Holy Women

Bible Book: 1 Peter 3 : 1-6

Subject: Mother's Day; Family; Women, Holy

Introduction

Dr. Vance Havner (1901-1986) writes, “A good woman is the best thing on the earth. Women were last at the cross and first at the tomb. The church owes a debt to her faithful women which she can never estimate, to say nothing of the debt we owe in our homes to godly wives and mothers.”[1]

1 Peter 3:1-6 reads, “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.”

Allow me to point out three aspects of these holy women.

I. First, note the substance of their belief.

Please note the word “likewise” in 1 Peter 3:1, refers back to 1 Peter 2:13-17, which reads, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” Submit to the ordinances of man and submit to the orders of masters. 1 Peter 2:18-20, which reads, “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.”

We see Jesus Christ submitting to the Father in 1 Peter 2:21-25, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ‘Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth’; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Remember, holy women believe in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave for our justification. This belief is not just a philosophy for them; it is a deep faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. If you try to be holy without the Holy Spirit, you are only kidding yourself. This is an exercise in futility!

II. Second, note the submission of their behavior.

Peter provides two examples of submission in our passage. The first is the example of submission by Messiah the Prince, Jesus (1 Peter 2:21-25), “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ‘Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth’; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” Dr. Stephen F. Olford (1918-2005) comments, “We cannot contemplate the Savior's behavior in suffering and death without being amazed at His submissiveness. This is the example God has set before us in the relationships of government with people, masters with servants, husbands with wives.”[2] Isaiah 53:6-7 reads, “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.”

Why is He silent when word,

Would slay His accusers all?

Why does He meekly bear their taunts,

When angels wait His call?

"He was made sin," my sin He bore

Upon the accursed tree,

And sin hath no defense to make

His silence was for me.[3]

The second is the example of submission by a princess of the multitude, named, Sarah. Genesis 18:9-15 reads, “Then they said to him, ‘Where is Sarah your wife?’ So he said, ‘Here, in the tent.’ And He said, ‘I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.’ (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’ And the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.’ But Sarah denied it, saying, ‘I did not laugh,’ for she was afraid. And He said, ‘No, but you did laugh!’” 1 Peter 3:6 reads, “Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.”

Dr. Harold J. Berry with Back to the Bible, explains, “The word translated ‘subjection’ [or ‘submission’] in 1 Peter 3:1 involves power, authority, control and obedience. The husband ranks over his wife, not because he is superior in intellect or ability, but because God, in His divine order, has placed man in a higher rank of responsibility. This is evident in 1 Corinthians 11:3: ‘But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.’ . . . As one reads the Old Testament accounts about Sarah and Abraham, it is obvious that Abraham required Sarah to do some things that were not especially desirable. But the Scriptures are clear that the one who is responsible before God is the husband. Because Abraham ranked over Sarah in responsibility, God held him responsible for her.”[4]

In the same sense, note the relationship of Adam and Eve. Remember we read in the Bible about the sin of Adam. Romans 5:12-17 reads, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.).” 1 Corinthians 15:22 reads, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” Adam is held responsible as we read in 1 Timothy 2:13-14, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”

Colossians 3:18 reads, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” Ephesians 5:22-28 reads, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

III. Third, note the sublimity of their beauty.

1 Peter 3:2-5a reads, “When they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves.”

The following couplet has been variously expressed and attributed:

Beauty is but skin deep, ugly lies the bone;

Beauty dies and fades away, but ugly holds its own.

Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe writes, “Christian wives with unsaved husbands should seek to win them to the Lord with true spiritual beauty and not with artificial glamour and nagging. External glamour may fade, but a meek and quiet spirit is incorruptible.”[5]

