Head Coverings & Gender Roles (Sermon Audio)

The Apostolic Tradition of Head Coverings in 1 Corinthians 11

1 Corinthians chapter 11, starting in verse one, Paul says, imitate me just as I also imitate Christ. Now, I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ. The head of woman is man and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, dishonors her head.

For that is one in the same as if her head were shaved. For a woman, or if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head since he is the image and glory of God.

But woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. For this reason, the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels.

Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman nor woman independent of man in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman. But all things are from God. Judge among yourselves.

Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her for her hair is given to her for a covering.

May the Lord add a blessing to the reading of this word. Let's open in prayer. Father, I ask that you would illuminate your word this morning and bless it as it goes forth for we know it will not return to you void.

We also know that in the garden, you made man from the dust of the earth and then out of Adam's own side, you made woman. Give your people understanding this morning to understand your word, to understand your creation and the roles and responsibilities that you have given to each one of us to keep harmony within the home and to keep harmony within the church of God.

And we pray it in Christ's name, amen. All right, there's been much debate about this passage from 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Throughout church history, many have seen a command that women are to wear head coverings while in the assembly, a common practice that still goes on in the Middle East and even in the Western world within certain church traditions.

Others have disagreed with that and they point out that the text seems to suggest that her hair is given to her as a covering. In verse 15, it says her hair is given to her for a covering. So instead of head coverings, basically they believe that Paul is saying that men should have short hair, women should have long hair.

In this passage, men are directed not to cover their head while praying or prophesying. Basically preaching is how we would understand that. And to this day, it is still, I think, considered somewhat inappropriate for a man to walk into a church with a hat on.

And certainly ministers don't teach and preach with a hat on or their head covered. And it's still, to some extent, frowned upon within the church for men to have long, long hair. Others will sort of dismiss all of this.

And they say, well, this is just something that was cultural for the city of Corinth. And apparently there was a problem in Corinth with prostitution and pagan religion. And one of the marks of a prostitute in Corinthian society is that she would have either a shaved head or very, very short hair.

That was an identifying mark in that culture. So is this a commandment of the Lord? Is this just cultural? How do we understand this? And then you have a cryptic statement by Paul in verse 10, where he says, women ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels.

Well, what does that mean? So admittedly, this is a difficult passage to interpret. And before we continue any further, I would like, for the sake of clarity, to read a comment by a pastor and a theologian, Dr. John MacArthur.

He says this about verse 16. Just look at verse 16.

We'll read that first.

Paul ends the statement with this verse. He says, but if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God. And Dr. MacArthur writes this. He said, neither the Lord, or the apostles, nor the churches of God would allow female rebellion.

Women were to maintain their distinctively feminine hairdos. And when custom dictated, they should wear a covering. So and someone said last time, when I did this reading from Dr. MacArthur, you say, you're reading from MacArthur to get the heat off of you and onto him.

And I said, amen, amen. So on the one hand, there were cultural issues to deal with. And then there's also biblical issues to consider, because the fact is that God made male and female, and he made them different.

I know that's not a shock to most of you, but in our current culture, that is being questioned. That is being questioned. So men and women are both, according to the scripture, of equal value before God.

But men and women have different roles, giftings, and responsibilities. So let's go through this passage verse by verse. Paul starts out verse 1 by saying, imitate me just as I also imitate Christ. Now, even though we are followers of Jesus first and foremost, we are still called to follow human leaders.

Today, pastors, teachers, and evangelists lead the way and set the example for the flock to follow. And Paul, as an apostle, he is writing to the church with a certain level of authority, proclaiming the Lord's directives to the flock.

And before Paul starts with his admonition, he starts out with a praise. Always a wise thing to do. If you are gonna say something that might offend or might upset somebody, say something positive first.

That's always wise. He says in verse 2, now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I deliver them to you. You see the word tradition, sometimes evangelicals have a very negative view of traditions.

Certainly, we remember what Jesus said about the scribes and Pharisees, how by their traditions, they would nullify the commandments of God. And these are the traditions of men. And we often have a negative view of traditions, but you have to understand in the Bible, sometimes the word tradition is used in a negative way.

Sometimes it's used in a positive way. And he's using that in a positive way here. And the tradition that Paul is passing on may even be synonymous with the word of God that he has delivered to them. So he's basically telling the church, hold to what I have taught you.

That's what he's saying.

God-Ordained Authority and the Meaning of Headship

And in verse 3, he repeats, what certainly is a biblical truth, that there is an authority structure ordained by God. We live in a world that is anti-authority, you've probably noticed, but God has ordained an authority structure.

According to this verse, what is that structure? Well, it starts from the top with God, the Father, and then Christ, and then man, and then woman, and then children. And you can see this elsewhere, passages like Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3.

