Spiritually Extravagant - 1 Peter 3:1-6 Series

1 Peter 3:1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, 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 make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. 7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Introduction

With capability comes responsibility. If God created you with the capability to do something, that means He is holding you responsible not to squander that capability, but to use it for good purposes that glorify Him and benefit His people. And that includes the capability to become more beautiful. We are studying verse-by-verse through the book of 1 Peter, and last week we began chapter three where Peter teaches women how to become more beautiful. He gives three beauty tips for women – three ways a woman can develop the kind of beauty that is capable of winning a man’s heart, not to her, but to God. When a husband is disobedient to God’s Word, this kind of beauty can win him over to repentance.

The Source of Beauty: The Heart

And the first thing we found was that the source of this beauty is not anything you do to your body.

3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and clothes.

Fixing up the way you look on the outside will help attract him to you, but not to God. It is fine to use hairstyles and makeup and clothes and jewelry to enhance your beauty, but those things must not be the source of your beauty. The source must be on the inside.

4 Instead, it [the source of your beauty] should be that of your inner self

Literally, the hidden man of the heart. When your beauty comes from the outside, first of all it only attracts men to you and not to God, and secondly, it does not last long.

Unfading

It fades. We make all our frantic efforts to hold off the aging process with anti-wrinkle creams and surgeries and everything else, but age catches up to all of us eventually. If you are attractive according to this world’s standards you will not be that way very long. So if that is all there is to your beauty, then when it fades you are left with nothing but ugliness.

Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting

Beauty that comes from the outside is fleeting, but if the source of your beauty is internal, then your beauty and attractiveness can persist beyond the time when the external fades. Look at verse 4.

4 [your adornment] 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.

This kind of beauty does not fade – it grows. Women with this kind of beauty keep getting more and more attractive. They do not get depressed about aging, because the aging process in the kingdom of God is a beautifying process.

Beauty Tip #1 – Submission

OK, so how does a woman get this kind of internal, unfading, soul-winning beauty? Peter gives us three ingredients — three beauty tips that will make any woman beautiful. The first one we looked at last week: respectful submission. And we discovered some very interesting things in this passage about wifely submission. Peter knocks down some very common misconceptions.

What Submission is Not

Not blind agreement

It is remarkable that Peter talks about submission in a context where the wife is a Christian and the husband is not. In that culture, the wife was expected to follow whatever religion the husband followed, and if she did not, it was a huge embarrassment to the husband. And yet Peter not only does not tell her to follow his religion; he tells her to win the husband over to her religion! So obviously biblical submission does not mean mindlessly agreeing with your husband on everything. This is a case where the wife disagrees with her husband on the most important, most fundamental issue there is. He rejects the gospel and she believes it with all her heart. It is impossible to have a bigger disagreement than that. So clearly submitting does not mean agreeing with him on everything.