Commandments and Concessions

Do You Know the Difference?

We are looking at 1st Corinthians on the subject of what are strictly the commandments of the Lord, as they are called, and what Paul states to be concession or permission, as it is in the King James Version.

Have you ever noticed and considered the mention of these  two very different matters in this letter, which is often called the Charter of the Church by many? I personally believe that very little attention is given to either one of these very interesting subjects and they often go unnoticed and disregarded as well in the Church today.

Let me start out by saying that when Paul uses the word, “commandment” in regards to what he wrote, or the expression, “the commandments of the Lord” in referring to any statements he was making, he was saying exactly what the word commandment implies. These were the commandments of the Lord. They are not the Apostles ideas or remedies for a certain problem in a certain church but they are as Mr. W.E. Vine states, “that which is of Divine origin.” They are referring to the will of God, concerning the House of God and the people of God. They are no less in the New Testament the commandments of the Lord as were the commandments of the Lord that were received by Moses from the Lord in the Old Testament.

Those ten commandments dealt with matters of mans relationship with the one true God as well as the relationships between men. The commandments we see in the New Testament are simply the will of God in regards to faith and practice in our lives and in the Church. The ones we will consider in the letter to Corinth are commandments that carry spiritual significance when understood by us.  In explaining them, I sometimes contrast them with certain commands the Lord gave in the Old Testament where he said to the people in Lev. 19:19, and in other Scripture, that they shall not wear a garment woven of wool and linen. Do you think God was suggesting this or did He mean what He was saying? Do you think the Jews of that day that were serious about being in covenant relationship with God obeyed this command or did they simply conclude it was optional?  They obeyed of course even if they didn't fully understand the reason behind it.

Of course, God always has a reason behind why He does anything as He did here. There was not only practical reason but spiritual reason, as well as there is surely one or the other, or both, for us. God never gives meaningless instruction to His people.  Men do that under religious pretension. These various commandments or instructions were in no way anything less than any of the commandments found in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, as spoken by the Lord Himself while on earth.

Because of the fact that we are living under the dispensation of grace in no way makes these commandments optional.  Do you believe that? Or are we in any way like those that were asked by Paul in Corinth; “did the Word of God originate with you?” (1st Cor. 14:36) It seems that it has with many that go to the Word of God to get their sermon texts and their illustrations for successful living stories here on earth but simply pass over the commandments of the Lord as given by the Apostles. 

They preach from the Word of God, but they don't necessarily preach the Word of God. They, for some reason, don't understand the Scriptures in this regard and so they don't teach all the counsels of God, as found in the Holy Scriptures, concerning the Church.  If they did many would possibly be out of a job and the membership list might suddenly shrink. But let's continue with our study on commandments and concessions.  

Let's look at the two subjects and try our ways before the Lord in regards to the Church as well as the Christian life. We will start with the subjects that are answered by way of concessions first, as they are mentioned in 1st Cor. 7 where Paul makes it very clear that there is a difference between concession and commandment.

In verse six, notice he says; 

But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. (1st Cor. 7:6)

And why does he say this? Because what he was speaking on, in answering the many questions sent to him by these brethren, were matters that had no direct commandment from the Lord. In this chapter seven, he is teaching on the following subjects: marriage… living according to how it was with us when the Lord called us. And then we have further instructions that were for the unmarried and widows so that they  could know the mind and will of the Lord.

What needs to be kept in mind is the fact that this chapter is full of Apostolic instruction and advice given by a man under the influence of the Holy Spirit and is in no way any less the will and Word of God. But it is practical instruction for the most part and it is somewhat flexible in regards to who it is applicable to.  It is flexible if you will allow me to use that word in matters under discussion except of course for the subject of marriage as you can clearly see. Notice in verse 10 where Paul says; “And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord.” What unity and fellowship between Paul and the Holy Spirit, it is truly amazing to see.

Now as I was saying, marriage is not flexible or negotiable when it comes to what God has said about it and it falls under commandment from the Lord and not concession from Paul as we see here. But when we look at the subject matter in verses 1-8 we see Paul commenting on questions that were put to him and he responds with his answer stating that he was speaking by concession and not by commandment. He even goes so far as to say that personally he would rather that all men were like him in this matter but he recognized that not all had the same gift as he had in the matter under discussion. And let me just say that what Paul was able to do by way of Divine gift in his life is not the same as making a rule to be like Paul if you want to serve the Lord as one of the sects in Christendom does. This is assuming that what Paul was talking about was the fact that he was not married (at the time of this writing).  

In verse 12 he speaks to the matter of the one person, a believer having an unbelieving spouse and gives his answer with the words; but to the rest speak I, not the Lord.  And he was not speaking as a private individual but as an Apostle under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Having no direct commandment or revelation from the Lord, he was speaking as a man that had absolute Apostolic authority to give this instruction. The same is true as to verse 25 concerning questions on the matter of virgins. He says clearly that he had no commandment from the Lord but he would give his judgment as one that had obtained mercy from the Lord to be faithful.  And what mercy and grace it was.

This is simply understood by any honest person to mean that what Paul was saying was as much God breathed as any other part of the Scriptures. I trust my readers will agree.  Many I know do not.  I have had personal conversations with various people from mainline Churches that were once bastions of Bible truth but have now been taken over by liberalism. Some now have women pastors as well as gay and lesbian ministers in positions of leadership. I remember one discussion where I was told in no uncertain terms that the Apostle Paul was in his letters giving his male biased opinions on the matter of women in the Church. Of course, we reject that nonsense completely.

And so as to these concessions or matters that were not addressed by direct commandment from the Lord we see a distinction in the way they were handled and applied to individuals by the Apostle. But we also state without controversy that we accept every word as being no less the inspired word of God.  But when it comes to the subject of direct commandment in regards to matters in the Church we see there is no room given for flexibility or individual application.

