I know what you may be thinking. What in the world are we looking at this morning?

Visitors are tapping each other, this is why we don’t go to church! 

Head coverings? Is this an Amish church?

Never in 1 million years would I pick this passage on my own to preach about. Too many controversial and weird aspects to it that I would not naturally want to touch it. 

To be honest, over the years, I have avoided serious study of this passage. 

Indeed this passage has been used as a weapon by evil men for many years.

But the abuses says more about the people than it does about God’s Word. 

Our commitment is that we weekly gather around God's word and carefully go verse-by-verse through it all. We let him set the agenda to tell us what is important and instruct us, especially in areas that can be naturally offensive to our culture or sentiments.

And as always, as I dug into the passage, I discover ed it was far from being embarrassing but glorious!

It essential for us to not be afraid of passages that are difficult or potentially offensive. 

Press in and trust God will help us understand him and what he has for us.  

So if you have been hurt by the abuses of this passage,  you’re anxious, embarrassed, or even angry as you read it, give our Heavenly Father His rightful trust that He is good and His ways are always good but sometimes we don’t always see that at first or second glance in challenging passages. 

Challenges with understanding this passage

This passage is a minefield. Almost every line is subject to debate. Some even seem downright heretical. Most scholars would claim that it is the most difficult passage in Corinthians to interpret. So if you feel like its difficult, even the best scholars throughout history are with you in the struggle. 

Let me put up a graphic that pictures the process we have whenever we interpret a Text. 

When you look at this bridge, it is crossing a river. And some rivers are wider. The more different, the culture, or use of language, the more difficult the task to cross over and apply it to our day.

1 Corinthians was not written to you, but it is written for you. 

That's a very important distinction.

God designed for this whole collection of books and letters to be compiled for the instruction and building up of his people. But each book and letter were written in a unique context. And if you look at the Bible like a magic book where you can just take any verse out of its contexts and try to easily apply it, then you are in a world of danger for many errors.

And this passage is especially difficult because the river is very wide.

And the reality is that the wider the river, the more prone we will be to overlook the passage and pull the culture card, saying 

“it's probably something cultural for them and not for me.”

› To understand any hard passage, we need to have a specific mindset.

The Mindset we Need

We have to remember that we live in a fallen world, in scripture teaches that it will be exceedingly more corrupted. 

And so, we should assume that our culture and our instincts (which have been shaped by culture) will regularly clash with what the Bible teaches. 

So if the Bible clashes with our culture, assume our culture is probably wrong unless proven otherwise. 

And this passage talks about head coverings, which is not something that is normal in our culture.

And before I tell you how we may or may not apply head coverings in our context, you must commit that you would be willing to incorporate head coverings if that's where the Text leads us. 

If not, you will twist the Bible if you approach it with predetermined outcomes. This is the bias that all of us carry when we approach the word and we have to keep it in check

Scope

I also need to set expectations for this sermon. 

Most of the time, when I preach a passage, I like showing you my work. I want you to be able to test what I have to say. 

But since almost every verse in this passage is so full of hot topics and controversy, I won’t be able to fairly represent every major position and all the reasonings. So let me know your questions and we'll tackle them in a podcast this week.

› Lets jump into some context,

Literary context

A common error for tricky passages is that too many people just jump right into 1 Cor 11 and stare at each verse in isolation and this is a mistake. 

Throughout our journey through the letter to the Corinthians, Paul is helping this young church mature.

The reoccurring theme could be put as their inability to love like Christ.

The Corinthians would often value their status, rights, and liberties over the sake of their brother and sister in Christ as well as the clarity of the gospel to the world.

In chapter 9 ‌Paul sets an example for us that he would adapt his outward behavior in order to meet different people where they are at in order to advance the gospel. He never altered the actual content of the gospel, but more of the way he carried himself.
In ch. 10  Paul is calling the Corinthians to do whatever it takes not to create unnecessary offense so that all kinds of people would be saved.

The Corinthians, as immature Christians were confused about how to conduct themselves together in a way that would accurately represent who God is like, who they were in Christ, and what the gospel message was.

› Lastly,

Cultural Context

One thing to know is that we do not have clear teaching on what head coverings are in the whole Bible. 

We can see it referenced and we can make educated guesses, but there isn't clear teaching on it. 

So one helpful key for us to interpret this passage is understanding what head coverings would communicate to others in Paul's day in Corinth.

