Will you please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy 2 as we continue to work our way through Paul's first epistle to Timothy. We'll take up verses 9 and 10 this evening. I do want to read the chapter beginning in verse 1. Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 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. Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Our Father, we thank you for your written word. We thank you that it's given by inspiration of the Spirit. We pray now that that Spirit of truth would guide our thoughts and our minds and our hearts as we see the emphasis on the good warfare by the Apostle in this epistle. We ask that you would forgive us for all of our sins and unrighteousness, help us as individuals, and help us as a church to see the truth as it is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And may we, by grace and by the power of your Holy Spirit, submit to and receive that truth. And may it shape our lives, may it shape our corporate conduct, and may in all things we bring glory and honor to you. And we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as we have seen in several of the sermons in the past, specifically in chapter 1 at verse 18, Paul says, wage the good warfare. We've noted that waging the good warfare simply means to conduct yourself biblically as a church and to have qualified leadership in the context of the church. He exhorts, first of all, according to 2.1, that prayers, supplications, intercessions, and givings of thanks be made for all men. In other words, the church, corporate worship, ought to be a church praying.
And then he gives specific directions on how we engage in corporate worship. For the men specifically relative to prayer, he says in verse 8, I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. And then in verses 9 to 15, he takes up the conduct of women in corporate worship under two specific considerations. In verses 9 and 10, he deals with adornment.
And in verses 11 to 15, he deals with authority. So we're just going to look at adornment tonight. It's a good thing for expository preaching because I doubt any preacher would wake up on a Thursday and say, I want to go lecture the ladies on how they're to prepare themselves for life in God's church. It's tough enough having a wife.
Having a hundred of them or sisters in Christ makes it all the more difficult. But when we come to this particular passage, I think it's obvious. The emphasis relative to the good warfare is that life in Christ's church ought to be about priority. And the priority is Christ.
The priority is the focus upon our Lord Jesus. So anything that would detract from him is thereby condemned. With reference to men, when it comes to prayer, he speaks specifically concerning that. He says they are to lift up holy hands without wrath and doubting or without wrath and disputing, without having problems with their brothers one to another.
In other words, that would detract from the mission, which is to pray to the Lord God Most High, that he would be pleased, according to verse 4, to save all kinds of men and to bring them to the knowledge of the truth. In the same way, women are to conduct themselves in the house of God, yes, because God commands it, but as well so that the focus isn't taken away from Christ and Him crucified and resurrected. In other words, if anything intrudes into the public worship of the living and true God, it is condemned by the apostle. And so as we approach this particular passage, we'll notice that he speaks in terms of principles, which we will see translate into our own present generation, but he speaks not with reference to specifics to the degree that he's measuring hemlines, or he's measuring hair, or he's measuring all those things that oftentimes occupy our attention when it comes to matters concerning modesty with reference to dress.
Four Observations Introduced
So, I want to look at the instruction concerning adornment in verses 9 to 10 under four specific observations. First, the operating assumption. Secondly, the general principles. Thirdly, the particular prohibitions.
And then finally, the positive exhortation.
The Operating Assumption
But with reference to the operating assumptions, notice what he says in verse 9, in like manner also. And I don't think he means in like manner they are to pray corporately because they are called to be in silence in the public meetings of the church. But in like manner, changing direction, my desire for the men is that they pray thus. For women, when it comes to public worship, I want them to dress modestly.
I want them to remember they are in submission to the man. I don't want them to assert authority. I don't want them to teach or exercise authority. So in like manner, I desire the men to pray and I desire the women to adorn.
But notice the assumption by the apostle is that women will adorn. It's kind of the primary argument I want to make at this first part of the message is that adorning in and of itself is not bad. Adorning in and of itself is not bad. Paul does not say, don't adorn yourself prior to coming to church.
Don't adorn yourself prior to going out to dinner. Don't adorn yourself for your husband. Don't adorn yourself for whatever activity it is you're going to engage in. He assumes that women will adorn themselves.
He assumes fundamentally built into nature, not prohibited by God's revealed law, that women will adorn themselves. In fact,
Biblical Theology of Adornment
turn back with me as we do a bit of a biblical theology of adornment to the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 24. Just rapidly looking at a few texts and one that appears to be contrary, but I think does align with all of these positive statements concerning adornment in general. The argument is basic, it is simple. The way that you dress to garden, the way that you dress to go to dinner, the way that you dress at your wedding, it's probably going to be markedly different in each instance.
