but the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible [ornament] of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price.
The verse turns from what a wife wears to what God sees. Two questions follow: what is this "hidden man of the heart" (ESV: "hidden person of the heart"), and why does God value a meek and quiet spirit so highly?
The Adorning God Looks At
The contrast is between two audiences. One adorning aims at the eyes of people. The other has God's eye in view.
Her adorning is not to follow the passing fashions of this world. Those fashions only try to make a woman outwardly attractive in the sight of men. They necessarily have nothing to do with moral character, which is of great value in the sight of God. The Christian wife is to think instead of what God sees — "the hidden man of the heart" — and adorn herself with the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. This is the opposite of the vanity and self-assertion of the flesh, which always seeks prominence for self.
Smith adds that a person can act out a meek and quiet manner, "but this is of little value unless it is the outcome of a meek and quiet spirit."
The Hidden Man Of The Heart
The phrase is not a poetic way of saying "personality." It names something God has produced.
HIDDEN MAN — 1 Peter 3:4. What God has worked in us in new birth — a new moral being. We adorn the graces of this hidden man of the heart by obeying the Word of God.
Vine asks what the seed of new birth produces:
1 Peter 3:4 tells us what this seed produces. It is something that in God's sight is of great price: "the incorruptible ornament of a meek and quiet spirit." In contrast to outward adorning, this beautiful and lasting grace is to enrich "the hidden man of the heart."
Incorruptible, Where Everything Else Fades
"Incorruptible" (ESV: "imperishable") stands against fashion, the one thing everyone knows never stays the same.
There is a beautiful allusion to fashion here, because nothing changes so fast as fashion. But the apostle says you are to have an ornament that is always the same. Oh to own that ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price! It does not show in the things the world around notices. Only those who come into contact with the wearer can see and understand it.
What "Quiet" Means
"Quiet" here does not mean never speaking. The Greek word points somewhere else.
hesuchios, 'quiet,' occurs with praus in 1 Peter 3:4, to which the end of 1 Peter 3:6 may refer: it is translated 'peaceable' in 1 Tim. 2:2. From it comes hesuchia, expressing the general idea of 'quietness'. This is what is urged on the woman in 1 Tim. 2:11-12, rather than 'silence' as the older translation puts it. See also 2 Thess. 3:12, where it stands in contrast to meddling in other people's business.
Of Great Price
God puts this price tag on almost nothing else.
God says such a thing of no service that men can render; no labour or toil wins such praise… Here is fragrance that the perfumer's skill cannot produce. Here is an ornament that no jeweller can design. Here is beauty greater than anything art or nature can show. And it lasts, because God will keep for ever what is of great price in His sight. This is within the reach of every Christian woman.
Comfort Where The Marriage Is Hard
This grace also does its work where the marriage itself is hard.
This is completely foreign to human nature, yet it would not be lost even on a hard and demanding husband, Jew or Greek… Whatever the circumstances, such a lowly spirit — seen in all its perfection in Christ — is of great value in the sight of God. Nothing brings more comfort to the one who is tried yet stays faithful.
Not For Women Only
The verse speaks to wives, but this grace is not theirs alone — and it comes from one place.
This ornament of a meek and quiet spirit — this ornament of great price — cannot be bought across the jeweller's counter. It is gained, as Mary found, by sitting at His feet and learning from Him. Such ornaments suit us all.
Summary
- Hidden — the ornament is worn on "the hidden man of the heart," the new moral being God makes in new birth, not on the surface where people look.
- Incorruptible — fashion never stays the same; this adorning never changes and cannot decay.
- Meek and quiet — the word means peaceable — not enforced silence, but the opposite of meddling in other people's business.
- Of great price — God says this of no human work. He values what a believer is above what she does, and He keeps it for ever.
- Within reach — no counter sells it. It is learned at Christ's feet, and it holds a woman steady even under a hard husband.