1 Corinthians 11:2-16

Happy Mother's Day to you all.

If you're new to Trinity or if you're new to Christian things in general, we're glad

you're here.

Let me invite you to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 with me.

1 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

That's page 969, I believe, in the Pew Bible.

What we've been doing here at Trinity in the morning service is walking through, teaching

through the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians written by the Apostle Paul.

In our text this morning, we come to a new section of this book, and this section deals

with the topic of worship.

Along the way, Paul's been responding to various questions and issues going on in the church

of Corinth.

If you've been here over the past months, you'll remember that in chapters 1 through 4, he dealt

with factions and divisions in the church.

Then there were questions about sex and singleness and marriage that he dealt with in chapters

5 through 7.

Then there were questions about freedoms and rights and how to interact faithfully with

their cultural surroundings.

That was chapters 8 through 10.

And along the way, it's all been pretty practical, relevant stuff.

And now in this next section, starting in chapter 11 and going the whole way through chapter 14,

Paul's going to deal with issues related to their worship gatherings.

What happens when they come together to worship God on Sundays?

And if you look ahead to chapters 12 and 13 and 14, that's kind of the biggest chunk of

this section.

That part deals with spiritual gifts and the need to build each other up rather than just

show off through the exercise of those gifts.

Before that, at the end of chapter 11, we'll look at the Lord's Supper and the underlying issue

of class divisions in the church.

How are the rich and the poor alike being welcomed to the one table of the Lord?

But that's all in weeks to come.

This morning, we kick it all off in the beginning of chapter 11 by talking about corporate gathered

worship and the importance of gender.

How do we honor God and one another in our times of gathered worship when it comes to being male and female?

Now, the benefits, one of the benefits of preaching through a whole book, section by section,

like we're doing in 1 Corinthians, is that it keeps us from shying away from hard topics like this one.

But it also lets you know that when these trickier topics come up,

we're not just trying to ride some weird hobby horse.

The elders did not sit down and say,

you know what we really ought to preach about on Mother's Day?

The Sunday with the third highest church attendance of the year?

Gender and worship.

That would be awesome.

Let's do that.

No, the conversation went more like last summer, actually.

Hey, there's a lot of great practical stuff in 1 Corinthians

about living out the gospel together.

Let's walk through that as a church.

So we divided it up, put it on the calendar, and this is where it fell.

Happy Mother's Day.

But there's no doubt that this is a timely topic.

Culturally, we are all asking very deep questions about these things,

about gender, aren't we?

And I think the benefit of this cultural moment to the church

is that it's requiring us to come back to Scripture with fresh eyes

to get a richer and deeper clarity and vision

of what it really means to be male and female

as members of the body of Christ for the sake of the world.

It's challenging us, actually, in a good way,

not just to settle for how we've always done things

or to settle on our gut reactions

or to just go with the flow of culture,

but it's actually challenging us to really listen afresh

and to really open ourselves up to the biblical vision

of what God intends for His glory

and for our flourishing when it comes to being created male and female.

And I think what we see in our text,

what we're going to see in our text,

when it comes to gender and worship,

is that there must be both freedom and form.

In fact, more freedom and more form all at the same time

than most people on all sides of this issue are comfortable with.

After all, freedom and form and order

kind of seem like they're at odds with one another, right?

Well, freedom and form seem to be at odds with one another,

that is, until you think about pretty much anything of lasting beauty.

Think of a jazz musician who plays with untrammeled freedom.

Yet that same musician knows that there's a deep form

that she or he has to respect,

the progression, the scales, the rhythm,

these forms that every great jazz musician has mastered and embraced.

And the freedom, together with the form, results in what?

In beauty.

Find one album in human history that's better than Miles Davis' Kind of Blue,

and I'll give you $20 on the spot.

Can't be done.

Maybe Tom could find a different one.

I don't know.

Or think of an athlete.

The ones who play with the most effortless freedom,

the ones who are on the cutting edge of the sport,

those same athletes are also the ones

who have mastered and entrenched themselves

in the very fundamentals of the game.

They embrace the forms,

and they respect them and know them inside and out.

They're the ones who are shooting a thousand shots in the gym

every single day.

Freedom and form equals beauty.

