1 Corinthians 11:1-16
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1 Corinthians 11:1-16 Order, Authority, and Accountability
1 Corinthians 11:1-16 Order, Authority, and Accountability
Good morning church, open your Bibles with me to 1 Corinthians 11, 1 Corinthians 11 vs. 1
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.
3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head.
5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.
6 For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered.
Lets pray! Father we ask that you would receive our worship this morning by our very gathering together. We want to hear from you, and learn from you. Help us to do just that. That we would hear and not react, and that we would trust and obey. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
I didn’t go back and listen to the recording, but I’m guessing that the first time that I taught through this passage I probably opened with an extended greeting, followed by a 10 minute prayer, maybe a baby dedication, which left just enough time for a quick read through down to verse 17 so we could complete the chapter in unity and the sharing of communion.
I think there are some things in this passage, in light of our context, that are worth digging into. If you remember, we actually closed our service last week with reading verse 1 of chapter 11
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
And we tied that into the chapter before as a list of 4 things we can use as a gauge concerning our Christian conduct/or exercising our liberties. Each one lined up with a verse. The first was Can I give thanks to God for this? Does this make God look or, does this bring God glory? Is it offensive? And then Am I following Jesus in doing this? It was a great way to wrap up three chapters concerning Christian liberty, but it also creates a pivot point to a transition in our letter and sets the model for this church as Paul deals with some issues in chapters 11-14 concerning order in the church. Remember, the heart and attitude in this church was one of selfish freedom. As they grew in knowledge, this led to almost an idolization of their rights. I have the liberty to do this or that, with no regard to how it might affect a young Christian or one with a weaker conscious.
Concerning Christian conduct, their heart was more on the side of can I still be a Christian and do this or that, or what harm will it do to me, rather than what good with this do for me? Will this strengthen me in Christ. Paul tried to deal with it back in chapter 10 vs. 23
1 cor 10:23
23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.
Is this liberty that I am allowed to do, good for me? Will it strengthen and build me up and will it strengthen my brothers and sisters in Christ? Now Paul starts dealing with another topic, but he begins with some praise for them.
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.
Paul apparently responding to either their letter to him, or a report that he had received. Good job church and thank you for remembering me in your prayers and keeping to the teachings and ordinances that I taught you...
3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
Now many people try to explain this away, or minimize the meaning by defining head here simply as source or origin, but there is more to it than that alone, and it includes with it a sense of order, authority, and with that authority, accountability.
This passage does not teach, and your pastor does not believe, that the Scriptures present women in any way as being inferior to men. Jesus is not inferior to the Father, there is One God, in three persons, equal in Person, different in function. In John chapter 10 Jesus says...
30 I and My Father are one.”
But in the incarnation, Jesus, God the Son, took on human flesh, so that He could become the Savior of Mankind,... the birth of Christ is what we are getting ready to celebrate at the end of this month in Christmas. Completely equal in person, yet different in position and authority. In Philippians we read...
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Every tongue will confess. Some voluntarily and some not, but all will. We are given an opportunity to do it now in this lifetime, on this side of judgement. Our verse says...
3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
Christ is the head of every man, not just those that yield to Him. It goes against our sinful nature to want to submit to Christ...And it says, in regard to order and authority, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God…so for you ladies, you have to chose how you will respond to this. Will it be like willful man resisting Christ, or in voluntary obedience, like Christ is to God....if you remember the prayer of Jesus in the Garden, He says....
36 And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”
The head of Christ is God, so Jesus submitted His will to the Father’s....verse 4...
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head.
5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.
6 For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered.
Notice a couple of things in this passage. First, we did not have people standing at the front door this morning handing out head coverings to the ladies along with your bulletins. But if the men here this morning accompanied me on a trip to Jerusalem to visit the Western wall, we would be required to cover our heads.
The head coverings here I think have some significant cultural relevance that they simply don’t have with us today. In this Grecco-Roman culture, head coverings did mean something for the women. The wearing of a veil or covering of the head, meant that the woman was not available, similar to what a wedding band might convey in our culture. History shows that the prostitutes from the temple of Aphrodite wore their hair short and did not wear a head coverings, and this was one of the ways they could be identified. This has been refuted in recent years by some. Regardless of that, Numbers 5 tells us that in the Jewish culture, for a woman to have her head uncovered was a mark of adultery, in the Greek culture at least, it was a mark of a prostitute among other things, none of them good. Regardless, it was a way for the women of the church to show they were different from the women of the world.