Holy women have an inward beauty “the hidden person of the heart” and an “incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” Proverbs 31:30 reads, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” Allow me to share two examples, one negative and the other positive. 2 Kings 9:30 reads, “Now when Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she put paint on her eyes and adorned her head, and looked through a window.” Jezebel receives a dishonorable mention in Revelation 2:18-23 as she is remembered for her seductive ways. In his famous sermon titled, “Payday Someday,” Dr. R. G. Lee (1886-1978) portrays her in the following way: “I introduce to you Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Tyre (I Kings 16:31). A woman infinitely more daring and reckless than her husband. A devout worshiper of Baal, she hated any and all who spoke against her false and helpless god. She was as blunt in her wickedness and as brazen in her lewdness, doubtless, as Cleopatra, fair sorceress of the Nile. She had something of the subtle and successful scheming of a Lady Macbeth, something of the genius of a Mary Queen of Scots, something of the beauty of a Marie Antoinette. Much of that which is bad in the worst of women found expression through this painted viper of Israel. She had all that fascinating endowment of nature which a good woman ought always to dedicate to the service of her generation. But, alas, she became the evil genius which wrought wreck and blight and death.”[6]

Now to the positive example of a women with physical attractiveness unselfishly seeking the benefit of others. Esther 2:1-18 reads, “After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done, and what had been decreed against her. Then the king’s servants who attended him said: ‘Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king; and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the citadel, into the women’s quarters, under the custody of Hegai the king’s eunuch, custodian of the women. And let beauty preparations be given them. Then let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.’ This thing pleased the king, and he did so. In Shushan the citadel there was a certain Jew whose name was Mordecai the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite. Kish had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been captured with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman was lovely and beautiful. When her father and mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. So it was, when the king’s command and decree were heard, and when many young women were gathered at Shushan the citadel, under the custody of Hegai, that Esther also was taken to the king’s palace, into the care of Hegai the custodian of the women. Now the young woman pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of the women. Esther had not revealed her people or family, for Mordecai had charged her not to reveal it. And every day Mordecai paced in front of the court of the women’s quarters, to learn of Esther’s welfare and what was happening to her. Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after she had completed twelve months’ preparation, according to the regulations for the women, for thus were the days of their preparation apportioned: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women. Thus prepared, each young woman went to the king, and she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the women’s quarters to the king’s palace. In the evening she went, and in the morning she returned to the second house of the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who kept the concubines. She would not go in to the king again unless the king delighted in her and called for her by name. Now when the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his daughter, to go in to the king, she requested nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the custodian of the women, advised. And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her. So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king made a great feast, the Feast of Esther, for all his officials and servants; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces and gave gifts according to the generosity of a king.” Esther could have selfishly enjoyed her new position with the king, but she selflessly risked her life by revealing her national identity to the king to save her people. Esther is known as “The Queen Who Saved Israel.”

A parallel to our passage found in 1 Timothy 2:8-10 reads, “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.” Someone exhorts, “Ladies, I beg you to dress as though Jesus were your escort every day!” Modesty and moderation are marks of a holy woman.

There is nothing wrong with women wearing make-up. Please note the little word translated, “merely” in our text. 1 Peter 3:3-5a reads, “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves.”

Jezebel is an example of sensuality and Esther is an example of spirituality. Someone wisely exhorts, “Develop your inner beauty so that it is more beautiful than your outward beauty.”

Conclusion

Being a holy woman is the greatest love a mother can give. It is only when you are holy that you can exercise your calling as a wife and mother to the greatest benefit of others.

Titus 2:1-5 reads, “But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”

The hope of the home, the church and the nation is holy women.

[1]Warren W. Wiersbe, Chapter-By-Chapter Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc., 1991), 797.

[2]Stephen F. Olford, “The Centrality of the Cross,” Sermon Notes, (1 Peter 2:13-25).

[3]The Bible Vision, ed. S. A. Witmer, Vol. VI, No. 1, October 1941, (Berne, IN: The Fort Wayne Bible Institute, 1941), 17.

[4]Harold J. Berry, “Subjection,” Sermon Notes, (1 Peter 3:1-6).

[5]Warren Wiersbe, With the Word, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991), 831.

[6]R. G. Lee, “Payday Someday,” Sermon Notes, (1 Kings 21:18-19,23, Matthew 10:28).

By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort 30775 Jay Drive Spanish Fort, Alabama 36527

Author of Don’t Miss the Revival! Messages for Revival and Spiritual Awakening from Isaiah and

Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice [Both available on Amazon.com in hardcover, paperback and eBook]