Femi Falade on Kenneth E. Hagin- The Woman Question C6

Femi Falade Comments on Chapter Six of The Woman Question by Kenneth E. Hagin

I chatted my younger sister, Adesewa, recently on the need to understand God’s pattern of things instead of a religious motivated lifestyle. I gave her some powerful facts like:

Who you follow determines who and what follow you

Your choice determine who chooses you

Your position determines your possession

Following religiousity is following legality

Living by the Spirit is living by the word of God per time.

What brought this deep thought? I have once read this chapter and gain personal interest in how we should address and dress our women. As you read this chapter with my comment clearly stated, may God illuminate our hearts so that we can live to turn the world upside down and not the world turning us upside down.

The title of this chapter is Proper Dress and Adornment for Christian Women. The meaning is that, what we are discussing is not applicable to unbelievers. 

Papa Kenneth Hagin quoted 1 Timothy 2:9,10 and 1 Peter 3:1-5. The burdens in these two scriptures must have moved him to write such a letter to the body of Christ.

He said our Lord Jesus Christ has authority over us and because He is our Lord, He has authority to regulate our apparel as well as everything else pertaining to us.

These Scriptures deal with a temptation which — while men are not immune to it — makes its strongest appeal to women. For this reason women are singled out by Paul and Peter for these particular counsels. In our day we have seen that fashion has a greater power over many women than does a sense of modesty. Even worldly men have been shocked by the scantiness of the clothing worn by many women professing to be Christians. It is to be deplored that many women adopt fashions designed for and by people of questionable character rather than by those who seek to live for the glory of God.

The Observation of Papa is very true. The situation today in our society is deplorable. I told somebody one day that I am going to a particular church (deep in my heart I want to go there for an encounter and impartation), she told me that, well, you can go there may be you can preach to them, the church where they wear trouser and all kinds of things. I laughed within me and wonder what prompted such thing. In our society, this is caused by religious sentimental.

Papa further that:

I do not see that either Paul or Peter is laying down strict, ironclad rules — but there is a principle involved. According to my research it was the custom to spend much time plaiting the hair and working gold and trinkets into it. "He told them not to fix their hair," they conclude.

We see this more common among us today. The women especially in this part of the world spend three days to make some styles of hair. This is calling for help at this time.

Papa agree with Rev. O. B. Braune (late). He said, "I teach the women to dress up and look nice for themselves and for their husbands. I say to them, 'You had to look nice to get him, and you'd better look nice if you want to keep him.' "

Papa said, Peter wasn't saying DON'T. Because if he said, "DON'T plait your hair," and if he said, "DON'T wear gold," then he also said, "DON'T put on clothes."

For he said, "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel.. .. " (v. 3). 

This is true in its original context. However, we have so many religious churches who preached that at the expense of their members’ marriages and destinies. 

Papa observed that,

He didn't tell them not to wear apparel, or clothes. Because of the temptation to women in this area, he is saying, "Don't spend all your time on your hair. Don't spend all your time on fixing up. Don't spend all your time on dresses and clothes." (If some Christian women spent half as much time praying, fasting, and seeking God as they do on their hair and clothes, they'd be spiritual giants!) Peter is trying to strike a balance here.

This, I think is clear enough. Those who misinterpret this verse to confuse many ladies and women, many of which had dogmatically believe it and not willing to change. Most of them, it has cost them several opportuties in keeping friends and courtship.

Papa says, we need balance. The Church has a tendency to get into a ditch on one side of the road or the other. We don't need to go to the extreme either way — we need to go down the middle of the road. Peter's point is: Don't spend all your time on the outward man. But see to it, first of all, that the inward man is adorned with a meek and quiet spirit. If you will tend to the man on the inside first, you won't have to worry so much about the fellow on the outside. 

This explanation is simple. May God give us the heart of understanding especially, some ministers who have thought their congregations such doctrine.

Papa shares his experience thus:

When I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit in 1937 and came among Pentecostal people, the Full Gospel churches were more strict than they are now. Almost all the women, because they were taught to do so, had long hair. One woman evangelist caused an uproar when she cut her hair, or "bobbed" it, as they called it then. Some may not understand this terminology, but Texans and Oklahomans will get the picture when I say the people threw conniption fits. The woman minister said, "God told me to do it." "But the Bible says right here," they'd confront her, "for a woman to have long hair." "You see, though," she said, "there are other scriptures. (Scripture must be interpreted in the light of other Scripture.) 

Papa has hit the nail on its very head. I discovered that must of the people who follow this doctrinal belief, especially those I have had opportunity to meet told me they have a personal conviction. The statement, “God told me not to use it” is common to most of them. The truth is most of them don’t have scriptural backup for their conviction. This is a call to everyone in that shoe to check if it is a conviction from God or self-wishes or religious mandatory acts. 

Papa emphases that:

I saw that Peter said, 'Don't spend all your time on your outward man — on your hair — but see to it first of all that the inward man is adorned with a quiet and meek spirit.' It dawned on me that I was spending too much time on my long hair, trying to keep it looking nice. Since I've cut my hair, I just run a comb through it, and I'm finished. I can spend my time with my Bible and in prayer. Really, I'm more spiritual and have a closer walk with God than before. I was spending too much time with the outward man."

