ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE CHURCH

1 CORINTHIANS 11:1-16

One of the pressing issues that was seen in the 20th century was the role of women in society. With the advent of the Women’s Rights movement, women were bombarded with all sorts of propaganda that did away with the old stereotypes of women who were happy to have a husband to care for her and her children. She was told instead that she needed to get a career if she was to have any worth. Years have come and gone and women who bought into that propaganda are today disillusioned.

The issue was not unique to the 20th century. It has existed through all the ages and it existed in ancient Corinth.

Plato, the famous Greek philosopher, had been a major proponent of women’s rights. He maintained that there should be an absolute equality of the sexes. But most people did not agree with that stance. Throughout most of the ancient world, women held something of a second class position.

The debate for women’s liberation took a drastic turn in 180 B.C. when there was a mass poisoning of husbands in Rome. From that time on, women in the Roman Empire began to enjoy more and more freedom. By the time of the first century, women had the right to own property, to engage in business and to marry and to divorce whom they wished.

However, they still could not hold public office and they were still not considered to be the equal of men.

It was in this setting that Christianity came to Corinth. Paul taught that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Whereas in Judaism only men were permitted to partake of circumcision, the sign of God’s Old Testament covenant, in Christianity both men and women were baptized into the church.

For this reason, Christianity had become very popular among the women of Corinth. Before long, there may have been women’s Bible studies springing up around the city, teaching the equality of women.

It would not have been long before this new teaching began to be reflected in the service of the church. Women began to change their style of dress. Instead of wearing the traditional veil over their head, they began coming to church with unveiled heads. Paul addresses this situation.

Traditions are good. Our family has some traditions. There are certain things that we de every Thanksgiving and every Christmas. These things have become a tradition.

The church also contains a number of traditions. When we sing the Gloria Patri after collecting an offering or when we affirm the Apostles Creed or when we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are observing traditions.

When I was younger, I used to think that we Christians ought to get rid of all of the traditions in the church and go back to only those things that are specifically mentioned in the Bible. But I’m older now and I have learned something of the importance of traditions.

Traditions are good because they give us a sense of continuity and a sense of unity. They bind us together with our past. They let us know that we are members of a spiritual heritage going back thousands of years.

When we affirm the Apostles Creed, we are reminded that Christians have been affirming those same words for generation after generation. We are reminded of the lineage in which we share. Our religion is not one that has only recently been conceived. It has stood the test of time.

At the same time, we ought to note that there is a danger to traditions. It is that we lose sight of the meaning behind our traditions. That is what happened to the Pharisees. Over hundreds of years, they had built up a series of traditions. But they had begun to focus on the tradition and to forget about the truth behind the tradition. They faithfully kept the Sabbath but, instead of using it to benefit man, they turned it into a burden for man. They observed the ceremonial washing of their hands, but ignored their spiritual pollution.

It is for this reason that, as Paul prepares to discuss the tradition of the veiled woman, he does not begin with the tradition, but with the Scriptural truth behind the tradition.

I want you to notice right at the outset that Paul does not merely say that "man is the head of the woman" and leave it at that. This passage and others have been used in the past as a club to beat down Christian women and to say that they are second class citizens.

Does this passage teach that women have an unworthy role in the church? Does it imply that they lose privileges by becoming Christians? Not at all. I think it is for this reason that Paul presents three distinct areas of subordination within God’s kingdom.

• Man is subordinate to Christ.
• Woman is subordinate to man.
• Christ is subordinate to God.

We can see from this that the principle of subordination is a universal principle. Everything that exists in the universe is subordinate to someone. Even Jesus became subordinate to the Father.

1. Man’s Subordination to Christ: But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every (11:3).

Jesus is the head of the church. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the ruler of all men. He is either your Savior or He is your Judge, but in either case, He will be Lord of all.

There is coming a day when every knee shall bow to Him and when all men will recognize His lordship.

2. Woman’s Subordination to Man: The man is the head of a woman (11:3).

Just as the first aspect of the principle of subordination applies universally to all men, so also this second aspect of the principle of subordination applies universally to all women. Just as men are ultimately subordinate to Christ, so also women are ultimately subordinate to men.

This principle can be observed all throughout history. Despite repeated attempts to "liberate women" and to make them equal, they have always been ultimately subordinate to men.

Paul does not argue why this is the case. He simply states it as an observable principle of fact.

3. Christ’s Subordination to the Father: God is the head of Christ (11:3).

Paul now moves from the principle to the application of that principle within the church. It is never enough merely to be aware of godly principles. They must also be applied in your life. Knowledge without application is worse than ignorance.

Paul is going to give five reasons why it is so important that a woman demonstrate her subordination through the wearing of a veil on her head.

• Because of creation and its order (11:7-9).
• Because of the angels (11:10).
• Because of the arrangement of life (11:11-12).
• Because of propriety (11:13-15).
• Because it is the practice of the churches (11:16).

Notice that these principles run from the general to the specific. They begin with all of creation and then move to angels before coming to the way life and propriety perceive things and finally they conclude with the practice of the churches.

