Book of 1 Corinthians - Ch. 11, Vs. 1-34 (01/28/2001)

Be Followers of Christ in a Spirit of Self-Denial

Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Imitate my example, the matter now under discussion, as I deny myself, as I seek to give no offense to anyone, as I endeavor not to alarm the prejudice of others, but in all things to seek their salvation, so do you.

Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinance as I deliver them to you, like the physician who wraps the bitter pill in some honey before he gives it to the patient.

It is wisdom to intermix commendations with our reproofs, that the latter may take more place when accompanied with the former. But I would have you know something, that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.

What does that mean, head? The leader, rightful governor or ruler. The head of Christ is God, and in the work of redemption, Christ as mediator was subject to the Father and acted in obedience to him.

So Christians should be subject to Christ, and the woman to the man. It is the will of God that there should be a difference of condition, and this requires a difference in their appearance. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth God, but dishonoreth his head.

What does prophesying mean here, Bill? Jesse, what do you think? Prophesying. All right. By the man's praying and prophesying, I understand he is performing any divine duty, an expounding of scriptures, singing or psalms or the like.

Man is to have his head uncovered, but the woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head, for that is even all one as she were shaven. This instance of women prophesying in public worship is an extraordinary case and justified only by the miraculous gifts which such women possessed.

For instance, the ordinary rule to them is silence in public.

For if the woman be not covered, I think that the women have the right to teach women.

They have the right to teach children. It's an extraordinary case when they have the right to speak out in public, that men have the controlling influence. He says later, if a woman desires to know, let her ask her husband at home.

Now, we don't practice that very much. I'm not saying we shouldn't.

That's the way I think it is. The first head, something still covering her head? Yes, but it's still under the law.

The Jewish man wears, I don't know what they call it, but a special cap. What? Cap. Yes. And I took it that that was still under the law, but thinking back, I can't find any place where it's mentioned under the law.

Well, putting it all together, one of my books said that it started in the 4th century after and that they hadn't picked that up in the Old Testament. And so they modified the cover at that time. Now, you're talking about covering the head?

Yes. But there are also other things that may be added to that building because according to the scripture, it shouldn't be done. That's what I'm asking.

Isn't that right? Yes. It should not be covering her head at all. The Christian Isaiah scripture is right, yes. The man should not cover his head. You can't follow the New Testament. But it wasn't under the New Testament.

It wasn't under the New Testament. It was the Old Testament.

Well, no, I'm just saying that this is in the New Testament. Yes. Paul was saying that when it was written in the New Testament. They don't read the New Testament, so they're not reading even this. That's right.

Great. Yes. Yes, it is. The thing we have today is if we don't take our proper role in love and understanding, then we're asking to cover our heads.

The Meaning of Headship, Covering, and Gender Distinction

All right. Anything else? This instance of women speaking in public was an extraordinary case. Now, for if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

The shaved head of a woman symbolized prostitution. It was a shame to do that. So, other than that, the woman's supposed to be covered. I look around, I see no hats on today. We've either gotten away from this completely, or we're not biblical.

It is not preachers that Paul has in mind, nor evil angels who could be tempted, but angels present in worship who would be shocked at the conduct of the woman, since the angels themselves veil their faces before Jehovah.

For a man, indeed, ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image of the glory of God, but the woman is the glory of man. It is the will of God that there should be due subordination of one class of persons to another, and that this should be manifested in their dress and deportment.

For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. The woman was made a helper for the man, for the man was not created upon the woman's account, and from the original creation of woman she was made for man to be his proper or suitable helper.

For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. That shows submission.

This is a backward way of saying it. For their cause ought the woman to have power on her head. She ought to be in submission to her husband. That she what? Yes. Yes. From which consideration the apostle infers that both man and woman should look upon their distinct privileges as given them from God.

Women have a place, men have a place. So happens the man is responsible for the home. He is the responsible one, and to him God looks. The woman is responsible to the man, and upon the man God looks. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman.

But all things are of God. Everything has come into being by God. For as the woman is of the man, for the woman was first taken out of the sight of man. You remember that verse? Man has ever since been formed out of the woman, out of the womb of the woman.

But they as all other creatures, created things, are of God. Judge in yourselves. Is it common that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair it's a shame unto him?

I look around and I see no long hair on men today in this church. That in things only respecting decency and in compliance with which there is no violation of the commandment of Christ. The custom of the church, of Christ, should determine us and be as a standing rule unto us.

The custom of the church. But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given for her covering. Now this long and short, I think that the woman is not to look like a man. The man is not to look like a woman.

The woman should not have her hair cut as a man does, and a man certainly not as a woman does. A man should dress as a man, a woman should dress as a woman. Not get them mixed up. But if a woman have long hair, it is for her hair is given her for her covering.

In the sense already explained, a token of her subjection to her man. As God has made a distinction between men and women, nature and common sense teaches us that it is their appearance. It should be duly observed.

I think we have no trouble in this church of telling who's who, woman or man. There are times out in public when it's hard to tell whether they're a man or a woman. That's what he's talking about. That's part of it, yes.