This is a fact for all women. Fact for all ministers. Fact for all ministers wives. 

Papa speaking said:

There is a balance to be struck here. I would say this, that those women who preach the Gospel should be especially careful to avoid even the appearance of evil or immodesty. (It might be wise for those who take some place of leadership to lean a little to the conservative side in dress and deportment.) Paul counsels women, in lieu of going to excess about these things, to have good works. You can readily see that if a woman spent too much time in some of these areas, she wouldn't have time for good works. Peter counsels adorning of the inward man. It takes time to adorn the inward man. It comes down to the battle within all of us between the flesh and the spirit.  

I don't think we need to lay down ironclad rules and a list of dos and don'ts. Nor do we have the right to force our opinions and ideas on others. I was always very conservative. It took my wife the first ten years of our marriage to talk me into the notion of wearing a wedding band. I just didn't care for rings. But I didn't have any convictions about others wearing them — it wasn't any of my business. I'm not to regulate your conscience; you are. That's between you and God. Let every man work out his own salvation. 

Words of wisdom from Papa. He pointed out in the last paragraph that we don’t need to lay down dogmatic and religious code of conduct and call it our own way of worship. Is God two or one? We should instead learn God and as we rub our lives on Him, He will train our minds what is fitting for our fellowship with Him even from His word.

Papa tell us more about history experience:

Oretha talked me into wearing a simple gold band, and at Christmas she gave me one. I started wearing it — and I grew to like it. It wasn't long before I said, "I'd like to have another one." And she got me another one. (Sometimes we're a little prejudiced about something, and then we find out it wasn't nearly as bad as we thought.). I never did care for the earrings ladies wear. I wasn't mean about it; I expressed my desire in as loving a way as I could, and my wife didn't wear earrings for the first 25 years of our married life. But I finally told her to do what she wanted, and wear them if she wanted. You see, that just amounted to my likes and dislikes. I didn't see that God particularly cared. After all, I saw that God saved people in Africa and baptized them with the Holy Spirit while they were wearing rings in their noses! Sister Maria Woodworth-Etter was an outstanding minister during the early days of the Pentecostal movement in this century. Born in 1844, she began her healing ministry in 1885. When she was 70 she had a tent which would seat 22,000, and she preached without a public address system.

I saw a 1911 issue of the Dallas Times Herald, and right on the front page it said concerning her meeting, "Take your umbrellas down, boys, and come out to the tent meeting at Fair Park. God is healing the sick like He did in the days of Jesus and the Apostles." It went on to tell how person after person was healed, and how the doctors of the city were examining them before and after. Some of the most amazing miracles you've ever heard of occurred in her meetings. That woman was a powerhouse for God. But she didn't even enter the ministry until she was older. God had called her to preach as a young woman, but her church said that women ought to keep silent — and she wouldn't obey God and thus got out of His will. She suffered many things. Five of her six children died. Did God kill them? No. But because she was in disobedience, the devil could. Her first husband died. And finally, when she was almost 50 and near death herself, she said, "All right, God. I'll do it. I don't care what the men say, what the church says, or what anyone says. I'll go preach and pray for the sick." Then things began to go well for her. Because she was one of the leading Pentecostal ministers of the day, though not associated with any particular group, she was invited to speak at the biannual General Council meeting of the Assemblies of God in the Stone Church in Chicago. I read her sermon, and I thought as I read it, "1916 — but how well it would fit today!" She spoke to these leading Full Gospel preachers about riding "hobbyhorses." "So many preachers," she said, "get off onto one thing and ride it like a hobbyhorse. Some get off on women's dress. That's all they ever preach about — and dressing one way or the other will not get you to heaven, or send you to hell. You need to preach Jesus, get the people saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, and let the Lord tell them what to do. "Don't fight other denominations. Don't fight fellow Christians," she advised. "Just preach Jesus, the Cross, the Blood, and the Resurrection. I've learned God will meet people I never thought He'd reach, because their hearts are hungry. I don't preach against anything. I preach for something."

I like the word of Dallas Times Herald here. She said get people saved and filed with the Holy Ghost and the Lord will tell them what to do. That should be the work of all ministers including their wives. Not condemning those who God want to change their lives and with their own mouth chases them from God. Let us stop fighting denomination and focus on the word of God. 

Papa also told us:

Bob Buess was a Southern Baptist home missionary to the Spanish-speaking people in the southwestern part of the United States when he received the Holy Spirit. He published a book in 1974 called The Pendulum Swings. The purpose of his book, he states, "... is to cause people to slow down and look at the other side of different issues. It is to let the pendulum swing back into the perfect will of God rather than to be hung up in dogmas and legalism."

Papa quoted from chapter 5, entitled "The Pendulum Swings Back into Line on Attitudes Toward Women's Dress," and Bob's comments on First Peter 3:3,4:

You must understand that women are instructed to put emphasis on the hidden man of the heart rather than extremes in dress.

