Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Peter 3:6

"as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose children ye now are, if ye do well, and are not put in fear by any terror." — 1 Peter 3:6 (ASV)

Next Peter turns to the OT in support of his exhortation—first broadly and then from the example of Sarah. The major characterization of these women who were “holy” because they were set apart to God was their hope in God. They trusted the promises of God and longed for the messianic salvation (cf. 1:3, 13, 3:15; Hebrews 11:13). In so doing, they were habitually adorning themselves with an inner beauty.

The great model of womanly submission is Sarah, whose respect and obedience to Abraham extended to her speech—she “called him her master.” Such terminology was not uncommon in the ancient world (cf. Genesis 18:12). Peter does not hesitate to apply Sarah’s example to his readers: “You are her daughters if you do what is right.” The norm for wifely conduct should be submission to God and devotion to the development of Christian character. Moreover, wives are “not [to] give way to fear”; their submissive trust in the living God will keep them from undue apprehension.