In the New Testament writings of Paul the Apostle, he put several precepts concerning the culture and period of his time before the early church that are still very much debated today. He gave several recommendations concerning women’s conduct and dress that most understand were culturally based for the time period, but some believe are still required in today’s culture. He wrote particularly concerning women’s hairstyles, dress, and roles in the church.
The debate over God's word and its authority has continued since biblical times. Men and women today are no less concerned with its relevance for our times and in our own lives. When God gave mankind the original precepts, he laid down the principles by which we are to live our lives. As Jesus said, “All of the law and the prophets are summed up in these two commandments,” He showed us that the laws we use to guide our conduct are based on two underlying principles. Namely that we should love God with all of our being and that we should love mankind as we love ourselves. If we truly love God we will keep him first and foremost in our hearts and lives, we will not use His name vainly, and we will keep a day of worship. We will give Him one day out of seven and we will not allow other things, people, and activities to supersede His rightful seat in the throne room of our hearts. If we truly love mankind as we do ourselves then we will not steal from them, kill them, covet their possessions, lie to them, etc. It is impossible for mankind to live according to God's law without transgressions, but our conduct can ultimately be guided by the underlying principles of those laws.
God set forth the principles behind the precepts and man has expounded on those for centuries. When inspired men wrote the passages of scripture we have today, they attempted to put into the words of man, the principles and precepts of God's law. God gave us the underlying principles, while man gave us the letter of the law. The principles and precepts of man may change, while God's principles and precepts remain unchanged. In the New Testament writings of Paul the Apostle, he put several precepts concerning the culture and period of his time before the early church that are still very much debated today. He gave several recommendations concerning women's conduct and dress that most understand were culturally based for the time period, but some believe are still required in today's culture. He wrote particularly concerning women's hairstyles, dress, and roles in the church. Women were told that their hair must be kept long and not with fancy braids, their clothing must not be that of a man's, they must wear a head covering when they pray, and that they were not allowed to speak in the church. These ordinances were given so those godly, Christian women might be distinguished from the temple prostitutes of other religious practices, who wore their hair cut short, wore immodest clothing and were notorious for their “babbling” which was disruptive to worship. Also other religions were notorious for women priestesses, which sometimes lorded it over the men in the system.
When Paul wrote these ordinances, the principle behind them was to be distinguishable from the pagan people and their religious practices. In today's culture we are still to remain distinguishable from worldly behaviors and attitudes, though we are no longer compelled to wear our hair a certain style, or cover ourselves from head to toe. We are, however, compelled to dress modestly and appropriately for being godly women in our present culture, not in any ungodly fashion that would be overtly tempting to other Christians. Nor do women have to “keep silent” at church, but we are to conduct ourselves in a manner which is not disruptive to orderly worship.
One of today's most contested admonitions that Paul made to the early church was his statement that women should not usurp the authority of a man. Some argue that this passage expressly forbids women to preach or teach any group which includes men. The principle behind this precept is that one should not be grasping for power and influence at the expense of another's ministerial position. A woman should not seek to attain a position of authority over an existing ministry so as to demean the position of another's authority in the church. She should not be covetous of a particular ministry, though she may have a teaching or ministering position in her own right and she might also instruct men in that capacity. But she should be careful not to trample on another's ministerial territory, especially if he or she is currently in a position of authority in the church. There are so few godly men in the church and ministry today, that women might fill that void, lest the fields go unharvested and many souls be lost to the ungodliness of the times. But where a man is in a position of authority, a woman should not seek to usurp his leadership position, while remaining in subjection to the authority of his headship.
God has indeed ordained a hierarchy of position in his design of mankind's spiritual and cultural constitutions, but as we seek to preserve God's design, we should not neglect the weightier matters of bringing His good news to a lost and dying world. If a woman is called to God's ministry and she finds an outlet for that ministry, then by all means she should pursue every available avenue for that calling. And If she falls under the headship of a man in authority, she should respect that position. But if there is no man in authority in the ministry in which she feels led to, then she may assume a leadership position in her own right in order to facilitate that ministry. If she establishes a position of leadership within her chosen ministry, then a man should not seek authority over her, where there has not previously been a man in authority. Every Christian leader is called to be above reproach, while backbiting and power-grubbing should not be named among those with their standing. Godly men and women should always conduct themselves with respect for each other and respect for positions of authority, knowing that God is the ultimate authority of us all.