You don't put on a wedding gown to go to Starbucks. Paul's point is simple. When you come into the house of the living and true God, you do not do things that will take attention from God and direct it specifically to you. In other words, ostentatiousness is primarily what Paul condemns in his list of prohibitions with reference to the hair, with reference to the gold, with reference to the pearls, with reference to the costly dress.
It is drawing attention to oneself and thus taking attention away from the Most High. And the priority of corporate worship in the good warfare is, is that we don't take attention away from the Most High. We give Him glory. We give Him honor.
We provide and try to promote a context wherein gospel preaching can go forward without the attractiveness or the lasciviousness or the lustfulness of certain amongst us, drawing the attention away to themselves. Notice in 24, 53, the servant of Abraham comes to fetch a wife for Isaac. And in verse 53, it says, then the servant brought out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold and clothing, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother.
Psalm 45, please turn quickly with me to see these for yourselves. Psalm 45, nine king's daughters are among your honorable women. At your right hand stands the queen in gold. from Ophir." Again, that's positive. Verses 13 and 14.
The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace. Her clothing is woven with gold. She shall be brought to the king in robes of many colors. The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to you with gladness and rejoicing.
They shall be brought. They shall enter the king's palace. Again, I think it's obvious what a queen wears at a coronation is going to be fundamentally different than what a sister wears in the public worship of God on the Lord's Day. You're not going to be woven with gold.
You're not going to be showy. You're not going to be stylish to the nines. You're rather going to adorn yourself appropriately for the occasion that you are called to. Turn to the Song of Solomon.
The Song of Solomon, which, by the way, is about Christ. and his bride, the church. But Song of Solomon describes the bride and describes the church in these sorts of ways. Song 1, 10, and 11, your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with chains of gold. We will make you ornaments of gold with studs of silver.
Again, these statements don't say, go therefore, ladies, and dress thus. But it just shows that in terms of modesty, it doesn't necessarily mean frumpiness. It doesn't mean ugly. It doesn't mean look as bad as you can possibly look, because that's godly in the sight of the Most High.
Look at the prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah chapter 2. specifically at verse 32. The context is God is upbraiding Judah for their abandoning of the Most High. Sets the stage for chapter three when God says, yet return to me, says the Lord. Return to me, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.
Chapter three in the glorious return to me, says the Lord, is made the more glorious based on chapter two and how far degraded they had become. Wretched, sinful, and vile. But notice in verse 32, can a virgin forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Of course not.
It's the obvious answer. Of course not. Can a virgin forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? No.
It's sort of built in. Women get dressed up when it comes time for the wedding. And nobody balks at that. Nobody has a problem with that, of course.
Modesty should prevail, of course, moderation, all those things still translate into that particular environment. But the concept of of adornment isn't necessarily sinful. It isn't condemned. And this is a parallel statement or a comparison.
Can a virgin forget her ornaments or a brighter attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. And then look at Revelation chapter 21, Revelation chapter 21. specifically at verse two. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Again, a fundamental basic instinct. Brides prepare themselves by way of adornment for their husbands. And then one other passage, I skipped right over it and go back to the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 16.
In case your conscience is not gripped at this point. Notice who does the decking, who does the ornamenting, who does the adorning in Ezekiel 16. Basically, it's a covenantal situation. God comes through the prophet to say to Old Covenant Israel, when I found you, you were in your blood.
When I found you, you were a mess. When I found you, you were a wreck. But I lifted you up, I raised you up, I said, live, live, and I decked thee with all manner of good ornaments, with all manner of good adornment. Notice specifically in Ezekiel 16 at verse nine.
Then I washed you in water. Yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood. And I anointed you with oil. I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin.
I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth.
You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful and succeeded to royalty. Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through my splendor, which I had bestowed on you, says the Lord God.
Adornment Is Not Condemned
So when we get to 1 Timothy chapter 2, it is overly simplistic to say, well, you can't wear gold. You can't wear silver. You can't do your hair. You can't wear a decent dress.
You gotta look as bad and as ugly and as frumpy as you can possibly look, because that's what honors God. I'd argue that Paul would have just as much a complaint with that. If out of 100 women, 99 were dressed accordingly, appropriately, kind of the same, and one was super frumpy amongst them, who would draw the attention? Who would gain the eye?
Who would everybody notice? The idea is not look terrible. The idea is be modest in the public worship of the Most High, lest you provoke other women who perhaps don't have the sort of wealth you have, in terms of covetousness, or lest you provoke men to the sin of lust. In other words, make sure that you're dressing appropriately for the thing that you are engaged in.