We know this.

And that's, I think, what we're going to see here in our text.

So let's dive in.

1 Corinthians 11, chapter 11, verses 2 through 16.

Chapter 11, verse 2 through 16.

Paul writes this.

Now, I commend you because you remember me in everything

and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.

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.

Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered

dishonors his head.

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.

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.

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.

For man was not made from woman,

but woman from man.

Neither was man created for woman,

but woman for man.

That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority

on her head because of the angels.

Nevertheless, in the Lord,

woman is not independent of man,

nor man of woman.

For as woman was made from man,

so man is now born of woman,

and all things are from God.

Judge for yourselves.

Is it proper for a wife to pray to God

with her head uncovered?

Lord, does not nature itself teach you

that if a man wears long hair,

it is a disgrace for him?

But if a woman has long hair,

it is her glory,

for her hair is given to her for a covering.

If anyone is inclined to be contentious,

we have no such practice,

nor do the churches of God.

I wonder if you've ever been walking down the street

and overheard someone talking on their phone.

You're walking behind them,

and you overhear just one side,

their side of the conversation.

And you might hear something like this.

Yeah, I'll bring the meat.

No, it's purple with dinosaurs on it.

Well, look, if you want to give her that much money,

that's your decision.

Of course, I already told you,

I'll bring the meat.

And as you stroll along,

you think to yourself,

what in the world is this conversation about?

Are they planning some sort of

carnivorous dinosaur-themed birthday party

for a five-year-old girl?

What are they talking about?

Well, to a certain extent,

that's kind of what we're doing this morning.

We're listening in on one side of a conversation.

Reading this letter of the Apostle Paul

to the church in Corinth,

written to real people in a real place

at a real time long ago,

is sort of like listening to just one side of a phone call.

In order to understand it,

we sometimes have to do our best

to fill in both sides of the conversation.

And most of the time,

in reading the New Testament letters,

most of the time,

through a careful reading of the text,

and through studying the social

and historical and literary context,

most of the time,

we can do a really good job of doing that.

And as a result,

we can say with a fairly high degree of confidence

what's going on in most passages.

But,

every once in a while,

we come across a detail

or a reference

or maybe even a paragraph

that just is not as clear.

Of course,

it would have all made sense

to the original audience.

They were the one talking

on the other end of the line.

But for us,

we simply have to make our best educated guess

using all the information we have,

try to capture the big idea

or the big picture of what's going on

and readily admit

that there are some details

that we're just not 100% sure about

or maybe even 75% sure about

or maybe even 25% sure about.

And it goes without saying

that our text this morning

is one of those

where there's a lot

we're just not sure about.

There are a number of details

in this text we've just read

that we need to make

some educated guesses about,

but we need to hold those guesses

with a pretty open hand.

In this sermon,

I'm going to say probably

and most likely

and maybe a lot of times.

But what we'll see

is that there are some central themes

that are pretty clear.

So we'll spend most of our time

this morning talking about

what's clear

and not get too lost

in the weeds

of the finer,

more obscure details

that come up along the way.

And I think that

as I've been sort of

sitting with this text

for a number of weeks,

there are two things

that we see pretty clearly.

And surprisingly,

almost every commentator

I read has agreed.

I'm going to tell you

what they are,

I'm going to show you

where they come from

in the text,

and then we'll talk about

how to apply them today.

And both of these things,

in both of these things,

Paul is concerned,

above all,

that we honor God

and we honor one another

in our corporate worship.

Did you notice

how often Paul uses

language of glory

and honor

or shame

and dishonor

in this text?

He wants our times together

to honor each other

and in so doing

to honor God.

So,

first clear principle

is this.

We honor God

and we honor one another

in our corporate worship

when we empower

the participation

of both men

and women

in the body.

When we empower

the participation

of both men

and women

in what's going on

on Sundays.

Okay,

where do we see that?

Well,

let's start at the top.

Paul begins in verse 2

by commending

the Corinthians

for the traditions

he's passed on to them.

The traditions here

would have been

the sort of body

of Christian beliefs

and practices

that the apostles

would have taught

in all the churches

and that we now

have preserved for us

in the New Testament.