Paul says here, but I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. So this is the clear teaching of the scriptures. Yeah, there were people in Paul's day who rejected it, just like there's people today who reject it.

But within the Christian church, it was understood for nearly now 2 ,000 years. Before that, it was understood within the Jewish faith for about 2 ,000 years. And even it goes back 2 ,000 years before that to the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve.

And notice what Paul says, the head of every man is Christ. Can all God's people say amen to that, that Christ is the head of every man? Christ has authority over man, does he not? And all God's people said amen.

All right, do all God's people say amen that man has headship or authority over women?

Not as many amens.

Not as many amens to that. Well, you know, in 2019, that is politically incorrect to say such a thing. The Bible is a politically incorrect book, and that's partially why I love it so much, but not for that reason alone, certainly.

But you have to understand, this hardly would have been controversial even 50 years ago, certainly 100 years ago, and then 2 ,000 years ago, really would not have been seen as controversial at all. But the fact that Paul has to say this does tell you a few things.

Number one, there's nothing new under the sun. If people reject it today, they did back then to whatever degree. And then number two, in Corinth, they were obviously having some issues regarding this subject.

Now, lest anyone get the wrong idea, okay? We should stress again, men and women are of equal value before God. Women are just as intelligent. They are just as capable in so many different areas. So this is not a sexist message, although that's certainly how the critics, the skeptics would view it.

The biblical faith gives great honor to women, much more than any other ancient religion. You think of the example in the Old Testament of Deborah, who was a picture of strength and courage. In the New Testament, it was the women who were given the privilege of being the first eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Christ.

In 1 Peter chapter three, which we read a moment ago in the scripture reading, Peter said that men should give honor to their wives. So the Bible and the Christian church is actually responsible for elevating women to a place of equality.

Since back in the ancient world, women were seen at best as second-class citizens and usually even worse. Now, people, they want to attack Christianity. They want to attack the church. Really, people should be thanking the church because without Christianity, without the Bible, without the church, to this day, women in this world might not have any rights at all.

Go over to a Middle Eastern country and try living in a country where Islam is the predominant religion, and you know the differences. So both are of equal value before God, but each one is different.

Men and women are different, different giftings, different roles, different responsibilities. Why did God create man and woman? The two are supposed to complement one another, not compete with one another.

I think that's probably one of the biggest problems within marriage is that it's a power struggle between man and woman and who's going to lead. So it's unwise, another thing, and that goes back to what we read from Pastor MacArthur, it is unwise to blur the lines between the genders.

I think that's maybe the overall thrust of this passage. There were some who wanted to blur those lines between men and women. Look at verses four and five. It says, every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered dishonors his head, but every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.

So men praying or prophesying or preaching with their heads covered, that is said to be an act dishonoring to his head. And who's the head of man? Christ, so it was dishonoring to Christ. So to be in the assembly, especially praying or preaching with your head covered for a man that dishonored Christ.

Now, I understand there will be people listening maybe here this morning or later on online or on the radio, and somebody is bound to think to themselves, what difference does it make? Whether a head is covered or long hair or short, what difference does it make?

People will say that, they'll think that, I don't understand what the issue is. Well, it's true, they don't understand the issue, but there is an issue because we're reading about it. So if you're wondering, all I ask, stay with me, okay?

Stay with me, we're gonna see Paul's concern. Now, most commentaries will say that this was a cultural thing. And to some extent, that is true, to some extent. In Corinthian society, men probably walk around with their heads uncovered.

They had short hair, that's the way it was. And women would walk around with either their head covered or with long hair, and that's the way the culture was. It's still like that to a large degree, even in our nation.

But if somebody back then, like I said, if a woman had a shaved head or maybe really, really short hair, in Corinthian culture, that was associated with paganism and prostitution. That's not the way it is in our culture, okay?

You go out and see someone like that, you don't assume that. So yeah, it was cultural to a certain degree, all right? And of course, we know, just talking about women who are uncovered or don't wear a head covering, we know that in the Middle East today, there are certain countries that have laws that women are not allowed to go out in public unless they are basically covered up head to toe.

That's happening right now in many different countries. And we view that as extreme, don't we? Well, in America, we have sort of the opposite. We have some women who go out hardly covered at all. And that's not good, that's not good either.

I'm sure there's some older folks here today who remember 40 years ago, 50 years ago, 60 years ago, things were so different. What was considered appropriate dress is so radically different from the way that it was.

So admittedly, some of these things are cultural and opinions shift on what's appropriate, what isn't over time and cultures, we understand that. But what are the biblical principles that we can lay hold of?

That's what we're interested in. What are the biblical principles that endure that we can lay hold of? Back to verse four, men are not to dishonor their head, which is Christ. And verse five, women are not to dishonor their head, which is the man or the husband.