And when it comes to corporate worship, dress appropriately. That's what he's saying. One other passage that I mentioned might seem a bit contrary, but I think it aligns with all the rest. Turn to the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 3.
Isaiah 3 basically takes up the question, how does a nation know it's under divine judgment? How does a nation know it's under divine judgment? An appropriate question for a nation like ours, by the way. And when we look at the two answers proffered by the prophet in Isaiah chapter three, I suggest that we are probably a nation under divine justice or judgment.
So how does a nation know it's under divine judgment? First, the wicked quality of its leaders in verses 1 to 15. And then secondly, the trivial preoccupations of its women in chapter 3, verses 16 and following. So notice in 3.16, moreover, the Lord says, because the daughters of Zion are haughty.
That's the problem. They're haughty. They're proud. They're arrogant.
They're wicked. The kings, the elders and princes are addressed in the first part of the chapter. Notice specifically in verses 14 and 15. The Lord will enter into judgment with the elders of his people and his princes.
For you've eaten up the vineyard, the plunder of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor? Says the Lord God of hosts. Authority is not inherently sinful.
Possessing or having authority is not inherently sinful. But these authority figures were sinful, manifested by their pride and arrogance and oppressiveness of others. Adornment is not inherently sinful. Their problem is specified in verse 16, because the daughters of Zion are haughty.
The outward manifestation of that is the multiplying of adornment upon themselves. Again, it's not the adornment, it's the heart problem that lay at the root. So notice then in verse 16, Moreover the Lord says, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with outstretched necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, making a jingling with their feet. Therefore, the Lord will strike with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will uncover their secret parts.
In that day the Lord will take away the finery, the jingling anklets, the scarves and the crescents, the pendants, the bracelets and the veils, the headdresses, the leg ornaments and the headbands, the perfume boxes, the charms and the rings, the nose jewels, the festal apparel and the mantles, the outer garments, the purses and the mirrors, the fine linen, the turbans and the robes. And so it shall be, instead of a sweet smell, there will be a stench, instead of a sash, a rope, instead of well-set hair, baldness, instead of a rich robe, a girding of sackcloth, and branding instead of beauty. Your men shall fall by the sword, and you're mighty in the war. Her gates shall lament and mourn, and she being desolate shall sit on the ground." Again, authority in terms of the elders and the princes is not inherently sinful.
But these particular authorities were sinful. Adornment is not inherently sinful, because we've just seen several passages that suggest otherwise. It's God who adorns, in Ezekiel 16, verses 9-14, I deck thee, I bless thee, I clothe thee, I put these rings in your nose. So the bottom line, with reference to Paul's admonition in 1 Timothy chapter 2, it's not that adornment is necessarily sinful.
In fact, he's positively commanding adornment, just as Peter does in 1 Peter 3. Do not let your adornment be merely outward. In other words, Paul assumes adornment. What Paul wants is adornment appropriate to the occasion of public worship.
We do not want you to detract from the focus being upon Christ to yourself, whether it be your hairstyle, whether it be your gold or pearls, or whether it be your costly clothes. Again, things that in and of themselves might be appropriate at a different environment, or at a different context, or in a different function. If you're a queen and you're being crowned, go ahead and wear those sorts of clothes. But sister, on Sunday, you're not a queen being crowned.
You're a worshiper of the Most High God and you are not to detract attention from the Most High God. You're not supposed to be a distraction relative to the focus on the preaching of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In fact, there's a 13th century Dominican friar that makes this observation with reference to wives toward their husbands. He says, if a married woman adorn herself in order to please her husband, she can do this without sin.
So this idea that you must look terrible, you must look bad, you must look frumpy, and you must look, you know, wretched, that's not what Paul's point is. Paul's point is moderation, modesty, and those sorts of things that are appropriate in the public worship of God. Consider as well circumstances. I mentioned you're not a queen being crowned.
You're not gardening either. You know, dress it up a bit, you know, come in with your ragged old, you know, holy jeans and, you know, just like you finished pulling out turnips from the ground and it's time to go worship God. There's a spot in Genesis, in Genesis 41, specifically relative to Joseph. Joseph is in prison and it says, then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon and he shaved, changed his clothing and came to Pharaoh.
