On Jewelry

What About Jewelry?

Most people who tell you to take off the jewelry will fall back on 1 Timothy 2:9 and 1 Peter 3:3. More on those in a minute.

The first question to ask (remember, the Bible is about God)—would God portray Himself as tempting His bride to sin?

Obviously not.

Read this passage about God making Israel His bride:

    I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. (Ezekiel 16:8b-13a)

Not only did God’s bride have bracelets, necklaces, earrings, a nose ring, and a crown, adorned with gold and silver … she was also adorned in fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth.

How does that square up with 1 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. (ESV)

The Lord God put a crown on her head, but we can’t wear braids? The Lord God adorned His bride with gold and silver, but jewelry is a sin? The Lord God provided Israel with fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth, but we may not have “costly attire” (whatever that means)?

How do we justify God providing what some would call “sin”?

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church puts it this way:

    Paul and Peter are both saying that women are to be marked, first and foremost, by their good works, not their good shoes, or their good looks; by their godliness and not their gaudiness. To this end, John Stott said, "The church is to be a veritable beauty parlor because it encourages women members to adorn themselves with good deeds. Women need to remember that if nature made them plain, grace can make them beautiful, and if nature has made them beautiful, good deeds can add to their beauty."

As you can see, the Bible warns us against an idolatrous view of outward beauty and adornment, while approving of the right use of both.[1]

The “prohibitions” are contrasts, not prohibitions. Don’t find your worth in the things you put on; your value is in Christ, and your inner beauty is what will last.

[1] https://opc.org/qa.html?question_id=469

Praying or Prophesying: When Scripture Says More Than It Names

 Metonymy and Synecdoche — When Scripture Says More Than It Names

After this book came back from the second editor, I listened to a podcast about head coverings and learned two new words: metonymy and synecdoche. I had already come to an understanding early on in my study that “prayer or prophesy” referred to a larger reality of the gathering of the saints – a view held by many of the men I listened to and read on this topic, and the one that made the most sense to me.

I was not convicted that “pray without ceasing” literally means “cover without ceasing.”

The pairing of “praying or prophesying” to mean worshiping together made sense to me, even without having a clear grammatical reason.

We know that Scripture is God-breathed and does not waste words. God speaks in poetry, parables, and songs. He uses metaphors and similes, symbolism and allegory.

And God uses metonymy and synecdoche.

Metonymy names one thing that represents a larger reality.  We recognize that “Moses” means the Law. “The altar” stands in for the larger sacrificial system. When Jesus prays, “Let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39), He wasn’t talking about the object in His hand; He was speaking of the suffering and humiliation that awaited Him.

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul wrote, “You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” The word “table” doesn’t mean furniture – it signifies participation, alignment, a sharing of what that table represents.

Synecdoche names a part to represent the whole. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “bread” didn’t only refer to a loaf, it pointed to the whole of daily sustenance. 

Faith and love are not a checklist – they are named parts of the whole of Christ-like living. Life and death are not two moments in time; they speak of the entirety of a life lived.

The visible act (eating the bread) reflects a deeper reality of participation. The specific example of meat sacrificed to idols expands into a call to care for the conscience of others. The warning of idolatry is a named part of the larger whole of misplaced worship.

This matters when we come to 1 Corinthians 11.

When Paul writes, “every man who prays or prophesies… every woman who prays or prophesies…,” we need to look back to earlier in the letter (chapter 10.)

We need to ask if Paul is really writing about two specific and isolated practices, or if he is naming two parts of a larger, weightier whole.

Prayer is our speech directed to God. Prophesying is God’s Word directed toward us.

Together, these two named, visible acts reflect a larger reality of participation, forming a fullness – a way of speaking about the whole range of worship, without naming each act.

If we read 1 Corinthians 11 as speaking of two isolated activities, we risk missing the larger reality.

If we read “praying or prophesying” as a synecdoche, we listen for the larger reality behind the words, not just the words themselves. We look at not merely what is happening in those moments, but what they represent; lives visibly oriented toward God; His people engaging with Him in ways that reflect His honor and glory.

A woman worshipping with a covered head is not tied to a checklist of two acts as if the passage depends on what she is doing at any given moment. She is situated within the larger reality of something profound – the honoring of God’s created order in the presence of angels, the perfected saints and Christ Himself.

What is named is not all that is meant. And what is meant is not less, but more.

