432 The Spiritual Man
If everyone who serves the Lord would take to heart today that
our aim is to help people to receive the life of Christ, then none
would ever employ an emotional approach to obtain men’s approval
of the teaching of Christ and their preference for Christianity. Only if
we completely acknowledge that what man requires today is God’s
life—the quickening of the spirit—will we then perceive how vain is
any work performed by ourselves. No matter how extensive a man
may undergo a change, this alteration effected by emotion occurs
exclusively within the pale of his very “self”: never does he step
outside that boundary and exchange his life for the life of God. May
we truly appreciate the reality of the fact that “spiritual aims require
spiritual means.” Our spiritual aim must be to secure man’s
regeneration, and to effect that transformation we must use spiritual
means. Emotion is altogether useless here.
The Apostle Paul tells us that any woman who prays or prophesies
must have her head veiled (see 1 Cor. 11). Many and diverse
interpretations surround this matter. We have no intention to join the
dispute by deciding on an interpretation. Of one thing we can be
sure, however; which is, that the Apostle intends to restrain the
operation of emotion. He signifies that everything which can foment
emotion must be veiled. It is especially easy for women in preaching
to agitate people’s emotion. Physically merely the head is covered;
but spiritually everything pertaining to feeling must be delivered to
death. Although the Bible does not call for the brothers to veil their
heads physically, spiritually speaking they should be as veiled as the
sisters.
Paul would have no necessity to give such an order of prohibition
if emotion were not so greatly being displayed in the Lord’s work.
Today the power of attraction has developed into nearly the biggest
problem in so-called spiritual service. Those who are naturally
attractive are more successful; whereas others less attractive
experience less success. The Apostle nevertheless insists that
everything belonging to the soul, naturally attractive or not, must be