Inner and Outward Adorning Part 1

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 1 Peter 3:3,4

Was Peter really saying that it was a sin for a wife or a woman to wear jewelry or cosmetics? Of course not. Instead he was telling them not to invest all their time solely in their faces and their outward appearance.

" Women in the first century, especially upper class Greek and Roman women were obsessed with their outward appearance. They were flamboyant in their hairstyles, spent vast amounts of money on cosmetics, arrayed themselves in luxurious jewelry, and prided themselves on the lavish clothing that they wore. Nothing was wrong with their desire to look nice—except that they were so consumed with adorning their bodies that they forgot to adorn their hearts.

The word “adorning” in 1 Peter 3:3 is the word kosmos, which is used 187 times in the New Testament. The word kosmos carries the idea of something that is ordered , or set in a certain arrangement. The word cosmetics comes from this word. This tells us that when a woman is applying makeup, she is trying to add order to her face.

The King James Version translates it adorning because the application of cosmetics not only beautifies a woman’s appearance, but also gives it a greater sense of order. " (continued)