 

 

Words of the Day: Metonymy and Synecdoche

 

Appendix: Metonymy and Synecdoche — When Scripture Says More Than It Names

After this book came back from the second editor, I listened to a podcast about head coverings and learned two new words: metonymy and synecdoche. I had already come to an understanding early on in my study that “prayer or prophesy” referred to a larger reality of the gathering of the saints – a view held by many of the men I listened to and read on this topic, and the one that made the most sense to me.

I was not convicted that “pray without ceasing” literally means “cover without ceasing.”

The pairing of “praying or prophesying” to mean worshiping together made sense to me, even without having a clear grammatical reason.

We know that Scripture is God-breathed and does not waste words. God speaks in poetry, parables, and songs. He uses metaphors and similes, symbolism and allegory.

And God uses metonymy and synecdoche.

Metonymy names one thing that represents a larger reality.  We recognize that “Moses” means the Law. “The altar” stands in for the larger sacrificial system. When Jesus prays, “Let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39), He wasn’t talking about the object in His hand; He was speaking of the suffering and humiliation that awaited Him.

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul wrote, “You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” The word “table” doesn’t mean furniture – it signifies participation, alignment, a sharing of what that table represents.

Synecdoche names a part to represent the whole. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “bread” didn’t only refer to a loaf, it pointed to the whole of daily sustenance. In Romans 13:4, “sword” refers to the whole of the government’s responsibility to have authority over its people.

Faith and love are not a checklist – they are named parts of the whole of Christ-like living. Life and death are not two moments in time; they speak of the entirety of a life lived.

The visible act (eating the bread) reflects a deeper reality of participation. The specific example of meat sacrificed to idols expands into a call to care for the conscience of others. The warning of idolatry is a named part of the larger whole of misplaced worship.

This matters when we come to 1 Corinthians 11.

When Paul writes, “every man who prays or prophesies… every woman who prays or prophesies…,” we need to look back to earlier in the letter (chapter 10.)

We need to ask if Paul is really writing about two specific and isolated practices, or if he is naming two parts of a larger, weightier whole.

Prayer is our speech directed to God. Prophesying is God’s Word directed toward us.

Together, these two named, visible acts reflect a larger reality of participation, forming a fullness – a way of speaking about the whole range of worship, without naming each act.

If we read 1 Corinthians 11 as speaking of two isolated activities, we risk missing the larger reality.

If we read “prayer or prophesying” as a synecdoche, we listen for the larger reality behind the words, not just the words themselves. We look at not merely what is happening in those moments, but what they represent; lives visibly oriented toward God; His people engaging with Him in ways that reflect His honor and glory.

A woman worshipping with a covered head is not tied to a checklist of two acts as if the passage depends on what she is doing at any given moment. She is situated within the larger reality of something profound – the honoring of God’s created order in the presence of angels, the perfected saints and Christ Himself.

What is named is not all that is meant. And what is meant is not less, but more.

 

 

Do Head Coverings Protect Us?

 I’ve read in places that the good angels look upon us and say, “oh, she’s wearing a head covering, she must be one of ours and we should protect her from the bad angels”

Here’s the verse that says that: [that’s right, there isn’t one.]

 1 Corinthians 11 is a two-sided instruction, and considering the other side reveals the error in logic.

Do the good angels say, “Oh, that man isn’t wearing a hat, he must be one of ours and we should protect him from the bad angels.”

That doesn’t quite square up.
Ascribing abilities to objects that the Bible is silent about is dangerous!
When we insist on saying that [this thing that the Bible is silent about] - we are subtly suggesting that the protection God HAS given us...isn't enough. 

Ascribing spiritual power to an inanimate object is nothing less than treating it as a superstitious talisman - like a lucky rabbit’s foot.

But the Bible does tell us what/who does protect us.

The Lord will protect us

2 Thessalonians 3:3 - But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.

Psalms 20:1  May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

The angel of the Lord will protect us

Psalm 34:7 - The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Wisdom will protect us

Proverbs 4:6  Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.

Discretion and understanding will protect and guard us.

Proverbs 2:11  Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.

But has God given us spiritual armor? Yes

·         The belt of truth

·         The breastplate of righteousness

·         Shoes of the readiness given by the gospel of peace

·         The shield of faith

·         The helmet of salvation

·         The sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6)

What Events Do I Cover For?

I am happily Reformed and so I'm aware of the Regulative Principle of Worship.

 

Briefly, it's the doctrine that God not only wants to worship Him, He's told us in His Word...how He wants us to worship Him.

The things that God has told us should be included in worship are called "elements of worship." I've seen lists with as few as three, but here's a list of eight that I use to determine whether an event is a corporate gathering of the body.