But one of the biggest challenges is that there are different conflicting accounts in the historical record that makes it difficult to discern what it meant for the original audience as there were multiple cultures represented in Corinth. 

So I will limit to a few historical comments throughout the sermon that have the most scholarly consensus but focus mainly on what we can see in the Bible. 

› As much as possible, keep the context in mind, now let’s dig into the Text. 

Text

Traditions

1 Corinthians 11:2 ESV

2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.

Paul commends them that they are maintaining the traditions he handed to them. But perhaps practicing traditions is as far as they went. 

Paul wants them to understand what the traditions are pointing to. V. 3 is the key to this whole passage. 

The Main Point

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.

This word here for, head is kephale. 

There is some debate on this word, but the context points to head referring to authority, like head of a household. 

Let me simply break down what this passage is saying:

• Christ is the head of every man. 

• Husbands are the head of their wives, not the head of every woman. 

• And the head of Christ is the Father. 

The Father & Son Foundation

Why does Paul share that the Father is Christ’s head?

‌I believe this is the first of a few times where Paul is going to balance a strong statement he is going to make, lest we misunderstand or abuse his point. 

First, Using the title, “Christ” references the Son’s earthly mission to save us. 

So in the incarnation, the Son’s head was the Father. 

I believe Christ being shown that he has a head demonstrates that authority and headship is not inherently bad or suggests that someone is better than you.

This is key because we ALL have been burned by authority. And what is dangerous is that we then take something created by God and trash it because someone misused it. 

Instead, we redeem authority!

And Paul has been going after the very use abuse of status and freedoms for the sake of selfish gain throughout this letter. 

So men, if you take this passage as giving you the liberty to domineer than you have missed this whole series and the heartbeat of this letter. 

And any one who thinks headship means lording over or abuse, just doesn’t know the real Jesus. 

This is not about inferiority or superiority, but about role. This is so difficult for us to untangle because we can sometimes think they are the same. And we have to have our minds renewed. 

Role is not dependent on giftedness but divine design.

This is extra challenging because in our Western culture, we equate value with role or production. 

The father is the head of Christ. 

Does that mean he’s worth more or more worthy of honor? 

No! 

And yet there is a role difference that we have to recognize and celebrate. 

If Christ is okay to have a head, it should be okay for us. 

If husbands being the head makes you think of women as somehow less valuable than men, you're implying that Christ is somehow less valuable than the Father.

 

Does the father abuse his headship? Does the father use the son in a way that is demeaning?

NO!

Will husbands fail to be the head like God is?

Absolutely. 

Yet, our weakness and even sinfulness does not negate God’s design and we must continually repent and be transformed if we are falling short of loving and leading like God. 

Summary:

• The relationship between a husband and wife should mirror the relationship between God the Father and God the Son in terms of authority and submission. 

• Just as God the Son submits to God the Father while still being equal in essence and value, a wife is also equal in essence and value. 

• Just as the Son is not inferior because he submits to the Father, a wife is not inferior because she submits to her husband.‌

These are eternal truths that Paul wants the Corinthians and ALL PEOPLE EVERYWHERE to understand. So this principle is for US regardless of your cultural context.   

› Now lets see how this principle of headship is applied to the church in Corinth,

Praying and Prophesying

1 Corinthians 11:4–5 (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,

In that day, most cultures, women would wear head coverings as a sign they were married. And when married women would take them off it could suggest that they are promiscuous or available. 

Seems like in the church, some men were covering their heads and some women were uncovering their heads. Both are wrong because it doesn’t accurately communicate what God has designed in marriage.

It is essential to note, that Paul is giving specific application on how they should carry themselves when men and women publically pray and prophesy. 

FULL STOP! 

This was in contrast to Jewish synagogue worship, where women were not considered full members and were required to sit behind a veil. 

In the church, women’s participation and gifts are needed and encouraged in the church-wide gathering.

So before we think Paul is some misogynist and oppressor of women, he's literally instituting revolutionary practices building off of Jesus's revolutionary ways. 

So if a woman left her head uncovered during prayer and prophesy, it was disrespectful to her husband. 

 

For a modern example, it could be like my wife coming up to read and pray, and as she does it, she takes off her ring in front of everyone.

All of us would probably be like whoa. What is she trying to say there?

› Now Paul is going to give us more reasons why it would be wrong from wives to unc ver their head in worship gatherings, while they are praying and prophesying. 

