Also, I forgot to announce that
next Sunday night, Gabe Stonerker is going to be here and he's
going to present some kind of slideshow about the missionary
work in Malawi, I think is the way you say it. There's a missionary
that I've never met that we've been supporting there, mainly
through his influence. His name is Willie Mapote, and
he was over there, and he's going to tell us about that. And I
really want us to get anywhere the gospel is preached, I want
us to be behind it 100%, just like the men in Mexico. And I'm
very excited about that. And also, we're not going to
have Wednesday services this Tuesday. We're going to have
a New Year service beginning at 7. And we're going to observe
the Lord's table together. I remember back at 13th Street in Ashland,
where Brother Mahan was the pastor, they would have New Year services
that would last till midnight. I would get so sleepy. And Henry
asked me one time, why don't you do that? And I said, because
I get sleepy. We won't be here till midnight.
We'll begin the service at seven. I've got a message I'm looking
forward to bringing, and we'll observe the Lord's table together.
Now, turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. I wonder how many of you
are thinking, what in the world does that mean? What is this
about women wearing head coverings and men not wearing them, and
women having some kind of power over their head because of the
angels? What is all that about? I remember where Scott Richardson
pastored in Fairmont, West Virginia. Dear, dear man, been dead long
time, but he had all the women there wear head covers. When
you go in there, everybody'd be wearing a hat, the women would. And somebody
said, Scott, why do you have your women wear a hat? He said,
there's something in the Bible about that. Well, there is. There is, what does it mean? I remember one time back at Grace
Chapel, A woman visited the services, and this is back on Limestone
Street. This has been over 40 years ago. She had a hat on. She said, why aren't your women
wearing hats? I was 22 years old. I didn't know how to answer.
I didn't have a ready answer. She said, the Bible says a woman
ought to wear a hat. She said, I'm divorced, but I
wear a hat. Okay, I'll think about that for
a while. You know, the Bible also says,
greet ye one another with a holy kiss. It says that five times. Greet ye one another with a holy
kiss. Does that mean that if I don't
give you a kiss when you walk out the door that I'm disobeying
God and that I'm breaking a commandment? I actually had somebody call
the church once and said, they'd been watching the TV program,
they said, I agree with what you're preaching, but do you
all practice greeting one another with a holy kiss? And well, I
hadn't really thought about it. You know, I didn't even look
at that because I believe that that was very cultural at that
time. If we greet each other with a
holy kiss now, that's fine. But the thing of it is, do you
say somebody's breaking a commandment of God if they don't actually
physically kiss you? No. I mean, there's a warm handshake.
There's a hug. Those things are cultural. And
I believe that these things of, A head covering, I want to know
what it means, but that's what everybody did back then. Women
wore head coverings. That was a cultural thing. So
what is this all about? I've entitled this message headship. Headship. Verse three, but I would have you know, I want to know too, don't you?
He says, I'd have you know, I want you to understand this. That the head of every man is
Christ. Now that's not talking about
every man as far as all men, but the whole of God's elect,
every believer. He is our head. Scripture says
that. Christ is the head of the church. He's the identity of the church.
He's the head. What's the body without the head?
Dead. He's the head. He's my identity. 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. Now Paul begins with this
great principle of headship and there's a lot in this in the
New Testament about Christ being the head and involved in headship
is willing subordination and willing submission to His authority. Now, submission that's not willing
is not submission. Subordination that's not willing
is not subordination. There is a willing submission
and a willing subordination. Now, one of the greatest problems
of our society is the eroding of respect for authority. It's
so much worse than it was when I was growing up. Citizens don't
all have the same respect for governmental authority. Students
don't have the same respect for teacher's authority. I would
have never questioned a teacher when I was a kid. I would have
been scared to death, too. And if I did, when I got home, I
would feel the weight of questioning authority. Women do not have
the respect for man's authority in the home. Children do not
have the same respect for parents' authority. You see that so clearly. Employees don't have the same
respect for the employer's authority. People don't have the respect.
Citizens don't have respect for the police's authority. There
is an eroding of authority in our day. And it is bad. And this even creeps into the
church. You know how? Because we're in the church.
