The Way of Love | Principles of Ordered Worship - 1 Corinthians 11 | May 19

ACT 2

Hey family. How are we doing?

We are in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. No? We’re not in chapter 12. I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m remembering.

Alright, we are still in chapter 11. There are three more principles we didn’t quite get to in our time together last week.

Last week, we just began this conversation, and we focused in on one principle in particular that Paul has established in his writings – there is beauty and honor in being a woman. It is honorable to be a woman. God created man and woman in His own image, which gives us all an immense amount of dignity, honor, value, and purpose. This is a worldview level defining moment which those who do not hold to a belief in a creator struggle with greatly. What is the purpose of life? God has imbued us, how’s that for a fancy word – God spoke purpose into us as he breathed into our nostrils the breath of life. You have such inherent dignity, value, honor, and purpose.

We are His children. We are His sons and daughters. Ladies, you are a daughter of God. And there is beauty and honor in being a woman.

A DIFFERENCE IN GENDERS

We’ve already hinted at several, if not all, of the other principles last Sunday. So let’s just get right into it and I’ll remind you as needed of what we’ve already talked about and supply cultural clarifications if necessary along the way.

Last week we read verse 11, “11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.”

There is beauty and honor in being a woman, and a part of that beauty and honor is that women are not men. Women are not just small men. There is a difference in the sexes. There is a distinctiveness of gender that should be celebrated and not eliminated.

Paul writes further on, “14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.”

This is another particular cultural custom that again is not too unfamiliar to us. In the vast majority of cases, in cultures around the world, and throughout history, women have had long hair and men have had shorter hair. There is science to support why this is (nature teaches us), that women most typically grow longer, thicker, fuller hair while men can go bald in their thirties – or earlier. It’s only really within the last century of our culture that men having long hair has become quite common. So it’s not culturally distinctive for us anymore, but we get it, we understand. Paul is saying they’re are foundational differences between men and women. Let’s not eliminate those – let’s celebrate.

Because we need each other. Men and women are inseparable and interdependent. We can’t step into God’s blessing without each other. We need one another. So the second principle Paul points back to as he engages the culture of the Corinthians is just that, there is a distinctiveness of gender that should be celebrated and not eliminated.

Before we move on, I think there is value in not just agreeing with this, although in our current cultural climate I do believe there is value there. But there’s more to consider. We don’t have these particular gender identifiers anymore, head coverings and hair length. But most of us, generally speaking, want to be identified as men or as women, whichever is appropriate. There are certain identifiers in the way that we dress, in the way that we act, in the things that we say, in the us that we show.

What I don’t want to do is start listing things off because there is a much larger conversation about modesty which Paul is engaging in particularly with the Corinthians as women who didn’t wear a head covering in Corinth had a good probability of being a prostitute and these Corinthian believers were being called back into their former ways of life and worship. We don’t have time for that discussion.

I do want to give you room to think and apply this principle to your life in its most basic form. What are some ways our cultural context uses to identify and differentiate genders? What are ways in your own life, whether influenced by culture or not, that you have used to identify yourself as a man or a woman? In the way that you act? In the things that you say? In your choices? In the way that you dress?

I want you to evaluate these gender distinctives by this criterion alone, is it God-honoring? Is it God-honoring? Not, does it make you feel like a man. Not, does it further the cause of women’s rights. Does it honor God? Does it point back to Him and communicate this is what life is all about? He is what life is all about. If it doesn’t honor God, we let go of our rights. We lay them down. We make no use of our liberty if it harms our neighbor and does not ultimately honor God.

Jesus taught us a very similar lesson that Paul has been repeating to us through this final half of Corinthians, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). We give up our own way.

So those are the first two principles down. Two more to go and these are highly related because God sets the example. Paul establishes God as the example in all of life. And that’s what these final two principles are about.

THE GOD OF ORDER

Let’s read those opening verses again, “1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ…”

We are all seeking to imitate Jesus.

“2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.”

The head of every man is Christ.