They don't wear makeup. Nazarites. Let his hair grow was observing a vow. Let it grow. They wouldn't be a Nazarite if... The Nazarite doesn't mean I come from a certain part of the country. It means I've taken a vow unto God.

John the Baptist. Yes. Like me. I don't mean it. They didn't have Sunday school. They didn't have a study of the Bible as we have here. So in Sunday school, or Bible study as we look at it now, I think it's a prerogative of the teacher to call upon you.

You speak if your husband agrees, but not if he disagrees. If he says don't talk, then don't talk. If he has not stopped you from talking, same with Deborah, Mary Ann, any of you, you can speak out. But for the most part, especially in church, it is not for the woman to speak, even if she has the privilege of her husband to speak.

So other than that, I don't know. In a woman's class or a group of women, you would speak only what your husband would approve of. And one more thing.

In your mind is poverty. That means if you are physically submitting your husband or whatever authority on the outside, but you have turmoil on the inside, that's not the mission. No. Those two have to be in union.

And that's where the difference is. Now I don't have this with my husband, I don't know. We have an excellent, excellent relationship. And when I'm with him, you know, it's wholeheartedly. It's with my heart, my mind, and my physical spirit.

So in that aspect, that pleases God. But if there's submission on the outside, but if the inside is not there, we are in sin. No, that's right. That's rebellion. Right.

Even if you don't know what sin is. Yes. It's rebellion if you keep quiet.

Forever. And you don't believe that in your heart. That's right. That's what I thought. So if you speak it, and you work it out, and you pray about it, and you're able to be at one with your whole heart, then you have peace.

Like I keep being there. I keep peace. And I don't see that turmoil. And I think that also affects what my husband said. She sees you submitting to Christ so that she can refer to you. That's right. So the rebellion is not there because of the alignment, right?

That's right. Okay. That's right.

No. No. Well, if we're going to enforce it, if we have selective enforcement, that's wrong. I'm not saying we observe it right. If it falls, if you do it as a custom, and it doesn't violate the ordinances of God, if it doesn't affect your salvation, do the custom.

Our custom is what you see now, women singing without hats. I cannot say that you should wear a hat today, not dress as a man today.

I will say if you do it, as Clarence stated, in rebellion, leave it there that God knows. For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there are divisions among you.

Partly, I believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are appointed, approved, may be made manifest among you. When you come together, therefore, into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper exclusively, which they should have done and not have made it a part of the main ordeal.

For in eating, everyone taketh before another his own supper. And one is hungry, another is drunken. We don't have that problem. What, have you not houses to eat and to drink in? Or despise you the church of God, and shame them that have not?

What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. How shall I sufficiently express my surprise at this and my disapproval at this course? It cannot be possible that this is right.

It is not possible to conceal surprise and amazement that this custom exists and is tolerated in a Christian church. For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you. Notice delivered, past tense.

That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was portrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat ye, this is my body, which is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me.

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament of my blood, this do you, as oft as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread, drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he come.

Now there's been lots of doctrine founded on this. They say, some say that you should only have wine and not grape juice. There are others that say the grape juice turns to the blood of Christ. And when you eat the cracker or wafer, that becomes the body of Christ.

It's all symbolic. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he comes. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

Now do we really understand that? If you do it and you think that you have unconfessed sins, it's dangerous. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of that cup. It is the special duty and ought to be the singular care and endeavor of all those that desire safety and comfortability to approve the table of the Lord.

To examine themselves before they come, to examine their right unto it, and to examine their fitness for it. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself. A damnation should be translated judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

Learn that the unworthy receivers of the Lord's suffering do contract great guilt and infer great danger. The design of the apostle to these two last verses is this. That we should not sinfully omit the duty because of the command, for the careless undertaking of it, because of the threatened judgment.

For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. There have been Christians that have been taken out of life. There's Christians that are sick. This is not saying all sickness is due to this, or all illnesses.

For this cause, on account of their irreverent and wicked manner of celebrating the Lord's Supper, many sleep, are dead. God had sent sickness among them, and many died. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

If we would sit in judgment of our spiritual condition, and correctly ourselves, we would avert God's judgment. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, and we should not be condemned with the world.

Judgments are used to chasten and to bring to repentance and reformation. Did you know that a sinner cannot repent? Everybody know that? Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, carry one for another.

And if any man of hunger, let him eat at home. That you come not together unto condemnation, and the rest I'll set in order when I come. Lastly, he tells them that as to other points of church order, he would determine them when he came along among them.

The rest will I set in order when I come. From such understanding, such unchristian disorders may arise in the church as will require the presence and coming of an apostle to correct and reform them. We're not perfect.

We cannot hide behind imperfect. We interpret the scripture the best we know how. I think it is a custom for all of the church women to wear hats. Then you should wear one. If it's not the custom, you shouldn't.

I think no woman should wear her hair like a man or a man like a woman. Dress the same way. Is there anything now of the last two minutes? Let's stand and be dismissed. Verge, dismiss us, please.

Take it not far as the Lord complies with our lives. Let every conviction that you lay on our hearts be a personal conviction.