And on the whole,

Paul says

the Corinthians

are doing their best

to maintain these

and he commends them

for it.

Which goes to show

that even in some

pretty messed up places

you can probably find

something to praise,

right?

The Corinthians

had a lot of things

that were mixed up

but Paul still finds

something to sort of

encourage them about.

Then in verse 2

he says,

but,

but I want you

to understand.

In other words,

here's an area

where I need

to help you

gain a little more

clarity.

He's moving

from commendation

to instruction.

He's not rebuking them,

he's not correcting them,

he's not upset

with them here.

He's just like

a good friend,

like a good pastor

going to help him

hash some things out.

And the issue

at hand

seems to revolve

around the issue

of head coverings.

You see that

in verse 4 and 5.

Men, it seems,

should pray and prophesy

with their heads

uncovered.

Women, on the other hand,

should pray or prophesy

with their heads

covered.

Now,

first little

exegetical issue.

It's possible

that the language

in verse 4 and 5

could be referring

not to head coverings

but to hairstyles.

If that's true,

then verse 4

would be saying

something like

men shouldn't have hair

that comes down

from their head.

That is really long hair.

In that case,

I would be doing great

for this passage.

In verse 5

in that reading,

women shouldn't let

their hair flow down loosely.

That is,

they should keep it

neatly tied up.

Okay.

Commentators go both way

on this thing.

We can't be 100% sure

which one it is,

but I think

that probably,

maybe,

we can make more sense

of the passage as a whole

if Paul has in mind

some sort of actual

literal garment

or head covering.

It seems in the first century

that most women

and particularly

married women

in public

would have worn

some sort of shawl

or scarf

over their heads.

It was a sign

in that culture

culture,

and we all know

clothing carries

a lot of significance

in a culture.

It was a sign

in that culture

of respectability,

of decorum,

even of modesty,

and it also sort of

functioned as a sign

of respect

or deference

for your husband

and for your family

household.

Okay.

Now,

perhaps one of the things

that we don't appreciate

enough

is how radically

and wildly

liberating

the gospel was

in the first century.

In the passage

that Mary read

for us earlier,

we heard Paul saying

that you are all

one in Christ,

that there's no more

Jew and Greek,

there's no more

slave or free,

there's no more

male and female.

When it comes

to your status

before God,

when it comes

to being included

in His kingdom,

those distinctions

don't bear weight.

Though we are

all sinners,

though we are

all morally

bankrupt and bent,

the gospel is

that through faith

in Christ,

all of us

are reckoned

by the Father

as righteous

and as loved

and as valued

and as important

as the very Son

of God Himself.

Paul says

we've put

on Christ.

And whether

you're Jew or Gentile,

rich or poor,

male or female,

you are all

the fully adopted

heirs of a king

through faith

and faith alone.

And that makes

Christianity

totally different

than any other religion

that would have been

out there,

either for the Corinthians

then or really

for you and us now.

because every other

religion basically

says what?

If I become

the right sort

of person,

then I can be

accepted by God.

If I do this

or become this

or perform this,

then on the other

side of that

there's perhaps

acceptance.

But Christianity

comes along

and says,

no,

God accepts you

by grace

through Jesus.

and as a result

of that,

you can finally

start to become

who you were

meant to be.

You actually

want to obey

and love

and serve Him.

Acceptance leads

to the change.

And once you get

that difference

between those two

things,

you start to realize

how liberating

Christianity

actually is.

and so,

it's no surprise

that some of the

men and women

in Corinth

in the first century

were probably

thinking something

like this.

Given this

newfound identity

and freedom

that we have

in Christ,

when we gather

for worship

and particularly

when we pray

and prophesy,

should the women

among us

continue to wear

their head coverings?

I mean,

if we're all

one in Christ,

if we're all

equal heirs

of the kingdom,

should we even

have that sort

of attire anymore?

Sure,

we might have to

wear it out

in the marketplace,

but what about

in the church?

What about here

in this new community

that Christ has created?

Are we free

from those things

in the body

of Christ?

Christ?

Now,

before we take a look

at Paul's answer

to that question,

notice the fact

that Paul does not

even bat an eye

at the fact that

women are praying

and prophesying

in the gathered

assembly.

