Based on this passage, some Christian
denominations require head coverings for women. The Plymouth Brethren,
for example, hold that women show respect for God and male leadership
when they cover their heads with scarves, shawls, or hats during the
worship service. Others see this as a specific historical-cultural
practice not binding for us today.
The roles and responsibilities of men and women remain a vital topic in church life. The timeless principle in Paul’s teaching here is headship (v.3). This term indicates and includes authority, respect, honor, and proper order. The same term is used to describe Christ’s relationship with the church (Eph. 1:21–22). The term does not indicate inequality, for “the head of Christ is God,” yet they are both equally divine Persons of the Trinity, and men and women are equal before Christ (see Gal. 3:28). The term also does not mean the self-serving or exploitative use of authority or power common among unregenerate people.
In the Corinthian context, one application of headship was head coverings for women (vv. 4–7, 13–16). To show respect for the principle, women covered their heads (or perhaps wore veils) during the worship service and men did not. Headship, however, is larger than the epistle’s immediate social situation and goes all the way back to creation (vv. 8–10; Gen. 2:18). That is to say, when God made the world, He ordered it in certain ways. Headship is one of those ways—as Paul wrote, it is part of “the very nature of things” (v. 14).
Another dimension of headship is the equality and interdependence of men and women and the dependence of both upon God (vv. 11–12). Order, authority, and mutual submission all co-exist in the church as a witness to the world!
The roles and responsibilities of men and women remain a vital topic in church life. The timeless principle in Paul’s teaching here is headship (v.3). This term indicates and includes authority, respect, honor, and proper order. The same term is used to describe Christ’s relationship with the church (Eph. 1:21–22). The term does not indicate inequality, for “the head of Christ is God,” yet they are both equally divine Persons of the Trinity, and men and women are equal before Christ (see Gal. 3:28). The term also does not mean the self-serving or exploitative use of authority or power common among unregenerate people.
In the Corinthian context, one application of headship was head coverings for women (vv. 4–7, 13–16). To show respect for the principle, women covered their heads (or perhaps wore veils) during the worship service and men did not. Headship, however, is larger than the epistle’s immediate social situation and goes all the way back to creation (vv. 8–10; Gen. 2:18). That is to say, when God made the world, He ordered it in certain ways. Headship is one of those ways—as Paul wrote, it is part of “the very nature of things” (v. 14).
Another dimension of headship is the equality and interdependence of men and women and the dependence of both upon God (vv. 11–12). Order, authority, and mutual submission all co-exist in the church as a witness to the world!
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