Sunday, September 21st, 2025
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
Prayer
O Father of all goodness, fountain of all life, pour forth now Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, fill us up again with love for heaven and heavenly things, that we may attain to that vision of You in the age to come, through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Introduction
Do you know what a beautiful soul looks like? Do you know what spiritual beauty is, and how to acquire it?
3The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
Outline
Here Paul sets down four areas where the older women are to be exemplary in their conduct. And we should notice that all four areas fall under the special domain of the virtue we call temperance/modesty. This also happens to be the virtue most closely connected to making things beautiful.
#1 – In behavior as becometh holiness (ἐν καταστήματι ἱεροπρεπεῖς, in habitu sancto)
Some translations have reverent in behavior, or as wearing holy garments, and the idea is that a godly woman is to conduct herself like a priestess serving in the temple of God. Whatever work a woman does at any age, when done for the glory of God, is holy work.As Paul says in 1 Timothy 4:5, it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.So young ladies (especially those at CKA), when you put on your school uniform and study to honor God (not merely to impress your peers, or to make your parents and teachers happy), that is clothing that has been sanctified to the Lord, when you are wearing it to honor Christ.Likewise you mothers who are in the trenches, wearing the overalls, the messy apron, the dirty jeans and shirts stained with the children’s snot and vomit, when you work in your household as unto the Lord, you are wearing the pure garments of a priest.Remember the Proverbs 31 woman. It says, sheworks diligently with her hands, and her clothing is fine linen and purple (Prov 31:22). What does the fine linen signify but purity of heart. And what is the purple but the royal splendor of a princess who has God as her King.Under the old covenant, God specified the exact fabric, colors, gemstones, and clothing that a priest must wear when doing his priestly duties. And under the new covenant, where all of us have been made kings and priests unto God by faith, what are we commanded to wear?Romans 13:14 says, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.Ephesians 4:24 says, put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.It says in Revelation 19:8 of the bride of Christ, And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.These are the garments that God wants holy women wear: Good works, holy works, purity and reverence.When that is the inner disposition of the heart, a woman will then adorn herself outwardly as becometh holiness. Or as Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:10, wearing that which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.And so Paul assigns to the older women in the church this important duty of being good examples in behavior and dress.It is not easy to dress both modestly and tastefully in our perverted age. Just look at what our culture promotes in its magazines, movies, and TV shows. Look at what is sold online and in the clothing stores. And so we need to have grace for one another as we figure this out, and this is where mothers and grandmothers should be models to the next generation: teach your girls what reverence for God looks like inside and out.Modesty is the governing principle, and then you need wisdom to apply that principle to your wardrobe.Whatever the garment, Christian women should wear that which honors Christ. The external appearance should be a reflection of a quiet and gentle spirit. Are you pursuing this?This brings us to our second exhortation which is that…#2 – Not false accusers (μὴ διαβόλους)
Older women must not be false accusers. In Greek this word is διάβολος, a person who slanders or condemns others. And it is this same word that becomes the very name for the devil in the New Testament. Paul is saying to the elder women in the church, “Don’t be devils!” And he would not have said this unless it was a unique temptation for older women to imitate the devil in his slander.What does the devil do? He loves to find faults. He loves to exaggerate other people’s sins (while minimizing his own), and then he weaponizes and publicizes the sins of others (whether real or made up) to stir up strife between the brethren. Many churches have been divided and burned down by such devilish women. Women who are judgmental, envious, and lie. If these women did not exist, Paul would not have told them. “Don’t be this way.”It says in Proverbs 26:20-22, Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, So is a contentious person to kindle strife. The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body.It is a vice of our nation to love gossip, to assassinate people’s character in public and online forums, and we have built entire industries around this sin: we call it “the news,” we call it “Facebook,” we call it “political activism.” And what is this but a forum for breaking the 9th commandment? Thou shalt not bear false witness.Jesus says of such talebearers and liars in John 8:44, You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.So a godly woman must shun in herself evil thoughts about others. A holy woman must become deaf to evil reports, and she should be quick to shut down gossip when she hears it.It says in Proverbs 11:13, A talebearer revealeth secrets: But he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.Likewise, it says of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31:26, She openeth her mouth with wisdom; And in her tongue is the law of kindness.The tongue is a fire that is hard to tame, but by the power of Christ, our tongue can be sanctified to burn for God. This is what the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost signifies, that instead of using our tongues to circulate