In the Corinthian church, where people were exercising their liberties without regard to others. The woman had knowledge in Jesus, there was neither Jew nor Greek, nor male nor female,... so, I’m not going to wear the stupid head covering and I don’t care what anyone thinks. And Paul says, for the sake of order and not dishonoring your head, wear it anyway.
The argument becomes that In this culture they meant something, in the day and age that we live in they don’t mean a thing, other than maybe that you like big frilly hats, or perhaps that you have a tradition to wear an Easter bonnet. So it’s not relevant and we’ll see that the reasons that he gives aren’t really culturally dependent.
Oddly enough, culturally, it does sometimes mean something for men to wear a head covering right? It sometimes means they are getting a little thin on top and they are trying to cover that up. They might say it’s to show support for their favorite team or advertising for their business, but we know what’s really going on.
Something for all of you to note here in this passage, in verse 4, again in the context of corporate worship, the man does not have his head covered while praying and prophesying,…verse 5
1 Corinthians 11:5 (NKJV)
5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head....
My point is that the Prophecy from Joel chapter 2 that says...I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, was alive and well in the church in Corinth. It was not that the women couldn’t pray or prophecy in the church service, they just weren’t to do it without the head covering demonstrating that they were under the authority of the male leadership in the church who was submitted to Christ.
This also puts the burden on us when we get to chapter 14 of this book, where Paul famously says women are to remain silent in the church, he obviously is not restricting them from praying or prophesying, so we will have to investigate that when we get there, so we understand what he was talking about.... Verse 7...
7 For a man indeed 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 is not from woman, but woman from man.
9 Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.
10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
Adam was not created for Eve, but Eve for Adam. It was Adam’s job to lead and it was her job to come along side him providing the help needed, that together they would accomplish the mission…lets look again at what we are told in the creation story.
22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
I f you remember the creation account in Genesis. In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. He said let there be light, and said it was good, He separated the land from the sea, and saw that it was good. He created man, and said it’s not good. It’s not good for him to be alone, that guy’s going to need some serious help, someone comparable to him, not a servant. Someone to help him where he is lacking. I think that starts with man’s relationship with God. In Isaiah we are told that we were created for the glory of God, Genesis says that we, men and women are made in the image of God. We need each other to fully reflect the glory of God.
Clearly this whole idea of what I am talking about today is terribly offensive to the whole spirit of our modern age. For the man,... the woman being created for the man, means to serve and to help the man. Gentlemen, the reason this has become so offensive is because of us. The vision and agenda for the home is supposed to be the responsibility of the man.
Let me say something to the ladies, and I’m asking you to try to hear me on some things. First this is the Word of God. It is instruction from the same God that loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for the rightful penalty of your sins, so that you could be in Heaven with Him forever. He loves you and is absolutely for you in every way.
The Holy Spirit that inspired the Scriptures is in you and advocates for you. As a man, I won’t say that I fully understand how maybe this makes you feel. For even if I try to relate it back to verse three to show that we all are under authority, that we all have a Head, that at times our flesh wants to rebel against, it is a different thing to have that authority be perfect, the God-man, Jesus…very different than it is to have it be a human man.
We can all relate to some degree if you’ve ever had a boss that lacked vision, or failed to lead. Or had someone placed in authority over you that you rivaled in intelligence, men that means that was dumber than you.
So I can see you saying or thinking, Pastor Brian I have a hard time with this, or I’m having difficulty in understanding and accepting what this says. Or even thinking, you know what? If that is the way it is supposed to be, I’m not sure I can do that. I have so much to offer and I can’t be fulfilled having that kind of order, or having my husband having authority or headship over me. Then first, if your single and this is your struggle, consider not getting married.
God has order, authority, and accountability in place for a reason. And you and I may not fully understand His purposes in it. We all think that we want to be in charge, but don’t always understand the weight of it, or the accountability. My role here in the church puts me in a position that I am judged more strictly than you or your husband...
1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
So again, just as God the Father being the Head of the Son in no way diminishes Jesus, the headship of man in the home and in the church does not diminish your status, stature, or standing. It is for the purpose of order and accountability. Paul says...
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
but when it comes to order and accountability in the home and the church, there needs to be order and headship. So if you’re single and you know you just can’t or won’t go there, then don’t! Meaning, don’t get married until you can, because this is God’s blueprint for marriage and it is what works.
If you are married…you may be thinking this is a struggle. You may be thinking I’m not stupid or incompetent to make decisions for my family, I’m not perfect, but I’m more competent than the man I married. Don’t tune me out, I want you to hear some things (and after the service you can talk to a woman up here in front that is the smartest person I know, and she can completely relate to your struggle).
