Christian Crier
Here are six Bible verses that mention having a quiet spirit.
First Peter 3:4 “But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”
The Apostle Peter in writing to the Christian wife tells her to “be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct” (1st Pet 3:1-2), meaning that a Christian wife’s life can be a powerful witness for faith in Christ and that gentle, quiet spirit is precious to God but it can also possibly win their husband to Christ. God is looking at “hidden person of the heart” which God can see (1st Sam 16:7) and not the outward apparel or appearance.
First Timothy 2:9 “Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire.”
The Apostle Paul is also writing to Christian wives and tells them that it is not the outward appearance that God is interested in but what’s inside and that means they should wear respectable apparel but joined with modesty and self-control. It’s not the “braided hair and gold or pearls of costly desire” that is important because “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised” (Prov 31:30). Women, just like men, should dress respectably because we can make others stumble by what we wear and if their apparel is too revealing, then it’s certainly not respectable.
Titus 3:2 “To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.”
The Corinthians were perhaps the most argumentative, divided, and quarreling church that Paul had to deal with. They argued over gifts of the Spirit and who had the greatest gifts and others over non-essentials like eating food that was formerly offered to idols and so Paul writes “concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up” (1st Cor 8:1) “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Rom 14:19). As for “Those who think they know something” Paul says, “do not yet know as they ought to know” (1st Cor 8:2).
Numbers 12:3 “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth.”
Moses was declared to be the meekest man on the earth; that is among all the people in the world but meekness is not weakness. It is strength under control. The late Andre the Giant was a towering figure of a man with great strength but he was also one of the meekest men while on the sets doing movies. Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth but he did have some anger issues but they were directed at the nation of Israel who time and again grumbled against Moses but it wasn’t really Moses who they were grumbling at; it was God. It’s hard to be meek and humble and grumble at the same time. In the same way, it’s hard to be thankful when you are discontented.
Philippians 2:8 “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
The Book of Philippians is what many call “the joy epistle” because Paul was so full of joy over this church. They were generous in giving and thankful in suffering as Paul admonished them to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Phil 4:4) and to “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil 2:3-4) and to “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5) who, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:6-7).
Colossians 3:12 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.”
Paul writes as if humility is something that you can put on such as clothing and that’s a great way to put it. Consider this; God has chosen the weak of the world (1st Cor 1:27). He didn’t choose anyone based upon worth because their worth is not found in them but it’s found in Christ and so just as Christ humbled Himself at the cross, we should “put on” compassion, “kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,” so “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear” (1st Pet 3:3) but of a quiet, gentle spirit because this is precious to God.
James 4:6 “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
If we have pride, God is opposed to us. The Greek word for opposed means “to range in battle with” or “to be at war with” so God is at war with anyone who is full of themselves. Since we know that “the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar” (Psalm 138:6) so it’s no wonder that “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (1st Pet 5:5).
Conclusion
We have no reason to be proud at all since none of us are good apart from Christ (Rom 3:10-12) and all of us fall infinitely short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23), so Paul writes in the hopes “that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it” (1st Cor 4:6b-7).
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.
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