Heads Up!
Notes
Transcript
I. The Eternal Principle: God Designed and Instituted Authority for Our Good
I. The Eternal Principle: God Designed and Instituted Authority for Our Good
2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
What Praise?
What Praise?
Like a good parent, Paul affirms the good qualities he sees in the Corinthian church before correcting specific behaviors regarding corporate worship.
Chapters 11-14 address specific issues in corporate worship among the Corinthians, but he sees one core principle the Corinthians have continued to follow:
What did Paul deliver to the Corinthians?
The Gospel
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
God’s Authority Structure
God’s Authority Structure
In Christ’s church, everyone answers to authority:
Christ is the head (authority) of man
Man is the head (authority) of woman
God (the Father) is the head (authority) of Christ (the Son)
How do we know the word “head” means “authority”?
We let Scripture interpret Scripture
In Ephesians 1 and Ephesians 5, we see Paul use the same word to clearly indicate authority:
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.
In no meaningful way can the word head be translated as source in these passages.
In relation to Ephesians 5, we see what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11 aligns perfectly
God’s Authority Structure in the Church is Based on Gender
God’s Authority Structure in the Church is Based on Gender
4 truths the Bible declares about gender:
God designed and decided your gender — either male or female
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule … 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
God loves your gender
13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.
God has a purpose for your gender
Accepting, understanding, and following God’s created purpose for your gender will bring about blessing and fulfillment
God’s Authority Structure is Good
God’s Authority Structure is Good
We have been conditioned by our culture to view authority structures as evil
Even Christ the Son, as truly God, is subject to the authority of God the Father
17 God sent his Son into the world
38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.
If submitting to authority was fitting for Jesus, the Son of God, then it is fitting for us as well
II. The Eternal Practice: Submitting to God’s Instituted Authority
II. The Eternal Practice: Submitting to God’s Instituted Authority
4 Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. 5 But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; 9 for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. 10 Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
The Purpose
The Purpose
Paul’s purpose for addressing this issue in Corinth is so that God’s created order can be achieved in the church.
An important clarification Paul makes for both the men and the women regarding head coverings is that they be worn when praying and prophesying.
While prayer can be a personal, private matter, prophecy is not:
3 But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation.
Since prophecy is for the building up of the church, this practice applies to corporate worship
God desires for His church to function in a proper and orderly manner, as designed by Him.
God’s Design for Men
God’s Design for Men
Men were created to:
Work
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
Lead
16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
God’s Design for Women
God’s Design for Women
Women were created to:
Submit to and help men
Make men look and function better
18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
A Principle Grounded in Creation, Not the Fall
A Principle Grounded in Creation, Not the Fall
Paul appeals to the creation order as justification for his command.
God’s order of authority existed before sin entered the world.
A Practice Affected by the Fall
A Practice Affected by the Fall
Because of the fall, because of sin, living submission out in our daily lives is difficult
Rejection of God’s authority structure will only cause problems
III. The Clarification: Authority Does Not Imply Inferiority
III. The Clarification: Authority Does Not Imply Inferiority
11 However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.
IV. The Conclusion: Preserve the Created Distinctions of God’s Order
IV. The Conclusion: Preserve the Created Distinctions of God’s Order
13 Judge for 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 one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.
