Turn back to 1 Peter chapter
3. Title of the message, The Hidden
Man of the Heart. The Hidden Man of the Heart.
This is the one that's important. This is the one that Peter tells
the wives, take care of this man, this person. That new person,
that new man, that hidden man of the heart. And he's going
to continue the subject of submission. Last week we were in chapter
2 and he spoke of our submission out in the community to the laws
of the land, in the workplace. Our submission to these things
as believers, adorning the gospel by our conduct. That's what he's
talking about. And Peter now is going to touch
the home. He's going to touch the home. A man said to another man one
time, a pastor, said to another pastor, he was telling me this,
if you want a successful ministry, stay out of people's personal
lives. Well, you got to use wisdom. I know that. You better use wisdom. But Peter here touches He touches
the home, the personal life, conduct, out in public and in
the home. And it's so important in the
home because your children, your children watch what's going on
in the home. They watch mom and dad. They
see that. And we can say all we want to say, but it's what
they see as they grow up. That's what has the greatest
effect on them, is that. Likewise, in the same manner
as he spoke of in chapter 2, likewise, you wives, be in subjection
to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, and this
is why he's writing this to the wives here who have unbelieving
husbands, that if any obey not the word, the gospel, They also
may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives.
So in the same manner, you godly wives submit yourselves to your
own husbands. Now I know submission in a man
or a woman is not a natural trait. It's not a natural trait. This
is a work of grace. That's why Peter's writing here
to those wives who believe the gospel. That's who he's writing
to. And he says, you be submissive
to your husbands even though they don't believe the gospel.
It may be that the Lord has saved a wife and he hasn't saved the
husband. And he said, you go ahead and you be submissive to
him as your husband. That's what you do. And listen, and in all things,
do it in all things. Not just some, but all things.
Now, I know that this scripture in our day in this day, is abused
by the self-righteous. They go way overboard with it.
They go way overboard with it. They actually become mean with
it. And it's hated by the women livers. It's hated by them. But those who believe God, those
who believe the gospel, live by the Word of God, don't we?
We live by the Word of God. Not by popular worldly principles,
but we live by the Word of God and we know. We know by the Word
of God and we know by experience that it works. This works. God set this order. Man, Adam
didn't set this order. Adam didn't come up with this.
God set this order. He made Adam and then he made
Eve as a helpmate, as a partner. That's what he did as a companion.
And another thing, this is so important here, is because this
represents Christ and his church. Can you imagine the church universal
or the church local not being in subjection to Christ? Can
you imagine that? Why, no. You know what, that would just
be rebellion, wouldn't it? And that would be evidence that
the Lord's not in this place. We were not in subjection to
Him, submission to Him. God set this order and it is
an order that represents Christ and His church. Now, Peter here
is writing to wives who do not have believing husbands and how
to handle this situation. How to handle it? If any obey
not the word, the gospel, they also may without the word Be
won by the conversation of the wives. Now, let me make something
very clear here. Make something very clear. They
may not obey the word, but they will not be won without the word.
Peter's saying they'll not, he's not saying they will be saved
by your example. God saves no one by an example.
He didn't save us by an example. He saved us by a person. He saved
us by the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how he saved us. And I
can assure you this, when God saves a sinner, he's going to
hear the gospel. He's going to hear the word.
So when he says here, if any obey not the word, they also
may without the word be won by the conversation or the lifestyle
of the wife. In other words, here's what happens. They see the conduct of the wife. And they realize there's something
different. There's really something different about this woman. There's
something different. You see in verse 2, while they
behold, they watch daily. Daily, they behold your chaste
conversation, your chaste life, coupled with fear. As you live
with your husbands, they're going to watch you. As I said, you
know, children watch us in our homes. Well, you have a believing
wife. You have an unbelieving husband.
Peter's saying, He's watching you. He's watching you. And they will see your fear of
God, your conduct under trials, and be compelled to investigate.
I think that's the way to say it. Be compelled to investigate
further what you have. When those trials come and you
handle it, you handle it in a godly manner. You handle it in a manner
that glorifies God. You handle it graciously. And
that husband, you know, after a while he says, I'm going to
go, I got to go hear what she's listening to. I want to hear what made the
difference. And that's what he's saying here. And then Peter gives here in
verse three ways not to try to win him over. Here's ways that
you're not going to win him over. Who's adorning, dressing up,
decorating yourselves? Let it not be that outward adoring
of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting
on of apparel." Now, this verse gets so messed up. It gets so
messed up. I had a good friend in school.