In fact,

a lot of commentators

think that part of

Paul's commendation

in verse 2

includes the fact

that at Corinth

men and women

were participating

so freely

in the gathered

worship of the church.

After all,

hadn't Joel chapter 2

Joel 2 · chapter mention

foreseen the very day

and hadn't Peter

himself quoted

that text at Pentecost?

That the days

were coming

when God would

pour out His Spirit

on all flesh

and your sons

and your daughters

shall prophesy.

It seems abundantly

clear from 1 Corinthians 11

that men

and women

were praying

and prophesying

in the gathered

assembly.

And Paul has

no issue,

no problem

with them doing so.

Now,

we'll get into

the head coverings

issue in a minute,

but I think it's worth

just sitting

with that observation

for a little bit.

Paul assumes

the fact

that men

and women

were going

to offer

public prayers

when the church

gathers.

Paul assumes

the fact

that men

and women

were going

to offer

public words

of edification

and encouragement

when the church

gathers,

which is what

Paul means,

by the way,

by prophesy here.

Turn over,

actually,

just a couple

of pages

to 1 Corinthians 14

1 Corinthians 14:3

verse 3

if you're

in your Bible.

Chapter 14

verse 3,

just a couple

pages over.

14 verse 3,

here's how

Paul defines

what he means

by prophecy.

Ready?

The one

who prophesies

speaks to the people

for their upbuilding

and encouragement

and consolation.

Now,

when we hear

the word prophecy,

we think almost

exclusively of what?

Weirdos

predicting the future,

right?

But really,

what Paul has

in mind

when he uses

the word

isn't so much

foretelling something,

but forth-telling,

speaking forth

words of upbuilding

and encouragement

and consolation

to the church,

to brothers and sisters.

There's nothing

weird or spooky

about it.

And also,

by the way,

we know

that what Paul

meant by prophecy

in the New Testament

church in the New Testament

era was very different

from prophecy

in the Old Testament.

Old Testament prophets

operated under the direct

inspiration of God.

When they spoke,

they could say,

thus says the Lord.

But,

it's very different

in the New Testament.

In the New Testament,

prophecy,

again,

words of upbuilding,

encouragement,

consolation,

these kind of prophetic words

were almost always weighed

and discerned

by the leaders

of the community.

They didn't treat

the function of prophecy

in their midst

like direct inspiration,

like Old Testament prophecy.

They treated it

like human speech

that was intended

to do good,

that was hopefully infused

with scriptural wisdom,

but might also stand

in need of correction

and improvement

based on a fuller

understanding

and application

of God's Word.

Whew!

Okay.

Getting a picture

of what prophecy is here

in the New Testament

and what Paul uses it.

And all that is to say

that Paul assumes

the fact

that men and women

would be offering

such public words

of edification

and encouragement

and upbuilding

and consolation

when the church gathers

for its corporate worship time.

Now,

you might be thinking,

wait a second,

I thought Paul

was the guy

who told women

to be silent

in the church.

He's the bigoted

misogynist, right?

Paul.

We're talking about

the same Paul here, right?

Yes.

We are talking

about the same Paul,

not all those labels.

Bracket those

for a second.

How can Paul

be telling women

to pray and prophesy

in this text and men?

But then tell women

to be quiet

in other texts.

What is going on?

Well, okay,

the text that you're

probably thinking of

are 1 Corinthians 14.

We're going to get to that

in a few weeks.

And 1 Timothy 2.

Greg just taught about that

in Sunday school this morning.

And when you look

at those texts

in context,

you realize

that Paul

isn't saying there

that women should

never, ever speak

ever in the church.

What he's actually saying

is that the office

and the responsibility

of giving final say

as to whether

a prophecy

or a teaching

aligns

with the apostolic gospel

and the ones

who will be

especially accountable

to Christ

for that task

when Christ returns,

the ones who are

especially accountable

and responsible

for ensuring

the sound doctrine

and teaching

of the church,

he's saying that

that role

is meant to be reserved

to a group

of qualified men,

a group that elsewhere

Paul will call elders

or pastors

or overseers.

But

those leaders

are not meant

to squelch

the participation

of women

praying and prophesying.

Rather,

they are meant

to empower it.