While he's sitting in prison, he didn't need to change his clothes. While he was sitting in prison, he didn't need to shave. While he was sitting in prison, he probably didn't need to file his nails. But when he gets called before Potiphar, yes, he changes his clothes, he shaves, he gets himself clean so he can stand in the presence of the governor of that country, the vice regent of that particular country.
You see, brethren, there's circumstances, there's times, there's places, there's events, there's things, and Paul's whole focus simply is on waging the good warfare in corporate worship. We don't want to do anything that distracts from the glory of Christ. And then the particular direction in this assumption is very clear, verse 9. And like men are also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel.
This pertains to being in accord with accepted standards of propriety, modestly, decorously observing decorum or self-adornment. And Towner makes the observation, as Paul develops this thought, the infinitive to dress refers first to outward physical adornment, verse 9, and then shifts to refer to inward beauty in verse 10. The same trajectory is found in 1 Peter 3. He moves from the external and the outward to what is really important, it's the heart.
It's not your big hairdo, it's the heart. It's not your silver and gold, it's the heart. Not your costly dress, it's your heart. That's Paul's point.
The General Principles
So then notice the general principles. Secondly, he says, in like manner also the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation. Propriety, modesty, discretion, propriety. In other words, control yourselves when it comes to the public worship of God.
It's not a, you know, beauty contest. It's not, you know, look how much money I have contest. It's just worship, and you don't want to detract from Christ, who is the object of that worship. And then moderation.
It's propriety and moderation. BDAG defines it this way. The practice of prudence, good judgment, moderation, self-control, as exercise of care and intelligence appropriate to circumstances. In fact, this word moderation brackets the section dealing with women both in verses 9 and 15.
Kind of the bookends to the section is this emphasis on moderation. In other words, it's not about you, it's about Christ.
The Particular Prohibitions
Now thirdly, he moves to the particular prohibitions, braided hair, golden pearls, and costly clothing.
Braided Hair and Gold and Pearls
When he speaks against braided hair, he's probably not talking about pigtails on a seven-year-old. He's likely not talking about no braiding ever on any female adult's head. Whatever he is talking about is probably something that was designed to be over the top, literally. Just kidding.
You think of those charismatic dudes and their wives and their hair is like, you know, nine feet tall. That's what he doesn't want. an elaborate hairstyle that again is drawn or rather specifically calculated to draw the attention to oneself. So when he says with propriety and moderation, he deals with three concrete expressions of things that were happening in his culture that are just as translatable to things in our culture as well. As I mentioned, it's ostentatious.
The issue is likely that of drawing attention to oneself, one that involved an inordinate amount of time committed to oneself, an effort to draw attention to oneself. That's it. And as I understand it, sisters, and I could be stepping out here in a bad way, but I understand that a lot of you dress more for women than you do for men. Not that you don't dress for men, because that's your husband for sure, but it's not a contest.
The church is not, hey, look at me. This is Paul's point. The good warfare is waged and advanced by biblical churchmanship, by minimizing the distractions on the Lord's day, by taking away anything that would take the focus off the preaching of God's word, appropriate prayers being offered up to God, the singing of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and those things consistent with corporate worship. When he mentions the prohibition against gold or pearls, the two phrases could go together.
Braiding the hair with gold and pearls or the braiding of the hair and then wearing of the gold and pearls. My beloved had to take off her pearl necklace this morning because she knew that I was preaching on this tonight and didn't want everybody to go, well, Mrs. Butler is violating the very thing her husband's preaching. Again, it's a gaudiness.
It's an attempt to draw attention. It is to signify wealth. It is to signify an inordinateness. Again, a string of pearls, earrings, nose rings, the various things that God decks Israel with, they're not inherently sinful.
They're not bad and evil. They're not condemned and wicked. It's the attitude of the heart. If you're here to gain the eye of men, you're here to gain the eye of a sister, you're here to gain attention for yourself with your gold, your pearls, or your hairstyle, that's what Paul is condemning.
The wearing of jewelry is not condemned in the Bible. We have seen that. Corporate worship, however, is not the time or the place to display that stuff inordinately. as an item of adornment, fine, great. And if it's consistent with the mean, with the norm, then fine, or great.
But Paul doesn't want you to take attention to yourself.
Prohibition Against Costly Clothing
And then the prohibition against costly clothing. Now, when Paul mentions this, I don't think he means it's a little pricey. You know, ladies, don't be the judges. Well, you know, I saw that dress at winners, and it was outside of my budget for public worship.
