DEAR FRIENDS,
Did you hear? This week, Minnie Mouse is having a makeover. Her iconic red, polka dot dress is being replaced with a gender-neutral pantsuit. The designer of her new outfit Stella McCartney stated: “This new take on her signature polka dots makes Minnie Mouse a symbol for a new generation.” Using responsibly sourced fabrics, Minnie is now featuring her “first ultrachic pantsuit.” Now, I will be the first to tell you that Minnie’s wardrobe choices are NOT the issue as much as the wokeness behind what is culturally understood as equality.
The battle for women’s equality and/or submission has been a heated and contended debate for centuries. It is as clear today as it was then -Satan desires to pervert the roles that both men and women play in society and specifically the church. The Corinthian church faced a situation similar to the one we face today and the believers who wrote Paul (7:1) had asked for his thoughts on the submission of women within the church. The apostle was pleased that they sought God’s revelation on this matter. We believe that 1 Corinthians 11 would express what would be theologically noted as a complementarian view of gender roles within marriage and the church.
Paul begins his corrective by stating the basic divine principle he is going to discuss throughout the chapter:
“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:3
The basic order of roles given in verse three is as described:
God is the head of Christ
Christ is the head (authority) of every man
Man is the head of every women.
From this very verse, we can glean the entirety of the complementarian position. Though equal in value and worth, Christ submitted to the will of the Father for redemption (Phil. 2). Jesus made no qualms about his willing submission to the Father. Therefore, men and women share equal value and worth, yet have distinct roles and opportunities as designed by our loving Father. This first portion is vital to understanding the rest of the cultural application of 1 Corinthians 11. Each example that Paul gives needs to frame the context of the entirety of the chapter. The authority and submission in each of these cases are based on love, not tyranny. The Father sent Christ out of love, not tyranny, to redeem the world; and the Son submitted to the Father out of love, not compulsion. Christ loves the church, that He died for it; and He rules the church in love, not in tyranny. In response, the church submits to Him in love. Therefore, men in general (within a church context) and husbands (within the marriage context) must exercise authority in love, not in tyranny. Men do not have authority because of greater worth or greater ability, but SIMPLY because of God’s wise design and loving will. Again, this is not a matter of dignity or worth but of task and responsibility. Different roles play out in God’s wonderful design.
Verse 4 moves onto the Corinthian’s issue at hand, a question that I have received often. What about head coverings? Do women have to wear a covering when praying or speaking about God’s truth (prophesying) as it is recorded in 1 Corinthians 11?
Context can clear up a multitude of confusion. Paul is demonstrating the mix-up of male and female roles within the church. Apparently, some women in the Corinthian church were taking their head coverings off (a cultural sign of submission) when speaking of God’s truth (v. 5). Further, some might add that this passage seems to indicate an opportunity for women to lead in public roles within the church —teaching, preaching etc. However, Paul does not express that this is a public gathering of worship and/or praise. Paul appears to be on the offensive regarding the mixing of roles. Secular history expresses that during this time Roman women would remove head coverings and shave their heads to show their equality with men. This would be akin to what we see today with surgeries and cross-dressing. Both men and women would wear robes, however, there were some distinct feminine items such as head covering and scarfs that were typically worn for clarity.
In verses 4-5, Paul expresses that wherever and whenever you pray or prophecy (speak God’s truth) do it with the proper distinction. This is a command for both men and women.
In verses 7-10, Paul draws on the roles that God had instituted at Creation. As mentioned, covering one’s head was a custom symbol of subordination in Corinthian society, as in much of the ancient world. However, Paul notes that male headship is not a matter of the current cultural climate, but a matter of God’s order and creation that should never be compromised.
In verses 11-12, Paul harmonizes the passage and expresses the complementarian view by stating: “…neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.” Despite cultural attacks upon the church regarding the oppression of women, the church has been one of their greatest liberators. Upon reading history, one quickly realizes that in Greek and Roman societies most women were little more than slaves. They were the possessions of their husbands who often bought and traded multiple wives.
Paul reminds us that men and women are complementary in every way in life, but particularly as followers of Christ they function together as a divinely ordained team within the church and marriage. They serve each other and they serve with each other as provided through their God-given roles. As followers of Jesus, we must remember that gender distinction is not a matter of the current cultural climate, but rather of God’s order, a reality that should never be compromised.
Sincerely,
Pastor Jordan