Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. I
Corinthians 11:1
After lengthy instructions about the cultural transition
from paganism to Christianity, Paul offers himself as the example to imitate,
as he diligently tries to imitate Christ’s example. When in doubt, remember how
Paul does it. These Corinthian Christians, now more than halfway through this
epistle, finally receive praise from Paul, verse 2: I praise you for remembering me
in everything and for holding to
the traditions just as I passed them on to you. That seems to indicate they
were doing as well as they could with the oral traditions, as best they
understood them. Moving right along:
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. 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. For if
a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but
if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved,
then she should cover her head.
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. It is
for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the
angels. 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.
Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman
to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not the very nature
of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is
given to her as a covering. If anyone wants to be contentious
about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God. I Corinthians
11:3-16
This is all about God’s delegated authority. All this
head-covering protocol signifies the order of authority in that ancient eastern
society. “Decent” women who respected their husbands kept their hair covered in
the worship service. To take off the veil indicated disrespect for her husband
and an effort to place herself on equal rank with the men of the congregation. She
was flashing her insubordination. The uncovered hair was also the trademark in that culture of prostitution.
Apparently, a woman’s long hair was considered quite erotic and to go unveiled was
characteristic of moral disregard in the woman. If she wasn’t going to cover her hair, she should cut it off. That was only done
to shame a rebellious woman. Likewise,
for a man to cover his head in worship was humiliating, since he represents
Jesus Christ in the marriage relationship. All this eastern symbolism is pretty
insignificant to us modern western Christians, because we have no such customs.
In fact, the reverse is true for us: the uncovered head indicates submission,
the head coverings are worn by those in authority. Some denominations, cults and sects have made hair length a legalistic issue for their women, but we're dealing here with what the apostle actually taught, and to whom.
It is to his present purpose to reprehend the manner wherein the women prayed and prophesied in the church, without determining in this place whether they did well or ill in praying or prophesying. Note, The manner of doing a thing enters into the morality of it. We must not only be concerned to do good, but that the good we do be well done.The thing he reprehends is the woman's praying or prophesying uncovered, or the man's doing either covered, v. 4, 5. To understand this, it must be observed that it was a signification either of shame or subjection for persons to be veiled, or covered, in the eastern countries, contrary to the custom of ours, where the being bare-headed betokens subjection, and being covered superiority and dominion. And this will help us the better to understand...from Matthew Henry's commentary on I Corinthians 11"Because of the angels," verse 10. This is the second time in this epistle Paul has mentioned the observation of the angels. One of the things the angels do is observe mankind's responses to God's authority, as well as God's grace. The whole issue between God and Satan is authority. All sin is rejection of God's authority to set the standards and expect His people to comply. In chapter 4, verse 9 Paul pointed out that the apostles' hardships in ministry were a spectacle to the angels. Here, he implies that the angels are observing our order of worship service, to see how well we respect God's delegated authorities in the Church. In I Peter 1:10, we are told that we Christians have understanding of God's plan that angels would love to know. Ephesians 3:10 tells us that Paul's ministry was the means of making known to the angelic beings the great mystery of the Church. We are accustomed to keeping our witness accurate and gracious for the worldlings who watch, but we must also realize we are witnessing to angels. They are among us, taking notes.
Principle: this is not about dress codes, brethren. It is about authority. To many modern folks, authority has become a dirty word. That explains a lot about the degeneration of our society, including our churches. Society will not function without authority. Churches cannot evangelize and disciple without authority. Someone has to be in charge. There must be chain of command. The alternative is chaos. This does not mean the male is better than the female. We females and males know that is not so. He is certainly not smarter than she. He is not more spiritual than she. In Christ there is no distinction (Galatians 3:28). So, what is the point? Each has a designated position, or rank, in the orderly function of the Church. Jesus Christ is the head, and He knows exactly what is going on and who is doing his or her assigned ministry, according to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I’ve always had a rule for the household or any organization with which I was associated: when everyone is where they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to do, we get the desired results. Life is good.
There is no reason for competition between male and female Christians in the local Church. Everybody’s job is important. If you are submitting to the authority of Jesus Christ, studying His perfect Word of Truth, prayerfully learning and applying Bible Doctrine through the leadership of the Holy Spirit, you will soon know what your spiritual gifts are, and will be given opportunity to exercise those gifts; in the local assembly or elsewhere in your community. The fields are white unto harvest. We women don’t need to jostle for recognition or compete for high position in the Church. The positions we fill in supporting our pastors, in managing our families, in teaching and training the young, in organizational responsibilities, in unceasing prayer and in benevolent works are full-time ministry. Every believer is in full-time Christian service, no matter where our field of mission is. Having the discernment to recognize our position and the humility to keep the order is a matter of spiritual maturity. Our work will not go unrewarded, unless we are performing human good in the energy of the flesh and against the authority of Christ.
