1 Corinthians 11 gives a very clear example of the divine order that was set at creation:

“For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.” – 1 Corinthians 11:8-9

The head of Christ is God, the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man (1 Corinthians 11:3).  Since God and Christ are the Godhead, they are equal, but authority wise the order goes to God then to Christ (John 4:34, 8:28, 12:49-50).  The same principle applies to man and women: both are equal, but God gave authority to the man.  God also designated distinctive gender roles that man and women are told to abide by and not deviate from (Deuteronomy 22:5).

The first role is that man should not pray or prophecy with his head covered because it dishonors his head.  Christ is the head of man.  A man should not cover his head because he was made in the image of God (1 Corinthians 11:7).  Therefore, covering the head deglorifies God.  The covering of man could be long hair, since long-haired men are sometimes viewed as feminine, and therefore is a disgrace to him since God is not feminine and man was made in the image of God (1 Corinthians 1:14).

The second role is that every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head (man).  The Holy Spirit is speaking to every woman and not reducing this to merely every wife, as commonly interpreted.  A woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors not just her head (man), but also God’s divine order.  In 1 Corinthians 11:5-6, Paul creates a logic to demonstrate why a woman should cover her head – hair or no hair at all.  “If the head is not covered, the woman should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.”

What is a covering?  Naturally, our covering is our hair:

“Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory?  For long hair is given to her as a covering.” – 1 Corinthians 11:14-15

But spiritually (as woman pray, go to Church, etc.), a woman’s covering was her veil.  The veil was worn as a sign of submission to man.  Culturally, during the OT&NT, a woman without a veil advertised herself publicly as a harlot and/or openly rejected man’s authority.  Therefore, the absence of a veil at Corinth disgraced her head (man) and God’s divine order.

Paul was speaking to the tradition of a veil at Corinth.  In today’s church, the lack of a veil is not a lack of submission to man since culturally it is not recognized.  However, it is clear that the principle of this passage is not cultural because the divine order was set at creation.  This implies that in today’s church, a woman should still not do anything to deglorify her head (man), which is to say, deglorify God’s divine order.  This may include short hair since from the male perspective, short hair can communicate lesbianism, rebellion, etc.

Corinth was not the only place where God created man in His image and then created woman in the image of man (sarcasm).  The divine order, and thus the doctrine of glorifying your image, applies to the entire creation.   Rejecting the divine order is to reject God, His plan, and His order.

Although today the absence of a veil does not advertise a woman as a harlot and does not deglorify her image, wearing a covering will glorify her image, the image of man, which is to say the image of God.  Why?  Because it shows the willful submission of woman to man; thereby, glorifying God’s divine order.

The last reason why we are told to follow this divine order is “because of the angels” – 1 Corinthians 11:10.  There is no generally accepted interpretation of this verse.  The predominant interpretation of this verse is that the angels are present during Christian gatherings.  This interpretation came from Jewish beliefs supported by Psalm 138:1 – “before the “gods” I will sing your praise.” (where “gods” is translated as angels).  While the angels are present at our gatherings, they delight in the willful submission of man to the Godly order, in their respective places. Compare the following:

“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” – Ephesians 3:10

“For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the area.  We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.” – 1 Corinthians 4:9

“…Even angels long to look into these things” – 1 Peter 1:12

It is clear that the angels are on lookers of Christians.  They watch us to learn what has been made known to us and they are delighted in what delights the Lord – outward appearance (including following God’s divine order), inward humility, dress, and submission to God’s divine order.  And remember the last verse of this topic: “If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice – nor do the churches of God.” (1 Cor 11:16).

-Mark

Aside from direct sin such as pride, adultery, drunkenness, etc. when can we also be living in sin?

“All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.”

1 John 5:16

As Christians, we will stumble from time to time and trip up here and there – less so as we strive harder and attain sanctification.  It is clear though that there is sin that we will be forgiven of and sin that we won’t be.  As an example, we all know of “Christians” that are jealous, impure, immoral, selfish, etc.  Paul speaks about these Christians as well:

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I did before that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Galatians 5:19-22

Therefore, if these people will not inherit the kingdom, they are not Christians and ultimately are participants of the sins which will lead to death.  These sins exist through habit and lack of repentance and become  a part of our lives and who we are until we sanctify and crucify our sinful nature with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24).

