Heads Up
Notes
Transcript
Claim - Men and women are interdependent and unequivocally equal before God but are called to different roles in the gathered church: - people should dress according to gender and in a way that represents the created order of male headship in the gathered church.
Focus - Men and Women should choose to imitate the relationship between God the Father and Christ the Son.
Function - for men to choose honourable headship and women to choose glorifying submission in the gathered church for the glory of God.
Needless to say - the very suggestion that there are gender speciifc roles and principles is already contentious in our culture.
but I hope from this passage we’ll be motivated to glorify God, not ourselevs or our worldly rights.
We’re going to walk through verse by verse, so lots to talk about - let’s get going,
Pray
Pray
I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you.
The Corinthians have not forgotten the traditions Paul had taught them.
So what he’s about to say isn’t a major problem - but he does want to reinforce the the point.
Now traditions are not biblical scripture - they don’t dictate to us truth in the same way God’s word does.
But A good Tradition is one that is in place for the sake of the truth of scripture.
So we’re going to see in this passage - there are cultural traditions (such as women covering their heads in church), that rightly demonstrate the churchs obedience to the theological point
- and that is upholding the created order of God that exists to bring the most glory to God alone.
So, We may not decide we should wear head coverings today - but we will want to glorify God by observing the same principles.
And Paul seems to make 3 main arguments for why men and the head of women in the gathered church.
and the first is:
The Case of the Gospel glorifying God
The Case of the Gospel glorifying God
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.
This is a verse full of gold:
1Firstly - While the emphasis of this passage is to remind the church that women ought to demonstrate their acceptance of male headship in the church - there is to be no misunderstanding about who is the head of men!
Men do not have any authority in and off themselves that is to be lorded over others, or used to abuse, or coerce, or manipulate, or bully or control to their gain etc.
No - Men - we are to submit to the headship of Christ Jesus our lord!
How far our understanding of headship or authority is as a culture,
from the loving authority Christ has over us!
He, Christ Jesus, sacrificed the glory of heaven, gave up everything, suffered and even died for those he has authority over!
A servant, sacrificial leader! Working out of love for those he leads.
Doing everything for the salvation of humanity.
Men - don’t we want to be like Christ?
Well then lead in the church like Christ.
It’s not exactly an easy calling
It is a calling for men to lay down their lives, metaphorically but perhaps even literally for the sake of love and a rightly perceived responsibility of headship - to bring glory to God alone, not man.
Without this sort of headship demonstrated by Christ - there would be no Gospel - no good news.
Jesus would have not given his life for us.
There would be no forgiveness, not salavtion,
No relationship with God,
No Hope.
Secondly in this verse
2 - Women accept authority from men in the church just as Christ does before the Father.
the second part of v3 again:
the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
So while our culture, and perhaps you react to the bible stating that ‘the head of the woman is man’
Isn’t it stricking that this calling to women to choose submission to men is immediately followed by the same picture of Christ choosing to accept the headship of God the father.
We know from John’s gospel that Jesus is One with the Father,
Jesus is God - Part of the Triune God. Father Son and HS
Of equal worth,
supremacey,
wisdom,
righteousness,
power,
perfection,
worthy of all honour.
holy.
Jesus is one with the Father.
At no point in scripture - where we continually see Jesus choose obedicen to the Father do we think, well that’s not fair.
Jesus is weak, or not equal, or of less value that God the Father becasue of the role he accepts in submission to the father’s headship!
On the contrary - We understand Jesus to be worthy of equal honour,
we see his example as one of incredible strength and humility,
love and integrity that glorfies God.
And through his obedience achieves salvation for those who come to him in repentance.
If it wasn’t for Christ’s example of headship over man,
and Christ choosing submission to the Father
there would be no gospel.
no good news.
And so, by God’s people - men and women, choosing to follow the example of Christ in our respective ways, we are showing the world Christ Jesus.
The good news.
There is hope.
Life is not about you or me doing what we want,
but about us demonstrating that we will give our lives to the calling Christ has given us,
follwoing his example in submission and headship,
So we and the lost world have any hope at all.
In short then - this verse calls both men and women to be like Jesus!