Culturally Shameful

1 Corinthians 11:5–6 NLT

5 But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. 6 Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.

A common practice in many cultures including Jewish and Roman, that a penalty for a woman who committed adultery was to shave off her hair. 

Paul is trying to make an argument by creating an absurd point. 

Wives, do you want to go bald, like an adulteress?

Of course not. 

That would be shameful.

So wear a head covering because it is similarly shameful when you minister uncovered. 

 God’s Natural Design

1 Corinthians 11:7 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.

Now, let’s be clear about what Paul is saying and what he is not. 

First, what is he not saying.

At first glance, my sisters in here, you can think, 

“Well, does this mean that I’m not made in the image of God or that I don’t reflect the glory of God?” 

NO! 

First of all, you’ll notice that word “image” is not repeated in the second clause, so Paul isn’t saying she isn’t in the image of God. 

We know from the beginning of the Bible, Genesis 1:27, that God created both male and female in His image with equal dignity, both uniquely reflecting His glory.

Rebekah Merckle beautifully says it like this, 

When Adam sees her he says, “This is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh.” She is him, separated from him, glorified, brought back to him to become one with him again. Of course they are equals.

Instead of communicating something offensive about women, Paul is saying what is plain to most reasonable men.
Women are the crowning glory of creation!

I believe Rebekah gets the meaning right when she says,

If Adam is the crown of creation, then Eve is the crown of the crown. Women are the glory of the glory. When you read of the Holy of Holies in Scripture, are you on the furthest fringe of the holiness, or are you closer to the center? Obviously the holiness isn’t getting weaker as you go into the Holy of Holies, it’s getting stronger, more distilled. Man was created as the image and glory of God, but then along came the woman—second—in an even more concentrated form. The glory of the glory of God. -  Eve in Exile and the Restoration of Femininity pp. 114-115

And then later on, Rebekah argues that this submission leads to glorious exaltation just like it did for Christ!

› Now another tricky verse.

1 Corinthians 11:8–9 ESV

8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

Woman is made for man?

Made for in what way?

Get me a beer babe. 

nope. 

Do what I say cause I am the head! 

Double nope!

Remember two important truths: 

This truth is grounded in creation order. And remember that Eve was made because Adam could not fulfill his God given mandate to image God and also spread the shalom of God throughout creation.

 

Also, remember the whole context of this letter. It’s all about love and advancing the gospel. 

So when women was made for man, don't think of it for self serving purposes, but for a grand purpose beyond any man to display God and advance his mission. 

› Let’s look at the next reason why its proper for head coverings in this context, 

Creation

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.

Ok, lot’s here too!

Throughout history and most cultures, you're going to typically see men with shorter hair and women with longer hair. 

Biology teaches us this as well. Testosterone in males causes their hair to be typically shorter, and thinner and fall out more quickly and frequently then for women. 

So nature suggests that it is generally fitting for hair to be longer. 

I'm not going to get into all the arguments for different hair lengths. It's a bit complicated because we do have people like Samson who were commanded to take a Nazarite vow, which required him never to cut his hair which suggests that hair lengths are not necessarily set in stone in every situation.  

In Corinth, there were certain cults that encouraged changing their gender to honor their god. So men tried to look more feminine, and women tried to look more masculine. Some of the accounts are quite gruesome in the steps that they took.

So I think the argument here is less about the hair length but more about the motivation. 

Are you carrying yourself in such a way that you were trying to look more like the opposite gender?

Men should appear and be easily recognized as men, and women should appear and be easily recognized as women in light of their culture. 

For example, some of our missionaries in Muslim contexts where clothing that look like dresses in men. If you were to be in Scotland, and you wore a kilt, no one would mistaken that as feminine. So there needs to be discernment.

But this is tricky Because cultures can change greatly, and we do not want to let culture be our primary guide. In fact, our culture today is mixing it so much that there are no clear gender distinctions. 

However, with the help of the spirit and thoughtfulness we can still navigate our context. 

So back to the main argument, Paul is using this example from nature to further show that it is proper for there to be appropriate distinctions in genders. 

Because of the Angels?

1 Corinthians 11:10 ESV

10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

‌ Again Paul reiterates that wife should have some sort of  symbol of authority on her head.

What is his reason he gives?

Because the angels. 

There are so many debates about who the angels or messengers are (Angelos).

I believe they are holy angels who our part of our worship, gatherings and care deeply about us honoring God and each other. And so if we conduct ourselves in a way that is not fitting, it would grieve them. 

