SoSpression Blog

Why is there so much confusion about the Commandments and Ordinances of God?

• Early church fathers often departed from the Commandments and Ordinances due to cultural pressure and the proliferation of false apostles.
  • This is why although I love studying Church history, qualified overseers can only teach doctrine from Scriptural Authority.
• Since God is Creator, cultural practices cannot be used to interpret His Word. Qualified overseers must use His Word to interpret cultural practices.
  • Since all people come from God, everyone has a sense of right & wrong and some remembrance of Creation law and wisdom. Every nation has marriage covenants.
  • Cultural practices are evidence for God’s law, not vice versa.
  • The study of human cultures cannot be used to question the commandments of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 14:34-38).

AGREEMENT is one of the main Principles of Scriptural Interpretation.

When it comes to Sound Principles of Scriptural Interpretation we have to understand the concept that Paul’s teachings were “difficult to be understood” because he was translating the kingdom to Gentile cultures and different languages.

• However all of the Apostles developed agreement with each other. The Holy Spirit agrees with Jesus. Jesus agrees with the Father.
• Scriptures do not contradict themselves. We simply have to use Scripture to Interpret Scriptures and get an understanding.

Gospel, Commandment, Ordinances: Different Levels of Obedience

When it comes to the doctrine of HeadCovering/Uncovering the first thing I teach is the difference between the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Commandments of the Kingdom, and the Ordinances of the Kingdom.

1. The Gospel is how we enter in.
2. The Commandments are how we show our love, obedience and grace.
3. The Ordinances are how we bear good long lasting fruit.

Looking into the context (1 Corinthians 11) the headcovering/uncovering falls into the category of Ordinances. It’s not a salvation issue, its an issue of order and fruitfulness. It helps us to be more effective and fruitful as a Congregation of Believers.

THE BREAKDOWN: Headcovering and Uncovering based on Creation Order and the Glory of God

1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. ² Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and KEEP THE ORDINANCES, as I delivered them to you.

This Scripture proves that the sign of order (headcovering for women, head uncovering for men) is not based on culture, but the Order of the Ecclesia of Christ. Men wear headcoverings in religions all over the Middle East. Turbans, Yarmulkes, Fish hats, Religious or Political crowns, etc.

So we know that Apostle Paul was not taking his cues from the surrounding cultures, but from being a “follower of Christ.” We are to follow Paul as He follows Christ, and remember to keep the ordinances as Paul delivered them to us.

Now when we look at the proofs he gives for the headcovering ordinance and the dishonor that comes from not displaying the Order of our headship, he talks about 2 different CONCEPTS that are both based on Nature (not Culture):

• CREATION LAW OF ORDER IN COMMUNICATION (Vs 8-12)
  • Women came from men, and should follow men and help men, due to creation order and purpose.
  • Women should display this order on their head because of the angels (messengers)
    • In some Scriptures, angels could be the messengers that God sends to speak to the elders in the Congregations (The Angel of the church in Thyatira, etc)
  • Scripture Example: Angels have been seeing the results of disorder since Eve took the lead from Adam and Solomon married 1000 women, and Samson followed Delilah and etc etc. Disorder leads to ruin and destruction and fruitlessness.
  • Scripture Example: Satan spoke to Eve first for a reason.
  • Messenger Angels to the Congregations need to see that we are walking in the order of God as men and women.
  • Men and women need each other in the Lord’s Congregation. We are constructed differently but bear fruit together (not just in marriage but in the Ecclessia)!
  • In order for God’s Messages to the Ecclesia to be fruitful, we need to be together as men and women, and in order as men and women.