His family went to a church of God of holiness. They wore no
makeup, they wore no earrings, and their dresses were down to
their ankles all the time, and that's the way it was. Well,
I knew the family. You can dress up like that and
still be a rebel. You just do that. That doesn't
change the heart. That has no effect on the heart.
The way I dress, it may say something about me, but it has no effect
on my heart. Who's adorning, let it not be
that outward adorning of the hair. Now he's not, and he's
not condemning, taking care of yourselves. He's not doing that. When the servant, when Abraham
sent his servant to get a wife for Isaac, what'd he take? Bracelets, earrings,
gold treasures. He took linens. Didn't he take
that stuff? What have you taken for her to
put on and to wear? I bet she had it on when she
saw Isaac. I bet she did. He said, don't don't use that,
don't don't do that as a reason to try to win to win them or
to have their attention or to get them to follow you because
they're not going to do it. It's not going to happen. We
ought to try to be attractive to our spouses, but listen, that
outward That apple man is growing old. Then what? Then what? It's going to fade away. Beauty fades fast. I may have told you this one
time. I'm going to tell this on myself. I'm going to tell
this about coffee. He caught me back here one evening
or one day. He said, I have to tell you something.
I thought it was going to be something good. He said, we were going through
some photo albums, and his wife, Rebecca, was looking at him with
him. And she goes, who's that young
man? He goes, that's John Chapman.
She goes, what happened to him? Aging, aging. That's why he said, don't let
it. It's not the outward appearance. It's not the outward. That was
mean, wasn't it? He could have kept that to himself.
But anyway, you get the point. Beauty is fading. This outward
man is dying. He's decaying. He's decaying. However, the hidden man, that
new man, that new person that is created of God in righteousness
and true holiness, let that man be the one he sees. Let that
man be the one who shines in your home. That man is born of
God. That man, that new man that is
the partaker of the divine nature, let him shine forth in the home.
That's what he's saying. Oh, let that be the one. He never
grows old. He never grows old. He's never
ugly. He's never ugly. He never gets
ugly. I've seen men and women who are
very attractive on the outside. Very ugly on the inside. He says in verse 4, you let it
be the hidden man of the heart. That hidden man of the heart,
that new man. And that which is not corruptible, even the
ornament. Here it is. Even the ornament.
Here's your conduct. He's telling his wives how to
conduct themselves before their husbands, their lost husbands
in the home. Even the ornament of a meek and
quiet spirit. which in the sight of God is
of great price. Work on this person. You know,
we spend a lot of time, we do spend a lot of time working on
this outward, because that's what everybody sees. That's what
we see. And that's what we grow up doing. You know, we're taught that growing
up. We spend a lot of time on this outward flesh, this outward
man. The time really that we need
to spend is on that inward man. That inward man. Doing what you're
doing right now. Sitting in on the gospel. Studying the Word
of God. Prayer. Being around people that
promote that new man. That encourages him. Do that. Work on this person. This hidden person. The one who
cannot be seen with the eyes of flesh. Work on this one. the one that is incorruptible
and undefiled, this person. A man or a woman cannot, cannot wear anything more beautiful
than a meek and quiet spirit. Can you wear anything that is
more beautiful than a meek and quiet spirit? To be kind in the face of cruelty,
love in the face of hatred. Wear grace, wear this necklace
of grace around your neck. For this is in the sight of God
of great price. It costs the Son of God, I thought about this
today, it costs the Son of God a great price to give you this. This meek and quiet spirit costs
Him a great price to give it to you. Let that be what you
are adorned with. Let that be what you are known
for in your home, in your community. This hidden man of the heart
is that new man born of God. Therefore, do those things, Peter's
saying, that promotes his growth, and let him be the one that your
lost husband sees, that meek and quiet spirit. And now, this is not something
new that Peter's talking about. It's not something new. The women
of old, he said, were possessed of this hidden hidden man. They
were possessed of this. For after this manner in the
old time, the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves,
decorated themselves. This is how they dressed up.
It's not saying that they didn't wear earrings or anything like
that. But this is how they were adorned. This is how they were recognized.
And God recognized it and wrote it down here. God took note of
it. God took note of the conduct
of these women and wrote it down here. They adorned themselves
being a subjection to their own husbands. Even as Sarah obeyed
Abraham, calling him Lord. Calling him Lord. Whose daughters
you are. As long as you do well, we're
not afraid with any amazement. Not afraid with any amazement.
