Shepherding
versus
a True Covering
(part 6)
Copyright © 2004 ~ Gary W. Crisp
Shepherding, Covering, Man, Woman...
Let us stop a moment, gain our bearings, then proceed with this study on Covering. For those who still may not be sure of what shepherding is......Shepherding is the teaching that all Christians need shepherding from a pastor or “authority figure”, or guidance and/or “help” from some kind of “minister in charge”, and it was not entirely false...or even entirely harmful. As I mentioned in the first of these teachings on Covering, there is a Divine Order that God has ordained and expects to be followed. Shepherding took that Order and twisted it, perverting the Truth of God. We can see this in two places where Peter wrote about such things.
One of the reasons I am spending this much time talking about a teaching that initially “came to light” over twenty years ago, is to stress the point that things do not just quietly and harmlessly “go away”. Not in the church; neither in our marriages, and certainly not in our own hearts and lives. Some things must be dealt with -- sternly and forthrightly. When Peter wrote that there were teachers who had privately come up with their “own” revelation concerning the things and the Truth of God, he very boldly spoke out against it. We must do the same today. The last part of the verse above speaks of Christians who will “follow their (these false teachers) pernicious ways.” The resulting shame would be that “the Way of Truth shall be evil spoken of.”
Today, in the churches and lives of Christians in America, we have very little regard for the True Teaching of Covering that the Spirit of God had so carefully laid out for the apostles and authors of the New Testament Church. And, if one will listen, you can hear of open disregard for Headship and Covering teachings in our churches. Why? Because of this false teaching that invaded and pervaded the churches of America (and probably the world). Let’s take a look at the other place in which Peter speaks of the same thing --
Very plainly, Peter is warning us, telling us clearly that we, too, can be deceived, falling from our “own stedfastness.” “Stedfastness” (v.17) is the opposite of “unstable” (v.16) -- what would we rather be...“stedfast” or “unstable”? Peter tells the early church, and it very well applies to each of us today: “Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” As husbands, we, too, must grow in His Grace and His Knowledge. If we do not...we can never be the kind of covering that Paul and others speak of in the New Testament.
One other point...regarding women who feel they cannot (for some reason) respect their husbands...
it does no good to argue over “why” a woman may not be able to respect her husband. All we know is that women are directly and clearly told this is what they are to do. To argue the point for this reason or that reason gets us as far ahead as arguing “which came first...the chicken or the egg...???” It makes no sense to argue a “pointless” argument, and we can get no where until we can all get to the point of taking and bearing our own responsibilities.
The bottom line of the “shepherding teaching” is that all decisions are to be made by whoever is “in charge”. If it’s the pastor, then the pastor makes all decisions; if it’s an appointed elder, then even he is over the pastor; if it’s someone who has set themselves up as an apostle, then they have full and uncontested authority -- only what they say, approve or decide is done or recognized. All will of the sheep, all decision-making by the sheep, all hope of the sheep is taken away -- all in the guise of “protecting the sheep”, claiming to keep them from error or deceit. What are some of these so-called decisions made on behalf of the sheep? Following are but a few examples:
Who men or women should marry...
Where someone might work...
If someone should buy a car, and what kind...
Should someone move, and where?
Even if or how many children couples should have.
All of these scenarios, in varying degrees, were what those who “ruled in the Shepherding domain” made decisions upon; and there were many other areas which we will not get into here and now. Suffice it to say...it was not a very great “stretch” to move this line of thinking into the homes of Christian men and women, with the women taking the biggest brunt of the blow -- the women had the most to lose; the men had a kingship and a headship to gain...at least, that’s the way it was planned and how it appeared for a while. Things, though, are about to change.
Let me be very, very frank here...it was men who devised this line of thinking and this type of authority (which isn’t authority, but dictatorship); it was men who stood the most to gain; it was men who befouled and confused and perverted God’s Divine Order of things; and it will be men who must make it right. We men must renounce, denounce, expose and reverse “the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (2nd Corinthians 4:2).
In short, men of God, it is time to repent! If you have been ruling your home with the fist of authority or even been insisting that all decisions must come through you and to you, then it is time to ask the Lord and your family and, yes, even your wife for forgiveness. Jesus, nor any of His disciples, nor any of the apostles “lorded it” over anyone, and even when He sensed that any of His disciples may have been slightly misguided in their hearts or in their logic, He simply re-directed their thinking.
