Embrace God’s Design

OPENING

Signs on a Road Trip

A few weeks ago, when talking about God’s law,

Pastor Jake used the illustration of going on a road trip.

As you travel down the road,

you will see many signs,

but the signs are not the focus of your trip…

they are there to safely guide you to your destination.

If you focus too much on the signs,

you will miss the reason they are there.

If the signs accomplish their intended purpose,

once you get to your destination,

you will not be thinking back on the signs…

you will be enjoying your vacation!

God’s Sign of a Rainbow

Throughout the Bible,

God has given His people many signs.

One of those signs came back in the book of Genesis.

After creating all things,

sin entered the world,

and it didn’t take long till sin got so bad,

God decided to destroy all living things.

But Noah found favour in God’s eyes,

and God saved his family,

and the animals through an ark.

After the flood,

God blessed Noah,

and promised to never flood the earth again.

And he gave a sign to prove His covenant…

THE RAINBOW!

Rainbow at the Golf Course

Rainbows are always amazing to look at!

I was at the golf course one morning,

and turned around to see this full rainbow…

It was much more amazing in person… trust me!

But if we focus too much on the rainbow itself,

then we miss the true beauty of what it points to, which is…

God’s gracious promise to never flood the earth again.

Transition to Sermon

This morning we are continuing in our series through 1 Corinthians,

a letter the apostle Paul wrote to a church he started in the city of Corinth.

This morning we are coming to chapter 11,

where Paul talks about head coverings.

Paul has been talking about Christian freedom for the last 3 chapters,

and now he is going to begin discussing orderly worship in their gatherings.

He begins the conversation with husbands and wives in worship.

Paul is going to tell the women to wear head coverings,

but the head coverings point to God’s design.

If we focus on the head covering,

then we will miss the truth that it is pointing to.

Cultural Context

It seems that head coverings were a cultural norm in the city of Corinth.

Women wore them, but their purpose was:

to show they were married, and

submitted to her husband.

During the time of Paul’s writing,

there was a new kind of rebellious wife emerging.

It was socially acceptable for men to be sexually promiscuous, but not women.

So there were women who were rebelling,

and the way they would show their rebellion was to remove their head covering.

So Paul writes to the church,

to remind them of God’s design,

which they are to honour and obey.

Disclaimer

Maybe you’ve wondered about this topic…

Or maybe you wonder where we stand as a church…

It’s probably pretty obvious from looking around,

but we do not believe head coverings are binding in our cultural context.

But that doesn’t mean we can skip over this passage!

There is a principle behind the head covering that we must embrace and live by.

Today we’re going to see that we must:

Embrace God’s Design for Authority

Embrace God’s Design for Roles

Embrace God’s Design for Gender

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

God…

SCRIPTURE ANNOUNCEMENT

1 Corinthians 11:2—16.

READ SCRIPTURE

1 Corinthians 11:2–16 ESV

2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.

First, you need to…

1. Embrace God’s Design for Authority

Authority and submission have gotten a really bad name in our day,

but that’s not because it’s a bad thing,

it’s mainly because we have seen it modelled poorly by sinful people.

Sin is the problem, not God’s design!

We embrace authority all around us:

We embrace the authority of our government by paying taxes…

We embrace the authority of police officers if they pull us over…

We embrace the authority of our bosses at work…

But our culture has increasingly pushed back against authority,

and if we’re not careful we will allow culture to convince us authority is a bad thing!

The truth is,

God has designed authority,

and we should embrace it!

EXPLAIN

Let’s look at…

a. Authority that honours God

1 Corinthians 11:3 ESV

3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.

Here we see God’s design for authority:

Christ is the head of every man.

He has authority over them,

and they are to submit to Him as their head.

Men willingly do this, because

Christ Himself willingly gave His life for the good of man

The husband is the head of his wife.

He has authority over them,

and wives are to submit to their authority.

The man is to model Christ-like sacrificial love,

and give himself for the good of his wife!

You may bristle at this idea,

but look what Paul says next…

The head of Christ is God!

Even though Jesus was fully God,

He submitted Himself to the will of the Father.

John 6:38 ESV

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

Even though God the Son was fully and equally God,

he submitted to God the Father and His will for His life.

Therefore we should embrace God’s design for authority,

as we follow His example.

Next, we see…

b. Authority that dishonours God

1 Corinthians 11:4–6 ESV

4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.

In that society and culture,

it was custom for wives to wear a covering on their head,

to signify their submission to their husbands.

In that culture,

when a woman wore a head covering

and a man did not,

it was a sign that showed they were embracing God’s design.