This should not be new or controversial. We see this throughout the scriptures. We live our lives under the Lordship of Christ. We, as Christians, can’t only accept Jesus as savior without allowing Him to rule as our Lord. Just as love is an attitude that results in action, so also the crux of faith is a belief that motivates to action.

Paul will write at the beginning of chapter 12 in fact these chapters as literary units are so intertwined that a reading of the giftings and the interdependence of the body in chapter 12 could so meaningfully be interjected into what we’ve already talked about in our distinction and interdependence, but at the beginning of chapter 12 Paul writes, “I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

We don’t just declare with our mouth, but we demonstrate it with our lives, with the way that we live, that Jesus is King to the glory of God (Romans 10:9-10). James writes in his letter, “7 Submit yourselves therefore to God” (James 4:7). We submit ourselves to God.

“We submit ourselves to God, we acknowledge His Lordship in our lives. We give up our own desires, hopes, and wants and choose to follow Jesus wherever He leads.”

“15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:15-20)

Jesus is the head. He has authority over the church. He has authority in our lives. We submit to Him.

The statement that Paul writes that might be the most strange, other than “because of the angels” which is strange for different reasons. But the statement that “the head of Christ is God” is perplexing to us. I mean we agree with it, because we never really think about it. Even in our discussions of the surrounding verses we never really stop and say, hang on a minute…

If we did, we would probably realize how strange that statement is. How can the head of God be God?

If we go back to Genesis, Jesus was there too just as we read last week with regard to men and women, “26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image… So God created mankind in his own image” (Genesis 1:26-27)

There is an equality and sameness that exists. I believe the trinitarian theological terminology is co-equal and co-eternal.

We see Jesus Himself confirm this over and over again, particularly in the gospel of John, since John’s purpose is to establish Jesus’ divine nature, and therefore the authority of His act on the cross and conquering of death to forgive sins and usher in new life.

John 1:1-3, “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”

Jesus was there. Not only that, but Jesus is engaged with the Father in creation. There is relationship and there is order.

Later in John’s gospel, Jesus will just go right out and say, “27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30).

The Father and the Son are co-equal and co-eternal. There are no ways in which God the Father and God the Son are anything but equal, and in their case actually of the exact same nature. They are one God. How can God be the head of God?

But you know what, the more we went down this rabbit hole, we’d probably also realize it’s not so strange after all. Or maybe it’s still strange, but we’d perhaps realize that it’s been staring us in the face all along. Even in that passage in John 10 that we read, the first part of that passage says as “the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.” (John 10:24-26).

We don’t necessarily get it. We can’t always understand it. The whole idea of the trinity completely blows our minds. But we observe that there’s order within the Godhead, in that the persons of the trinity relate in ordered relationships. That’s the third principle for us. There’s order within the Godhead, in that the persons of the trinity relate in ordered relationships.

God is all about relationship, to such an extent that He Himself exists in relationship with Himself. The greatest call to life and freedom is that we can relate with Him, that He makes a way. God is relationship and that relationship is ordered.

Once again, we’ll read in a few chapters, “33 God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” God is not a God of confusion. He is ordered. In fact, that is perhaps the earliest identifier of who God is. In the beginning there was chaos and God spoke order into existence. And all of our sin, and selfishness, and foolish pride call us to de-create God’s created order.

There’s order within the Godhead, in that the persons of the trinity relate in ordered relationships.

AUTHORITY AND EQUALITY

The part that we have to wrestle with hard. If you were here last week, I mentioned that the argument in these verses that is given the most light is the least controversial part of what Paul is saying. Here’s what we have to wrestle with hard in our culture because we are programmed to believe contrary – you can have differentiation of authority in relationships without having inequality.

You can have differentiation of authority in relationships without having inferiority or superiority of dignity and value. Equality and authority are different conversations. Our culture can’t fathom the idea of that concept. To us equality means equal in every way, in every position, in every status. We already blur the lines between equity and equality. Why should we think we don’t also confuse authority and equality?

We do recognize that they are different things in the way that we live.

“When it comes to relationships, there's authority and submission. There's government. There's police force. There's authority in every corporation. There are bosses who hire people to work for them. That's an authority structure. There's authority within families. There's the same kind of authority and submission between God and humanity, and even between God and God-- Christ and God the Father.”

