1 Peter 3:5
For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
After this manner the holy women of old showed their trust in God by adorning themselves in willing subjection to their own husbands. Their true adornment was inward and imperishable, the hidden life of the heart in a meek and quiet spirit that is of great worth in the sight of God, rather than outward display through elaborate hairstyles and costly jewelry and fine clothes worn for show. Sarah is given as the pattern in obeying Abraham and honoring him as head, and her daughters are those who continue to do right without fearful alarm lest they seem inferior to others in appearance. The same teaching calls women to modesty and godly, chaste conduct instead of copying worldly fashions and immodest dress, rejecting costly apparel and showy ornament for plain and simple dress shaped by obedience to God. It reaches into home life with greatest consequence, calling husband and wife to order their lives economically to do the Father's will rather than seek the world's standard, and calling husbands to dwell with their wives with understanding and honor as fellow heirs of life so that their prayers are not hindered.
True Adornment Through Trust
After this manner in the old time the holy women trusted in God, and their adorning was to be in subjection to their own husbands. Those of earlier times who trusted in God adorned themselves in a way marked by modesty and submission to their own husbands rather than by outward display, teaching God's people to value inner character and conduct that distinguish them from worldly fashions.
Their adornment was inward and lasting, the hidden person of the heart with a meek and quiet spirit that is precious and of great price in the sight of God and does not perish. It was not outward display through braided or plaited hair and wearing of gold and putting on of clothing and apparel for show and influence to gain display. The inward is not corruptible while the outward is corruptible and perishes, so true adornment is inner lasting character rather than reliance on outward adornment and imitation of worldly fashions.
Sarah obeying Abraham and addressing him as lord and calling him lord is the pattern for this subjection. Her daughters are Christian women as long as they continue to do well and are not afraid with any amazement and are not frightened with any alarm. That fearlessness means not fearing lest in appearance they shall not be counted superior to other people.
Sarah stands as a worthy example because she reverenced her husband. Her rights as wife and mother were not to be shared with another, and she was not reproved for requiring her rival Hagar to be sent away. Her union with Hagar had arisen from distrust of divine power and of God's power.
Modest Dress and Homes
The holy women of old trusted in God, and their adornment was inward — a meek and quiet spirit and willing subjection to their own husbands — rather than outward display. That example calls women to modesty and godliness and to chaste conduct joined with reverence in daily life, instead of imitating worldly fashions and immodest dress. Godly adornment therefore rejects costly clothing and ornaments, showy dress, and useless trimmings, choosing plain and simple dress, since pleasing God comes through a spirit shaped by obedience to Him. Dress must strictly accord with holy faith and represent the truth, putting precept into dress and inward adornment into character. Pride and selfish indulgence and selfish expenditure must be avoided, along with changing worldly fashions, with modest apparel of good durable material and modest colors, made plainly without adornment. Color and material and style are to be adapted to age and to the truth professed, severely plain yet tidy and tasteful, so as to make a proper impression on believers and unbelievers and help others reach a proper standard.
Parents must guard their children as a sacred charge, so that their ears do not hear vain talk treating outward adorning — plaiting the hair and wearing gold and putting on apparel — as more important than inward grace, the hidden person of the heart in a meek and quiet spirit precious in God's sight. Mothers must stop vain conversation about hats and dress and what to wear to look nice, and change it into profitable and precious words. The pattern held before them is Sarah obeying Abraham and calling him lord, whose daughters are those who do well and are not afraid. The verse concerns home life and is of greatest consequence, requiring husband and wife to bring themselves into line and learn to live and work economically. Their ambition is not to meet the world's standard or seek its applause, but to do the heavenly Father's will and be a blessing to others, with a higher and holier experience. Husbands are likewise to dwell with wives with understanding, honoring the wife as the weaker vessel and as joint heirs of the grace of life, so that prayers are not hindered.
The verse gives a message of great importance to ministers and ministers' wives. Dangers to gospel ministers often come through unsanctified and unconverted wives. Every minister is therefore to labor for the conversion of an unsanctified companion, since unless the convicting and converting power of the gospel searches the hearts of ministers and their families, an irreligious element will remain in their homes.