If a man wore a head covering,

or a woman did not,

it showed they were rebelling against God’s design.

Even worse… it was a disgrace!

In that day, only a prostitute or feminist would shave her head,

and to not wear a head covering brought that same level of shame!

So is Paul’s command for us today?

It’s obvious in our day that a head covering does not carry the same weight and meaning.

There is not the same cultural shame for women who don’t wear it,

and most people don’t understand the meaning of a head covering.

John MacArthur says:

“The apostle is not laying down an absolute law for women to wear veils or coverings in all churches for all time, but is declaring that the symbols of the divinely established male and female roles are to be genuinely honoured in every culture.” — John MacArthur

Summary

What God is wanting you to understand is that…

He has designed a structure for authority that you need to embrace!

Husbands are to lead their wives,

following the example of Christ their head,

and wives are to submit to their husbands.

ILLUSTRATE

Right from the beginning of the Bible,

we see the breakdown of this authority.

Adam and Eve lived in paradise with God.

They had everything they could ever want or need.

They were allowed to eat of any tree,

except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Most of us are familiar with how the story goes…

the serpent approached and tempted Eve, and she ate.

She gave to her husband Adam, who ate as well.

Why did Adam not take control of the situation?!?

Why didn’t he step in and remind Eve of God’s command?!?

Why didn’t Adam protect his wife?!?

Summary

Adam failed to fulfil his role of authority over Eve,

and so they suffered the consequences of their actions.

Interestingly, even though Eve ate first,

Adam is held responsible for the Fall of mankind.

Romans 5:12 ESV

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Adam had been given the responsibility of leading and protecting his wife,

and he failed!

APPLY

Husbands…

God has called you to be the leaders and protectors of your wives and children!

It’s easy to feel as though we’ve done our job as the leader when we’ve worked to provide for them.

That is part of our role,

but if we do that, but do not lead our family spiritually…

we have failed!

Husbands… God has made YOU the head of your wife!

It is your responsibility to lead and disciple them to grow them in Christ!

It is your responsibility to call out and deal with sin!

It is your responsibility to protect them from the enemy!

You have been given the authority,

not to use, abuse, and take advantage of your wife and children,

but to sacrifice your life for their benefit and spiritual growth.

When you lead well, you honour Christ your head!

You will be held responsible!

Don’t pass this responsibility off to your wife!

Step up and lead your family as a godly man!

Resources

We have a resource for you!

“Family Worship” Donald Whitney

SS emails

Wives…

God has called you to submit to your husband as your head.

He is there to lead, guide, and protect you,

and sacrifice himself for your benefit.

Don’t try to control and take over!

Invite him to lead and guide your family!

Encourage him when he steps out of his comfort zone!

Honour the ways that he leads and protects you.

When you submit to your husband, you honour him and Christ.

Summary

Husbands and wives,

embrace God’s design for authority,

which brings honour to God!

Next… you need to…

2. Embrace God’s Design for Roles

Once again,

culture has been pushing back extremely hard on the idea of gender distinctions.

Churches take two general approaches to gender roles.

You may have heard of the terms:

Two views on gender roles:

Complementarianism

Egalitarianism

Complementarianism…

teaches that men and women have been created by God to “compliment” one another.

This view argues that differing roles are seen as part of God’s design.

Egalitarianism…

teaches that in Christ, there are no longer gender distinctions.

This view argues that differing roles have been done away with in Christ.

Here at LEMC,

we believe the view most consistent with the Bible is Complementarianism.

That is exactly what Paul teaches here in this passage.

EXPLAIN

First…

a. Men and women are distinct

1 Corinthians 11:7–10 ESV

7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

Here Paul clearly argues for the authority of the man over the woman,

and he links it back to creation,

indicating it was part of God’s original design.

Men and women are distinct from one another,

and this happened before the Fall!

Woman came from man,

and was made for man as a helper,

not the other way around.

God created man,

then created woman from man.

Since this was God’s intended design,

Paul wants the Corinthians to maintain this order,

“because of the angels”

Could be:

Angels… or

Messengers from other churches.

Either way it shows they are following God’s order.

Paul recognizes what the Corinthians might think at this point,

so he goes on to make the point that…

b. Men and women are equal

1 Corinthians 11:11–12 ESV

11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.

Paul very quickly clarifies what he is NOT saying…

He is not saying men are superior to women.

No! Men and women are equal!

They need each other!

In the same way that Eve needed Adam because she came from him,

so now men need women since they come them.