I don't know how you could afford it. Don't do that. This is something we certainly don't need more of, is Pharisaism. When he says costly clothing, again, he's not, you know, you didn't go to, you know, Uncle Wiener's bargain bin to fetch out the gunny sack for, you know, church.
No, he's talking about extravagant. The language is used in Mark's gospel in chapter 14, verses three to five. There's an extravagance. That woman pours out upon the Lord Jesus, which is perfectly appropriate because the Lord Jesus is worthy of extravagance. 1 Peter 3.4, the hidden beauty of the heart, which is very precious, very costly in the sight of God.
He's not saying you always have to find the deal when it comes to church dresses. He is saying, however, don't be extravagant. Again, it is time, it is effort, it is money, and it's ultimately ostentatiousness that draws attention to oneself. Remember the Proverbs 31 woman?
She makes tapestry for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. See, not a blanket condemnation in Scripture against fine linen and purple. It's not a blanket condemnation that all clothing is bad, all ornamentation is bad, all adornment is bad.
You know, brethren, that's the easy way through biblical ethics. Just condemn everything and just everybody be miserable. But when you actually listen to what the Apostle Paul is saying and see what he's speaking to, he wants the church of God to focus upon the God of the church. He wants us to be Christ-focused and Christ-centered.
So ostentatiousness, time, expense, effort, for what? What's the reason? Well, I'm not a woman. And I don't want to insult women, but could it be there's a desire for persons to look at you?
I could be, you know, that's wrong. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. You can throw tomatoes at me or whatever. But the point of the apostle is simple.
Public worship ain't about you. It's just not. I know we all like to make it about us. It's about what I get.
It's about how I feel. It's about my, you know, needs being met. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's about God. the glory of the Father, through the mediation of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
That's what public worship is about. It's about the elements involved in worship, the preaching of the Word, the reading of the Word, the singing of the Word, the seeing of the Word, and baptism, and the Lord's Supper. It's all about God, brethren, and that's what Paul is saying here when it comes to corporate worship in the priority of the good warfare. I want the church to be a place where the gospel message doesn't get lost in a beauty contest with ladies that have inordinate hairstyles that are lavished in gold and silver and that are wearing clothes that cost so much money.
Again, he's not saying, therefore, never wear that stuff. It might be appropriate at your husband's business dinner to wear something nice. It might be appropriate at your husband's dinner party to not be in a gunny sack. Do you see there's circumstances, there's times, there are specific stations, there's things that we engage in.
This is built in. I would suggest this is sort of founded on natural law. We dress differently when we're at work than when we're at church, for the most part, and when we're, you know, gardening, or when we're at wherever.
Principles Over Specifics
Knight says it is the excess and sensuality that the items connote that Paul forbids. Not braids, gold, pearls, or even costly garments in and of themselves. This is borne out by the fact that the Christian community of the New Testament is quite willing to use these terms with positive connotations. Gold, pearls, bride adorned.
Gill makes this observation. I think this is very perceptive by this dear brother. He says, there is no religion or irreligion in dress, provided pride and luxury are guarded against and modesty and moderation preserved. We make it very difficult when some of these old brothers in one line get at it perfectly.
Listen to that. There is no religion or irreligion in dress, provided pride and luxury are guarded against and modesty and moderation preserved. Again, I would argue that there's no religion or irreligion in frumpy dress either. It's not like because you dress like that doesn't mean you're more godly.
I mean, brethren, if dressing a particular way was all that was involved in godliness, I'd be the godliest guy you knew. Just tell me what to wear. It's just not that easy. So you know this extraordinary attempt to destroy oneself by the very worst of clothing and somehow prize themselves that this is godliness?
That's not scriptural and that's not religion or irreligion. And then Gil says, however justifiable such a dress may be at other seasons, the apostle judged it very improper at the time of public prayer, or at the time of public worship, seeing it might swell the heart of the wearer with pride, so as to forget herself and the business she was come about, and draw the eyes of others upon her, and so cause a general inattention. It's that which intrudes into the corporate worship of God a distraction, something that takes our minds away from the living and true God. Now brethren, that happens all the time.
I mean, any one of us, when it comes to public worship, constantly have the battle of keeping our minds and hearts focused. It's tough, isn't it? We don't need further distractions and further exacerbations of that by Sister So-and-so with the big hair and with all the gold and the silver and with all the costly dress. It's already a chore to keep our mind focused for the hour and a half that we're here, let alone when Sister So-and-so comes in and walks down the aisle looking like she's in a fashion show.