However, not all sin leads to death as John states.  John does not classify which sins are deadly and which are not.  But from Leviticus 4, God shows us a kind of sin that does not lead to death and can be atoned for: unintentional sin.  Take a look at the following verses:

Leviticus 4:2-3 “Say to the Israelites: ‘When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands – ‘If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.”

Leviticus 4:13-14 “If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though the community is unaware of the matter, they are guilty.  When they become aware of the sin they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting.”

Leviticus 4:22-23 “When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the Lord his God, he is guilty.  When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect.”

Leviticus 4:27-28 “If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, he is guilty.  When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as ahis offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect.”

So the types of unintentional sins that can be atoned for in Leviticus 4 are:

1. The pastoral staff/priest commit a sin that causes the congregation to sin
2. The Church community sinning as a whole
3. When someone in a position of leadership sins within his institution
4. An unintentional sin due to lack of knowledge or an accident such as manslaughter

Leviticus 5:1-5 also lists some other unintentional sins that can be atoned for:

1. A person sins when he does not speak up and testify during a public charge
2. Touching anything that is ceremonially unclean, if you are unaware that it is
3. A careless oath/swear that you never realized you committed to because it was so careless

Since unintentional sins can be atoned for, we are forgiven once and for all because of the ultimate atoning sacrificial sin offering, Jesus Christ.  Therefore, unintentional sins are sins which we are not living in because we are unaware, lack a knowledge, or are simply careless.  These sins are atoned for through Christ.  The sins which lead to death if not repented of are sins that we are living in and as Paul states “the acts of the sinful nature are obvious.”  These sins are the sins that part us from God if we do not grow up in our salvation through sanctification.

-Mark

Too many Christians attempt to evolve Christian theology as science evolves.  For example, the theories of Pangaea and evolution tell a story of an Earth that is millions of years old.  Non-coincidentally, a cult within Christianity arises that accepts what scientific theory tells them and maintains their Christian views by adding onto scripture theories such as a pre-adamic society.  I don’t think that I need to remind you of what Galatians 1:8 says, but clearly adding to scripture is wrong and therefore, Christianity should not evolve no matter what science tells us.

With that said, the objective of this post is three-fold: First, to show how a pre-adamic society is not biblical.  Second, to show how a triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – existed before the Earth was created.  Third, to show why the Jews never accepted a triune God.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” – Gen 1:1-2

The opening verse of the bible shows the plurality of God.  Here, God is translated in Hebrew as Elohim, which is the plural of God.  We also see the first example of the Holy Spirit.

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.  God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” – Gen 1:26-27

In the above, we see God speaking to God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and we also see the first example of God in man form – Jesus Christ.

Therefore, from this first chapter in Genesis, we can conclude that all members of the trinity are God – one God – and existed together before creation.  God was not speaking to his angels that saw the destruction of a pre-adamic society, which led to a dark, void, and formless Earth that needed to be recreated.  God was speaking in trinity form to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Something so infinite cannot be grasped by a finite mind.  In fact, Jonathan Edwards – an American theologian – said that within the Trinity, perfect love, perfect harmony, perfect unison, perfect fellowship existed that even within this perfect triune, God’s love was abundant and over-poured so that God can share this fellowship, love, harmony, etc. with man.  The trinity of God is not polytheistic; the trinity does not exist in modes where God can transform into any one member of the triune when He so desires.  The trinity existed for an eternity before creation.  It always was, always is, and always will be.

(As an aside, for those that need more proof that the Holy Spirit is a member of the triune and is God, please refer to Acts 5:3.)

So how did the Jewish Rabbis interpret the first chapter of Genesis?  In no way would they have supported a plural God, even though the Torah was delivered to Moses on Mt. Sinai, because that would give room for the “heretics” who call Jesus a God.  The trinity is something that when you try to comprehend or explain, you can’t.  This is when faith is required and exactly why the Jews never had an explanation for a triune God.  A little further below, there is a quote from the Jewish Zohar which states that faith is required since the trinity cannot be comprehended!  But first, below are some examples of what the Jews said to try to explain a three-in-one God away:

1) Scholars who worked on the Septuagint under King Ptolemy were embarrassed by the plural pronouns that they took the liberty of translating the plurality into singular.

2) 3rd century, Rabbi Joshua Levi – interpreter of the Jewish Talmud – said that the plurality implied that God was seeking advice and approval from other beings.

3) Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman said in Rabbi Jonathan’s name: “When Moses was engaged in writing the Torah, he had to write the work of each day. When he came to the verse, “and God said; Let Us make man…, he said: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Why dost Thou furnish an excuse to heretics?’ (for maintaining a plurality of deity). ‘Write,’ replied He; ‘whoever wishes to err may err.’”

There is no consensus among Jews about the plurality in Elohim.  In fact, here is a quote from non-contemporary, Jewish mystical/esoteric text – The Zohar – that I mentioned above:

“Hear, O Israel, Adonai Eloheinu Adonai is one. These three are one. How can the three Names be one? Only through the perception of faith; in the vision of the Holy Spirit, in the beholding of the hidden eye alone.…So it is with the mystery of the threefold Divine manifestations designated by Adonai Eloheinu Adonai—three modes which yet form one unity.”

So why don’t Jews believe in a “three-in-one” God if it is one of their teachings?  What Judaism teaches is different from what Jews must affirm to – hence, why many Rabbis denounce the triune God, although it is in their texts.  A point of unity among Jews is their foundation, called the Sh’ma. The Shema does not teach a plural deity.  The opening to the Shema comes from Deuteronomy 6:4:

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!

Sad thing is that here, God in Hebrew is Elohim – plural!  Therefore, what this verse is really saying is that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is God and exists in perfect unison.  So due to lack of faith, the Jews are in a catch 22 as they continue to explain away the trinity even though their teachings teach a trinity.

Do Jews believe in the same God as Christians?  No! 1 John 2:23 states “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”  Therefore, the centrality of Christianity is the trinity.

-Mark

I’ve been writing a lot lately on Church, its purpose, and how today’s church model is very different from the church in Acts’.  I’ve felt led to write such posts mainly because when I look at the Christian Church, I see many churches that fail to equip God’s people for the evangelistic work that we are supposed to be doing, too many churches manipulating non-believers into “salvation” by not revealing the deeper things of God, and too many churches practicing churchianity as their lifestyle rather than performing the work that a Christian is called to do daily as their lifestyle.

I’m not bashing, condescending, or hating in any way.  The most important thing as a Christian is to have a real relationship with God.  But also do not forget that we are all accountable to God, and because of this, strive to uphold what God calls of us.

So let’s get to the point: is Church for the Christian or an opportunity to reach non-believers through a specifically catered service?  The first church was mentioned in Exodus 19:5:

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.”

Possession (Strong’s 5459) is equivalent to peculiar.  Therefore, God is calling the assembly a peculiar possession.  God selected his bride and proposed to her.  She was special in God’s eyes (for more info on the marriage relationship to Israel, see Israel’s Marriage with God).  This church was an assembly of Hebrews, whom God had chosen to enter into a relationship with Him.  This assembly was closed off to all foreigners (Exodus 12:43), unless the foreigner became circumcised (Exodus 12:44) – which is to say, the foreigner becomes an Israelite.  This is because in order to partake in the celebration (at the time, Jewish festivals/feasts) of God, the assembly needed to maintain its purity and unity by not allowing any idolaters into their assembly, or church.

Although God commanded Israel to not allow foreigners to celebrate Israel’s festivals with Israel, God did not call for complete segregation from foreigners.  In Leviticus 19:33-34 God says:

“When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.  The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”

Therefore, while assembling as a congregation to celebrate God, foreigners were not allowed to partake.  But while living their daily lives, Israel was called to love foreigners.  This should start to sound somewhat familiar to you since the Old Testament was a shadow of the things to come (Colossians 2:17).

So what about the church of Acts?  There are 7 key characteristics that define what the church of Acts did (see The Church of Acts for more details): Prayer, witnessing outside the church, devotion to all things of God within the church, christian fellowship, proper delegation of church authority, baptism, and a focus on the entire church body (not just a particular church).  The church in Acts was socialistic, where no brother was ever found in need because possessions were sold to distribute wealth.  All characteristics of the church in Acts and all teachings within the New Testament point to a church with the entire purpose of preparing and equipping God’s people so that they can successfully go out into the world to witness to non-believers.  The church is not supposed to be geared toward bringing in non-believers for the following reasons:

1) Churches should replicate the teachings within God’s word for how to run and manage a church

2) If a church is geared toward non-believers, it is not possible for it to properly equip God’s children.  How can a church celebrate God and His word to the fullest if its service is “watered down” for the non-believer?