Summary

In God’s beautiful design,

He has created men and women.

They are both equal in God’s eyes,

having been created in His image.

YET… they are distinct in their roles.

And when they embrace those God-ordained roles,

they bring glory to God!

ILLUSTRATE

I don’t know if there’s anybody out there like me,

but I don’t really like taking out the trash.

Usually because I only remember after I lay down to go to bed!

Winter time is even more annoying,

because you don’t really want to get all bundled up to go outside for 2 minutes.

I usually don’t feel like putting snow boots on either,

so I’ll usually just slip on a pair of slides,

which is a horrible idea when there’s snow.

You always convince yourself that you’ll be able to make it without getting snow in your sandals.

“If I step perfectly, I can make it!”

Anybody else been there???

If there’s a decent amount of snow, it never works!

You always end up regretting it!

That’s because sandals were not designed for snow!

In the same way,

you wouldn’t want to wear your snow boots inside when you’re sitting down to watch a movie.

They were not designed to be comfy for wearing in the house.

Summary

Both sandals and snow boots are equally types of footwear,

but each one has a distinct design and purpose for which it was created.

APPLY

This is true of men and women as well!

They are created equal in God…

neither one is better/more valuable/more worthy than the other.

They are both made in the image of God,

and both have equal standing before Christ…

Yet, they are created with distinct roles in God’s kingdom.

Natural Distinct Abilities

We see the distinct natural abilities of men and women all the time.

Women have a natural ability to:

Multi-tasking…

performing more than one task at a time.

(I am the worst at this!)

Communication…

expressing emotions, thoughts, feelings.

Intuition…

they have “a feeling”.

Men are sometimes good at these things,

but generally speaking women are better.

Men, you feel like you’re wearing sandals in the snow…

Men have a natural ability:

Physical strength…

more suited to manual labour.

Spatial awareness…

better at navigation

(My wife any time we come out of a store.)

Leadership…

naturally take charge.

Women are sometimes good at these things,

but generally speaking men are better.

Women, you feel like you’re wearing snow boots in the house…

When it comes to God’s kingdom,

Both men and women work together,

but they have distinct roles.

We’ve already seen that in the home…

Husbands have been given authority by God to lead… while

Wives are to submit to their authority and protection.

Paul also clearly states in his letter to Timothy that in the church…

Men have been given authority by God to lead as pastors/elders.

Women come alongside and help, in any other role that does not involve teaching the church,

or having authority over men.

They work together for the building of God’s kingdom,

This is God’s design for the roles of men and women,

and you must embrace them!

Summary

When you embrace God’s design for roles,

you bring honour to Christ your head,

and God blesses your obedience!

Transition

So far we’ve seen you should:

Embrace God’s design for authority

Embrace God’s design for roles

Next, you should…

3. Embrace God’s Design for Gender

I don’t have to tell you how badly God’s design for gender is under attack in our world.

We see the effects of it everywhere!

It seems our world can’t define what a woman is!

They can’t seem to figure out how a man is supposed to act!

They don’t know how to raise the next generation,

and are allowing them to raise themselves.

Here, Paul shows simply and clearly,

what God’s design for gender is.

EXPLAIN

First…

a. God created two genders: male and female

1 Corinthians 11:13–15 ESV

13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.

Notice that Paul only mentions two genders:

men and women.

I’m not trying to argue that this is a main point for Paul,

but given the context of our day,

I feel strongly that it’s important to point out!

Our world, following Satan and their flesh,

is rejecting God’s good design!

They are living in rebellion to God,

and are attempting to distort the distinctions of gender through surgery.

They themselves are deceived,

and are deceiving others and leading them astray…

even children!

Summary

You must embrace God’s design for gender,

and faithfully teach your family,

as well as patiently correct others.

Next, Paul argues that…

b. Men should look like men & women should look like women

1 Corinthians 11:14–15 ESV

14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.

Men and women have been created as distinct from one another,

and this includes their appearance!

Even though we are far removed from Corinth culturally,

this principle still stands true today.

When a man has long hair, it just doesn’t look natural.

But when a woman has long hair it does.

The same goes for a woman who would shave her head!

This looks unnatural,

whereas for men it looks completely normal.

Paul doesn’t get into a debate about hair length,

because his point is that,

men should look like men, and women should look like women.

Summary

God created only two genders and they are each unique and distinct.

don’t resist how God has created you,

but embrace it!

ILLUSTRATE

I was listening to Dr. Linda Seiler (Sigh-ler) give her testimony this week.

Shared her story of being redeemed from gender confusion.