Yes in different ways,
but not with different understandings of the value and significance of each other.
Both callings require huge sacrifice, humility and love - if expressed correctly.
And both model the gospel that offers hope to the world.
So - what does this principle of headship look like in practice:
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.
In the Corinthian age - it was culturally appropriate that women wore scarfs over their heads in public gatherings and men - didn’t. Although there is evidence that men covered their heads when worshiping idols - false gods.
But in the church - Both Men and Women are expected to be involved in public - what we might call ‘up front’ roles in the service
- but they need to present themselves rightly as the man that they are, or the woman that they are.
So that the proper order of headship is clearly demonstrated.
And why is that important - in short so that all glory goes to God as His people the church reflect the life of Christ and his gospel in different ways.
As well as modelling Christ in our roles - the reason that is so significant - is because it ultimately bring glory to God.
Jesus in his obedience was constantly talking about glorifying God - and that obedience to God shows our love for him.
And so the order of headship is if you like the way the gathered church models the correct way of glorifying God.
A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.
Perhaps it’s helpful to think of stepping stones towards glorifying God the Father.
The first stone is women, who choose to accept the authority of the next step, men, who choose to accept the authority of the next step Christ, who chooses to accept the authority of God the Father.
The only way to cross the river - which represents giving glory to God -
is to acknowledge the step in front of you.
In terms of bringing glory to God, no step is more or less valuable than another,
but there is an order,
and ignore the order you’ll get wet!
We undermine the way Jesus chose to glorify the Father and so on.
Men - cannot glorify God by ignoring the headship of Christ,
Women cannot glorify the Father by ignoring the headship of Men.
Equally men cannot glorify God by choosing to sit under the authority of a women in the gathered church.
This and a number of other passages explains why a church should have only male elders and senior pastors.
Again - not because men and women are not equal, or capable - just called to different roles - as Christ is different from the Father - and so all for the glory of God.
So - we might ask - what has head covering got to do with all this - and what is our equivalent today.
In corinthians times, a women with uncovered hair in a public setting would be seen as presenting herself in a manner that dishonoured men In the eyes of God.
It’s generally agreed that this dishonour is caused in 2 ways
1 - A women refusing to cover her head was a sign that she did not accept male authority over her - if you like she presented herself as a man (in that culture) by uncovering her hair.
2 - Un-covered female hair in public generally then was a way of flaunting their sexual Attraction
Contemporary Corinth historians of the time are quoted as saying, women who flaunted their uncovered faces and hair were tempting men with something that was only supposed to be enjoyed in the marital home!
In other words - to not cover hair was to dishonour men - and ulitmnately God, for it distracted from the proper order That shows us Christ.
And Men may then look lustfully at a women as she prayed,
And so she dishonours men - and needless to say the man is dishonouring Christ And the woman.
Now - in our culture things have changed.
But the theological principle should not.
Men - we should present ourselevs like men, not women, in the way we dress and act. It has to also be fair that We should also not dress or behave in ways that distract women or men from looking through us to glorify God. (So no bulging muscles unnessicerily on display,
no showing off, or flirting.
No abusive power or authority - but choosing Christ-like servant hearted leadership - that demonstrates our subservience to Christ.
Women - present yourselves as women. we live in a very provocative culture that says women should wear whatever they like -but we need to question our motives behind it and whether it is helpful for Christian men.
It’s not your fault of course if a man is tempted when he looks at you - of course not -
but it’s also not right for you to choose to present yourself in a revealing way.
you draw attention to yourself - your own glory - not God’s,
The previous section of 1 Corinthians is about giving up our freedoms for the sake of others!
You may be free to wear short short, show off your belly and or cleavage, but why are you doing that? Presumably so that others look at you!?
So that you receive the glory?
Choose the exmaple fo Christ for the glory of God, by not dishonouring men in the church by either seeking the same role of headship through dressing or behaving like a man,
and also, don’t tempt or distract men by the way you dress.
Parents - we will have to constantly help our children and teenagers to be countercultural on this point, both by example, and discipline and teaching.
So, that’s the case to model the Gospel and glorify God.
2 - The Case of the Created Order
2 - The Case of the Created Order
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.