3) In the Old Testament, God forbade foreigners to partake in the celebration of Jewish festivals and other holy days so that the congregation can maintain its purity and unity.  This obviously has an implication for today’s church (Colossians 2:17).

Similar to the Old Testament, where although God forbade Israel to allow foreigners into its holy celebrations but mandated Israel to love its foreigners that lived in its lands, the church today should follow this example as well.  Inside the church, focus on raising up God’s people by following the example of the church in Acts and the teachings within God’s word.  Outside the church, love non-believers and be strategic witnesses.

If you are a church leader, remember that you are accountable to God.  If your heart differs from what His word tells us, clearly in this case your heart is not being guided by God.  Be ever discerning and seek the heart of God at all times and be sure to adjust your service to what God’s word tells us out of the fear of the Lord.

-Mark

“According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

Through Paul, the Holy Spirit is telling us that those that are left at the coming of Christ will not precede those who have fallen asleep, meaning those that have already died in Christ.  Then Paul starts discussing the order of events at the rapture:

First the Lord comes down from heaven and with a trumpet call of God, the dead in Christ rise first.

“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.  But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.” – 1 Corinthians 15:21-23

The only reason why we are resurrected is because of Christ, who through faith we believe was raised from the dead to save us from our sins.  In Corinthians, Paul tells us that there is an order to the resurrection – Christ (the firstfruits of those that have fallen asleep) was the first to resurrect.  Then, when he comes, those who belong to him that have already died resurrect.

Why do we need to resurrect?  “When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.” 1 Corinthians 15:37.  When we labor (sow) in Christ we are creating the seed for something else – our new bodies. “There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.” 1 Corinthians 15:40.  Our earthly bodies, which are perishable, are raised imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:42) into a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44).

“in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” - 1Corinthians 15:52

So at the trumpet sound of the rapture, the dead are raised imperishable and those that are still alive at this coming will be instantly changed in the twinkling of an eye.  And as 1 Thessalonians 4 says, we will be caught up in the air with Christ and the resurrected dead.

This is the first resurrection.  As Revelation 20:4 says, “They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”  And as Revelation 20:5 says, “(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.)…”  Therefore, only those that died in Christ are part of the first resurrection.  Those that are not in Christ will not be resurrected until after the thousand years are over and when Satan will be released for the last time.  When Satan is released to deceive the nations one last time, he is defeated and cast into eternal torment.  After this comes the judgment of the dead, where the book of life is opened (Rev 20:12).  If anyone’s name is not found written in this book, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Does this mean that when we die, we will not see Christ until we resurrect?  Not at all.  Paul even says that if he was to leave the body, he would be with Christ.

“I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” Philippians 1:23-24

So what is the point of our heavenly bodies?  After God created us on the sixth day, God said “it was very good.”  It is clear that God created us as embodied souls rather than ghost-like creatures.  Therefore, the resurrection shows that the problem with humanity is not due to a lack in God’s part of completing us, but rather due to our fallen nature.  The resurrection of our bodies attests to the goodness of God’s original creation by recognizing that the human nature is sinful because it does not glorify or give thanks to God and therefore, is without excuse (Romans 1:20-21).  As Ephesians 1:10 says “…to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” and so that “creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21).

-Mark

What did it look like?  Aside from the miracles, signs, wonders, and sufferings that the Church performed or experienced, I want to look more closely at the strategic use of the original Church.  Do you believe that the Church at this time experienced an apostolic movement to confirm the resurrection of Christ?  Good – then we should be more fervent to construct the  modern Church in the image of the original Church since God gave them gifts that we rarely see today.  Do you believe that at the time, it wasn’t so much an apostolic movement as it was a greater filling of the Holy Spirit?  Good – then we should be ever more fervent to replicate the early Church, which had a greater filling of the Spirit.

Prayer:

“They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” – Acts 1:14

One of the main functions of a Church is that it serves as a house of prayer.  Matthew 18:19 says that if two or more gather in Christ’s name, they will receive what they ask for.  The key is that everyone must be in agreement of what is being asked of.  There is no use in community prayer if we do not agree on what is being prayed for.  All believers in Acts were not only one in heart, but also one in mind (Acts 4:32).

Witnessing outside the Church:

“…For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” - Acts 1:22

Please see Churchianity vs. Christianity.  Many churches go outside of their walls only a few times throughout the year.  This needs to change.