• NATURAL GLORY VS NATURAL SHAME (vs 7, vs 13-16)
  • Vs 7: Men are the glory of God and they shine for God. Women are the glory of men, and they shine for men.
    • Men are God’s most glorious creation because men are made in His image. We are more like God than mountains, trees, gorillas, and whales.
      • Men shine for God when they speak, work, lead, and create for God.
      • When men achieve glory in productive status on earth, some wear their status (glory) on their head (crowns, soldier caps, helmets).
    • Women are the most glorious version of Mankind because they are the prettiest and they are made to be protected and provided for by the man.
      • When these women are protected and provided for, they are able to focus on their beauty and grow their hair. Some become wives and produce children for their husbands.
      • When you want to see the beauty of a certain ethnicity or nation in the earth, you look at the woman (Miss Ethiopia, Miss Switzerland, Miss Japan). This is natural common sense.
  • Nature (not culture) teaches us that Men with long hair is a sad thing.
    • If you see a man who wants to be just as beautiful as a woman, we wonder what happened to him. Why does he think this way?
    • It’s not realistic for a man to be focused on agriculture/war/productivity and beauty at the same time. A man should be focused on productivity and protection not on his own beauty. Men are designed to glorify God in productivity, not in physical beauty.
    • Scripture Example: The Nazirite vow was specifically for men who were leaving normal manly productive activity to focus only on prayer and fasting.
    • Scripture Example: Absalom’s father had multiple wives which led to violence in his family. Absalom suffered from this and became a self-promoter and rebellious. Absalom emphasized his beauty after his beautiful sister was raped and shamed. Absalom fought a war with his long hair, and then he died hanging by his hair because he tried to ride his horse under a tree and got caught up.
    • Scripture Example: Samson had long hair due to the Nazirite vow but He didn’t focus on God or focus on protection of Israel like He was supposed to! Samson was lustful, and he used his beauty to get women. He did not focus on God or protection. Instead he focused on beautiful women and got caught up.
    • These are Scriptural lessons that Hebrews would have been very familiar with but people in Asia Minor may not have been.
  • Nature (not culture) teaches us that Women with long hair is a beautiful thing. Women with discipline learn how to cultivate their natural God given hair and it grows long and beautiful.
    • Women that aren’t protected and provided for by the men of their nation usually do not grow long hair either.
    • Isaiah 3: ²⁴ And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty. ²⁵ Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
  • Vs 16 The long hair/short hair is only used as a teaching example, its not the custom! Its just the example that is used to demonstrate the wisdom of the New Covenant ordinance.
    • Vs 5,6 She might as well shave her head if she won’t cover it.
    • If hair is glorious (and a shaved head isn’t) then cover your head.
    • The point is, its completely natural for a woman to want glorious beautiful long hair.
    • The fact that he had to clarify that hair length is NOT the custom, is evidence that the uncovering/uncovering IS the Ordinance in all the Ecclessias of God.
  • The New Covenant ordinance is that men refuse to display their status/glory in the Congregation, by uncovering their head, and focusing on the glory of God.
    • Even the elders in heaven casted down their golden crowns at the Fathers feet when it was time to worship! (Revelation 4:9-10)
  • The New Covenant ordinance is that women refuse to display their status/glory in the Congregation of Believers, but instead choose to cover their glorious and beautiful hair, and focus on the glory of God.
    • 1 Corinthians 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

The headcovering/uncovering is not a salvation issue, its simply a New Covenant Ordinance that should be:

• A Reflection of the order in our HEARTS and our desire to be productive as a Congregation.
• A Reminder to our MIND of the order in our hearts and our desire to be productive as a Congregation.
• A Sign to our EYES and other people’s EYES of the order in our hearts and our desire to be productive as a Congregation.
• A way to turn down our personal STATUS/GLORY, and instead use our time in Congregational meetings to focus on the glory of God together as a Congregation.

The examples Apostle Paul to prove the headcovering/uncovering ordinance are given based on Creation and Natural Law, not on surrounding cultural practices.

When we use Scripture to interpret Scripture, we can see that these examples were well understood by Hebrew culture. This could be why Paul had to explain them more uniquely in order to clarify them to that were raised in a Gentile culture.

Paul had a difficult job to do and his words were hard to be understood, but He was in complete agreement with the 12 apostles of the Lord Jesus (2 Peter 3:16).

Apostle Paul was a follower of Christ who preached the Gospel of the Kingdom to Gentiles all over Asia Minor. After he preached the gospel of Christ, he also gave them the same Apostolic Ordinances that He learned from Christ Himself.

These ordinances were designed to create structure and productivity in all the Congregations of the Lord Jesus no matter what culture they were in. All the Apostles had the same ordinances given to them by the Lord Jesus.

These ordinances not only create consistent kingdom productivity in all cultures, but they also eliminate the need for the division and denominational confusion that Paul was trying to prevent by writing 1 Corinthians.

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