For instance, when we look at 1Cor. Ch 14:26-38, we are expressly told what the Lord commanded in regards to worship and the place of women in the Church. Look at verse 34-35; Let your women keep silence in the churches: (Plural) for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

How are we supposed to understand this? Some people tell us this was a problem that existed with Paul and his male bias problem as I have said earlier. Others say that it was a cultural problem that existed in Corinth alone that the Apostle had to address with some disorderly women there.  Is this true?  We don't believe it is.

First of all, there is the statement in verse 34 that is plural in speaking of all the Churches. Paul said let your women keep silence in the Churches (plural) not just Corinth.

Second, he not only mentions a command in this regard but he appeals to the law. This is a general reference to the law in its comprehensive sense that would be surely understood by the Jews as well as others in this time. It would reference the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden and the effect that sin brought upon the world as well as the matter of headship that exists in the creation and in the Church.

Third there is the statement Paul makes that it is a shame for a woman to speak in the Church.  And if it is a shame for a woman to speak in Church, what is it for a woman to take the lead and preach the Word of God in the Church? Notice too, that the same subject is addressed by Paul with Timothy in 1st Timothy 2:12-14 where he says; But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.  

If this was a matter solely among the church at Corinth, why would Paul give these instructions to Timothy concerning the Church.  Here in the next few verses are the reasons why the woman is commanded in this way. The male stands first in the creation and was designated by the Lord as his representative and the women stands first in the transgression. And to the shock and dismay of the many liberals of our day, God commanded it to be so. That settles it with me.  Now this we read in 1st Timothy Ch. 2 under the heading in many Bible versions that says; instructions to women.

And while I'm on the subject let me say a word on verse eight of our chapter in Timothy. The verse that says; I will therefore that the men pray (audibly) everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. This is understood by any competent Bible commentator to mean the men, in contrast to the women, when it is understood along with the teaching of Paul in 1st Corinthians Chapter 14 and in 1st Timothy Chapter 2:12-14. In verse 36 of 1st Cor. 14, we have the Apostle asking ; What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?  Another words, as W.E. Vine puts it, the evil  doings and practices that are going on among you, have you become an independent authority  in resisting what the will of the Lord is concerning the house of God?

Then in verse 37-38 he speaks some of the most searching statements I know in all the Scriptures in regards to testing all things and all people that say they are Scriptural in practice and place.  He says; If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. Or as it is translated elsewhere, if any one ignores this he himself will be ignored.

Unwillingness to be instructed, in a person, will always produce unwillingness to obey and submit to the Lord. Christians can obey and submit to the teachings of the Lord or they can ignore them and that after they are clearly understood. The days when the Holy Spirit acted in immediate correction as He did in the Acts of the Apostles are now in the past. With the establishment of the Church and the completion of the Holy Scriptures we are now left with the responsibility of yielding to the instructions we find in the Word of God or doing our own thing and that under His marvelous grace. Grace that should lead any truly redeemed soul to obey the Scriptures, and not just use them for a guide or a good sermon on Sunday morning.

Let us consider our ways before that day when God shall judge the works of every man by that man the Lord Jesus Christ. Examine yourselves and examine your church and how it is being run as well as by whom. The test is the same as the one the Lord Jesus put to the Pharisees in Matt. 21:23-27. The Pharisees challenged the Lord as to the authority he had to do what he was doing and who is it that gave him this authority. The Lord replies by turning the question back to them in regards to their practices and their conduct in the things of God.

Let us turn the sharp knife of the Word of God upon ourselves and ask ourselves, is what we do in regards to Church practice, really according to the Apostolic doctrine as found in the New Testament Scriptures or are we practicing the ways of Christendom all around us?  The reverent titles that belong to God alone… The one-man ministry… the women preachers and elders in the churches. Are these the things that were from the beginning or are they things that have been introduced by men?  How about the Lords Supper? It was instituted in the Gospels by the Lord himself. It was practiced in the Acts on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7) and then divinely explained to Paul that was not there to explain to the Corinthians as to its practice.

Do you really think that Paul told anyone to do it just once a month or once every three months when the disciples and the earliest church history tells us they observed it every Lords day? Why, even Rome knows enough to do that. The head covering that is taught for the woman and the silence commanded her in the Scriptures, is this the will of the Apostle we find here or are these the commandments of the Lord as he calls them?

I have been reading the Scriptures and commentaries and expositions on the Scriptures for some forty plus years and I have yet to find any reputable commentators that do not believe these things to be the will of God in the assembly. Men like Mr. W.E. Vine agree that they are. Augustine did as well. A.T. Robertson known for his word studies of the N.T. points out that it is a literal head covering. William Barclay in 1954 said it is wrong for a woman to appear without a covering. The commentator Charles Hodge agreed as did F.F. Bruce. John Murray the Professor of systematic Theology at Westminster said I am convinced that the head covering is enjoined on the woman. J. Vernon McGee subscribed to the rightness of it as did John Calvin and F.W. Grosheide and Charles Caldwell Ryrie in his The Role of Women in the Church, 1958. I could go on and on naming commentators, Bible expositors and the great preachers of the 1800's that all believed these things to be right.

These things we speak of are the Apostles doctrine as found in the Holy Scriptures and as they are passed down to faithful men (2nd Tim. 2:2) that can teach and practice such things, there you have true Apostolic succession.  Apostolic succession in our day is not any authority that is deposited in any man by another man, it is obedience in a man to faithfully carry on what the Lord commanded under the leadership of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit and not yield to any changes made by any man or group of men no matter how pious they may be. The words of our Lord Jesus Christ were; Ye are my friends if you do whatsoever I have commanded.  

Amen! 

CGB -2017