Devotion to all things of God within the Church:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” - Acts 2:42

Within the Church, the congregation devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles – this is the opposite of being witnessed or preached to; doing (devoting) verses receiving (being witnessed/preached to).  Within the Church, you also see fellowship, prayer, and breaking of bread.  Devotion is being proactive to the apostle’s teachings – which are written all throughout the New Testament.

Fellowship:

“Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” – Acts 2:45-47

Christians hanging out together but not breaking bread, worshiping, praying, encouraging, or sharing insights/teaching is often mistaken as fellowship.  This is not fellowship; this is merely Christians hanging out as the world does…minus the wicked acts.  According to what the book of Acts gives us for an illustration of the early Church, fellowship is giving to the needy within the Church by being so selfless as to even selling your own possessions, breaking bread and eating together, and praising God for the community of believers.

To further illustrate the selfless nature of the early Church, below are some more verses:

There is no “I” in team; all the believers were one not only in heart but also in mind:

“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.” – Acts 4:32

Division, dissension, slander, gossip, and differences were obviously dealt with biblically since the product was a unified congregation in heart and mind.

Are there any in need within your congregation? This shows what it means to be one in mind:

“There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.” – Acts 4:34-35

Proper delegation:

“In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

- Acts 6:1-4

If you are a minister, do not neglect your duties as a minister by spreading yourself too thin.  If you are a pastor, do not neglect your duties as a shepherd by spreading yourself too thin.  It is important to also take notice on how important the apostles considered prayer and ministry – so important that they gave responsibilities to others, even though they were the best at what they did in the Church.

Baptism:

“So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.” – Acts 10:48

So important is baptism, that it was mentioned 17 times in Acts.  We take baptism for granted today in the Christian Church in America.  Imagine being baptized during a time where surrounding kingdoms are ready to kill or persecute you because of your outward proclamation of Christ?  Anyone who repented in Acts was immediately baptized.  Not only is it symbolic of a renewal, but it has an impact on us spiritually.

Focus on the entire Church body:

“The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.” - Acts 11:29-30

Too often today do church leaders focus only on the members within their church and the community around their church.  This was not the case in Acts.  In Acts, the Church worked together by providing for their fellow brothers in the surrounding kingdoms.  Multimillion dollar churches and churches so large that they begin creating satellite churches in areas miles apart was not heard of in Acts.  The Philippians did not monopolize the Christians of Macedonia.  Rather, the Philippians would have sent money to the Christians of Macedonia to help them establish their own church and help them when needed.  This is important because we need pastors who can get involved in the local community and our individual lives, not pastors that are celebrity status and broadcast their messages across state borders.  This is a moral hazard…many Christians use these messages as their primary bread and skip out on church.

This should give anyone that is involved in church leadership some solid long-term direction for their church and anyone not involved in leadership some insight so that they can spark change.

-Mark

Tattoos seem to be popular today among young Christians.  The typical argument for those that believe we should not get tattoos is that  we should glorify God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:20).  Sadly, the Christian that wants the tattoo argues back by saying “if I get a tattoo about Christ, God, or my faith, then I am glorifying God with my body.”

I say sadly because there is an “obscure” verse in Leviticus that answers the question of whether Christians are permitted to get tattoos very clearly:

“Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.” – Leviticus 19:28

I know – the pro-tattooist will probably argue that this is in context of a mourning ritual.  Linguistically, this argument is not valid.  First, this sentence is a conjunction of two separate warnings that are tied together through “or”.  The first warning is “Do not cut your bodies for the dead.”  It was a popular practice in ancient Middle East to show respect and honor for the dead by cutting oneself and rubbing the ash from the funeral into the infliction.  This was the earliest form of a tattoo.  The ash rubbing into an open wound symbolized that the memory of the recent deceased would continue on with the living.  God is not telling us to not hold a ritual or funeral for the dead, rather He is telling us not to put tattoos on our bodies for the dead.

The second warning is that you should not put a tattoo mark on yourself.  Since “tattoo” as we know it is modern, we should explore the original meaning of this word.  The words that are used to transcribe tattoo in Hebrew are kethôbeth qa‛ăqa‛.   kethôbeth is a derivative of kâthab, which means to write and kethôbeth means to write on your skin.  Qa‛ăqa‛ literally means an incision or gnash and in this context, Qa‛ăqa‛ is implied as scarring or making something permanent on the skin.  Combining these together, God is telling us not to write any permanent letter or mark on our skin.  But on this side of the conjunction, God is not referencing “for the dead”, rather He is generalizing the prohibition of any form of a tattoo on our bodies.