I think there's a few different things going on here. Skip ahead to chapter 14, if you would, 1 Corinthians chapter 14. I think we need to remember the issues at hand as we read earlier from Dr. MacArthur, he identified at least two issues.

He identified at least two issues. Number one, how non-traditional hairstyles can blur the lines between the genders. And when it's culturally appropriate, wear a covering if that's what custom dictates.

But then there's this issue of female rebellion. And he said, they're dishonoring their head by praying and preaching, okay? So take a look at 1 Corinthians 14, 34. I think this is one of the issues in the Corinthian church.

Paul is addressing, it says, let your women keep silent in the churches for they are not permitted to speak, but they are to be submissive as the law also says. And that's not the law of the land, that was the law of God, the law of Moses.

And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home for it is shameful for women to speak in church. Or did, because he knows some people are going to object to this, just as there might be one or two here who silently in your mind, thankfully you're objecting.

Paul knew that, and what does he say? Did the word of God come originally from you or was it you only that it reached? Some would say, I think this is just cultural, it doesn't apply anymore. Well, what does Paul say in verse 37?

He says, if anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are just cultural. Is that what he says? These things that I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.

Now turn, if you would, to 1 Timothy chapter three. So some of these statements, we talked a little bit about this in Sunday school, they can be misunderstood, okay? And I always say when talking about this and a few other controversial subjects, I always tell people, we want to remind them, I didn't write the Bible.

Don't get mad at me, I didn't write the Bible, okay? I'm just God's messenger, don't shoot the messenger. This is God's word. But the context here of this passage, these passages, is that of ministry and leadership.

So the misunderstanding, it's not saying that women are not allowed to talk, that as soon as you walk through the front door, you're not allowed to speak, that is not the point. The point is, Paul is saying that the pastors, the elders, the leadership of the church is supposed to be male, that's the point, okay?

Look at 1 Timothy chapter two. We're gonna start reading in verse eight. He says, I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. So if you're a man, you need to be praying.

You need to be lifting up holy hands, pray. Verse nine, in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works.

And to look at it and say, what's the spirit of this verse? Is this a commandment against wearing gold or pearls? Paul is saying that when you get dressed up to go to church, you shouldn't be doing it to try to get all the attention on you, right?

So when we come to church, the attention is on Christ, on the word of God, not trying to bring attention to ourselves. But verse 10, he says, or verse 11, look at verse 11, he says, let a woman learn in silence with all submission.

He said that back in 1 Corinthians 14. Then he says in verse 12, and I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. So again, the point is that the pastors or the bishop, the elder of the church is to be male and not female.

Okay, now go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. And just a comment or two on that, female pastors, it was understood within the church for 1900 years. You look at church history, 1900 years, this was just common and understood.

The first female pastor was not ordained until the middle of the 20th century. And that tells you something. So today it's commonplace, but in the city of Corinth, maybe even back then, some people were calling for it.

Some people might've been pushing for it, we're not sure. But here's the issue, you say, again, what's the problem with that? Well, you could say, well, that's what the word of God says. That doesn't always satisfy everybody, but what's the issue?

Here's the issue, it is a fundamental rejection of the gender roles given by God himself. If you believe that men and women are equal, but they're different, have different roles and responsibilities, then you understand the issue.

He says in 1 Corinthians 11, verse six, for if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. And we already mentioned how a shaved head indicated certain things in Corinthian culture.

Verse seven, for a man indeed ought not to cover his head. So there's instructions for the men as well, since he is the image and the glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. So you remember in Genesis that Adam was made in the image and likeness of God.

We all remember that.

Eve was made from Adam. The Lord opened up Adam's side, removed the rib, created from Adam woman or Eve. So Paul is pointing out that man has headship because his origin is from God. The woman's origin is from man, from Adam.

Of course, from that moment forward, every man had his origin from women through natural childbirth, but this is how God created. This was the structure that he ordained in the beginning. Verse eight, and of course, there's more we could get into with the effects of the curse, but we don't have time for that.

Verse eight, for man is not from woman, but woman from man. We just talked about that. Verse nine, nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. So Adam was created and he was given authority and dominion over all the earth, right?

But the Lord said, it is not good that man should be alone. So he created Eve, who was comparable to Adam. And what was Eve created for? To be a help me. Okay, so the woman was created to help the man.

Verse 10, for this reason, and this is the difficult verse to interpret, the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels. What in the world does that mean, because of the angels?

You see, it starts out for this reason. So it's attached to the verses prior. So I believe based on the context, we see that just as God delegates authority to the angels who came from him, created by him.

So Adam was able to delegate authority to Eve who came from Adam. So if a woman were to usurp the authority of a man, this apparently would offend the angelic beings because they remember another person who usurped authority.

