For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking… Titus 1:5a NKJV
There’s a comedic channel on the YouTube platform entitled “The Christi Show”. The creative director of the channel produces skits with recurring characters and amusing themes. Probably the most hilarious featured character is Ms. Shirleen. Ms. Shirleen is a mature, perfectly coiffed, matronly attired woman, who is the arbiter of appropriate behavior within the black church and community.
Commonly, Ms. Shirleen will begin her hysterical diatribes against improper conduct by declaring, “Y’all are out of order!”
For those of us who are a part of, or have encountered ‘black culture’, that phrase ‘out of order’ immediately alerts us to an impending rebuke and lesson on how things really should be. It’s fascinating to me how and why this turn of phrase is so ubiquitous amongst melanated peoples.
Leaving aside why the importance of order (however poorly defined) is so endemic to black folk, for now, it behooves us to understand that order is important to “called out people” (Church) and communities of every nation (ethnicity).
The Oxford Languages Dictionary defines “order” as… “the arrangement or disposition of people or things in relation to each other according to a particular sequence, pattern, or method.”
Order bespeaks forethought and deliberate design. Order considers and enables proper functioning, even when less than ideal circumstances present themselves. Order guarantees the intended result that ever-changing contemporary theories fail to provide.
Order is the way of the Living God! He is the creator of Divine Order. Natural order derives from Divine Order. Where chaos, corruption, and contempt rule, Divine Order is likely misunderstood and definitely not employed with consistency.
The previously written alliteration (chaos, corruption, and contempt) reminds me of one that appears in the Scripture passage 1 Samuel 22:2. Everyone who was in distress, debt, and discontent resorted to King David (Dah-veed).
Wherever disorder prevails, the Most High will invite us to consult and submit to the principles of Divine Order found in the Holy Scriptures and the embodiments of Divine Order vested in overseers, like David.
In Matthew 16:18, the Savior says that He will build His church and the gates of Hades (Hell) shall not prevail against it. Using the Greek language words the English translation comes from, I’ll amplify the meaning of the passage.
The Messiah designs, constructs, and imparts courage to His individual and aggregate believers whom He’s callout of darkness… and as a result, those constructs or entities who provide or enable access to you from the dark, unseen spiritual world are not able to overpower the individual or aggregate believers.
The design and architecture that builds, empowers, encourages, and protects the church (called out ones) is Divine Order.
Using the definition of order from the Oxford Languages Dictionary as a template, here’s a working definition of Divine Order;
Divine Order, which the Most High reveals through the Holy Scriptures, is the governing arrangement of humans in relation to God, each other, the natural realm, and the supernatural according to matters of sequence, original pattern, and prescribed methodology.
Based on the provided definition, Divine Order has more depth than the issues Ms. Shirleen typically addresses. But we need to examine and practice Divine Order so we, the called out people, are not routinely deceived and victimized by the Enemy.
In subsequent blog posts, we’re going to mine the concept of Divine Order for understanding and implementation. Stay tuned…
Grace and Peace to you!
Elder Theodore Nkenge