In Ephesians 4.12,

Paul says

that one of the jobs

of those pastor teachers,

the elders,

is to equip the saints

for the work

of ministry,

for building up

the body of Christ.

And that means

equipping all the saints,

men and women,

for the work

of ministry

so that we might

grow up in every way,

Paul goes on to say

in that passage,

into the measure

of the stature

of the fullness

of Christ.

When we're using

our gifts mutually

for the upbuilding

of the body,

then we're growing

into the fullness

of Christ.

Well,

what would the application

of this principle

look like for us today?

You know,

friends,

when I think about

our corporate worship

times together,

I would love

to see more of us,

men and women,

sharing words

of encouragement,

consolation,

and upbuilding

from up front.

Right now,

when someone comes

into membership,

like Sierra this morning,

or when they get baptized,

or when they're sharing

about a recent ministry

experience,

we get some of this,

don't we?

And it's really good.

It's really encouraging.

God uses it

in our hearts,

in our community.

But what if we were

sharing more

of what God

was teaching us

in our life?

And sharing it

in a way

that was edifying

and in a space

that was edifying

for the whole body?

You know,

one of the joys

of being a pastor

is that I get to hear

so many great stories

of God at work

in your lives.

You sit down with me,

you pull me aside,

and I know you're doing this

with the other pastors

and elders too,

and you tell me

these incredible things

that God is teaching you.

How you learn to love

your antagonistic coworkers

by dwelling on Jesus' command

to love your enemies

and pray for those

who persecute you.

And lo and behold,

it worked.

How you learn to trust

God's promises

in the midst of unemployment

that He'd never leave you

nor forsake you.

How you learn that Christ

was an all-sufficient friend

in sorrow

when your relationship

crumbled apart

and you felt like

you were all alone.

Friends,

what if I were to ask you

one day,

would you consider

sharing that on Sunday

with your church family

for their upbuilding

and encouragement

and consolation?

And of course,

many of you are thinking,

I could never do that.

Speak in front of 300 people?

He's crazy.

Okay, it's intimidating.

I get it.

I still get nervous

every time I get up front.

That's normal.

But,

friends,

what if we worked together

to change the culture

here at Trinity

where the regular

personal sharing

of encouraging words

was the norm?

Call it whatever you want.

A testimony,

a prophecy,

a missions update,

I don't really care.

What if every Sunday

we would expect to hear

not just one of the pastors

give a sermon

and fulfill that teaching role

that God's given us,

as central as that is,

and it will remain.

But what if we also expected

to hear a message

of encouragement

from one member,

at least from another member

of the church as well?

It's built right into

our order of service.

It's sitting right there

before the offering,

waiting to be grabbed.

I think this would make

our times

all the more

richer together.

Don't you?

Of course,

there are other opportunities

for doing this,

right?

Not just on Sundays.

Small groups,

one-on-one meetings,

over lunch,

after church,

over coffee.

Each of these

becomes a venue,

a space

for the Holy Spirit

to work

through prayer

and encouragement,

through the mutual

giving and receiving

of our gifts

of love

and service,

as we say

in our membership vows.

So,

if speaking in front

of the whole church

gives you cold sweats,

start there,

in small group,

with your circle

of friends.

But friends,

let's be praying together

that Trinity

will become a place

where we empower

men and women

to participate

and contribute

to mutually edifying

one another

in our gathered times

together,

where all

of our gifts

get cultivated

and released

so we can grow

into the fullness

of Christ.

Well,

let's keep moving.

That's the first point.

mutual participation,

freedom.

Yeah?

Here's the second point.

We honor God

and honor one another

in our corporate worship

when we embrace

the created distinction

between men and women

in the body.

When we embrace

the created distinction

between men and women

in the body.

Okay, remember,

the presenting issue

at Corinth

was probably something

like this.

When we gather

for worship,

and particularly

when we pray

and prophesy,

should women

continue to wear

their head coverings?

Or can we remove them

as an expression

of our freedom

in Christ

and of our kingdom

equality with our

brothers in the Lord?

And Paul says,

no,

you should keep them on.

Why?

Because in the first century

context,

the head covering

on a woman,

as we said,

communicated respectability

and modesty in general,

and for the married woman

in particular,

it communicated a sense

of respect and honor

for her husband.

