1 Corinthians 11:2-16

We know that the believers in Corinth were a fractious people. Divisions were evident every time they came together.

We know that believers in Corinth prided themselves on their ‘openness’ regarding sexual behavior as one of the members was in a sexual relationship with his own step-mother.

We know that believers were taking other believers to court.

There were people among the believers questioning the truthfulness of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

One wonders if a people so divided, so challenged, and so confused can fulfill Paul’s challenge recorded in 1 Cor 10:31

1 Corinthians 10:31 (HCSB)

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.

Mark Dever, a pastor in Washington DC suggests the following questions as we look at the passage in front of us today:

…does it matter much what those outside the church think of us? Does it matter what relationships between genders are like…?

Does it matter how we understand God and the relationship of the Father to the Son?

Does it matter how we as a …congregation regard the Bible…?

Is being a Christian just about Jesus and me…?

Mark Dever, Twelve Challenges Churches Face (Wheaton, ILL.: Crossway Books, 2008), 112.

As Paul listened to reports from some who had recently attended gatherings of believers in Corinth (see 1:11; 5:1; 7:1; 11:18) he expressed his concern in this letter.

The passage we are looking at today sounds strange - women wearing head-coverings; men not wearing head-coverings; long hair being a disgrace to men (not really an issue for most of the males in this group!); and arguing over these kind of subjects.

Paul is focused on something more fundamental than clothing styles and hair styles.

Authority: Who is in charge?

1 Corinthians 11:3 HCSB

But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.

Before diving into the issue of head coverings Paul addresses a fundamental theological truth. (This reminds us that every aspect of our lives is built on a proper understanding of the nature of God and His relationship with His Son, with His Spirit and with His creation!)

In military and emergency services this is called ‘Command and Control.’ Whatever the scene, wherever the battlefield, there is an established hierarchy of control. Someone is in charge.

In recent trainings I attended I was reminded that just because one is on scene first does not immediately confer command and control authority. As soon as someone with rank appears, they take responsibility until someone of higher rank appears and so on.

What difference does this make in a ‘church’ setting? Does it really matter who is in control?

Stop and think a moment what kind of gathering this might be if no one stood up and said, let’s get started.

We have all attended meetings or gatherings where no one seemed to be taking responsibility for managing the events. I generally leave those events quickly.

Paul is reminding us that as we come together for public gatherings (and even private groups) someone needs to step up and take responsibility.

He outlines what is called a Creation Order:

God is head over all

Jesus is responsive to God’s authority

Men are assigned responsibility for families

Men and women live under the authority of Jesus and His Father.

Public Worship Reflects God’s Authority vs 4-6

Please highlight this:

Paul indicates that both men and women will pray and prophesy in public gatherings.

We will come back to this in later chapters.

In this passage Paul makes several things clear:

a. There are distinctions between men and women.

We are living in challenging times. Read this statement made in June 2021 by the incoming chair of the American Medical Association:

“Designating sex on birth certificates as male or female, and making that information available on the public portion, perpetuates a view that sex designation is permanent and fails to recognize the medical spectrum of gender identity. This type of categorization system also risks stifling an individual’s self-expression and self-identification and contributes to marginalization and minoritization,” said AMA Board Chair-Elect Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, M.D.

https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/ama-announced-policies-adopted-final-day-special-meeting

Paul would argue that in a public gathering the difference between men and women should be clear.

Lest there be confusion about this listen to one scholar’s understanding of this passage:

the custom recommended here probably denotes a veil or a covering of some kind. For a woman not to wear such a covering in public in the first century may have had sexual connotations, suggesting the woman was sexually available.

Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, ed. Eckhard J. Schnabel, vol. 7, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2018), 230.

When worshiping in a public place, everything we do - including how we dress - points to what we believe about God and His sovereignty over His creation.

Women, Men, Independence, Interdependence vs 7-12

Immediately many women will stop reading after vs 5-6. ‘How dare someone else challenge my hairstyle, my fashion choices?’

Reading on in this text, Paul reminds us that gender differences are indeed a reflection of God’s creation order and these differences are a reflection of the absolute necessity of both genders!

God has no interest in a genderless society.

Man was created first. Woman was created from man. However, man can’t be born except through a woman. And all - regardless of gender are accountable to God!

Vs 10 illustrates a dilemma for all who read this letter. What on earth is Paul referring to? ‘…because of the angels?...’

While we don’t have lots of records of what worship is like in the heavenly court (yes, we have John’s memories recorded in Rev 4, 5, and elsewhere) what we do know is this:

All created beings seen in the heavenly courts ALWAYS respond to God’s sovereignty in appropriate ways - bowing, kneeling, and other physical expressions of surrender and submission.

Simply put: who is ultimately in charge of your life? To whom do you demonstrate respect and submission?

Or are you so self-centered that - in spite of God’s creation order - you are solely independent and completely free of any authority?

Gender Differences Glorify God vs 13-16

In almost every culture known to humans and those who study them there is a clear and evident distinction between men and women.

Only in recent years in the western part of the world has a view of individual freedom that insists on personal rights and freedoms as the ultimate expression of what is true.

If you keep up with social media you quickly learn that, according to the new standards of culture, you and you alone define who you are, what you are, and how you choose to live.

The only authority that exists is you as an individual.

At the very heart of this understanding is the same temptation that Eve surrendered to in the Garden.

You can be as God!

Since that moment Adam and Eve shared that piece of fruit, sin has continued to dominate and destroy.

As we gather for worship everything we do is focused exclusively on giving God glory.

Is His glory our true objective?

Is living out the creation order of God’s sovereignty a motive for doing what we do in public?

Our gatherings are meant to reflect the reality of who God is, how God desires us to live, and how others can join us by hearing and responding to the good news of Jesus Christ!