3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. ~ 1 Peter 3:3-6
Today, we return to our study of 1 Peter 3 where the Apostle Peter is addressing wives who had husbands who had yet to receive God’s forgiveness of their sin through the cross of the Lord Jesus. We live in a world which has long rejected the wisdom of God on a given subject, especially the role of a wife in a family. This explains the collapsing of the American way of life as we have known it. In fact, as we look down history this is the pattern throughout the history of mankind. The rejection of God’s truth results in the downfall of civilization.
In v.3 of today’s passage we read, "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes."
In the Roman world of the first century, cosmetics were big. The women dyed their hair all kinds of colors.They waved it and they braided it elaborately. But, attention to one’s outward appearance, as the source of meaning or influence, never leads to wholeness or completeness. It is almost, as if, many are trying to deny the existence of the Fall. However, the Apostle Peter was not arguing that a women should not adorn herself outwardly. He was merely arguing that the Christian wife was to not invest more in the outside at the expense of the inside.
In v.4 of today’s passage we read, "Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight."
It is wise of the wife to invest in her inner beauty that proceeds from her consistent walk with the Lord. Due to the successes of the feminism movement, women today are more enslaved to the opinions of others about their appearance than they were years ago. Today, we see teens starving themselves to get that right look, adult women undergoing painful surgeries to keep that youthful look, and aging in America appears to be considered a disease.
The word translated "gentle" in this verse means meek. The word "quiet" means peaceful, calm, and in control. The word "spirit" means disposition. The most beautiful women are those who have a meek, gentle, peaceful, calm, and quiet disposition. This is the inner virtue that a woman is to pursue and that is what wins the heart of a man. And, notice this is "of great worth in the sight of God."
In v.5-6 of today's passage we read, "5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."
In the book of Genesis, Abraham was called to trust God’s promises on a journey of faith. And, Sarah most often, followed her husband. Sarah's life was shaped by her husband's calling. And, in the end Sarah trusted God to mold Abraham. Women who do this discover that their confidence in God is the antidote to all of their fears. And, the fact is, this is true for us all. As we come to the place that we allow God to define us and direct our ways, life turns out so much better.
The word "lord" is a term of respect. It is also a term that Sarah chose in reference to Abraham. Abraham did not demand that Sarah call him "lord." This word communicates that although they had disagreements, Sarah's disagreement was communicated with respect. Sarah and Abraham's marriage was far from perfect because Abraham was known to make some pretty bad decisions like let's go to Egypt due to the drought or hide your identity from the leader of Egypt. In light of all of this, to her credit, Sarah went along with Abraham's decisions.
A Christian wife who has an unsaved husband might be afraid to totally submit to him for fear of where it might lead her, but God instructs her to be respectful and bend her will to the leading of her husband. This just merely underscores the old saying: "The way you catch him will be the way you keep him." The way in which a woman attracts a man will be the way she keeps his attention. She is not to be frightened because when we have bent our will to the will of God, the blessing of God always follows. This is how a wife wins her unsaved husband without a word and this is how she is guaranteed God's blessing upon her relationship with her husband.
