1 Corinthians 11 - The Role of Men and Women in the Church!
On Covering the Head in Worship
2 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. 3 But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man,[a] and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 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.
7 A man ought not to cover his head,[b] since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own[c] head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
Over the years the church has struggled mightily to interpret these verses, as it relates to the roles of men and women in church. Note the priimary focus on this passage is whether or not women should cover their heads in worship. While it does state the "head" of the man is Christ, and the "head" of the woman is the man it is not the primary purpose of this passage, yet we can't ignore it either.
It is important to know that there are differing opinions on what the word "head" means in this passage.
"The leading question, of course, is what Paul means when he says that “the husband is the head (kephalē) of the wife as Christ is the head (kephalē) of the church.” Does this mean that husbands possess authority over their wives? Or that they are the life source of (and not in authority over) their wives?" - Theology in the Raw
The Greek word "exousia", which is defined as power and authority is not used here. But if we are to understand the use of the word "head" as having authority over, it is never in the sense of "lording it over" someone. Though Jesus was equal to God, he also submitted to His authority. It is clear that men and women are equally created in God's image from Genesis 1:27.
"So, God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
It is important to note that when Paul says that every woman who "prays or prophecies with their head uncovered dishonors her head", it assumes that women prayed and prophesied publicly in worship. To "prophesy" meant to speak the Word of God. The are other women in the bible who prophesied in a worship setting, which affirms a women's role to speak the Word of God authoritatively.
When Paul is talking about "head coverings" it is important to know the importance of this in the Corinthian culture. For a women to go without a head covering in public was usually only practicied by prostitues. In the same way if a man wore a covering it would be very strange. Because of the newfound freedom women who had come to Christ felt, they went overboard and created a situation where if someone came into church, they would be deeply offended if a woman didn't have a head covering.
This is in line with all of what Paul has been teaching in the last few chapters. Though we have freedom in Christ, if it causes someone to stumble, we should not exercise our freedom. If a woman not wearing a head covering would cause someone to stumble, Paul advocates for women to exercise restraint.
You can see that this command has nothing to do with our current culture today. If a woman came to church without a covering, it would not mean anything or cause anyone to stumble who came into church. This is why it is important to not literally interpret every bible verse. When we do this we are trying to make the bible do something it was not intended to do. We have to differentiate when the bible is being "prescriptive" or "descriptive". When the bible speaks "prescriptively" it is a command to be obeyed in all times and in all places. I.e. Do not commit adultery. Whereas we the bible is being "descriptive" it is predicated on the historical context. I.e. Women should not be in church without a head covering, which doesn't apply today!
Importantly, Paul says, "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." Notice in Christ, we are both equal and mtually dependent on each other. Paul says something similar in Galatians 3:28 when he teaches,
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
These are challenging verses for us to interpret and apply in the church. While some verses teach that women should submit to their husbands, as the church submits to Christ. Ephesisans 5:24 Other verses teach equality and mutual submission. In the book of Acts, we also see women in Philippi, like Lydia, taking a leadership role in the early church. Aquila and Priscilla were a husband and wife team who taught God's Word, which supports an "egalitarian view" of men and women's roles in the church.
I think there dedicated and faithful Christians who interpret the role of men and women in the church differently. Importantly this is not a salvation issue. We should be respectful of each other's positions. In my own Lutheran church, the three major denominations disagree on this issue.
When you read the bible how do you differentiate between what is "descriptive" of a time period, and what is "prescriptive" for all time?
As we seek to reach our world in our current cultural context, how might how we teach about the roles of men and women affect unbelievers who come to church?
Heavenly Father, we know that you created us male and female, which both reflect Your image. Though we are equal we are also different. Help us to understand each other and work together to show the world that we are one just as You are One with the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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