Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Peter 3:4

"but [let it be] the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible [apparel] of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." — 1 Peter 3:4 (ASV)

The divinely intended manner of life for wives is inward, not outward. Human beings constantly make superficial value judgments (see 1 Samuel 16:7). Many have taken Peter’s words to be an absolute prohibition of any outward adornment. But Peter’s emphasis is not on prohibition but on a proper sense of values.

The “inner self” is the “hidden person of the heart,” or the character of a person. In biblical psychology the “heart” (GK 2840) is the central psychological term and refers to the faculty where a human being relates to God and makes basic decisions (cf. Proverbs 3:5; 4:23; 21:1). The Christian woman is to cultivate an inner disposition (“spirit”; GK 4460) of a “gentle” (lit., meek”; GK 4558; applied to Christ in Mt 11:29) and quiet sort that is imperishable or “unfading.” Today, when the world’s values governed by materialism, self-assertion, and sex obsession are seeping into the church, Peter’s words need to be taken seriously (cf. Isaiah 3:16–24).