I hope that you see your children as equal in value, dignity, honor, and purpose as you. If you don’t see that equality then we might need to have another discussion. But that equality doesn’t reverse the ordered existence you have with them.

Even the Roman centurion confesses to the Lord that he is a man under authority. We are all under authority. That submission to authority does not detract from our equality as being made in the image of God.

You can have differentiation of authority in relationships without having inferiority or superiority of dignity and value.

Jesus again is the demonstration of this principle. God Himself is the demonstration of authority and submission while maintaining equality.

As the Jews tried all the harder to kill Him. [Because] not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. 19Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does” (John 5:18-20).

Before His death, Jesus in the garden prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me, nevertheless not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

“When Jesus said, “Not my will, but yours be done,” He surrendered His own will to God’s, fully convinced that His Father knew what was best.”

“He was wholly submitted to His Father’s will. “My food,” He had said, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” (John 4:34). “By myself I can do nothing,” explained Jesus, “for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me” (John 5:30).”

Jesus was wholly submitted to His Father’s will.

Paul writes of this many times. In Philippians chapter 2 he instructs us to, “5 have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God…” (Philippians 2:5-8).

This, unsurprisingly, fits so nicely within the larger conversation of freedom and love that is taking place. Because the application is the same. In love we give up our freedoms. In love of the Father Jesus yielded to the authority of the Father.

We cannot walk away from this teaching concluding that this makes Jesus somehow inferior to the Father but rather in His equality submissive to the Father.

“He is not talking about superiority or inferiority. He's not speaking about intelligence, or emotional intelligence, or intellect. He is not speaking about equality or inequality. He is not speaking about one's ability or inability.”

Towards the end of this very letter, Paul will write some further strange words, “28 When all things are subjected to him (being God the Father), then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

“The Son of Man, Jesus is given all authority and power over the world (Daniel 7.14). But in the consummation of the ages, the Son himself [willingly] surrenders the Kingdom to and is subject to the Father.”

Because of all things, authority is given not taken. It is not earned. It is perhaps at times deserved. But it is certainly not taken. Authority is given by those who willingly submit.

You can have differentiation of authority in relationships without having inferiority or superiority of dignity and value.

HEAD

So those are our four principles that Paul has woven through these controversial verses. That there is beauty and honor in being a woman. That we should celebrate our differences because we need each other, men and women, we need you. He points to God and shows us equality and order. That in God there is a differentiation of authority without an inferiority of value. Therefore, when we are given authority we imitate Jesus and when we are under authority we imitate Jesus.

Overall we are to live our lives completely differently than the world around us. We don’t care about the things they care about. We don’t argue in the way that they argue. We can’t worship like the world.

Now, as we move into a discussion about the two interpretive challenges that I think are most prominent, we’re not going to enter into the realm of application. I’m not going to dictate how you should apply these verses to your life.

In verse 13, Paul says “13 Judge for yourselves”. This is not a black and white issue, judge for yourself. Don’t divide over this. In verse 16 he says, “16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.”

Do not divide over these gray issues. It’s going to require a laying down of our rights, but God is bigger than our rights. God doesn’t move through the loudest He moves through prayer. He doesn't move through agendas, He moves through surrender.

So Paul is saying wherever you’re at, whatever church you find yourself in, be all there. There are no perfect churches. God didn’t say find the perfect church and commit. He said you commit, and you figure it out together, you live life together.

Jenny Allen has a short little teaching series through 1 Corinthians and one thing she said was, “One of my greatest hopes for this generation is that we would grow up together. That we would mature, that we would show each other preference, that we would care more about others than we care about ourselves and our desires. And I think that would stand out in this day and in this culture. If we would just share well, if we just took care of each other, it would scream that we believe in God and there is a better way to live.”

So with chapter 11 there are probably two main translation questions to ask. The first is how do we translate head?