Paul here is explaining
gen 2 20-23
So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
God created women literally from man.
Why?
As a helper for man.
A helper to do what we might ask?
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
to serve and obey God.
To bring glory to God!
The church exists for the same purpose - to serve and obey God.
To glorify god.
Women are called (from man) to help men do that task.
It’s the very same imagery for a biblical marriage.
Remember this is not about ability,
or equality,
it is also not about the worlds affairs.
I don’t see anything to say women should not hold positions of headship in the secular world for example.
But when it comes to glorifying God in the home and the gathered church
- we have different callings,
different stepping stones over the river to maintain - in order that glory goes to God alone.
Un surprisingly the created order argument supports the previous argumnent as well.
It’s an image even of the love of Christ for God the father.
And image of our accpetance of the gospel.
Paul’s point in v7 about women being the glory of man - is not to say women exist for the glory of man - rather I think - it’s opposite
a women needs to accept her role in choosing submission to men in the gathered church so as not to bring glory to man - from whom she was taken.
In other words we disrupt the flow of glory to god alone if we refuse to accept his created order of headship.
It is worth saying at this point that we must be very clear
- no women is to submit to an abusive man in the church.
we have a plurality of elders so that no one man may abuse his position.
There is no sense here that any man can tell any women after the service to get them a coffee or worse, do things they don’t want to do.
Such behaviour should immediently be brought to the elders attention.
so that man may be disciplined In the church,
and where right by our legal authorities.
No, Men lead in sacrificial love. - women are flesh of our flesh - like children we unconditionally love even unto death. (not patronisingly - but genuinely)
This is about how we respect and honour each other in the gather church assembly,
about how we understand the created order -
the love between God the father and the son,
as we seek to grow in faith.
NOw, v10
It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels.
When a women speaks in public gatherings
- it needs to be done in a way that signifies that she has an authority over her own head (signified back then by her head covering) And modelling her acceptance of male headship.
This is why we encourage women to pray on Sunday’s,
read scripture,
share testimonies,
do children’s slots
- but oversight or headship of the service is in the form of a service leader who is at the moment always a man - and by the expectation that elders present are ultimately responsible for what goes on in our services each week.
But the point of the head covering seems to be - that we all understand clearly the created order.
As elders we’ve actually been discussing if we could or should ask women to lead our services,
and our concern is to maintain this God glorifying order,
So it’s far from a Simple discussion.
But really - The question men should be asking is not why can’t women be in postions of headship - but how can I glorfy God? It might mean you need to sacrifice your desire to be a passenger at church and step up to lead!
The questions women ought to be asking is not - why can’t i have a headship role - but how can I glorify God? it might mean you need to sacrifice personal desires and even gifts to lead - and think through how to support the men here to obey and serve God - That is not an insignificant role - it is crucial.
No one seems to know what Pauls means by ‘because of the angles’ but feel free to ask me about it abother time and I’ll exaplin the inconclusive options.
3rdly a brief but important point
The Case Interdependance not Interchangeability
The Case Interdependance not Interchangeability
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.
This verse reinforces what we have been saying all along. We are all equal.
Woman may have been created from Man in the created order,
but unless you hadn’t noticed - men only continue to exist becasue of they are born of a woman.
You cannot have one without the other. We are interdependent. We rely on each other to do anything In the church.
Women need men in the church and men need women in the church.
Just as the created order demonstatres.
And while we are interdependent - Paul big point all along is that we are not interchangeable.
You cannot all be the same.
We have different roles.
But of absolute equal value - after all - end of v 12 ‘everything comes from God.’
Finally and also very briefly
The Case of Nature and Practice
The Case of Nature and Practice
The last few verse make an argument from nature - that men and women are simply different.
He sticks with The idea of hair to make his point.
Women have long hair and men have short - both nature confirms that in our old age - where men loose their hair and women don’t,
and almost universally across our world, it is the practice for men to have shorter hair than women.
His point is that. - the way in which the world even typically (obviously not exclusively) understands the appearance of men and women - only confirms that God created things this way.
So to conclude.
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Men and women - seek the glory of God, by following the example of Christ in the role you have been given by nature