Page 74 - Sarah's Children

God’s Two Universal Systems

I would like to view this matter of head covering from far off; otherwise,
it will not be easy to understand I Corinthians 11. To comprehend this
chapter requires that we know God and His Word. First of all we need
to know that God has set up two systems in the universe: the system of
grace and the system of government.

The System of Grace

All that concerns the church, salvation, brothers and sisters, and God’s
children is included in God’s systems of grace. Everything which
pertains to the Holy Spirit and to redemption belongs to the system of
grace. Within the proceedings of grace, the relationship of man and
woman is such that the Syro-Phoenician woman received grace from
God as much as the centurion. So did Mary as much as Peter. So, too,
might Martha and Mary have been raised from the dead as well as
Lazarus.

The System of Government

But there is another system in the Bible which we will call the
government of God. This system is entirely different from that of grace.
God’s government is an independent system under which God does
whatever pleases Him.

When God created man, He created male and female. This belongs to
God’s government. He created male first and female next - also a matter
of His government. He does what pleases Him. He has a sovereign and
independent will. When He decided that the Lord Jesus should be the
seed of the woman, this too was God’s government. He does not take
man into His counsel...

Grace and Government Joined and Completed

These two systems of grace and government continued side by side until
the coming of the Lord Jesus. Quite evidently there are two sides to
God’s work: the system of God’s grace and the system of God’s
providence proceed together in the world. The priests and the prophets
stand on the side of grace, maintaining the system of grace; the kings
and the leaders of Israel stand on the side of God’s government,
maintaining the system of His government.