1 Corinthians 11

Scripture

 

1 Corinthians‬ ‭11:1, 11-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

 

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ....Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.”

 

Observation-What does it say?

 

I love the Apostle Paul because he is such a straight shooter and unapologetic when it comes to His relationship with Christ. He continues to call out things in the Corinthian church that are causing confusion, disorder, and disunity among the believers. Chaos is the evil one's business, so he is trying to dispel that from the church and bring Christ back on the throne. In this chapter, Paul is specifically addressing head covering in worship and the abuse of the Lord’s supper. I will be covering the head covering section.

 

Understanding-What does it mean?

 

Paul’s heart in talking about head coverings is to create unity, order, respect, authority and submission in the church.

 

Should men be allowed to have long hair? Should women be allowed to have short hair? Should women teach over a man? Should women have head coverings? Should women be yes robots to a man and submit in silence? Is Paul just irrelevant and outdated with what he’s talking about?

 

All of Scripture is God breathed and still relevant for today (2 Timothy 3:16). In addressing head coverings, Paul is speaking to a bigger heart issue of order, submission, authority and respect in the church.

 

In our “feminist” society where women empowerment has become a huge thing and men are being blamed for everything, I think what Paul is talking about in context is very relevant for today!

 

Life Application

 

Men and women need each other in the church and at home.

 

No gender is better than another. We need each other’s differences and similarities and we are not independent of each other. Women came from man, but man was also born from women, as Scripture points out in verses 11-12.

 

If God didn’t create a type of order for members in the church to follow and even husbands and wives to follow, major disunity would occur.

 

Personal confession: I’m a first born female raised by another strong first born female that was surrounded by only brothers. If anyone would be part of the feminist movement, it would be me. I still don’t submit in silence and push back at times. I am still working on some areas of trust/submission as God, my Husband and Pastor can attest to. However, because of the order that God has created and my growing trust in the authorities He’s placed over me, my life has become much more peaceful, in order and protected!

 

Who is or are the authorities that God has placed over your life that God wants you to trust/submit to? Your parents? Your husband? Your Pastor? Your boss at work? Your ministry leader? Male or female, as long as we are not being told to sin or compromise our integrity, we must submit out of reverence to Christ (Eph. 5:21).

 

Dear Lord, please help us to submit to one another out of love and trust for you and love for each other. Amen.

 

 

-Michelle Gaddi

 

Reference: au.thegospelcoalition.org (Head to Head about 1 Corinthians 11:3-16)