You that hear this and revolt inside thinking a life like that, or a marriage like that is never going to be fulfilling for me, can I encourage you to trust God. Trust God, more than your do your husband, and trust God more than you do yourself, and what your heart may be telling you, or struggling with.
Consider submitting yourself fully to what the Bible says you should do... and see if out of your obedience, if God doesn’t ultimately change your heart, and fulfill you and give you comfort. See if He doesn’t bless your family with you helping your husband to be the head of the home and you being the heart of the home.
There is a chance that part of the reason that being in charge has become so important to you... to the point that you can’t imagine life being fulfilling any other way, is that you may be more influenced by the spirit of the world than you realize, especially if it conflicts with the clear teaching of God.
You guys have all heard me say that when I come across a difficult passage or an instruction from God where my natural inclination is to disagree with God, or think I’d would have done that different, I’m the one that’s wrong! He is perfect, Holy and Just, and I’m not. In the areas that I struggle I need to come under that yoke of Jesus and learn from Him.
I get the struggle, and I know that our society has beat the drum that any submission is taking a giant step backward. That is not God’s desire for you, it is not in anyway inferiority, and perhaps by trusting Him He will give you a greater fulfillment that you could find anywhere else…not trying to beat a dead horse here, just showing that this does not come from a single passage in the Scriptures...
23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
Men, you need to serve her and love her like Christ does the Church…that means being willing to lay your life down for her. Back to verse 10
10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
I wish Paul left that out as well, because we don’t fully understand it. In some capacity, the angels observe us, crash in on our worship services…God gets it, I don’t need to…Ephesians tells us...
10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places,
11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Couple more things about this. Again, the application of this applies to the home and the church. It in no way means that every women is under the authority of every man. Women can run corporations, they can be judges, in the Bible we read about a woman named Deborah who was called a prophetess and was Israel's only female judge, they can be Governors, and on November 19th of this year we had our first female President of the United States, or acting president, but there are no limits on women being in authority outside of these two places.
When I say this applies to the church, again, it doesn’t mean that every woman in the church is subject to every man in the church, it simply means that when it comes to the highest authority in the church, in this church, that is the role of a man, who’s head is Christ. And all of us here submit to that leadership, as we do to Jesus, who is the Head of the church, because that is what God tells us to do.
But I don’t think the biggest struggle, is society conditioning you or teaching you not to be under authority, I think it comes from man’s failure to lead in these two areas and where they do have the authority, failing to lead well, or abusing that authority. That’s the biggest reason people reject male leadership.
This passage is not telling men to step up, Paul is saying God has already put you in this role, you’re responsible, and you’re blowing it. Saying my wife won’t let me lead, or you don’t get it pastor, I married a strong willed women....oh, I get it.
This is in no way inferiority or superiority
The Godhead is completely equal in being, but different in roles when it comes to authority. Respect for authority in general is nearly gone in our society. There is a loss of respect for the authority of our teachers, our law enforcement, our courts, our parents, and in the church as a whole and it is a tool of Satan to promote anarchy, no order, no morality, but for each person to only do what they want to do, and how they want to do it.
But this does not put man on a throne where he becomes a dictator or ruler, look what Paul says in verse 11...
11 Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord.
12 For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.
Men, or single men I’ll say to you, if you are not in a position that you have an understanding of authority because Jesus is your head, and you submit to His authority, you shouldn’t get married either.
13 Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?
15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.
16 But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.
Paul first lays out the example of the order of creation, then in verse 13 says judge for yourselves is it proper? In Corinth there may have been some cultural application to the principle here through the wearing of a head covering, but it’s bigger than that. It was a heart issue to completely disregard how the casting off of God’s order failed to edify you or your head. Third, in verse 14 he appeals to what nature teaches us, and finally he brings up the general practice or customs of the churches...None of these reasons are culturally dependent.
It is not a matter of being worthy. There will never be a man that is worthy to be a proper head nor ever a woman who is worthy to come along side and support the headship of her husband unless we are both submitted to the Lordship of Jesus in our lives. When we submit to Jesus as our head that doesn’t take away the other positions of authority that He has placed in our lives. We can’t all go into work tomorrow and say, boss, you’re no longer in charge, I submit only to the headship of Jesus. Although, Colossians tells us whatever we do, we’re work so hard, just as if it was unto the Lord Himself. So lets all focus on walking with Jesus, and trusting Jesus to lead us in these relationships as we follow after Him.
I’ve asked Pastor Jim to come up and lead us in a couple more songs of worship. As as we sing, I want to encourage you, men and women, to fully surrender to the Lord. Grace and peace.