Therefore, both warnings within this conjunction are referencing a warning against any act of putting a mark on your skin, whether for the dead or for yourself.  None of these warnings are speaking directly against the act of flesh ritual practices.  God accomplishes such warnings against idolatry in Exodus 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

On the contrary, there are multiple references to God-ordained “tattoos” on our bodies.  Again, only when Qa‛ăqa‛ is used, does it refer to a permanent tattoo since an incision or gnash needs to be made for ink to become permanent…

In Isaiah 44:5, God is describing a generation of Israel that He will pour out His spirit on; “still another will write on his hand, The Lord’s”.  However, here, “write” is translated as kâthab, which means to write, but since qa‛ăqa‛ is not used, this example is only a temporary marking.

In Ezekiel 9:4, God tells a certain man clothed in linen to put a mark on the foreheads of certain men.  Here, “mark” is translated as tâv, which means a signature.  Again, since qa‛ăqa‛ is not used, this is only a temporary marking.

In Revelation 7:3, God seals His bond-servants so that they are not harmed by the opening of the seven seals.  Here, the word sphragizō is used and translated as “to stamp for security or preservation.”  God has a purpose for this mark on the foreheads of His servants during this time – it is to preserve them from judgment.

In Revelation 22:4, God marks his servants that inherit Him by putting His name on our foreheads.  The adverbial preposition here is meta, which is denoting “association” or “accompaniment” with God.  This is a permanent association in an eternal inheritance.  However, this is God-given, not man-created.

-Mark

“There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” – Proverbs 6:16-19

1. Haughty eyes – “Haughty” in Hebrew can be translated as “to lift up”.  An example of haughty eyes is in Isaiah 10:12, where God punishes Assyria because of the haughty look in its eyes.  Assyria saw the destruction of Israel as an opportunity to bring wealth and power to its kingdom through looting, plundering, and expanding its kingdom.  For us, haughty eyes can be thought of as the opposite of humility.  In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul talks about how Christ did not raise himself high, rather he made himself nothing and became a servant.  When we allow pride to creep in and compare ourselves to others with the mindset that we are greater, this allows us an opportunity to act in a haughty manner. (See Having an Attitude Like Christ Jesus.)
2. Lying tongue – This is pretty self-explanatory.  When we speak deceitfully and do not tell the truth, God hates this.
3. Hands that shed innocent blood – This is self-explanatory as well. Here, “hands”  in Hebrew is translated as an open hand, where openness indicates power, means, direction, etc.  This is not talking about involuntary manslaughter, but the violent act of cold murder.  God hates this.
4. Heart that devises wicked schemes – For someone that has sinful/evil/wicked plans, they usually make these plans in secret.  God hates a heart that devises such plans.
5. Feet that are quick to rush into evil – This is someone that rushes into doing evil.  We are supposed to remain in fervent prayer (Colossians 4:12) and by remaining in prayer (not necessarily on your knees, but even while at work), we can find our strength to overcome evil.  By going through the process of sanctification, we are learning more about God, gaining His wisdom and understanding, and strengthening our spirits.  Through sanctification we can better distinguish God vs. satan since we are learning more about God, and therefore, sin is becoming more apparent.  By not going through this process, we will not be able to afford ourselves the option to be prayerful against sin, because more than half the time, we don’t recognize when we are sinning.  So first comes sanctification to have the wisdom on how to flee from sin and then comes prayer to strengthen our spirits.
6. False witness that pours out lies – This connects to point number 3 – hands that shed innocent blood.  Not necessarily in the sense of murder, but by bearing false witness against someone who really is innocent, can be considered hatred.  Those that hold hatred against someone in their hearts is actually murdering that person, just as the one who lusts commits adultery.  By bearing false witness, you are harming the innocent.
7. A man who stirs up dissension among his brothers – This is not talking about rebuking or correcting those that do wrong.  In 1 Corinthians 5:10, Paul tells us not to separate ourselves from the sin of the world (for then we must take ourselves out of this world – which is impossible), but rather separate yourselves from the sin of an immoral brother (sin within the church).  Therefore, this is talking about the brother/sister who sins, and by their sin, they stirred up dissension and spread strife among other members within the church.  In this case, we are called to correct the sinner.  If they do not acknowledge their sin, then we are called to separate ourselves from that sinner.  When they confess, they are forgiven – when we confess, we are forgiven.  But without repentance, we are considered a sinner and in this case, we are called to do what the Holy Spirit tells us to do do in 1 Corinthians 5:10 – separate yourself from the sin in the church.  God hates the one who sins within their church, where the sin affects others in a negative way.