The word is κεφαλή and its most simple meaning is head as in your physical head that is attached to the top of your body. If you look up this word in any Greek to English lexicon you will see this as being the most common translation, and indeed of all the usages in the Bible the most common meaning is the physical head of a person or animal. So why the confusion, why the argument. It is because when used metaphorically as in 1 Corinthians 11 the traditional interpretation is headship as authority.

And you’ll see in these lexicons that that is an alternate meaning as well as with regard to rivers extremity, terminus, or beginning. And here is the disagreement, because in one more modern lexicon attached to this translation of beginning is the idea of source. And so there has been a more recent push in history for the Greek word to mean the source of something. Which would change the traditional interpretation of Corinthians and other passages to say that Man is the source of Woman just as God is the source of Christ.

As you might imagine, scholars have debated this over the years and many papers and journal articles have been written defending both sides and rebutting and arguing ad nauseam. So as a result of these papers theologians set out to determine what does this word head actually mean. If it can mean source then there has to be evidence in ancient literature that would suggest a reader in Paul’s time would understand this to be a meaning.

In one examination some 2,300 ancient uses of κεφαλή were examined and guess what – I’m sure the majority of them meant a physical head. Just as you might expect. But here’s the part that matters. The investigation found seventeen uses from Greek translations of the Old Testament and fifteen uses from other ancient literature where κεφαλή is interpreted to mean “authority over” or “ruler”. They found no undisputed uses that could definitively mean “source”. The two disputed references refer to Zeus as being the first and last and the mouth of a river being the furthest point of a river.

This may not seem very compelling to you, but these theologians thought it compelling enough to write to the editors of the single lexicon that lists “source” as a possible interpretation and the editor of the lexicon wrote back saying their research was very definitive and should be updated to eliminate confusion.

I also think that if we were to translate this as source then there creates some problems theologically between the relationship of God the Father and God the Son. I do not rightly believe we can claim that the Father is the source of the Son except in the sense that Jesus was sent by the Father but that would cause confusion in the discussion between men and women. Nor can we assert that the Father is the beginning of the Son for in their equality it should be evident that God in all three persons is the uncreated creator. Jesus is in very nature God. And so, Jesus is rightly named as the source of all things as He is also repeatedly given the honor of all rule and authority.

Therefore, we should most readily believe that the early readers of Paul and Paul himself used the word “head” to communicate authority and in such a way that the responsibility of glory, honor, and shame flows up. It is a high calling to steward and not to oppressively rule. And we’ll need to wrestle with that and determine for ourselves what is right.

WIFE vs WOMAN

The second translation issue is perhaps less controversial but does influence the meaning of our previous discussion just as it is influenced by what we’ve already talked about. And that is whether these verses are talking about men and women or husbands and wives. You may have noticed that in the version I’ve been ready the interpreters have decided to translate these words as husband and wife.

It is confusing because the first time the word “man” appears Paul uses a different word than the second time. So when He writes that “the head of every man is Christ” he is most definitely referring to men in general, and I would argue mankind as a whole. We are all under the authority of Christ, men and women, even if Paul is specifically setting up an ordered argument about men.

The second word Paul uses does also mean man, but when it is used in tandem with the word he chooses for woman the meaning is typically reflected as husband and wife. Not that there are no instances where they are used together to mean men and women, but it is often understood in their use together to mean husband and wife.

And this is significant for why Paul uses two different words and what he is trying to communicate in his argument. And is significant for our previous discussion about head vs. source, because if we were to favor an interpretation of source then these words have to mean men and women in general and not husband and wife specifically. But these words used together would most likely be understood to mean husband and wife and so source is again an unlikely translation choice. But what is most likely is that Paul is communicating very similar ideas to those he writes again to the Ephesians. There is consistency in his teaching to the various churches he ministers to.

OUTRO

There are of course more interpretive challenges to this passage. And I never even tried to address the “because of the angels” phrase for perhaps obvious reasons.

Wherever you land, and however this is applied, Paul is continuing to do the same thing he’s been doing and the same thing we’ll see him do in chapter 12 and that is tell us to not be “puffed up” one over the other. Even in his use of authority he never means superiority. But rather follow in his example as he follows in the example of Christ. And above all love.

“9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. 11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. 12 Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. 13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:9-18).