Again, I am giving you my conclusion and not all my reasons nor the other positions. 

› Now we move to v. 11-12 which is SUPER IMPORTANT, Lest evil men take Paul’s meaning too far or we are confused, Paul balances his words. 

Qualification

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.

Just when you feel like Paul may be going too far, he wants to make sure that we do not miss the fact that we mutually need each other and are all from God. 

And understanding this interdependence in that culture was scandalous and unheard of. 

The Roman Empire was extremely hierarchical and patriarchal and women were often seen as lesser than.

 

Remember, Paul pushed earlier in this letter in ch. 7

1 Corinthians 7:4 ESV

4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

Unheard of in that time!  

Paul is continuing to elevate the value of women. Neither is better than each other, and we need each other to fulfill the purposes God has uniquely given us.

› Final reason,

Final Reason: The Church Practice Everywhere

1 Corinthians 11:16 ESV

16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.

Note that Paul anticipate some would fight this and be contentious, some of these truths would have been difficult for them as well. 

But this verse also makes clear that this principal he is laying down and how it would be practiced in this culture is not limited to the church in Corinth, but all the different churches at that time.

Five Applications

So head coverings, Sam!?

Before I answer that, let me remind you of Paul’s burden. 

In v. 3 he wants us to understand headship that reflects ith the Father and Son in our marriages and in ministry.

So lets not miss the heart before we rush to apply it. 

1. Unashamedly and joyfully commit to the Trinitarian and creative order in gender roles

If our heavenly Father and His Son have have a headship relationship, than headship and gender distinctions is good and can be good for us. 

So instead of being embarrassed and  ignore this, we can joyfully embrace and trust that God has good purposes for us and fight to redeem what evil men have twisted. 

2. Be Sobered by the role you Have

Husbands, tremble at the fact that God has put you in such an honored position. You. You and all of your weaknesses. You in all the ways you fail to be like Christ. You will be held doubly accountable for ways you take advantage of your position as head by the Lord. Feel the weight of the vulnerable spot that your wife is in. She is called to submit and honor  you. 

Make sure, by God’s help you are living honorable lives in a way that reflects the heart and lifestyle of Christ. If all of us do this, we will never have a problem with abuse. 

Wives, if you are married a man who is not loving and leading you like Christ,  he will answer for his failures. God sees you, he knows you and he cares deeply. 

And yet, you are still called to honor your head. Consider how you conduct yourselves if you are honoring him with your attitude, words, and actions. 

Do you pray for him ten times as much as you critique him?

For those married, have an honest and humble conversation about your roles and how you can increasingly show what God is like in your marriage. 

For those who are single, this raises the bar on the kind of person you want to be and for those who aspire to marriage, the kind of person you want to marry. 

3. We all Follow Jesus

I understand that for many of us when we hear all of this, it still feels unfair. 

But whether your male or female we both follow Jesus but in different ways. Jesus is the example for all of us. 

In Ephesians 5 husband's follow Jesus by the way they sacrificially lay down their lives for their wives. Love your wives as Christ loves the church. 

But in 1 cor 11, wives also follow Jesus by the way they honor their head, just as Christ does to His Father. 

Both of us have been called to follow Jesus in a way that is absolutely impossible in our own strength. 

What man here can love their wives with the steadfastness, the affection, the tenderness, the wisdom, and unconditionality of Christ love for his bride?

What woman here can submit to their husbands, like Christ submits to his father without grumbling, and without fighting?

All of us are in a situation where we need the Holy Spirit to help us. 

› If we are to be these kinds of people like Christ. We need daily power. 

4. Walk with Jesus daily and remain amazed by the gospel

If we are to mirror the Trinity in our marriages, then that means we need to walk with Jesus daily.

 

Husbands, if you were going to love like Jesus and be a head like Jesus, you need to be like Jesus. And you can't be like Jesus if you're not near Jesus. 

Wives, if you want to rightly submit an honor your imperfect husbands, you need to be like Jesus and walk with Jesus daily.

Everything else flows from our intimacy with God. 

If you don't have this authentic intimacy with God, and are regularly amazed at the gospel, you could put all the trappings of obedience from this passage, but miss out on the heart and sweetness of it and miss the whole point. 

Imagine what would our church would be like and our world like if every marriage functioned like this? 

Spirit-empowered, men and women, reflecting what the Father and the Son are like!

What would your childhood have been like if both your parents lived like this?

God help us to do this!

