1st Corinthians 11:2-16
As we continue working through 1st Corinthians together, we come to what many describe as one of the most difficult and controversial passages in all of Scripture. It will be essential for us to understand the context into which Paul is writing, and what makes this so difficult for us is that we can’t fit our context into the mold of 1st century Corinth, specifically with what Paul addresses here in the beginning of chapter 11.
Let’s zoom out for just a minute and remind ourselves of what Paul is trying to help this young church with. The health of the church was in jeopardy, so Paul was trying to counsel them on how to right the ship. In chapters 1-4, he addresses the division that had created disunity: “I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Jesus…” In chapters 5-7, he talked about sexual immorality, marriage and singleness. Then, in chapters 8-10, he was addressing the abuse of Christian liberty, especially in terms of eating food that had been offered to pagan idols. Now, he moves into a section in which he talks about healthy practices in corporate worship, specifically adornment of women, proper function of communion, and the appropriate expression of spiritual gifts.
(PRAY)
It may serve us well this morning to not read the text in its entirety right up front, but instead to work slowly, verse by verse. A full reading may be a bit confusing without commentary along the way.
Big Idea: It’s important to honor God’s order of creation in modern expressions of worship.
Read 1st Corinthians 11:2
Paul begins this section with an introductory statement in verse 2. “I commend you, young church, because you have established yourselves well. You have listened to my teachings, and have tried to follow them well. But…there are a few things that I need to address.”
Historical Context
This is a bit lengthy, but I believe it is incredibly important for us to really understand the passage. From a biblical and historical commentator:
“The Corinthians consistently blended together elements of the Christian faith with practices from their pagan past…One of the most prominent religions in Corinth was the worship of Dionysius. In Greek mythology, Dionysius was conceived through Zeus’s union with the human woman Semele. In one account, Dionysius was a male god who had been raised as a girl in order to protect him from Hera, Zeus’s wife, who was determined to kill him. He dressed as a girl, kept long flowing locks, doused himself with perfume, walked with a feminine gait, and imitated the female voice when he spoke. His worshippers described him as androgynous, both male and female, and would celebrate Dionysius’s gender confusion by their own gender reversal. In the worship of Dionysius, men would wear feminine clothing and long hair, and women would wear men’s garments and wear men’s short hair style, sometimes even having their heads shaved.”
So you have these practices of pagan worship. But that’s not the only context that’s important. In Corinth at that time, a covered head was a symbol of a woman’s modesty. A veil was also a representation of her submission under the authority of her husband. With that in mind, let’s look at how Paul addresses the danger in a misunderstanding of order and expectations in relation to gender.
Read 1st Corinthians 11:3
1. God’s Created Order (3)
Paul begins all the way back in creation. Let’s just set a foundation here before we move forward. There is a proper order in creation. In the created order there is authority, submission under that authority, as well as equality and interdependence, which we will talk about a bit later. But here’s the theology behind Paul’s arguments.
Man falls under the authority of Christ. If married, a woman/wife falls under the authority of her husband. And just in case that’s a hard thing to digest, Paul also reminds us that even Christ Himself submitted Himself under the authority of the Father. This is extremely important for us this morning, because what this shows us is that in the God ordained order of His creation, while submission under authority is right, it in no way diminishes the value of the person who comes under the headship of the other. To put it simply, by Jesus submitting to the Father, it does not make Him any less God. It does not make Him any less of an equal with the Father. In the same way, a wife coming under the authority of her husband does not make her any less of an equal. Both man and woman are created in the image of God.
Read 1st Corinthians 11:4-6
2. Social Expectations (4-6)
We’ve got to unpack this section slowly, as there’s a lot here.
Verse 4: So in the context of a local church gathering, where praying and prophesying took place, a man was to have his head uncovered. If not, he dishonors his “head.” Remember, culturally, a woman wearing a head covering was an expression of her submission to her husband. It was not appropriate for a man to cover his head in the same way. And we have two different uses of the word “head” here. One speaks to the physical head, and one speaks to the one who holds authority over him. We just saw from Paul that the “head” of man is Christ, so when a man wears a covering on his head, he plays the part of a woman, which is dishonoring to Christ.
Verse 5: In the same way, in the context of a local church gathering, where praying and prophesying took place, a woman was to have her head covered. If not, she dishonors her “head.” And then this added statement: “It would be as if her head were shaved.” This is an important piece of context for us to understand as well. If we peek ahead into verse 15, we’ll see that the woman’s hair is a very important distinction for her. In fact, Paul calls it her “glory,” or “honor.” So we have a few issues here:
When a woman uncovers her head, which is a symbol of honor and submission to her husband, she dishonors her husband.
When a woman uncovers her head, Paul says she might as well just shave it off because she has lost her “honor.”
When a woman uncovered her head in a worship gathering, she was in effect saying, “I am free to do whatever I want, and I refuse to follow the authority of my husband.”
We see this punctuated in verse 6 as well.
