Fashion
Fashion as Design and Pattern
In the Old Testament, "fashion" most often refers to the design, pattern, or structural form of a building or sacred object. When God instructed Moses to build the tabernacle, he showed him the exact fashion or pattern to follow: "According to all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle" (Exodus 25:9; 26:30). Solomon's temple was completed "in all its fashion" according to the specifications given (1 Kings 6:38). Ezekiel's visionary temple was described with careful attention to its "form" and "fashion" (Ezekiel 43:11). When King Ahaz saw an altar in Damascus, he sent its "fashion" or model to Urijah the priest to be replicated in Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:10). In each case, fashion denotes a deliberate design that carries authority — whether divine or human — and demands faithful reproduction.
God as the One Who Fashions
The verb "to fashion" is frequently applied to God's creative work. "He fashions the hearts of them all" (Psalm 33:15), indicating that God shapes the inner life of every person. The Psalmist marveled, "Your hands have made and fashioned me" (Psalm 119:73). Job acknowledged God's sovereign craftsmanship: "Your hands fashioned and made me" (Job 10:8). Isaiah used the image of a potter to describe God's right to fashion his creation as he sees fit: "Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, 'He did not make me'; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, 'He has no understanding'?" (Isaiah 29:16; 45:9). This language establishes God as the ultimate artisan whose design authority cannot be questioned.
The Passing Fashion of This World
Paul introduced a profound theological concept when he wrote, "The fashion of this world is passing away" (1 Corinthians 7:31). The Greek word he used denotes the outward form or external appearance of something, as distinct from its deeper reality. Paul was drawing on the imagery of a theatrical scene — something impressive in the moment but transient and ultimately insubstantial. This observation grounded his ethical counsel: since the present order is temporary, believers should hold loosely to the world's arrangements, whether marriage, commerce, or social status, living with an awareness that the current age will give way to something permanent.
The Fashion of Christ's Incarnation
The most theologically significant use of fashion in the New Testament appears in Paul's great hymn about Christ in Philippians 2:5-8. Paul wrote that Christ Jesus, though existing in the "form" of God, took the "form" of a servant and was found in "fashion" as a man. The distinction between "form" and "fashion" is crucial here. "Form" refers to the essential, intrinsic nature of a being, while "fashion" refers to the outward appearance that strikes the senses. Christ's divine nature was real and intrinsic; his human appearance was equally real but described as the external mode in which his servants and contemporaries encountered him. He was truly God in nature and truly appeared as a human being in his earthly life.
Being Fashioned and Transformed
Paul used the language of fashion to describe the spiritual transformation of believers. In Romans 12:2, he urged, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." The word translated "conformed" carries the idea of being fashioned according to an external pattern, while "transformed" implies a change from within that reshapes one's entire being. Peter echoed this teaching: "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance" (1 Peter 1:14). The contrast between external conformity and internal transformation lies at the heart of the New Testament's understanding of sanctification. Believers are called not to adopt the outward fashion of the surrounding culture but to be remade from the inside by God's renewing work.
Fashion and the Golden Calf
One notable Old Testament use of the verb "to fashion" describes Aaron's creation of the golden calf. Aaron took the gold rings the people offered and "fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf" (Exodus 32:4). The irony is sharp: human hands fashioned an idol from the very gold God had provided, attempting to shape the divine into a form they could control. This misuse of fashioning stands in direct contrast to God's own creative work and to the careful fashioning of the tabernacle according to divine instruction. Where God fashions for life and worship, human pride fashions for idolatry and self-deception.
Biblical Context
Fashion appears in the Old Testament in reference to the design of the tabernacle (Exodus 25:9; 26:30), Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:38), Ezekiel's visionary temple (Ezekiel 43:11), and the golden calf (Exodus 32:4). God is described as fashioning humanity in Psalm 33:15, 119:73, and Job 10:8. In the New Testament, Paul uses fashion theologically in 1 Corinthians 7:31, Philippians 2:8, and Romans 12:2. Peter addresses conformity in 1 Peter 1:14.
Theological Significance
The concept of fashion teaches that there is always a distinction between outward appearance and inner reality. God alone has the authority to fashion and design, whether creating human beings or prescribing the pattern for worship. Paul's use of fashion in relation to Christ's incarnation preserves both the reality of Christ's divinity and the genuineness of his human appearance. The call not to be fashioned according to the world but transformed by inner renewal is central to the New Testament vision of the Christian life.
Historical Background
The concept of divine craftsmanship was common throughout the ancient Near East, with creation myths frequently depicting gods as artisans shaping the world and humanity. Egyptian and Mesopotamian texts describe divine patrons of crafts and the sacred patterns for temple construction. The Greek philosophical distinction between outward form and inner essence, which Paul employs in Philippians 2, was widely discussed in Hellenistic thought and would have been familiar to his educated readers. The tension between conformity to cultural norms and faithfulness to a distinct identity was a lived reality for early Christians in the Greco-Roman world.