PAUSE

Now to applying it physically. 

Should we have head coverings in our gatherings? 

It depends. 

5. Thoughtfully adopt customs that accurately display truths about God and ourselves

Key for me is the context of this whole letter. Paul is instructing the church to do whatever it takes to advance the gospel and the includes morphing cultural signs in order to win many and not cause unnecessary stumbling blocks for the gospel.  

Paul likely took a Nazarite vow in Acts 18 in order to win Jews to Christ, eventhough he was no longer under the Mosaic Law. 

The gospel itself, though the best news ever is also offensive, so do what you can not to trip people up on customs that will confuse them or hinder the gospel. 

We are trying to make invisible realities visible with all our life.

So what invisible reality are we trying to make visible from this passage? 

We need to appropriately demonstrate God’s order in marriages and gender in our marriages and gatherings. 

So then how do we communicate this in our context?

I don’t know of any symbol of authority (v. 10) on our heads in our culture today. 

So should we import the symbols of authority, head coverings from this chapter to make this statement?

Some Christians argue this. And for them, I understand and they are free to do so. 

But I would gently disagree with them. 

The big key is v. 3 in my mind. This is what Paul wants us to get. The headship principle. 

The Corinthians largely get the tradition right, as many in their culture happen to, but they missed the heart. 

I want us to get the heart. 

And then with that overflowing heart, we show headship with our lives. 

 

So  in our context, I don’t believe we should wear head coverings  because wearing a cloth head covering doesn’t communicate in our culture the heart of headship. 

It seems by adopting head coverings in our context could negate the whole purpose of what Paul has been getting at.

In fact, wearing a head covering means nothing to most and actually…

 for many it communicates subjugation and stereotypes of domineering male leadership where women are inferior, which would be a stumbling block for the gospel. 

Though in some context in our world, you should absolutely adopt head coverings cause it does communicate that. 

For example, I am preaching at a Russian church next month and if Joanna joins me, I will ask her to wear one because that church practices head coverings, and I don’t want to create a stumbling block for the gospel. 

Last stated reason why I lean away from this practice.

Can you think of any physical marker that the New Testament commands for Christians to wear? 

For example, in Islam, there are clear, physical markers. And so you can spot devout muslims by what they wear, no matter what context. 

For those who advocate literal head covering for all cultures at all times, this would be the only case in the entire New Testament where  we are commanded to wear a physical marker. 

But for Christians, you can only know them by the way they love and live!

 

I have a hard time believing head coverings is the one physical marker that God wants us to adopt and fight for, regardless of how it will be understood by our missional contexts. 

But before you exhale a sigh of relief that you may be off the hook from wearing head coverings, don’t you think that living out this principle is any easier than having a head covering! 

What God is calling you to is infinitely more difficult!

The principle itself is crazy counter cultural and should be demonstrated in our lives. 

But depending on your context, it may take the form of a head covering or not. 

Gospel Ending

Let’s marvel and worship at the Father-Son relationship once more. 

 

The Son did not have to submit to the Father for any reason besides redemption for humanity. He was not forced or coerced; he willingly submitted in order to secure our salvation. Personal deference and self-giving are a part of the fingerprint of the one who made us. 

Yes, our attempts at reflecting this are fallen, broken, etc. Yes, there are abuses. But the loving submission that the reader sees on display in the Trinity offers individuals a window into what redeemed human relationships might look like. Seeing the relationship of the Father and the Son enables individuals to disinfect their views of differences in role or function. The relationship that Christ has to the Father is the ultimately enviable/desirable relationship, and it takes the shape of willing submission. This allows one to see that submission is not a denigration but a beautiful expression of love.

All roles in Christian marriage are informed by Christ’s relationship with the church. There is nothing regressive, dictatorial, or heavy-handed about Christ’s relationship with the church. He gives himself up to and beyond the point of death in order to save his bride. He gives himself up to beautify his bride. Husbands are to give themselves up. They are to love their wives as their own bodies. Wives are invited to be recipients of and responders to the sacrificial giving of their husbands. - Stephen Um

Without headship in the Trinity we don’t have the gospel!
Praise God!

 

Reflection questions: 

How do you feel about the truths taught in this passage? If negative, have a conversation about it with God. He knows, understands, and wants to help you. 

Husbands and wives are you rightly demonstrating what God is like in your marriage? 

How do we conduct ourselves in our marriages and gatherings where God’s beautiful and creative order is brightly demonstrated?