The woman was created for the man’s sake.John Farley
Pastor-Teacher Sunday, September 22, 2019
The woman was created for the man’s sake. 1Co 11:2-16 Now he is writing to supplement his earlier instructions to the Corinthian church - that a woman in their church ought to have a covering on her head when she is praying or prophesying. First, it appears to fly in the face of our modern culture, influenced as it has been by the feminist movement. Second, in several places it is difficult to interpret. This has resulted in a lot of misunderstanding. This section is not teaching that women in our day and age have to wear hats in church. And it is not teaching that the woman must be obedient and subordinate to the man. They retain the teachings, and they follow them. He is not chastising them for any ignorance or bad behavior. He does very little commanding here, but a lot of teaching here. The Greek word is kephale. It is used most often to refer to the physical head, the top of the human body. That which is most prominent, foremost, uppermost, pre-eminent. This is not limited to husbands and wives. It refers to all men and all women. The main point in verse 3 is that everyone has a head. The man has precedence over the woman. This does not mean however that Christian women are inferior to Christian men, or even that they are subordinate. The man stands in front. He occupies the first position. What you do with your physical head when you pray or teach can either bring shame or glory to your spiritual head. It's important to distinguish between societal norms in 1st century Corinth (that may not apply to us today) … …and universal Christian standards of behavior that do apply to us today. Paul had no problem with women praying or prophesying in the worship service. If she had her head uncovered while praying or prophesying, that would be as shameful as having her head shaved. Respectable Greek women had their heads covered when out in public. The covering indicated that she was innocent, virtuous, and untouchable.
Christians should not needlessly flout societal norms – especially in the worship service. At the very least, her uncovered head would draw attention to herself. In this way she would be disgracing her head – the man. This could mean her husband, her father, or other male head of her household. Ladies are to follow social norms for what is dignified and what is dishonoring in the matter of her attire. Man is God’s crowning creation and reflects the glory of God like no other part of creation (including angels). The woman reflects the glory of man like nothing else in creation. Gen 1:26 Man was created first. The woman was created to be the man’s helper and partner. It isn’t until chapter 3 and the fall that the man is said to rule over the woman. Because the woman reflects the glory of man, she is to cover that glory in the worship service… because worship should be all about the glory of God – not man. 1Co 11:10-16 exousia
privilege, capacity, delegated influence: Because she was created in the second position, she needs to have a suitable covering on her head - that indicates she has the right or authority to pray or prophesy. Men and women need each other, and they are designed to work together as partners. It was not proper for a Christian woman in Corinth to pray to God with her head uncovered. “nature” means the way things are done in keeping with God’s design. God has designed the man to have masculine features, and the woman to have feminine features. Societal norms lay out the specifics such as how long is too long for men’s hair, and now short is too short for women’s hair. Women are to dress for the worship service in a dignified and proper way that does not bring shame. The norms are set by the community of which she is a part.
When a woman prays or prophesies (teaches children or other women), she should dress in keeping with societal norms for these worship activities. This includes having the proper covering for her head.
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