That is the spirit in which the apostle is addressing this. Gil also wisely makes the comment that clothing is suitable to a person's age or station. A person's age or station. Station, again, if you're the queen, you're going to wear a crown.
If you're not a queen, you're not going to wear a crown. It's just that simple. Your husband is successful and you're going out to a business dinner, you're probably going to wear a nice dress. That's station.
Age, I mean, that's, you know, I think pretty self-evident as well. The poor women in the congregation should not be provoked to covetousness, the men in the congregation should not be provoked to lust, and the particular things that were practiced in that culture may not be the practice of our culture. It might not be the big hair, it might not be the silver and the gold, and it might not be the costly dress, but the underlying principles are there. this attention to oneself, this grabbing the eye of men or women to direct it to ourselves. Those are the undergirding principles that the apostle is here to condemn.
The Positive Exhortation
And then the positive exhortation ends the section specifically in verse 10, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works. The rightness of this emphasis. It is improper for a woman who professes godliness to dress in such a way as to draw attention to herself and away from God in public worship, right? It's a pretty simple principle.
If I profess faith in Christ, I profess a form of godliness, I don't want to come to church and take attention of myself. I don't want to come to church and detract attention away from our blessed Savior. No, those women professing godliness want to direct all attention to the glory of God Most High. and the adorning of good works. Put on those things which commend the gospel and the public worship of God, instead of putting on those things which seek attention for yourself." Look at what he says in verse 10, "...but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works."
Good Works as True Adornment
Proverbs 31, 30. Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." 1 Peter 3, you could turn there, we're just about done. 1 Peter 3, similar emphasis by the Apostle Peter as the Apostle Paul. Verse one, 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.
Merely is a good supplied word there, because if it's not merely, do not let your adornment be outward. Does he want naked? No, no, no, no, he doesn't want naked, merely outward. Again, you're going to adorn, you're going to wear clothes.
Don't let it be merely outward. What's more important than merely outward? It's the inward heart. Do not let your adornment be merely outward.
Arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on, notice again, fine apparel. Fine is a good supplied word there. Putting on apparel. Of course they should put on apparel, but the idea is 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. So I think when we compare passages, we see with reference to the apostle, not only a principle concerning public worship, but something that even transcends public worship in the arena of the home, as Peter speaks of it. In other words, wearing the proper clothes does not ensure the proper attitude.
We kind of got to get both right. Both? It's not an either or. Well, I wear the right clothes, but I'm terrible to my husband and I'm terrible in the life of the church.
No, that's not it. Well, then I'll wear the worst of clothes, but I'll have a godly job. No, no, no, no. You got to find the balance.
You got to find the medium there. It's the external, regulated not by your desires, your wants, or your felt need to be seen, but that which is appropriate in the house of the living God, and that with a good heart, professing godliness, and thus engaged in good works. Mount says, therefore, here Paul is not requesting the total absence of external beauty, but a priority placed on the internal.
Application
So in conclusion, ladies, I say these things. I am probably wrong on some things. It's hard to get at specifically what was going on in the context or in the culture, rather, in Ephesus. But I think the principles are sound.
Don't dress to draw attention inordinately to yourself. Again, you can do that by dressing completely down as well. Find the medium, find the norm, find the average, and thrive where you're planted in that regard. I would suggest as well, the focus of the Christian woman is dress modestly in public worship, the necessity to conduct oneself with modesty and self-control in demeanor, the internal that goes along with the external, And as well, the necessity to engage in good works.
Gill makes this observation. Good works are like good clothes, to which the apostle alludes. They don't make persons men and women, but they adorn them as such. So good works, they don't make men and women Christians or believers, but they adorn them as such.
They are ornaments to their persons and to their profession and to the gospel they profess. I think that's very good, very pastoral, very rich, and very warm, and I think very helpful. And remember, all of this is calculated so that the glory of God's redemptive plan can be played out in time and history. Why these rules?
Why these emphases? Why these specific rules and directions from the apostle? It's so that church life is conducted the way that God has ordained, in a way that's decent and in a way that's orderly, so that when people come in, they're not distracted from the truth of the gospel. God desires the salvation of all kinds of men and anything that gets in the way of that is to be removed.
It is to be remedied. It is to be fixed. It is to be rectified such that there aren't distractions and that the gospel can go forth and that God in Christ can reconcile the world to himself. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for Your grace and Your mercy and Your lovingkindness. We just pray that You would help us to have ears to hear and hearts to receive these things, and we ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.