Imagine, friends,

how distracting

it would be

if the first thing

I did

when I stepped

into the pulpit

was take off

my wedding band

and put it on the pulpit,

or maybe stick it

under the pulpit,

or if I came out

not even wearing one.

Even if I was doing that

for some strangely

good reason,

what would it

actually communicate

to most people

off the street?

Well,

it would be

distracting and weird

because taking off

your wedding ring

would seem to communicate

that you're not

married anymore,

or at least

that you're leaving

your marriage commitment

behind you

or putting it aside

for the time being.

And the reality is

taking off my ring

would actually

dishonor my wife

and detract

and distract you all

from the worship

and honor of God.

Now,

for a woman

to take off

her head covering

in the first century,

the effects

would have been

very similar.

Not only would

they be taking off

something that was

part of just identifying

as a woman

in that culture,

not only would

taking it off

have been seen

at times as something

promiscuous and provocative,

but they would have

also been taking off

something that

communicated respect

and honor

to their husband.

And so,

by removing

the head covering,

they would actually

be, as Paul says,

dishonoring their head,

not only their own selves,

but also their husbands.

And all of that,

which is Paul's big point,

all of that would

actually dishonor God

and distract

from worshiping Him,

which is the point

of why you get together

in the first place.

Paul goes on to say

that, look,

if you're willing

to communicate

that you've cast off

your status and identity

as a woman and a wife,

then you might as well

just shave your head,

he says in verse 6.

That seems kind of strange.

Again, it seems that

in the first century

cultural context,

a woman would have

her hair cut off

as either sort of

some kind of penalty

for adultery

or some kind of sign

that she was forfeiting

her identity as a woman.

And of course,

the women in Corinth

didn't want to go that far.

That's not what

they were trying to do.

But Paul is saying

they'd be communicating

just about the same thing

by doing this socially

significant thing

of taking off

their head covering.

So, if you're not

going to go the whole way,

keep it on.

Okay.

Why is Paul so concerned

that the women in Corinth

maintain a practice

of dress that in part

signifies their femaleness

and in part signifies

the headship of their husbands?

In verses 7-10,

Paul explains

that our engendered being

and the headship principle

actually goes back

to God's creative intent

for humanity.

Now,

these verses

are notoriously difficult

to interpret,

especially the end

of verse 10

about the angels.

I mean, come on.

You are all thinking

that is the hugest

non sequitur

I've ever read.

My guess is that

that has something

to do with the church

displaying God's glory

to the heavenly places.

Check out Ephesians 3-10.

That's all I'm going to say

about that.

I'm done.

You want to talk to me

more after that afterwards?

I'd be happy to.

I can give you eight pages

on what other people

think that is.

That's what I think it is.

But on the whole,

big picture,

it seems that Paul

is saying that the order

of creation

in Genesis 2

with Adam being formed first

and then Eve

does delineate

a headship principle

that gets embodied

in the home

through husbands and wives

and ought to be embodied

in the church

in the office of the elder.

Now, verse 7

sounds really,

really odd to us, right?

Is Paul saying

that women aren't

created in the image of God

and just created

in the image of man?

No, that's not

what Paul's saying there.

Paul wholeheartedly affirms

in other places

that both men and women

are equally created

in God's image.

Rather, I think

what he's saying

in verse 7

is he's just making

a point about the order

of creation

from Genesis 2

and the following verses

8 and 9

make that clear.

He points out

in verse 8

that in the original

creation story

Eve was made

in a distinct way

from Adam,

from him,

out of his side.

And then in verse 9

that she was made

to complete Adam,

to be,

as Genesis says,

his strong helper,

his ally,

his completer

in ruling creation.

So,

in this sense,

Paul says,

the woman communicates

something about man

as well as something

about God.

Being made in God's image,

she reflects God's glory.

Yes, that's Genesis 1.

But seen through

the lens of Genesis 2,

the woman,

because she's made

from man,

also communicates

something in addition

about the glory

of man.

In other words,

her created excellence

communicates something

about God's excellence,

yes,

but also something

about the created excellence

of her partner,

the man.

Now,

I get it.