So the bottom line of what Paul is saying here is that there are certain social expectations of both men and women. Men are to dress and behave like men, and women are to dress and behave like women. This is what brings the most honor and glory to the Lord, and in turn glory and honor to one another.
Read 1st Corinthians 11:7-10
3. Honoring God’s Created Order (7-10)
Paul expounds on his previous thoughts here. He gives justification for following the created order. Because man is the glory and image of God, he keeps his head uncovered. Because woman is the glory of man, she should keep her head covered. Let’s just reiterate this important truth. Paul is NOT saying that women do not bear the image of God. All of humanity bears the imprint of its Creator, made in the image of God. We need to understand that the word “glory” here is referring to “honor.” Again, we see this in verse 15 when Paul refers to a woman’s hair as her “glory.”
What Paul IS saying however is this: Just as God created man out of the dust and breathed life into him, compelling him to honor his Creator, so the woman came from man, and is compelled to honor him. That is why a woman should have a “symbol” of authority on her head. In the original Greek, that word “symbol” does not exist. So the text literally reads, “the woman ought to have authority over her head.”
And then there’s this really interesting mention of the angels. I don’t want to spend too much time here, because honestly no commentator that I’ve read really understands what Paul is saying. But, the most commonly held thought is that the angels have a keen awareness of what’s going on in our worship. They are observing the life of the church. As one commentator says, “they might be particularly sensitive to resistance against God’s created order.”
At this point, Paul begins to recognize that those who are reading this letter may start to get the wrong idea of what he is saying. So he takes the next few verses to clarify.
Read 1st Corinthians 11:11-12
4. Equality and Interdependence (11-12)
In Christ, men and women are equal. Man is not greater than women, and woman is not greater than man. Both are made in the image of God, born into sin, in need of a Savior, and in Christ saved by grace through faith alone. And just as woman came from the rib of man, so man comes from the womb of a woman. No man exists today without being born of a woman.
So Paul’s like, “listen, I’m not saying that women don’t have eternal worth and value. I’m not saying that women aren’t as important to the Lord as men. I’m just trying to outline for you the order of creation so that your church will function in the most healthy way possible. God has established authority for a purpose.” Men and women are mutually dependent on one another, and this does not interfere with submission under authority.
And then Paul offers up one final thought on the matter.
Read 1st Corinthians 11:13-16
5. Nature’s Witness (13-16)
Paul is not referring to nature in terms of the created, natural world. He is using the same word that he uses in Romans chapter 1 when he discusses sexual sin, trading what is natural for that which is unnatural. He’s speaking of nature in terms of God’s design. And this is where things can get a little more tricky when you get down deep below what Paul is saying. Tom Schreiner, who wrote an excellent chapter called “Head Coverings, Prophecy and the Trinity,” says it like this:
“Nature teaches, then, in the sense that the natural instincts and psychological perceptions of masculinity and femininity are manifested in particular cultural situations. Thus, a male instinctively and naturally shrinks away from doing anything that his culture labels as feminine. So, too, females have a natural inclination to dress like women rather than men. Paul’s point, then, is that how men and women wear their hair is a significant indication of whether they are abiding by the created order. Of course, what constitutes long hair is often debated-what is appropriately masculine or feminine in hairstyle may vary widely from culture to culture.”
Paul ends this section with a very strong statement. If you want to be contentious, if you want to argue against my teaching, if you want to stir the pot, then save your breath, because this is how it is going to be in the church of God.
Application
Now, our challenge becomes how to separate ourselves out of the context of 1st century Corinth, while holding onto the Biblical truth that lies at the heart of Paul’s argument. And it’s very difficult to do.
Big Idea: It’s important to honor God’s order of creation in modern expressions of worship.
We need to look beyond the context, and when we do, there are a few things to note:
1. The created order still applies to us today. Remember, Paul used creation as a defense for his argument. Creation happened thousands of years before this letter was written. Not only that, but the order of creation happened before the Fall. This means that in God’s original design, in perfection, there was order in creation. As Christ submitted Himself to the Father, and as men submit themselves to Christ, so wives are called to submit themselves to the authority of their husbands. So, husbands, love and serve well, and make it easier for our wives to follow our lead.
2. Equality and interdependence still applies to us today. While there is an order outlined in creation, this does not mean that men and women are any different in the eyes of the Lord. Both have eternal value. Both have been given purpose. Both are cherished by God. Christ died for them both. So, authority and submission do not add to the worth of men, and it does not diminish the worth of women.
3. Paul is translating order into the church context. It’s interesting to note that he did permit women to pray and prophecy in the church setting, but he does not talk about preaching or teaching. There was an expectation in the church setting that women were able to pray and prophesy, as long as it was done under the authority of men. This idea is what makes this passage so controversial today.
In order for us to be a healthy church, we must respect and honor those in authority. We must not do anything to distract from reverent and God-glorifying worship. And we must not let cultural expectations or norms influence the gift of this gathering that we call the church.
