This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
1 Peter 3:3-4
3 Whose [hos] adorning [kosmos] let it [esto] not [ou] be [esto] that outward [exothen] adorning of plaiting [emploke] the hair [thrix], and [kai] of wearing [perithesis] of gold [chrusion], or [e] of putting on [endusis] of apparel [himation];
4 But [alla] let it be the hidden [kruptos] man [anthropos] of the heart [kardia], in [en] that which is not corruptible [aphthartos], even the ornament of a meek [praus] and [kai] quiet [hesuchios] spirit [pneuma], which [hos] is [esti] in the sight [enopion] of God [theos] of great price [poluteles]. KJV-Interlinear
3 And let not your adornment be merely external — braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. NASB
Adornment or accessorizing oneself in order to become more beautiful or presentable to others, is a natural desire, and rightly so.
God adorned the entire world, with color, with texture, with aroma, with every possible thing one can imagine. Fruits have taste and color. They can certainly nourish without these things. The forest has texture, and variety, and color, and aroma’s galore. The forest can certainly function without these things.
But what would this world be without a waterfall, without a sunset, without the clean smell after an afternoon rain?
And into this world God placed man, who does not look so ravishing, so He added woman, and that is where all the adornment of a relationship begins. People can function in life without all of the beautifying things they use, but then what would life be like if everyone were ugly.
The woman is the object of desire, the treasure worth fighting for. She offers many good things, not the least of which are intimate. And so the woman will accessorize herself, in order to feel good about herself, as well as attractive to others.
Every man will take notice when a well adorned woman walks by, but while the excitement of the outer attraction is strong, the longer term desires of the male prefer a relationship that will last a long time, and not for just a single encounter or weekend.
External things are enticing, but there is a personality behind all the outer wares. And it is that inner personality that one has to ultimately deal with in a relationship. If a woman is beautiful, but has a bad attitude, then she is worthless.
Peter does not condemn adornment and accessorizing oneself, but what he does here is emphasize the inner self over the outer self. This does not mean that you neglect your outer self. Remember that men are external minded creatures, and their eye captures in all the beauty it can.
The mans’ desires lie outside of himself, while the womans’ desires lie within herself. This is why, gentlemen, that opening the door, bringing home flowers, cleaning up the yard, fixing things, saying all the right things, will gain a mountain of response from your wife. Women appreciate the nice things, which reflects on their inner being.
And Peter here emphasizes that the inner self, your soul, needs to be more valued and attended to, as opposed to the outer condition of your life. Look what response can you get from external beauty, but how much more response can you obtain from internal beauty? Doctrine in the soul is your inner adornment. It is your inner source of beauty.
When you are in fellowship, and as you study doctrine, it becomes the building blocks of your souls structure.
As you use doctrine, while living your life while in fellowship, then your function becomes your spiritual production. No matter what you do, while in fellowship, your soul develops production.
The doctrine details in your soul are the foundation and building structure of your inner castle, your inner temple, your inner home. But a home is not a home until you begin to adorn it. You place furniture, and paintings and rugs and shelves and knick-knack’s in your home. Now it takes on a life. It becomes a real home.
Your spiritual production is the adornment of your soul. Also, referred to as the gold, silver, and precious stones you accumulate within the structure of your soul.
The opposite adornment ingredients of the sin nature, or production while out of fellowship, is often referred to as the wood, hay, and stubble adornment, or worthless accessories.
Everyone enjoys the beauty of nature, but the inner beauty of the soul originates from the doctrine that resides within the soul, and overflows to the personality, and far surpasses natures beauty, in that a lasting and meaningful relationship can be constructed based on that inner beauty.
The external beauty of a wife or of nature, cannot be possessed. You can only observe and appreciate it. Anyone can only view and appreciate the outer beauties of the world around us.
But the inner beauty of the soul (whether you are male or female), is something that you can own and possess, and incorporate into your entire being, forever. It is something like when you inhale a pleasant aroma, close your eyes and allow the aroma to absorb inside of you, and you feel that it is becoming a part of you, that is how the woman feels or responds to life, when life is good to her.
This is something that a man can only begin to understand, and really never understand.
But by the same token, when the wife adorns her inner self, and this overflows to her outer self, then the man comes to greatly appreciate her. And the wife, as such, becomes the husbands most valued possession.
God gave us all, many examples of adornment in this world. And these are only external examples of how our inner soul can be, if we advance in our spiritual life. This is what God desires from us, which is doctrine in us.
In life, God is the masculine part of life and we, humanity, are the feminine part of life. Doctrine in our soul becomes the foundation of our inner beauty as well as our inner wealth, and how we conduct ourselves in life, is converted to the adornment within our soul.
Any woman would die for the cover girl figure, and attention of those observing her. But, that attractiveness is only temporary. What we should all want to die for, is the inner beauty of the soul, which far surpasses any exterior beauty you can imagine, and it is permanent and a possession which you will never lose, ever.
And that is what God places high value on – your spiritual maturity, complete with your spiritual production.
