Page 6 - The Standard Volume 2

CHURCH agreed! Pointedly, the Apostle was simply passing along to the church what was accepted by all of the churches. He was careful and prayerful not to teach anything contrary to Christ or the Apostles in Jerusalem.
Clearly, the “order” given in verse three of 1 Corinthians 11 isn't an ancient custom. If the Apostle was going to make the issue of veiling or head covering a time-contextual issue, then it would not necessitate beginning his teaching on the subject with eternal truths. In fact, the Apostles consistently in Scripture addressed contextual issues (which weren't eternal) by appealing to God's Word, not to society.
WHO AND WHAT ARE WE REFLECTING?
But what's at stake here? Whether men and women will accept the role which the Lord has given them in the earth. The Apostle Paul is appealing to the Church to view the Heavenly example of voluntary submission as a paradigm for submitting not only to one another, but to all that God commands.
In verses four and five of 1 Corinthians 11, man is commanded to reflect headship in the earth, as God is his head, by not having a symbol of “covering” upon him. Whereas, the woman is to cover her head to reflect that she's “the glory of the man,” made to fulfill a role under Christ (if single) or under authority (if married).
cover her glory before God, for her hair is her glory (verse 15); in this simple act she is honoring who is her head (Christ, her husband, godly men).
Remember this: conviction only comes for things concerning the Word when you finally believe that what's being said is true, is from God, and is to be obeyed. IF you don't believe these things, you'll never have conviction. But, do not think for one second that if you don't have conviction for what you hear that God is not holding you accountable for disobedience. Why? Because you heard the Word!
One of my deceased best friends was in my ear for almost five years about Biblical order of marriage, the husband as head, and that biblically qualified men were to be the head in the Church. I heard the Word but had no conviction. God dealt with me profoundly, which changed my life altogether. He dealt with me because He sent His Word to me through a man I trusted to be a man of God. The Lord knows how to hold us accountable and knows how to not be accused on judgment day for not doing His job to save us, change us, and set us in order. I was not obeying because I did not believe. Period. Where I don't believe I cannot have conviction but, no matter how much I did not believe, I kept listening and could not argue with the Word which was plainly before me.
Conviction or a lack thereof is not a prerequisite for obedience so don't be deceived. Once you've heard the Word from a source you know to be true, right, and on point with the will of God, then you must obey. The Scriptures, the Apostles, the Church Fathers, and our revered Church Reformers all agreed that what Paul taught was to be received as the Word of God (in all things and concerning the manner of men and women veiling in worship). I find no evidence whatsoever of any of these named above nor of the historic Christian Church altogether up to the mid 19th Century, of any deviation on Biblical grounds (whereas they'd have to declare that this practice was in error for 1900 years in order for it to be biblically abandoned) from this practice. There is none. All we have is modern scholars seeking to gingerly call the historic church categorically wrong.
The historic Christian Church is to be honored because they died and were slaughtered to ensure we had a Bible in our hands today. I challenge you to follow what is written and read what the beloved saints who’ve gone before us have stated on record. Luther, Wesley, Augustine, and many others whom I could name all came to the same conclusions about many things—particularly concerning how men and women are to approach God in prayer, prophesying, and worship. These men were closer to the historic Christian Church and the 1st Century Church then we were, free from many of the distractions we have today.
God so loves us that He preserved His way by leaving us with the inspired, infallible, and inerrant record called the Bible— the Word of God. Although we’d like for it to answer many more of our questions and speak to a variety of subjects plaguing our society today, we must choose to live what is in it with His strength and thank Him for what we do have! S
Some try to separate Scriptural truth from the ancient practice where they say, "I'll be God's head in the earth," or, "I'll be submitted to authority (Christ's or a husband’s)" on a principle basis but a symbol is unnecessary. Some would even seek to make up a symbol of their own to practice the principle. Let's address this briefly and see the danger of coming to such a conclusion.
The purpose of covering or uncovering is plainly revealed in the Scriptures. A man prays or prophesies with his head uncovered because he is “the image and glory of God” (1 Cor. 11:7). He dishonors his head (or headship) if he covers his head when he prays or prophesies (1 Cor. 11:4). The woman covers because she is "the glory of man” and dishonors her head (or headship) if she does not cover (1 Cor. 11:5). Therefore, the purpose of a man keeping his head uncovered is to reveal God's image and glory, and the woman covers her head to
6 THE STANDARD | January 2020