We have nothing to fear. We have nothing to fear when
we walk according to God's Word, do we? We have nothing to fear. Enoch walked with God. If we
have his favor, If we have his favor, we don't need to stand
in fear or any amazement or anxiety that something's going to happen.
Now, if we walk in his favor. Now, he was talking to the wives
there. He said, wives, be in subjection to your husbands.
Submit to them because this is the order God has set up because
it represents Christ and the church. And it's the right order,
or God wouldn't have set it up. He wouldn't have set it up. Now,
likewise, you husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge,
giving honor unto the wife, honoring her, as unto the weaker vessel, and
as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers
be not hindered. You husbands love your wives
and take care of her, even as Christ took care of the church.
That's the high order, isn't it? That's a high standard. I'll tell you what, Christ set
the high standard for husbands. He gave Himself for His bride. He gave Himself for His wife. He set a high standard. Now,
when our Lord gave Himself for the church, His bride, His wife,
What did he do? He set her free from all commandments,
all rules, and all regulations. And I thought, and this is why
he's saying, if a man who loves God and a wife who loves God,
you don't have to put rules and regulations on her. Turn her
loose. She won't max out the credit
cards. She won't max them out. You cut loose those whose rules
and regulations and commandments, just like our Lord did. When
he died for his church, he took away all those restrictions and
she's allowed to do now what she wants to do. And what does
she want to do? Be right here, worshiping her
husband. Her desire is to her husband. But that's so, that's so. Whom the Son set free, he's free
indeed. free from the ceremonies and
the commandments and all these rules and regulations. If you
have a godly wife, turn her loose. You'll be all right. You just
have to put rules and regulations on rebels. That's right. He says here, you husbands, you
dwell with them according to knowledge, recognizing they are
the weaker vessel. Not weaker in intelligence. Man,
let that be made clear. Vicki was on the honor roll.
She carried the honor roll. I carried the honorary roll.
I never made the honor roll. Never. She was in the Honor Society. Intelligent. Intelligent. And he said, here, you husbands,
you recognize this. Recognize is according to knowledge. You recognize this. But you recognize
also they are the weaker vessels, physically. Now, I don't care. You know, women are liberated
to say what they want, but God made a man, he made Adam, and
he made him physically stronger. And the woman is physically weaker,
as a general rule. I'm not talking about these weightlifting
women on steroids. I'm talking about as a general
rule. That's so. And he says, you husbands,
you recognize this. And listen, in recognizing this,
take care of her, protect her, provide her a safe home, a safe
haven. Be her protector, guardian. And as being heirs together of
the grace of life, going to the same place. Oh, what a blessing
when both love God and are heirs together. Now, I want you to
notice this. Heirs together of the grace of
life. Both receiving the same thing when it's over. The husband
is not going to receive more than the wife. Receiving the
same thing. You're both heirs of the grace
of life. And that, you know, listen, and
that you say here, you wives, you be submissive to your husband,
you husband, you love your wife, you dwell with them according
to knowledge, you honor your wife as a weaker vessel that's
being aired together, that your prayers be not hindered. Can our prayers be hindered?
They sure can. They sure can. Our prayers can
be hindered first. by being at odds with the Word
of God, taking it out of order. Solomon
said this in Ecclesiastes 10.7, he said, I have seen an evil
under the sun. I have seen servants upon horses
and princes walking as servants upon the earth. The order has
been reversed. The princes are supposed to be
one of the horses and the servants are supposed to be the one walking.
But Solomon says, I saw an evil under the sun. I saw it slip. I saw the servants on the horses
and the princes were walking. Authority was laying in the dust. Authority disregarded. That's
why he's saying the order has been reversed. He said it's an
evil. It's an evil. Getting things spiritually out
of order in the home hinders our prayers. They do. They hinder our prayers. Now,
let this attitude that I've given you in the home, that I've given
you out in the workplace, let it flow into everything that
we do and every relationship we have. And he's going to touch
now on the church. You see, we saw last week he
was out in the community. in the workplace, being subject
to the king and to the governors. And then now he touched in the
home, and now he's going to touch here in the church, the body
of Christ. Finally, be you all of one mind, unity. Oh, how pleasant
it is when brethren dwell together in unity of the same mind in
Christ, believe in the same gospel, Desiring to spread the gospel,
everybody, isn't that something? Having compassion one of another,
love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous to one another,
that's what he's saying. Be like your husband which is
in heaven. Last week we saw where he said
over in verse 21 of chapter 2, for even Here, too, were you
called because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example
that you should follow His steps. Be like your husband, which is
in heaven, in the home, in the church. Be of one mind. Be in unity, not rendering evil for evil or
railing for railing, but contrarywise, blessing, That you are there unto called.