1. Reading of Holy Scripture,
2. Singing of psalms and hymns, 
3. The offering of prayer, 
4. The preaching of the Word, 
5. The presentation of offerings, 
6. Confessing the faith and 
7. Observing the Sacraments;
8. and on special occasions taking oaths. (this might be entering into a covenant, such as marriage, or the agreement to enter into church membership.)

My personal tipping point is having four elements of worship included makes it a corporate gathering of the body and I'll cover.

A Christian wedding will have a Scripture reading, a prayer, a homily (preaching) and taking an oath.

Yes, it's a formula, but it works for me, since I don't need to rely on feelings or pressure. 

Why "angels" doesn't mean "demons"

 There's a teaching that pops up from time to time in the head coverings community, that goes something like:

we wear a head cover as spiritual protection from demons

or

a head cover signals to demons that they can't touch us because we're Christians.

Let's look at the first one:

let's stick to what the Bible actually says. If 1 Corinthians 11 says that wearing a head cover prevents women from dishonoring their heads, if a head cover signifies creation order, and "because of the angels" - let's go with that.

Nothing about spiritual protection there.

And the second:

"demons can't touch us..." 

Ask the Apostle Paul about that one.

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. (2 Corinthians 12:7)

I think that we can safely believe that Paul prayed and prophesied with his head uncovered, as he was the one who gave us the instruction...

1. Man prays and prophesies with head uncovered

2. Gets a thorn in the flesh

3. The thorn was a messenger of Satan.

Following the head covering/uncovering instruction didn't stop Paul from being harassed by Satan.

Corporate Worship? (Quotes from Theologians)

 

For myself, I looked at Chapters 10, 11, 12 - in chapter 10, how many times is the Lord's supper mentioned (that's a group activity). Idol worship - generally, that's a group thing. [head coverings] followed by the Lord's Supper (again.) Chapter 12 goes on with the edification of the body of believers.

 

So if you take those three chapters, you have "body, body, body, [head coverings, but not body], body, body, body.

 

If I believe that head coverings are meant for gatherings of the body (large or small), I'm in good company.

 

Charles Spurgeon: 

The reason why our sisters appear in the House of God with their heads covered is ‘because of the angels.’ The apostle says that a woman is to have a covering upon her head because of the angels, since the angels are present in the assembly and they mark every act of indecorum, and therefore everything is to be conducted with decency and order in the presence of the angelic spirits.

 

Martin Lloyd Jones: 

In other words, the Scripture teaches that when you and I are met as we are at this moment and when we’re met together in prayer that the angels of God are present and are looking upon us. And the woman is to be covered when she takes part in public prayer because of the presence of the angels. It’s a tremendous and a remarkable thing. Let us bear it in mind.

 

Michael Barrett: 

The difference between man and woman must be reflected in public worship. The terms praying and prophesying are important in this context as one of public worship. The word for pray is perhaps the most general term for prayer and is appropriate for public prayer. Although prayer is not essentially public, prophesying serves no purpose apart from the public context.

 

Mary Kassien: 

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul exhorts the Corinthian church to adhere to a custom he had taught them: Women were to veil themselves in the public assembly of believers, and men were not.

 

Joel Beeke: 

When you come to the house of God for corporate worship, how you conduct yourself matters. Paul argues for proper decorum in public worship according to His created order. When you enter the house of God for worship, how should you act in a way that honors the glory and will of the Lord? –from the Study Notes from the The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible, General Editor is Dr. Joel R. Beeke.

 

R.C. Sproul SR: 

The wearing of fabric headcoverings in worship was universally the practice of Christian women until the twentieth century. What happened? Did we suddenly find some biblical truth to which the saints for thousands of years were blind? Or were our biblical views of women gradually eroded by the modern feminist movement that has infiltrated the Church of Jesus Christ which is “the pillar and ground of the truth.

 

Charles Ryrie ~ 

Women should be veiled or covered in the meeting of the Church, and the men should not. Paul's reasons were based on Theology, the order of creation, and the presence of Angels in the meeting. None of these was based on contemporary social custom."

John Calvin: 

With the view of proving, that it is an unseemly thing for women to appear in a public assembly with their heads uncovered, and, on the other hand, for men to pray or prophesy with their heads covered, he sets out with noticing the arrangements that are divinely established.

 

 

If you want just the list of names: John Calvin, Charles Ryrie, R.C.Sproul Sr,  Joel Beeke, Mary Kassien, Michael Barrett, Martin Lloyd Jones, Charles Spurgeon.