly understandable and acceptable in his day that modern people find neither understandable nor acceptable.

For example when Peter said that husbands should be “considerate” and “treat their wives with respect” he gave as one of the reasons the fact that a wife is “the weaker partner.” Actually he called her a “weaker vessel” (1 Pet. 3:7).

I remember on one occasion quoting Peter and being besieged by young women who challenged me to run a marathon, lift weights and do various other endeavors! Others reminded me that women outlive men and that if they were allowed to exercise their moral sensitivities we would have less war, more compassion, and the world would be a far better place. Moreover if it weren’t for women, the missionary enterprise would be in danger of grinding to a halt, and many churches around the world would be emptier than they presently are. While I have a definite regard for Peter, I couldn’t argue with the statements these women were making. I tried to assure them that Peter was not making any negative comments about their undeniable abilities.

“Why then did he call us “weaker partners?” they asked.

“Actually he didn’t. He called women ‘weaker vessels’!” I replied foolishly.

“Vessels?!!” they said, unsure whether that meant vessel as in tugboat or water pot but being unimpressed with both.

That led to the necessity for further clarification. So here goes!

By using the word “vessel” to describe a wife, Peter was paying her a compliment. The word skeuos means a possession that is useful, as a pot is useful for carrying water or a sail is useful for providing wind power for a boat. It looks as if Peter is encouraging husbands to look at their wives as some kind of useful possessions! But it’s obvious that the writers of the New Testament had a much higher view of people, including wives, as vessels and used the word in another sense. Paul, for instance, said that someone rightly related to the Lord could become “an instrument (skeuos) for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work” (2 Tim. 2:21). So “the weaker vessel” is potentially the kind of person who is capable of producing all kinds of God-glorifying and people-blessing attitudes and actions. Now that’s the way for a man to think about and talk about his wife!

But what about the “weaker” part? Peter did not say “weak.” He used the comparative word “weaker” implying that the husband is also weak, but in some ways the wife is  weaker. Paul wrote about the immense sense of privilege that was his as he went about his ministry. That in the same way that God, in creation, commanded light to shine out of darkness He had “made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

Then he added, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay.” Guess what! Paul’s “jars of clay” are literally “earthen vessels”! He knew they were weak vessels with all kinds of flaws, but these deficiencies allowed the light within to shine out. It was in his weakness that Christ is strong.

So where does this leave the wife? First of all, she is a vessel and that is an honor. Secondly, she is a weak vessel because that is the only kind there are, but through her weakness the glory of Christ can and should be clearly in evidence and that is her calling. But that still leaves us with the sticky issue of the “weaker vessel.”

Great care should be taken here because women are in no way intellectually, morally, or spiritually weaker than men. In fact, quite often it is the reverse. Peter’s statement suggests the uniqueness of the wife’s physical and sexual makeup. She is a weaker vessel than the “man vessel” because her frame is not built to withstand the stresses that a male physique can handle, and her sexuality is such that she is more vulnerable than the male. She deserves to be treated with courtesy and understanding by her husband because he knows that the woman with whom he shares his life has weak points of which he knows very little.

She is a vessel in which the glorious knowledge of God is clearly apparent and through whose life this radiant knowledge is plain to see. A little consideration and a lot of respect will warm a woman’s heart and enrich a wife’s life. That’s what Peter was talking about.