Growing up she always longed to be a boy.

Struggled with attraction to girls.

Kept all of these things secret.

Became a Christian, thought it would go away.

Still kept it a secret… not something people talked about back then.

Not only did her struggle not go away… it intensified!

Came to breaking point in her young Christian life:

Am I going to live all out for Jesus, or follow my desires?

At a conference, heard a speaker say if you are stuck/caught in habitual sin, the answer is James 5:16

James 5:16 (ESV)

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

In her testimony, Linda said…

“I didn’t hear anything else the speaker said that day, I just knew that unless I took what was in the dark and exposed it into the light of Christ with a trusted leader, I would never get free. And I did discover the truth that when you take what’s in the dark and bring it into the light, it breaks the power of the enemy to energize that sin in your life.

But when we keep sin quiet and hidden and silent, it actually energizes the enemy and we are naturally going to be opposed by God, because God opposes the proud. When we’re too proud to get our sin into the light because we’re afraid of what other people would think of us,

and we wear a mask and we pretend like everything’s okay, you will stay in bondage in those areas. But you know what Scripture says? He opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”

Linda decided to open up to her campus pastor about her sin.

She expected judgement, but he showed her grace.

He said…

“Linda, thank you for sharing that with me. I know that took a lot of courage. And I want you to know that doesn’t change our opinion of you. We love you. We see the hand of God on your life, and we’re gonna get you the help that you need.”

Summary

Through counselling, and discipleship in her church,

Linda began to overcome the lies of the enemy,

and embrace God’s design for gender,

and the female He made her to be.

APPLY

Struggling with gender dysphoria?

Maybe you struggle with feelings of gender dysphoria.

You think that you were born the wrong gender.

You need to know this is a lie from the enemy!

Satan wants to steal, kill, and destroy you,

and he does that through deception.

Jesus came so that you could have life, and have it abundantly!

You can have that abundant life through His truth.

Embracing God’s design for who He made you to be!

What to do?

Maybe you’ve never shared it with anyone, and you’re terrified!

You will only break the power of that sin in your life when you bring it to the light!

Find someone you trust, and share your struggle with them,

and begin the journey to embracing who God made you to be!

Someone tells you they struggle…

Maybe you don’t struggle with feelings of gender dysphoria.

How would you respond if someone shared their struggle with you?

Would you respond with grace and compassion like Linda’s pastor?

Or would you be critical and judgemental?

Would anyone ever even share their sin with you,

or are you so hypocritical and judgemental that you are not a safe place to go.

Nobody would ever trust you!

We all struggle with sin.

We don’t all struggle with the same sin,

but we struggle nonetheless.

Pray for the Lord to give you a heart of compassion for others and their sin.

Commit to having a gracious response if someone were to ever share their struggle with you.

We all need grace as we seek to embrace God’s design for our lives!

CLOSING

Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians so that they would wear head coverings.

But if we focus on the head coverings themselves,

we miss the truth they point to.

If you feel convicted to wear a head covering,

we encourage you to do that!

Don’t forget God’s Design, which it points to!

If you do not feel convicted to wear a head covering,

we encourage you to embrace your freedom!

Don’t forget God’s Design, which it points to!

Sermon Summary

We have see today that…

God has given us His design for:

Authority…

Roles… and

Gender.

We should embrace His good design,

and when we do, we bring glory and honour to Him!

The problem of sin…

The problem is…

that in our flesh, we all resist God’s design.

The world, our flesh, and the devil,

are all fighting against God’s design in our lives.

We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory!

The judgement…

And look at the judgement Paul gave us earlier in the book of 1 Corinthians…

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ESV

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Our sin… our rejection of God’s design for our lives,

disqualifies us from being in God’s presence in His kingdom!

The hope…

But look at the hope Paul gives next…

1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV

11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

For those who have put their faith and trust in Christ,

and the sacrifice that He made on your behalf…

You have been washed in Christ!

AND…

You will inherit God’s kingdom…

not because of anything good in you or that you have done…

but because you have trusted in the goodness of Jesus, and what HE has done!

Have you been cleansed and forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice?

Maybe you think you’re too far gone… too sinful…

NO! Your sin is what qualifies you to come to Jesus!

Jesus said…

Matthew 11:28 ESV

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Don’t wait to find the rest you’re looking for!

Trusting in Jesus does not mean everything will go perfectly in your life from here on out,

But it does mean that you can live with joy, peace, and hope,

knowing all your sins are forgiven through Jesus,

and you will be with Christ in heaven!