Know Your Bible
VOL. 5                           April 2, 2006                           NO. 11

 The World's Most Beautiful Woman

    Who is "the most beautiful woman"? Well, she is not a movie star, and she does not live in Hollywood. We read about her in the third chapter of the first epistle of Peter, and she may be living on your street, and a person unnoticed. She is beautiful in the sight of God, who "looketh upon the heart."(I Sam. 16:7)

    The world admires beauty, as never before. Hollywood pays more than ever for beautiful actresses, and the public pays more to see them. But that is outward beauty which they pay so much to see. That is the beauty of which the Lord wrote in Proverbs 31:30: "Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain."

    Probably there never were so many "beauty contests" as now, but we will not find out who is truly "the most beautiful woman in the world" in that way. How, then, may we learn who she is? We can learn by reading the Bible and learning who is the most beautiful in the sight of the Lord. Here I quote I Peter 3:1-6.

"In like manner, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they may without the word be gained by the behavior of their wives; beholding your chaste behavior, coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on apparel; 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. For after this manner aforetime the holy women also, who hoped in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands; as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord; whose children ye now are, if ye do well, and are not put in fear by any terror."

    Reading the above passage, we can learn what are the marks of "the most beautiful woman in the world."

1. She is a CHRISTIAN, for Peter was writing to Christians, and includes her in "ye."

2. She is GODLY, for he speaks of her as like "the holy women."

3. She is "IN SUBJECTION TO HER HUSBAND." She is not a "suffragette." She believes that women get their greatest happiness in submitting entirely to the will of God.

4. She can win her husband to the Lord by her "chaste behavior." No "modern," no worldly woman, will lead her husband to Christ, but an earnest Christian woman often does.

5. Her adornment is not outward, but spiritual. It is not "braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on of apparel."(vs. 3) She does not want carnal attractiveness. She does not want "vain" beauty (Prov. 31:30), but "the beauty of holiness."(Psalm 29:2)

6. But she is beautiful. Her beauty is in "the hidden man of the heart"--her inward beauty--and she has "the incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit."

7. This inward beauty is for the Lord to see, and He tells us that in His sight it is "of great price."(vs. 4)

8. She is "meek"--humble, not "haughty," like the "daughters of Zion" of Isaiah's day, who "walk with wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go."(Isaiah 3:16)

9. She is a woman whose spirit is not only "meek," but "quiet." She is not a "woman preacher."

    What an earnest, spiritual, attractive woman is described here. She is a "King's daughter," "all glorious within."(Psalm 45:13) She is a true wife, and a godly Christian. She has a remarkable, pervading influence for good!

    Women like her are mentioned in the Bible. There is Jochebed, the mother of Moses, in whom maternal love is combined with faith in God. There is Mary, the mother of Jesus, who submitted herself to God's will: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord."(Luke 2:30) There is Phoebe, "our sister, a servant of the church that is a Cenchrea," to whom the apostle bears grateful and loving tribute, "for she herself also hath been a helper of many, and of mine own self."(Romans 16:1,2) There is Priscilla, the wife of Aquila. You never see them mentioned separately in the New Testament. Paul speaks of them as "my fellow-workers, who for my life laid down their own necks, unto whom not only I gave thanks but also all the Gentiles."(Romans 16:3,4) It is no wonder that more than once we read of a church meeting in their house. There is Lois, the grandmother of Timothy, and Eunice his mother, who, before him, had the "unfeigned faith" which he had. (2 Tim. 1:5)

    Yes, there have been many such women, made so by the teachings of Christ. Many of them are living today, and I know a number of such godly women.

---Henry S. Ficklin

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Some That God Labels As "Fools"

    We know that we are forbidden to call others fools: Matthew 5:22 "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." But God, who knows the hearts of men perfectly, can use this label, and has done so in regards to these persons:

Those who say there is no God. Psalms 14:1 "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."

Those who leave God out of their plans. Luke 12:16-21 "And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully . . . And he said . . . Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Those who hear His Word but fail to obey. Matthew 7:26,27 "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

Those who initially obey the truth but then turn away. Galatians 1:6 "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:" 3:1 "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?"

---Greg Gwin

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"Even As You Walk, So Will Walk Your Child"

This is a solemn fact that we must face! We have a far greater influence on our children than we sometimes like to admit.         My children may be influenced to love God and His way in the same way I do. How much is that?

    Will our children pray only as much as we do? If so, will we be able to point to them and say, "My boys and girls believe in prayer for I see them praying much." Will our children love the kingdom and the sacred worship of God almighty even as we do? This being the case, how much will it be? Will they say, "Oh, I don't think I have to worship this evening. There is a good TV program on." Or, "I'm too tired to worship God this Wednesday night."

    Are they walking as you walk? Will your children be known as those who spend much time in personal teaching? Will they live godly lives? Even as you walk...so will walk your child!

---Forrest D. Moyer

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