PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

THE HIDDEN MAN OF THE HEART—A MEEK AND QUIET SPIRIT

In verse 4 Peter goes on to say, "But the hidden man of the heart in the incorruptible adornment of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is costly." The hidden man of the heart is the meek and quiet spirit. Our heart is composed of all the parts of our soul—mind, emotion, and will—and of the main part of our spirit, the conscience (Hebrews 4:12). Among all these, our spirit is the center. Hence, our spirit is the hidden man of the heart. The hidden man is in contrast to the outward plaiting, putting on, and clothing in verse 3; and a meek and quiet spirit, in contrast to hair, gold, and garments. The wives' adornment before God should be their inner being—the hidden man of their heart, which is their spirit, in meekness and quietness. This is the incorruptible adornment in contrast to the corruptible hair, gold, and garments. This spiritual adornment is costly in the sight of God.

In his writings Paul does not use the expression, "the hidden man of the heart." What is this hidden man of the heart? It is a meek and quiet spirit. A spirit that has become meek and quiet is the kind of adornment that should be possessed by all Christian wives.

I believe that Peter wrote this Epistle according to his experiences and also according to his observations. He may have used the words "meek" and "quiet" because he knew that often the spirit of Christian wives is not meek and quiet….

Many times the spirit of a Christian wife is not meek. Sisters, when you exchange words with your husband, do you have a meek and quiet spirit? It is a common, even universal, phenomenon for wives to exchange words with their husbands. For example, a husband may make a proposal regarding a certain matter, but the wife will disagree. The husband may want to go in one direction, but the wife wants to go in the opposite direction. The result of this disagreement is an argument.

As an elderly man with much experience in human life, I can testify that a wife's exchanging words with her husband is a sign of rebellion. Unconsciously and subconsciously, she has deep within her a rebellious spirit. Because she has a spirit of rebellion, she does not want to subject herself to her husband. If a wife were willing to be in subjection to her husband, why would she argue with him? Perhaps she thinks that she has a better knowledge of the situation and is able to foresee problems. Nevertheless, it is still not necessary for her to argue.

One serious lesson for wives to learn is not to argue, not to exchange words, with their husbands. The sisters need to realize that when they exchange words with their husbands, they do not have a meek and quiet spirit. But if as a Christian wife a sister maintains a meek and quiet spirit, she will not lose her temper, and she will not even exchange words with her husband. Knowing the situation of married life from experience and observation, Peter charges the wives to adorn themselves with a meek and quiet spirit.

As we have pointed out, this meek and quiet spirit is the hidden man of the heart. We believers actually have two men. The first is in our soul with our body. This is the outward man. The other is the hidden man in the center of our heart. The fact that the hidden man of the heart is a meek and quiet spirit indicates that our spirit is the kernel of our being, hidden in the midst of our heart, which is composed of the mind, emotion, will, and conscience. Our spirit, therefore, is surrounded by the mind, emotion, and will. If our spirit is meek and quiet, this will influence our mind, emotion, and will. To be sure, if our spirit is meek, our mind, emotion, and will also will be meek. When we are meek, we are quiet. Meekness and quietness of spirit is a beautiful adornment in the sight of God.

What we have in 3:1-6 is not simply a human teaching or reasoning. This is a picture of God's ordination concerning male and female. Not even our experience of regeneration causes God's ordination to change. In today's church life, God still keeps the order He ordained in His creation. (Life-Study of First Peter, Message #22, pp. 197-204; Witness Lee, published by Living Stream Ministry 1984.)

APPLICATION

Peter's words concerning the living and attitude of a Christian wife sound strange to the modern ears. It seems that wives are being relegated to a status of "second class" persons. However, for those who learn to know their human spirit, Peter's words are full of encouragement and revelation. The relationship of the wives with their husbands is the most crucial factor governing the effectiveness of Christian parents.

Suggestions for our consideration:

What is the significance of the apostle's word concerning living together as the heirs of the grace of life?

How can a sister live in such a manner that she will be able to avoid exchanging words with her husband?