evil, we now use them to circulate good news.We want people to say of us what is said in Acts 2:11, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.Is that what people say of you? That praise and thanksgiving and wisdom are upon your lips? That does not happen be entertaining evil thoughts.It says in Proverbs 10:19, In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.And in Proverbs 14:1 it says,The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her own hands.So to the women of the church God asks: Are you building up your house or tearing it down? Are you submissive to your husband, reverent in your speech, or are you nagging him and the children like a dripping faucet?God warns in Proverbs 15:25, The Lord will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow.So where there is modesty of speech, a woman’s house becomes a pleasant home. But where there is a contentious spirit, nitpicking, fault finding, “nothing’s ever good enough,” there is enough stress to send you to an early grave.To be a false accuser is neither good nor safe for anyone’s health including your own.This leads us to a third exhortation which is about regulating the body’s appetites…#3 – Not given to much wine (μὴ οἴνῳ πολλῷ δεδουλωμένας)
An older woman must not be given to much wine.Here the warning is against self-indulgent living. For a woman whose domain is the home, wherein food and wine is kept, there she will have the temptation to eat and drink to excess.While wine is a good creation of God given to make our heart glad (Psalm 104:15), we must never become enslaved to wine, or have our powers of judgment impaired by it.There is a reason our culture has coined the term “winemom,” to describe the epidemic of women who are using alcohol, pills, and other substances to escape from and cope with the challenges of modern life.And so Paul exhorts Christian women to not be winemoms, to not be numbing themselves to the trials of motherhood or grandmotherhood, or widowhood, the trials of aging, of a bad marriage, or of the loneliness so many women feel. Wine is not the answer.Instead, the best remedy to isolation is twofold: 1) living in the fear of God, and 2) being active in service to others. God sees when nobody else does. God knows when you deny yourself and when you indulge your appetites. And God rewards those who give themselves to much sacrificial service rather than being servants to their own belly.Take Anna the prophetess as an example of such holy living. It says of her in Luke 2:36-38, She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow for eighty-four years. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to the Lord and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.And so the widow Anna, who spent all her life praying and fasting and worshipping God, was rewarded for her faithfulness by getting to see the infant Jesus. To see with her own eyes the incarnation of the Son, who was the answer to all her prayers of faith.What Anna experienced in her old age, is still only a foretaste of the glory to come. For Jesus says in Matthew 5:8, Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.God is the reward of those devoted to Him. And thus we are told in Ephesians 5:18-19, And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.That is far better than being enslaved to wine.Fourth and finally…#4 – Teachers of good things (καλοδιδασκάλους)
Paul charges the older women to be teachers of good things. Next week will study what some of those good things are, but for now just observe that God assigns a real teaching function to the older wiser women in the church. They are to be as mentors to the younger women, as verse 4 goes on to say.So while God forbids a woman from teaching or preaching publicly in the church, it says in 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 she is to remain silent in this regard, still they are commanded to teach the younger women. And that means doing so in private (outside the assembly of the saints) and in other single-sex groups, Ladies Fellowship, Women’s book studies, in the home, etc.This is because some things are better said to women from women, especially when it comes to these issues of clothing, hair, modesty, childbearing, and running a home.So to the younger women in the church, are you seeking out the “mothers in Israel,” to ask them for advice, to befriend them, to learn from them, to ask them questions about how to navigate the challenges you are facing?Are you making use of the wealth of experience that exists in this body? Because I tell you, there is a lot of wisdom here if you will search it out.Proverbs 4:7 says, Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.And to those who are the older women in the church, do not think you are not needed here. Last I checked, there were 97 children in our church under the age of 18, about half of those are girls, and then add another 25 or so adult women who are under the age of 40, and that adds up to roughly 75 people in our church who are in the category of “younger women.”So this need for mentorship, friendship, encouragement and prayer is not going away anytime soon. And so take it upon yourself to pursue wisdom even in your latter years, and then love one another across the generations, as mothers and daughters, as grandmothers and granddaughters serving the same Lord.Consider the sweet friendships between Naomi and Ruth, Elizabeth and Mary, find those who possess the virtues you lack and need, and learn from them. Those who diligently search for wisdom will find it. As Proverbs 13:20 says, “She who walks with the wise will become wise.”Conclusion
What does spiritual beauty consist of? It is having a unified and well-proportioned soul. It is having your mind enlightened by the splendor of God. Your will submitted to and united to God’s will. Your appetites subordinated and governed by the Holy Spirit, so that as it says in Romans 8:29 you are, conformed to the image of his Son.
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