It's really hard

for us to hear

those verses

and for them

not to sound

really grating

or maybe even

demeaning for women,

but that wasn't

their intent.

You see,

for the woman

to communicate

something in addition

about the glory

of man,

on the one hand,

doesn't define

her whole reason

for existence

as if that's

the only thing

that God created

women to do,

and on the other hand,

this doesn't in any way

communicate

any intrinsic

inferiority

to the man.

Eve wasn't

of any lesser value

or dignity

or importance

in God's

creative purposes.

In fact,

in verses 11 and 12,

Paul's actually

really careful

to uphold

and preserve

the woman's dignity.

These verses

actually kind of

serve as an important

qualification

in Paul's line

of thinking

lest he be

misunderstood

or misapplied.

Just as Genesis 2

delineates a principle

of headship,

so the rest

of the biblical account,

Paul steps back

and says,

delineates a principle

of at the same time

interdependence

and mutuality

before the Lord.

Yes,

woman was made

for man,

but now man

comes from woman,

and both man

and woman

are equally

from God.

God.

But why in the world

would Paul want

to preserve

such a convoluted

and complicated

line of thinking?

On the one hand,

equality of value

and interdependence

and mutuality.

We get that.

On the other hand,

diversity of role

and headship.

Okay,

we understand that.

We're a little less

comfortable with that.

What we can't do

is the almost impossible

thing of holding

them together.

Why?

Why even try?

Why is Paul even

worried about that

when it's so hard

to hold together,

when it's so hard

to work out

and practice?

Why is he so careful

to try to preserve

that in the life

of the church?

The answer is actually

found in verse 3.

All of this

reflects something

about the nature

and glory of God.

Just as the Father

and the Son

are equal in essence

and glory

and attributes,

so the husband

and wife are equal

in essence

and glory

and purpose.

And a lot of times

attributes.

But,

just as the Son

freely comes under

the headship

of the Father,

so wives freely

come under

the headship

of their husbands.

And notice

that headship here

isn't what we

commonly think.

This sort of headship

is not some kind

of self-serving

authoritarianism

that belittles

other people

to make itself

look great.

Isn't that what

we often think

about a head?

A head of a department?

He's the useless guy

who just makes you

fill out TBS reports,

right?

No.

Real,

biblical

headship

is self-giving

responsibility

that aims

to build up

the other

that's entrusted

to your care.

Because,

you see,

just as Jesus

was the model

of submission

showing us

that submission

does not mean

a loss of dignity

or value

or purpose

or beauty.

So,

Jesus was also

the pattern

of true headship.

He is the head

of the man

and the husband,

Paul says.

And Jesus himself

said that he came

not to be served

but to serve

and to give his life

as a ransom

for many.

And as Paul

will later say,

husbands are to

love their wives

the way Christ

loved the church

and gave himself

up for her.

friends,

that's biblical

headship.

That's authority

biblically speaking.

A self-giving

stance

towards the other

that wants

to see them

flourish.

A love

that bears

pain and loss

so the other

can know glory

and gain.

That's headship.

Now,

of course,

people have done

all sorts of evil

and wrong things

under the guise

of male headship.

And we want to

actually stand

alongside the hurting

and the broken

and condemn

those things as well.

Those abuses

have actually

propagated

a lie

not just about

what headship is

but about

who God is,

you see.

real,

true,

biblical

headship

isn't oppressive,

it's life-giving.

So,

you see,

what's at stake

in all of this

for Paul

in being male

and female

and the beauty

of that distinction

and even in embracing

a principle of headship

between husbands

and wives,

all this is really

about being a picture,

a reflection

of God's own

triune life

and love

to the world.

world.

It's about honoring

Him and displaying

Him before

a watching world

as each member

takes up their part

in the dance

that God has assigned.

not because one

is intrinsically

better than the other.

There's no hint

of that

in the biblical texts

but because God

ordered it so

and according

to His own wisdom,

He promises

to make His glory

known through it.

And so,

Paul tells the Corinthians

to keep wearing

the head covering

because in their

particular historical context,

it communicated

a glad embrace

of the created goodness

of being male

and female

and the distinction

and role

that each had

in displaying

God's glory.

And he ends

in verses 13 through 16

by appealing to nature

and by appealing

to the common practice

of the church.

