1 Corinthians 11:1-16 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
Today’s focus has been a very contentious one for the body of Christ, many divisions in the church of the living God originate with these verses. People and authorities will decide what they want to believe when addressing Paul’s understanding of spiritual matters and the appropriate structure within the body of believers. As we read these words, we cannot reject Paul’s authority as an apostle and the father of many churches. But we also must understand God’s authority and his understanding of what He created. God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent. Jesus said I am the truth, the way and life itself. So everything that is and ever will be comes from the mouth of the Lord. As with all things that have come from the mouth of the Lord, we must bow to his words. Therefore, how do we place Paul’s words in this focus within the purview of the counsel of God. We will not attempt to explicate what these scriptures mean in our present time, for we know God is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is not the oops God, or I made a mistake God. If a doctor says oops while performing surgery, you know you are in trouble. But God is not the oops God. He knew before Adam was born that Adam would need a helpmate; He knew before Adam was created that He made the earth for the habitation of many people made in his image. God knows the end as well as the beginning, for HE IS THE BEGINNING AND ENDING simultaneously. The oneness of Adam and Eve was already a consideration before either one came into being. So we see Eve made out of the same likeness of Adam; the same mechanics, the same structure, and the cooperativeness needed in oneness. God made Adam and Eve for his purpose, not man’s purpose or a woman’s purpose. Yes, they are the same, but they function differently, carry different roles in their oneness. We see women nurturing and supporting the structure of the family; we see the man in his biological strength carry on the duties that require additional strength, such as protection of the family. Now, we see Paul explaining how that difference should be reflected in the church. Who should take a leading role and why they should take that role. Paul acknowledges that Adam was created first, and he is held responsible for things that happen within the body of Christ. Even though Eve initiated the fall, Adam was held responsible. God knew the fall would happen, for the fall is part of God’s plan of salvation—making men and women eternal because of the life-giving blood of Jesus Christ. This was not an oops moment. From the very beginning, God was in the process of making his creation eternal. Even creation groans under the consequence of sin, which is death. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:19-21) This decay came about by the will of the one who subjected it, God’s will. God’s will was to make sons and daughters in his household for eternity, and only Jesus’ blood could deliver to God children made in the image of his only begotten son. Only the redemptive nature of Christ could make men and women eternal. Jesus states to the critical Pharisees and teachers of the law, there is no need for marriage in heaven, women and men are free from their finite roles on earth, for they will be as the angels.
On earth there are roles that men and women carry in the secular society and in the church. These are either roles learned or basic to the DNA of the gender. Different societies, cultures, and ethnic groupings have expectations for each gender. They are different for reasons that sometimes go beyond their biological uniqueness. They are learned and sometimes altered because of the environment of their birth. A more violent and aggressive environment might need stronger roles for each gender. Maybe from the earliest years boys are given the responsibility of being warriors for the protection of the family or tribe. Women might have to take on more physical tasks such as gardening or building structures. Paul is reminding the Corinthians, regardless of roles outside of the church, God has his own structure within his church, subservience to others and to God. To God first: You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me. (Psalm 81:9) Within the church, Paul iterates the connection that men and women have with each other. He tells them that regardless of their gender roles, everything comes from God. He created life and everything that is continuous forever is based on oneness, unity, cooperation, and love. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. We see in scriptures, leadership within the family and the culture is assigned to men. They are accountable for faithfulness to God. If the society errs in serving God, men are responsible; the kings, governors, presidents are responsible. The prophets basically met with the authorities of their time and told them what it means to be in unity with God. In the family, in the church, men are primarily responsible for the spiritual direction of the people. This responsibility has little to do with cultural norms, the way the people dress, look or act in their subservience to God. We know God judges the heart. The scriptures are full of references with equality before God. We know Deborah led the Israelites for a while as a judge. We know Esther was the primary figure in rescuing the Jews from being slaughtered In Persia during her time. A wicked counselor of the Persian king, Haman, had tricked the king in signing an edict to slay the Jews in his kingdom. God used Esther to foil that evil plan. He used Rahab, a prostitute to help usher in the Israelites into the Promised Land. Rahab the prostitute was the great-great-grandmother of King David. We see Hannah, the mother of Samuel, prophesying in her prayer about the goodness of God. We see Ruth, the Moabite, who faithfully followed Naomi and became King David’s great-grandmother. Mary and Elizabeth prophesied about the goodness of God and his intervention into their lives. Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. (Luke 1:46-47) After the Holy Spirit was poured out on people, we see women prophesying, fulfilling the prophesy of Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18) Women as well as men have been honored throughout the scriptures. God does not play favorites, but roles and subservience are necessary for cohesiveness in the church.
Paul is concerned about order within the Corinthians' gatherings in worship. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. (1 Corinthians 14:39-40) Chaos within the church is a dangerous and confusing environment. Paul is subservient to Christ in every part of his life. He knows an outward show of spirituality has little to do with the heart's condition. For he is a former Pharisee who showed the people around him his servanthood to God by the way he looked. He wore phylacteries on his arm and forehead; he dressed in the robe of a Pharisee. Jesus had a different view of the Pharisees’ righteousness. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:27-28) Paul did not pass on the traditions of the Pharisees. He passed on the traditions based on God’s nature: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23) There is no law in or out of the church that surpasses the nature of God. Yes, Paul says, Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. James delineates very clearly how we should treat others in our worship services. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:3-4) Everyone has different roles in a service, but all are to be treated equally, for all who name the Lord Jesus as their Savior are children of God. Women also stand in this equality. God is their master and judge, not men, but they should accept a role of subservience when God requires it of them as well as men. I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Paul is delineating a structure of service. Christ to God, man to Christ, and woman to man. But in all of this, equality stands out: Christ is God, man is in the nature of Christ, woman in the nature of the first man. Together they make up a whole. The garb they wear, the hair length and their posture or dress is part of societal norms. Whatever people do should not distract from the presence of God in their midst. When Pentecost hit the church, they were ALL filled, not just the males or the appropriate dressed females. God’s spirit fell upon all of them. When Cornelius’ Gentile house was hit by the Holy Spirit, they were ALL filled, males and females, servants and household guests. They were all filled. God judges the heart, not the outward appearance. In the Massachusett's community of Deerfield in the 1690’s a young woman became pregnant by a man who was not her husband. Her husband was a captive of the Indians at that time. Because of this pregnancy and the condemnation of the Puritans, she murdered her baby. To get rid of such a sinful stain on their community, the Puritans had her hanged. The minister in the Puritan church gave a seemingly acceptable sermon of 4 hours, castigating this woman and calling her a whore. The Puritans in this community all dressed appropriately and acted correctly in church as their customs dictated. As we juxtapose this scene with Jesus dealing with a woman caught in adultery, her sentence of promiscuity should be death by stoning. Instead, Jesus, God in the flesh, told her accusers that the person without sin should cast the first stone. Her accusers slip away one at a time without casting a stone. As we look at our focus today, which one of us has a stone to cast at the man with long hair or the woman without hair or the appropriate length hair? Who will cast the first stone? Sadly churches have been divided over such things, forsaking the admonitions of Jesus to love others as we love ourselves and to serve others as we wish they would serve us. Each of us should give thought to the way we walk and the way we look at others.
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