IS IT TRUE THAT A WOMAN CANNOT WEAR PANT SUITS?

No, this is not true from a strict interpretation of the Word. Pray about it. Let the Lord guide you in this. Here is actually what the scripture says about it. DEUTERONOMY 22:5 "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God." 

The scripture speaks of women staying away from men's dress, and, likewise, the men are to abstain from wearing women's clothing. Some homosexuals like to put on women's clothes. They like to impersonate women. It is my opinion that this was the problem rather than the simple act of wearing the clothes of the opposite sex. One thing is certain, the woman should be a woman whether she has on slacks or a dress.

Tradition says that women should not wear pants. The Bible says nothing to this effect. If you are working with a group of people who have another view on women and pants, then you need to conform to them lest you be a stumbling block to them.

If you feel that you cannot conform, then you should pray about moving to another group who shares your convictions.

By the way, women's pant suits are not men's clothing. Also, in Bible days, the men wore skirts, and the women wore the pants. Perhaps the women need to have the pants and the men need to take the skirts. (On second thought, I'd rather not)

It is very important that you follow your peace. Some have a strong background teaching against women wearing pants. Wear what your society permits you to wear, but do not try to force your views in a dictator spirit on someone else. You can share your convictions, but do not demand.

1 PETER 3:3,4 "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man

of the heart... even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit»»

Here women are admonished to put the emphasis on the hidden man of the heart. They are to be tender and feminine. They are to have a gentle and quiet spirit... . let there be an emphasis on the humble spirit rather than on the dress . . . Some of the so-called 'holy' women, as far as dress is concerned, are some of the meanest women in the world. They seem to develop a holier than thou spirit.

A missionary couple lived in what is now known as the land of Israel from 1900 to 1935. When they came back they wrote on Bible land customs. Many strides have been made in that land since Israel came back, but when this man and his wife were there, more of the ancient customs prevailed. He pointed out, "We've tried to interpret the Bible in the light of the western mind, and it is an eastern book.

We have learned that some Scriptures which mean one thing to us, among these people are interpreted in exactly the opposite way. 

One thing I've found which appalls me is that in America, when we've come home on furlough, we've seen pictures of Christ, and in them He's wearing women's clothes. The artists have him in a robe, all right, but the difference is in the color. There are certain colors men never wear — they belong to women. Some of the people who protest most loudly about women wearing certain attire have a picture in their own homes of Jesus wearing women's clothes."

In commenting on First Timothy 2:9, which is one of our texts, Bob Buess says, "Actually, the scripture deals with extremes. It cautions about excesses. Ornaments,

etc., are denounced rather than the type of clothes. Some women who are heavy on [wearing] ornaments treat women in pant suits as if they were snakes. To say the least, such women should be consistent with the scripture."

I have something to say concerning Bob’s views. I like men who are not quoting the bible out of context. I embraced the view of this man of grace. This is the scripture. Most preachers continue to preach laws and burdens for women. The word of God, especially Deuteronomy 22:5, has been quoted out of context. Many even find it difficult to identify women things. We were taught all manner. Sometimes, trouser is used as a topic in most religious settings and they preached on the legality. Ear rings are condemned and the uses of any form of attachments are rebuked. All these, are secondary rather than our growing in grace and in the knowledge of him.

Papa said:

It is easy to become inconsistent. I've been in places where they wouldn't allow pearls or ornaments to be worn on the dresses. But they would do up their long hair with ornamental pins sticking out all over. This amounts to saying, "It's all right to wear ornaments on your head, but not from your neck down." I've known preachers who wanted to tell all the women just how to dress; it was their main subject. Their poor wives were hardly permitted to look decent. They had to wear their hair long and couldn't use a speck of makeup. But those same preachers dressed up and looked nice. When they went out, their wives looked like their mothers!

The above view is now contemporary. Pastors are border if they marry their mother age-mate after few years of marriage. They wonder if that is how the woman was before marriage. My points is, preachers should unify their views on this matter so that confused unbelievers can know those who are Christians from others who are not. We must preach purity and devotion to God based on God’s truth. We must preach fellowship with God. I am sure that if our fellowship gets deeper with God, we shall have his mind on all matters of our individual life. 

Pastor Kenneth E. Hagin has given us a clear exposition in this piece. I show believers a portion of 1 Cor. 8:8-end. How we are charged not to allow our liberty of choice make other weaker Christian to fall into sin. We must learn God’s fear in everything we do. We must live for God and not for ourselves. We must love God and obey all He commanded us from His word with correct biblical understanding of the scripture. 

May we have grace to help us understand how we should live our lives for Him. 

Be blessed.

Amen.

Femi Falade A

A Minister of the Gospel of Victory

Comments should be sent to:

godswrestlers@gmail.com

femlex1@gmail.cim

Please download buy this book for further issues on Women. The title is The Woman Question by Kenneth E. Hagin.

Or you can make a request for its PDF through my mail or 08067342381.