His appeal to nature

real briefly

in verses 14 and 15

is basically

that if common experience

tells us that men

and women are different,

for example,

in their hair,

in most cultures,

men and women

have different hairdos,

then by analogy,

it's fitting for men

and women

to have different

symbolic attire

communicating their

maleness or femaleness,

hence the head covering

in the first century.

And in verse 16,

Paul appeals to the broad

practice of other churches.

If anyone is contentious

about this,

Paul wants them to know

that this isn't just

his own private opinion,

but in fact,

none of the other churches

of God have any other

practice than the one

Paul too is helping

them to understand.

Now,

for us today,

in our time

and in our place,

friends,

head coverings

don't communicate

anything like

what they did

for first century

Corinthians,

right?

So,

there's no use

in asking

whether we should

wear a head covering

today.

They've lost

all their symbolic

significance

and there's no threat

of undermining

the created goodness

and givenness

of gender

by not wearing

one or by wearing

one.

But even if we need

not wear head coverings,

the hard issue,

I think,

is still the same.

do we gladly

embrace

the created

distinction

of being male

and female?

Of course,

different cultures

will have different

signs and signifiers

for communicating

this distinction

in healthy ways,

but are we willing

in our time

and place

to do so?

To gladly

communicate

our maleness

and our femaleness

to one another

into the world.

I think this works

out in three ways.

First,

in general,

to embrace

being male

and being female

and to see

this distinction

as a created good

that's worthy

of being maintained

so that people

will see the diverse

glory of God

in our life together.

Of course,

there are all sorts

of stupid stereotypes

about what maleness

ought to be

and femaleness

ought to be,

right?

Just because you can

crush a beer can

on your head

and shoot a rifle

doesn't mean

that you're being

a man.

Was that our next

men's ministry event?

Sorry, guys.

What counts

is the character

of Christ,

you see.

And of course,

sometimes we get

confused about our gender.

Sometimes we feel

uncomfortable

in our own skin.

And friend,

if that's you,

let me encourage you

to seek out

a good Christian friend

to talk to.

Don't cover it up

and hide it up.

Find someone you trust

and let them walk

with you through

those questions

that you have.

You don't have to

wrestle through

that alone.

God's love

and love

and love

and love

and love

and love

and love

and love

and love

the process

of seeking

to honor God

as men and women

means putting Christ

uppermost in our identity.

To seek Him

and to seek His ways

and to let His Spirit

and His Word

permeate every part

of our lives

in the unique

person that God

created each one

of us to be.

That, I think,

is the true path

toward living

into our maleness

and femaleness

together.

To see Christ

and let His Spirit

then work it out

in beautiful ways

in our midst.

Second,

if we're married,

there's a call

to further embrace

not just the created

goodness of being

male and female,

but the further

distinction of role

that God gives

specifically to husbands

and wives.

To embrace that role

of loving headship

and supportive submission.

Okay,

I know when you hear

the word submission

all the bells go off

in your head

that that's like

an evil thing.

So, I've thought about

other words I could use

to sort of describe

what I think the Bible

is saying when it says

that we ought to

submit to one another

and submit to God

and submit

in all sorts of ways.

And yes,

wives submit to their husbands.

I think it's an honoring

deference.

An honoring deference

that wants to build

that other up

just as the husband

responds with an honoring

self-giving

that wants to build

the other person up.

But this is something

that maintains

for husbands and wives.

Nowhere in the Bible,

I think,

are women in general

called to submit

to men in general,

you see.

That's why the ESV

actually helpfully

translates the words

men and women

in our text

sometimes as husband

and wife.

The actual Greek words

kind of can say

either thing.

But in the context

here of headship

that this passage

brings up,

it's clear that Paul's

talking about the

relationship of husbands

and wives

in the covenant of marriage.

So, friends,

in your marriage

relationship,

if you're married,

do you see

that relationship

as integral

to your discipleship

to Jesus?

That it's not something

you can leave behind

or take off

at the door of the church.

It's not something

that's actually transcended

because you're a member

of the kingdom.

Rather,

part of what it means

for you to live

as a new creation

and bring honor

to Christ

is to live

as faithful husbands

and wives,