When His disciples suggested that they “command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them” when a Samaritan city had not received them with “open arms” (Luke 9:53-56), Jesus rebuked them, and said, “You have no idea by what manner of spirit you are influenced; the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
When they argued amongst themselves who was the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus taught them that they must become as a little child to enter into the Kingdom. He also said, he who would “humble himself as a little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” And one day, when James’ and John’s mother asked Jesus for special seating privileges for her two sons in the coming Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 20:20-28), this started a very strong argument among the disciples, for they were very angry, jealous and displeased. Jesus quickly told them --
In verse 26, where Jesus says “let him be your minister, what He is actually saying is “let him be your deacon -- one who runs errands; an attendant, i.e. a waiter (at table or in other menial duties).” We have studied out this word “deacon” in our teaching on the Gift of the Evangelist. In verse 27, where He says “let him be your servant, He is telling His disciples, “let him be your slave -- one who is a slave (literally or figuratively, involuntarily or voluntarily); a bondman, bond-servant; to be in bonds, as unto the Lord.” Paul, Peter, James and the other apostles all described themselves (in their writings) as a servant and/or an apostle of Jesus Christ. Serving the Body...not “lording over”, controlling or manipulating the Body, and certainly not making all of its decisions.
This “lording over” and this ruling-minded attitude is what we see in churches all across America; this is what we find in many Christian homes in our land; this is what many husbands are doing to their wives...exercising dominion over them; and trying to be “great”, they exercise authority upon them. This ought not to be! While the man may be designated as the “head” of the woman, we still are equal in God’s Eyes. Look at 1st Peter 5: --
Where do we find this in our churches today? Where is this humility that seems to be so important to God? If God “resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble”, what does it mean if so many leaders, Christians and husbands are filled with their own sense of importance and worth...? If there is humilty lacking in our churches, homes and lives, then that must mean that there is also Grace, His Wonderful Grace, lacking in our lives as well. Paul says, in Acts 20:19, “Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations...”. Paul “served the Lord with great humility of heart and mind.” He was a servant to all the churches, to all Christians everywhere, to all who needed him...just as Jesus had taught His disciples in Luke 9:53-56 and Matthew 20:20-28, as well as many other places.
In conclusion, on this matter of the shepherding teaching, let us state emphatically and without fear of contradiction in the scriptures: Anyone -- anywhere and for whatever reason -- who tries to rule by intimidation, domination or manipulation is NOT a servant of the Most High God! Anyone -- anywhere and for whatever reason -- who tries to rule by force, by threat or by even the slightest of fear or scare tactics is NOT a servant of the Most High God! The key words here, and the main thought is -- anyone who tries to rule using these tactics; we are not saying that there is never a time for confrontation or even stern correction. Paul wrote to Timothy, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2nd Timothy 3:16)
Beloved, God never, never, never uses “scare tactics”, threats or force to control His people. I am not talking about ministers and teachers or those who, in the course of their ministry, speak something that might unnerve us or challenge our hearts. Example: I know of a dear brother in the Lord who, right now, is planning on sending out a book he wrote concerning Armageddon. Read that book and, saints, it is scary. Plenty within the scriptures are unsettling to the heart and mind; Jesus spoke of wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, etc. I am not speaking of these things...they should grip our hearts and make us think. What I am referring to are those who twist and shape and use the scriptures to serve their own purposes, accomplishing their own ends. And brothers and sisters...in the Kingdom of God, the end never justifies the means.
Again...when we were sinners, unregenerated and lost -- He may reveal to us that our hearts are not right and there is an eternity awaiting us separated from Him in hell -- and that, in and of itself, should shake us to our core, but that is in the initial awareness of Who He Is! After we repent and come to Him, we are His, the sheep of His Pasture; we are His children, heirs, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, His only beloved and begotten Son. And, should (God forbid) we ever stray and backslide away from Him, He will do everything within His Power (and that’s an awful lot of Power!) to draw us back to Himself...but He will not threaten us and intimidate us in doing so. Now we will, being the stubborn and calculating humans that we are...we will use every scare tactic known to man and whatever else is handy to scare any back-slidden soul back to the Fold...but He will not. He will use Grace, Mercy, Love and Longsuffering to woo us back to His Side. I know...firsthand. In my early days of walking with the Lord, I tasted the bitterness of the backslidden heart, and His sweet, gentle Mercy and Love is what drew me back to the safety of His Grace.