These seven things represent the complete list of the flaws in man that God hates.  Seven represents fullness – on the seventh day, God’s creation was complete.  The seventh day is the Sabbath and we will enter our eternal sabbath after the resurrection, the completion of God’s plan.  The good news is that if we repent, we are forgiven through Christ!

-Mark

UPDATE: Check out Sin that does not lead to Death.  Many times, we unintentionally commit one of these sins in the above.  God does forgive us.

We have been getting a lot of search hits on the phrase “void in life that only God can fill”.  So I decided to answer this question for our visitors that are looking for the answer.

There are 31,103 verses in the entire bible.  When you open the bible to Genesis, the 2nd verse of the entire bible describes the Earth in its dark, formless, void-filled beginnings before the heavens, land, plants, animals, or man was created.  Through God’s six days of creation and seventh day of rest, we can see all of the events that lead up to an Earth which is no longer void and formless, but rather an Earth that is at rest and at peace because God’s plan was completed.

“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” - Genesis 1:2

Then on the first day, God said “‘Let there be light’; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.”  Formless and Void in the original Hebrew can be translated as a worthless empty ruin.  Thus, if we apply the days of creation to the age of man and God’s 6000 year redemptive plan (1 day is as 1000 years to God; Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8), then the first day (or first 1000 years) represents the creation of the first Adam, the light of the world because he recognized his creator.  In Romans 5:14, Paul says that Adam was a type of Him who was to come – referring to Christ Jesus, the light of the world.  Through Christ, we are forgiven for our sins, and therefore, can be in eternal fellowship with God.  God saw that this light was good.

On the second day, God created the expanse in the sky, heaven, which separated the waters below the earth from the waters above the earth (the earth was in a different form before the flood of Noah).  During this 2nd millennium, Noah and his sons (the righteous), were separated from the wicked, which were judged by water.

On the third day, God created the land and from the land God said “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.”  God saw that it was good (Gen 1:12).  The land represents Abraham, the man who was righteous by faith and was isolated (metaphorically) from the rest of the void-filled world (water), which participated in idolatry.  During this third millennium also came Moses, who brought the Torah, the original covenant, into the world.  The Torah represents the fruit sprouting from the land.  In Gen 1:12, “The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.”  God saw that these plants yielding seeds and trees yielding fruit (the fruit of the law) was good. Each day has been progressively taking away from the formless void that the Earth originally was.

On the fourth day, God created the lights in the sky (stars, moon, and sun).  This fourth millennium (4000 years after the creation of the world) represents the age of Christ.  And “God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.” (Gen 1:17-18).  Christ brings the light, which separates darkness, to the world.  This too, God saw as good and removed the void from the Earth.

On the fifth day, God created the creatures of the sea and the birds of the air.  During this fifth millennium, God said “”Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”  During this age of Christ (age of the gentile), God sent all kinds of man (represented by all sorts of creatures) into the earth to proclaim the light of the world, which is Christ.

On the sixth day, God created both animal and man.  During this present millennium, the sixth, the creation of man represents the highest peak in knowledge.  First God created the creatures of the sea, the birds of the air, then the creatures of the land, and finally man (the peak of knowledge).  This peak of knowledge is not just of earthly things, but also in knowledge of God.  Finally, God tells man “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you” (Gen 1:29).  God allows man to inherit His kingdom.  Likewise, God allows man to enter the new world when Christ returns.  This time, God says “behold, it was very good” (Gen 1:31).

Following this inheritance during the sixth millennium comes the seventh millennium (the seventh day of creation), in which God entered his rest, our sabbath.  For those that are in Christ, we too will inherit our eternal sabbath, which is our eternal rest, the messianic era.  This seventh day, the sabbath, is a day set apart by God, who also sanctified it.  When we reach our eternal sabbath, we will be forever sanctified to perfection, as Christ was perfected through death.  This sanctification is what we seek and is the void which God will fill in us.