The first reason that women ought to cover their heads when praying or prophesying is because of the order and plan of creation. Woman did not become subordinate to man as a result of sin. She was originally created to be subordinate to man. This is very clear from the creation account.

1. Man was Created in the Image of God: For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God (11:7).

Man was made in the image and glory of God. There is a sense in which he was made as a scale model of God. There is a divine aspect to man.

We must immediately point out that this aspect is limited. It is finite whereas God is infinite. Furthermore, that image has been dirtied by sin. But it is still there.

For a man to cover his head when he prays of prophesies is to cover the head of one who in an image of God.

2. Woman was Made as the Glory of Man: But the woman is the glory of man (11:7).

The Bible has quite a bit to say about angels. They are magnificent creatures from God. They are His spiritual messengers. As such, they are involved in the transmission of our prayers and our worship.

Do you remember the vision experienced by Jacob? It was a vision of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven. On this great bridge were angels going and coming between earth and heaven.

In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John describes an angel of God bringing the prayers of believers to the Lord.

The symbol reminds us of the priest who stood in the temple and offered incense upon the altar. As the incense filled the temple, it would represent the prayers of God’s people coming before His throne.

Angels are also involved in the revelation of God’s truths that we proclaim. Moses met with an angel when he received the law from God.

Angels have had a tremendous involvement in bringing God’s truth to men. They were seen in the transmission of the law and they were seen at all sorts of times in ministering to men.

• Two angels were involved in the transmission of the law to Moses.
• Two angels accompanied the Lord when He came and spoke to Abraham.
• Two angels met Lot in the city of Sodom and warned of the coming judgment.
• An angel wrestled with Jacob in the night and blessed him and changed his name to Israel.
• An angel spoke to Joshua and gave him instructions on how God would take the city of Jericho.
• An angel spoke to Gideon and commissioned him to drive the enemies of Israel from the land.
• An angel shut the mounts of the lions when Daniel was cast into the lion’s den.
• An angel came to Mary and told her that she would give birth to the Messiah.
• Angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Christ.

If the things of which we prophecy were brought to us through the ministry of angels who are now present in our midst, then we need to take special care in how we prophesy and speak of the Lord. If the angels are watching our prayers and are involved in their transmission, then perhaps we ought to take special care how we pray.

There was a women’s liberation movement going on in Corinth and it was moving in the wrong direction. This movement failed to recognize that women cannot normally be fulfilled apart from man and more than man can normally be fulfilled apart from woman. God created two separate and distinct genders because one was not enough.

This means that a man is not more important than a woman. One gender cannot think of itself as more important than another.

Understanding this principle sets a woman free to be a woman. She does not have to be independent from man and she does not have to do the identical work of a man in order to be significant. She does not become significant by denying her sexuality. Indeed, her significance is seen in her relationship with man. It is in the midst of her subordination to man that man becomes dependent upon her.

Paul now makes an appeal to that which is proper. He says that a woman should wear a veil because it is considered acceptable in that society that she should be thus adorned.

Many women today think that it does not matter what they wear or how they fix their hair. But the way you adorn yourself on the outside is a reflection of your attitudes on the inside.

What sort of image do you portray in the way you groom yourself? What sort of picture do you present in the clothes that you wear? These outward signs are a reflection of some inner attitudes.

I have come to the conclusion that this is not referring to the animal kingdom when it speaks of "nature." It is not looking at nature in the biological sense. Rather, it describes the nature of society.

Women in almost all cultures have worn their hair longer than men. The styles in which women have traditionally worn their hear have been distinctly feminine.

In Greek philosophy, cultural customs were perceived as extensions of natural law. Similarly, Paul sees these cultural customs as an extension of God’s created order of thing. This means that a man praying or prophesying with a covering on his head is against God’s purposes. For a man to wear ribbons in his hair is a dishonor. For a woman to cut her hair so that she looks like a man is a dishonor and a denial of the role that God has given to her.

Have you ever met a Christian who always resisted the norm? Have you ever known someone who always wanted to change the established pattern merely for the sake of change?

People like this usually thrive on argument and dissension. That is not God’s way. God is a God of tradition. He is the same God yesterday, today and forever. This is not to say that there should never be any change within the church. I am not an advocate of the old poem that says:

However, change is not good if it is change just for the sake of change. Neither is argument merely for the sake of argument beneficial.

This brings us to a question. Does this mean that all of the women in the church today ought to try to follow the principles set forth in this passage? Absolutely. This is not a matter of liberty. It is a matter of command.

However, that does not necessarily mean that we must return to the first century practice of wearing veils. We can apply the same principle in other ways today. There are other ways in which a woman can demonstrate her subordination within the church. She can demonstrate her attitudes by what she wears, by how she grooms herself and by how she talks and carries herself. Does she appear to be rebellious? She probably is.

How do you present yourself to others? How do you present yourself to the angels who partake in your activities of worship? How are you presenting yourself toward God?

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