And that was Lucifer, the devil. So I think when the angels see people usurping authority, it reminds them of the ultimate act of that, which is the devil rebelling against the Lord because anything, no matter what it is, if we rebel against the word of God, even if it's something that we think it seems minor, it is still rebellion against God and his authority.

Verse 11, nevertheless, neither is man independent of the woman, nor woman independent of man in the Lord. So both equal, both need each other. Men need women, women need men, despite what some people might say.

Verse 12, for woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman, but all things are from God. So in this statement, we see that men and women need each other. They're of equal value in the sight of God, but again, they have different roles and responsibilities.

Verse 13, judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? And notice this phrase again. You say, well, this is cultural. Well, is Paul appealing to culture? Well, he's appealing to nature in verse 14, does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him.

But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her for her hair is given to her for a covering. And again, if someone said, well, I don't think this is a big issue. The fact is at Morris Corner Church, we preach through the Bible chapter by chapter, verse by verse.

I can assure you, there are many churches that would not touch this section with a 10 foot pole. We're not one of them. We believe the whole Bible, even the stuff that's hard to understand or for some may be admittedly hard to accept.

So he says, verse 15 again, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her for her hair is given to her for a covering. Again, a very difficult passage to interpret, but verses 14 and 15, I think give us some clear statements.

Where Paul doesn't appeal to culture, he appeals to nature. And what does he say? Basically, he's saying men should have short hair, women should have long hair. It's not really a controversial statement.

Gender Roles, Modesty, and Church Order

So what's the takeaway? You say, how is this relevant? What does this mean to me? How can I take this and apply this to my life? Does God really care about my hairstyle? Well, again, the bigger issue is that of the gender roles.

Okay, Paul is dealing, if I can put it this way, Paul is dealing with gender issues. Just that phrase, gender issues, you're thinking of all sorts of things. And this, of course, is a very relevant issue for us today.

We live in a day and age where the lines between the gender are being blurred like never before in human history. It's really hard to believe. Sometimes you feel like you're living in the twilight zone, some of the things that you hear people are saying.

Making the statement that men are men and women are women would never in the history of the world been seen as a controversial thing up until about four years ago. Saying such things today could get you banned from social media or worse yet, fired from your job.

So there is this issue of authority. There's the issue of, am I going to stick with God's word? That's another issue. People, in regards to authority, people are rebelling against authority like they never have before.

It's getting worse and worse and worse. All you have to do is turn on the television to see that playing out every moment of every day. And you know, when it's pervasive in the culture,.

Guess what?

It's gonna trickle down to the local church. So Christians, first off, we need to recognize the obvious differences between men and women. We need to be aware of the different roles and responsibilities that God has given to men and women.

And if we really believe the Lord, if we really believe God's word, then don't we have to trust him on this? To put it plainly, in regard to both roles and authority and the way we dress and wear our hair and everything else, men need to act like men, women need to act like women.

That's what God wants. And then Paul says in verse 16, and I've heard some people take this verse and say, what Paul's saying is, yeah, we don't have these customs, so nevermind everything I just said.

That is not the right understanding of this verse. Look what he says in verse 16, but if anyone seems to be contentious, it is if people wanna argue about this, we have no such customs, nor do the churches of God.

See, the true church of Christ is not going to compromise on this issue. This is how the Corinthian church was structured. This is how all the churches of God are structured, and we're not going to cave in on this issue.

The church must obey its head. Who's the head of the church? Are the deacons the head of the church? No, sorry. Is the pastor the head of the church? No, sorry. Christ is the head of the church. We need to listen to Christ and to his word.

The true church of Christ rejects the blurring between the genders. We also reject rebellion in any way, shape, or form when it's rebellion against the Lord and his word. So if the church is the church, and if Christ is the head, and he is, we must submit to the lordship of Christ.

Why?

For our good.

This has a real impact on people's lives. You want to be blessed by God?

Obey him.

So for our good, but also for his glory. So men, this is the summary of the sermon. Take it with you. Men need to act like men. Women need to act like women. Let's close in prayer. Father, how grateful we are that our church is built on the rock and not the shifting sand of public opinion.

Lord, what was called good just a few years ago is now called evil. Seems the devil has convinced the world by exchanging sweet for bitter and bitter for sweet. Help us to be filled with your spirit and not to give in to the pressure of a culture that has so clearly rejected you.

And yet we love the people of the culture. We love some who have even gone astray. We want to reach them with the love of Christ. But Lord, we know the scripture says, yea, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

And I know that expressing a biblical viewpoint will always bring opposition from the world, but let it not bring opposition from those who claim the name of Christ. May your word convict the hearts of sinners.

May it be instruction to the righteous. And we pray it all in Jesus name, amen.