Called what? You're called to be a blessing. Called to be a blessing. That
you should inherit a blessing. Evil, now if you've ever seen
this, you'd be the first one. Evil never stops evil. It's like trying to put fire
out by throwing more wood on it. It only fuels it. Dirt does not
wash off dirt. It takes water. It takes a different
element, a totally different element. And grace, the grace
of God is a totally different element than what is produced
by these natures, these old natures we're born with. That's why he says, don't render
evil for evil. Get even. That never stops. You get even now, they get even
back. Then sooner or later down the road they get even. It's
just a get even till you die. It never stops. Railing for railing. We were
called to be a blessing. You're the salt of the earth.
You're the salt of the earth. And if the salt has lost its
savor, its taste, its ability to give flavor, to preserve,
salt is used as a as a preservative. Wherewith shall it be salted?
I don't salt salt. You salt salt? I salt the meat. I salt what I'm going to eat.
I don't salt the salt. If the salt's lost its taste, you throw
it out and you get salt that hasn't lost its taste. Oh, you're
the salt of the earth. Now, if the salt's lost its savor,
it's no good. You throw it away. If grace makes
us know better, If we were naturally, then what good is it? I tell
you what, if it makes us know better, you've never tasted it
yet. You haven't experienced it yet. Now in closing, does anyone want to see good
days? Would you like to see good days? For he that will love life, Living
this life we live now. He that will love life and see
good days. Not in trouble all the time.
Let him refrain his tongue from evil. Start with your tongue. Start with your own tongue. And his lips that they speak
no guile, for out of the heart the mouth speaketh. Let him eschew
evil and do good. Let him seek peace and ensue
it. Here's the recipe. Here's the recipe, if you're
interested, if you're really interested. First, he starts
with the tongue. Refrain your tongue. Most of
our troubles comes from a loose tongue. Most of my troubles at
home, when I got in trouble a lot of times, my dad had a loose
tongue. Dad said, boy, you're a smart
aleck. I don't know how many times he said, you are a smart
aleck. And I was. I'm serious. I was. I had a sharp
tongue. Refrain your tongue. Don't use your tongue to backbite
or slander. Use it to bless. Isn't it amazing
what this little old member can do? It can speak a word in season. Or it can cut and slash and people
can't get over it. Just his tongue. Every war has
been started with a tongue. Every war. And then secondly, run from evil
like you'd run from a plague. Run from every appearance of
evil. Leave it. And then thirdly, seek
peace. Seek. Seek it. Look for it. Go after it. If you're at odds
with anybody, you be the peace seeker. In the home, be the peace
seeker. Oh, seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous always. We
are the pupil of His eye. We're never out of His sight.
And His ears are open unto their prayers. Oh, thou that hearest
prayers, David said. He hears our prayers. He hears
our groanings. He knows our troubles. He hears.
His eyes over us and His ears open to us. What more could you want? But His face, the face of the
Lord is against them that do evil. He hears the prayers of
the righteous who call on Him. But those who do evil, His face
is against them. That's not one person you want
against you. And who is he that will harm you if ye be followers
of that which is good? The laws, the Scripture says,
were not made for the righteous man, but for the lawless. For
the lawless. What real harm? What real harm
can come to you if you're walking with God? What real harm can
come to you? I know we have trials that He
sends. We have heartaches as we go through this life. But who's really going to harm
you? Satan had to go before God and get permission to test Job.
Who's going to harm you? And it turned out to be to Job's
good. Let's take care. Let's take care
of those things that promote the growth of that inward man,
that hidden man of the heart. And as Peter says, let him be
the one shining in the home. Let him be the one that others
see. And do those things that promote
his growth. He's the one that's going to go to heaven. He's right. He's the one that honors the
Lord. Let it be him. Let it be the
hidden man of the heart that that lost husband sees,
those lost children see. Let it be that. And here's the
evidence. Here's the evidence of it. That
meek and quiet spirit. That's the evidence of that new
person.