Having said that, let me say yes, yes, and yes to the words and scripture that speak harshly and in a threatening manner to stiff-necked, stubborn, willful, unrepentant men and women, who have decided in their hearts they will not serve God! In both the Old and the New Testaments, God does speak to these people in a very stern, corrective and decisive manner, and should we ever get so haughty and self-absorbed, may He even speak to us this way. God help us and keep us and watch over us that we may never, ever stray that far away from Him. Souls who trouble and distress the House of the Lord are inviting these kinds of reprimands from the Lord. Most of what I am referring to is the kind of Christian who is doing everything within their power to cling to, rely on and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior...these are the ones that I say men must not try to control, threaten or manipulate.
This study on covering has pretty much run the gamut, hasn’t it? But I felt it necessary to include much of this, because there is so much that has not been addressed or taught in most churches (that I’m aware of). Looking back at what we’ve discussed, what is a good, healthy covering? As with Adam and Eve, God’s initial Covering (Himself) was sufficient for them; all they needed to do was stay beneath it, or within its confines. What were their limits? Only one. They could do anything they wanted, except...to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And that is one thing they just could not refrain from doing. After eating of it, death set in...into the whole human race that would spring from their union. And...God had to create for them a new covering -- animal skin clothes.
Oh, He was still their Covering; it’s just that now He was their Covering from a distance. They could no longer walk and talk and fellowship with Him in the Beautiful Garden of Eden -- they had both been banned. And the animal skin that provided their new covering...it had to have come from a real, live animal...slain for them; for their sins. And, very likely, it was an animal that they had known and to which they had become attached. This was a foreshadowing, a type, of what Jesus would do nearly four thousand years later.
While we know the story very well, let’s look at Noah and his ark. The Lord told Noah to make an ark; most of us know the particulars, so let’s focus on one area. Genesis 6:14 “Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make rooms in the ark, and shall pitch it within and without with pitch.” The words used for “pitch” here are very interesting words.
Pitch it within --“Pitch” is the Hebrew word kaphar (kaw-far’), meaning “to cover with asphalt or tar; to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel; appease, make (an) atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, to pitch, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile, reconciliation.” I included the entire meaning, because it reveals more than just an airtight sealant to make something waterproof -- it gives us a very clear picture of Atonement for Noah and all who were on board that vessel. The preceding definition is specifically for the inside of the ark; the outside, where it says “and without with pitch” is a slightly different rendering.
Pitch it without --Here, “pitch” is the Hebrew word kopher (ko’-fer), meaning “to cover, like a village (as covered in or covered over); bitumen, asphalt, tar (as used for coating), and the henna plant (as used for dyeing); figuratively -- a redemption-price; bribe, camphire, pitch, ransom, satisfaction, sum of money, village.” In Song of Solomon 1:14, where Solomon writes -- “My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi” -- what he is saying is that the Lord is his Covering. Again, in the case of Noah’s ark, the vessel was sealed within and without...that ark was not going to sink or be swamped; it was a worthy vessel.
The act of saving Noah and his family was the Lord’s Way of giving the Old Testament saints a foreshadowing of what Atonement would be like -- a safe and holy covering, inside and out -- nothing left uncovered or vulnerable. The Lord was thorough with his dealings with Noah, and no one was lost. He is just as thorough in His dealings with us, and we are as safe and secure in His Hands as Noah and his family and every living creature Noah had brought with him. We have no need to worry or fear...as long as we stay within the confines of His Wonderful Covering.
Adam and Eve failed to do such a thing, but all of Noah’s passengers were safely sealed inside. The next part of this rather long teaching on Covering looks to see if there is any way we can “stray beyond its confines”. Are we safe, no matter what we do or how long we do it? We’ll take a look at God’s “keeping ability” in the next segment. The title of the next teaching is “A Heavenly Covering from the Lord”. There we’ll look at some other Old Testament Coverings, but for now I’ll close this portion with this verse...
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