Similar to how God turned the world from a formless void to a fruitful kingdom with creatures, air, water, land, etc., God also turned the world from a wasteful ruin to a world which is bearing fruit through acknowledging God and following His light, Christ.  As for the individual man, us, who seek a void to be filled in our life, God too will turn us from a spiritually blind, meaningless existence, to a new creation of light, through Christ, with direction, peace, rest, and a light yoke.  As the Earth and once God-less world were transformed through a process, we too are continually being transformed through a process of sanctification, which climaxes at the return of Christ and where we enter our eternal sabbath rest.  The trick is that we have to allow God into our lives to accomplish what he wants to accomplish.  Man will not enter his eternal rest with God until God’s plan is completed.  Likewise, we will not enter our eternal rest until God’s plan is completed in our lives.

Please feel free to contact or leave a comment if you have any questions or comments!

Mark

I remember my first few months at business school: my goal was to be a light to those that were lost by by letting others no what true Christianity was, not the judgmental version which gets a bad rap.  I would go out with my friends not to be entertained by social settings, but because by going out, doors were opened to get involved and gain the trust of friends who one day would be interested in Christianity because of how I tried to live both outwardly and inwardly.

Of course, this created some heat between my friends at the Church in my pre-business school life and myself because the advice given to me was “I should not be yoking myself with unbelievers.”  I remembered the example of Paul becoming all things to all men so that by all possible means he might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22).  This is what I was doing.  I did not become a drunk, but I sat at tables with drunks.  In Matthew 9:10, Christ sat at a table with sinners.  Am I comparing myself to Paul or Christ – definitely not.  But I do know that we are here for the poor (in spirit) in this world and if we expect to become a fisher of men, we need to become more than an evangelist with a sign that says “Jesus saves!”; we need to get involved in the lives of those in this world.  But how do we know when our relationships cross the point of being unequally yoked?

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? - 2 Corinthians 6:14

Deuteronomy 22:9-11 speaks of three things which are of unequal yoking.  We can look at the interpretation of each of the three examples to help us analyze what Paul means in the above verse.  The three examples are:

verse 9 – “Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.”

verse 10 – “Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.”

verse 11 – “Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.”

In the example in verse 9, different seed requires different nutrition to grow.  For example, blueberries require nitrogen rich soil whereas too much nitrogen in soil will kill certain fruit.  If you plant different seeds within the same vineyard, chances are your harvest will not be full because each seed requires a preferred kind of soil.  From this example, we can say that the seeds are unequally yoked and the requirements of one type dictate the food of the other type.

Why would it be wrong to plow your field with two kinds of animals?  An ox and donkey have unequal strengths, abilities, etc.  Therefore if the ox is carrying more of the load than the donkey, the plowing of a field would be much more difficult and a straight furrow would be near impossible to plow.  This implies that the two are unequally yoked and the stronger ox is controlling the less stronger donkey.

In the final example, verse 11, we find another example of unequal yoking.  Wool is notorious for shrinking and cashmere for extreme shrinking.  If you create a shirt out of the two, when it comes time to wash and dry your shirt, the cashmere will dry much faster than the wool, yet in order for the shirt to be completely dry you would need to extend the dry time because of the wool.  This will over shrink your shirt.  From this example, the properties of one material dictate the output of the other material, and thus, are unequally yoked.

Through Paul, the Holy Spirit was referencing the above examples to demonstrate what an unequal yoking is.  We are told to not be equally yoked with unbelievers – this does not mean that we should remove ourselves from them.

Likewise, when Paul tells us to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers it does not mean to separate yourself from them, but to not allow the relationship to get to the point where the unbeliever controls you i.e.: you drink because they are drinking.  In 1 Corinthians 5:10, Paul tells us not to separate ourselves from sinners of the world, because then we would have to leave this world.  Rather, only separate yourself from the sinners within the Church.  Likewise, Christ Jesus even prays in John 17:15 “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”  We are not told to remove ourselves from unbelievers.  I repeat, we are not told to remove ourselves from the world and its unbelievers.  In fact, we are here for the sinners of the world and not to remain in our own Christian bubbles.

However, it is important to remember what we are called to be: In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Paul says “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” and in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

We are called to be holy.  We know we are unequally yoked with an unbeliever when we are at risk of becoming unholy through the actions of the unbeliever.  Just like the examples of the two different seeds, the two different animals, and the two different cloths, if the unbeliever begins to have control over our life to the point where we are at risk of becoming unholy, we are unequally yoked.

I hope this clarifies the loosely and often mistakenly misinterpreted verse in 2 Corinthians 6:14.

-Mark