Sinful men and women who are affected by society. The eroding
of authority. Now in the very essence of God,
in his nature, we see respect for authority. God, the Father, God, the Son,
God, the Holy Spirit are equal. One God in three distinct persons. The Lord said with regard to
his father, I and my father are one. He thought it not robbery
to be equal with God. What if I thought I was equal
with God? Oh, it would be a crime, wouldn't it? But not him. He
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. I think one of
the most powerful passages of scripture is in Revelation chapter
five, when he came up to him who sits on the throne and took
the book. He didn't ask for it. he took
it as equal with the Father. No man was found worthy, but
he was worthy. He came and he took the book. Now the Son was with God and was God. In the beginning was the Word,
the Word was with God as a distinct person and the Word was God. Now in the Trinity, And I'm talking
about things that are so mysterious. We only know them because they're
revealed in the word of God, but in the Trinity, there is
equality and there is a subordination to authority. The son subordinates
himself to his father willingly. He said, not my will, but thine
be done. Now you think of the Trinity.
If I'm saved, It's because of the work of all three persons
of the Trinity. If I'm saved, it's because God
elected me. Amen? If you're saved, it's because
God chose you to be saved before the foundation of the world.
If I stand in glory amongst the redeemed, it'll be because Jesus
Christ, the second person of the Trinity, willingly submitted
to His Father and took my sins in obedience to His Father's
will and put them away and gave me His righteousness." That's
essential to my salvation, the work of the Father, the work
of the Son, and the work of God the Holy Spirit. If I'm saved,
if I stand in glory, accepted in the Beloved, God the Holy
Spirit birthed me into His kingdom and regenerated me and gave me
a new heart, a new birth, and that's why I'm saved. Oh, the
work of the Father, the work of the Son, the work of God the
Holy Spirit, they're all essential in salvation. God is one God
in three distinct persons. All equally God. I don't even
know how to say things like this right. I mean, because it's so
mysterious. And I hope I don't say something wrong when I'm
talking about this, because I'm talking about stuff that I believe,
but I don't really intellectually grasp. I just believe it. One
God in three distinct persons. And in the Trinity, there is
subordination. The Lord Jesus Christ said to
his father, not my will, but thine be done." Is that not subordination? Is that not submission to His
Father's will? And what about God the Holy Spirit?
He is God. He's not less God than God the
Father and God the Son. He is God the Holy Spirit. And
yet we read with regard to God the Holy Spirit, He shall not
speak of Himself. But whatsoever he shall hear,
that shall he speak. That's all he speaks, is that
which he says. He's not a maverick. He doesn't work independently
of God the Father and God the Son. As a matter of fact, he
won't even speak, but that which he heard the Father say. Now you look at the beauty of
this willing subordination and this willing submission in the
Trinity. Isn't it beautiful? I so admire
it, I stand in awe of the submission of the father. I mean, the submission
of the son to the father and the submission of the spirit
to the father and the son. There is a subordination, a willing
submission within the Trinity. Now, this is who he is. Now Christ, the scripture says,
is the head of man. And that speaks of all the church.
Colossians 1.18 says Christ is the head of the body, which is
the church. Now what controls the body? The
head. What is the identity of the body?
If I'm going to identify myself, do you look at a picture of my
hand? My foot? No, the only identity of the
body is the head. That means Jesus Christ is my
identity before God. His person, my history is whatever
He performed during that 33 years upon earth. He is my head. What is a body without a head?
Dead. Now, does Christ cover His head
before God? No. He's equal to the Father. He doesn't cover his head. If
Christ is my head, my head's not to be covered. Christ is
the head of man. And this is speaking of every
believer. Christ being my head, I can come into his presence
and be accepted. I'm united to him. He doesn't
cover his head. What does the woman represent?
The church. Do you feel like you can ever
be without a covering? Do you feel like you could ever
come into God's presence without a covering? Being covered with
His righteousness, robed in His righteousness, the covering of
His blood. So as Christ is man's head, Christ
doesn't need a covering. He comes into God's very presence
as man is woman's head representing Christ in the church. And we
know that's what that means from Ephesians chapter five. That's
the purpose of marriage to demonstrate the relationship between Christ
and his church. I always at all times need a
covering. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter
five. Verse 21. Submitting yourselves one to
another in the fear of God. Now, let me remind you, submission
is always willing. If it's not willing, it's not
submission. And you know, submitting yourself to Christ, you know
He's altogether glorious. You know He is infinitely wise. You know whatever he does is
perfect and you know in and of yourself you're sinful, stupid. Is it hard to submit to the Lord
Jesus Christ? He's the only one worthy of,
you submit to him willingly because you realize the beauty of his
person. Now submitting yourselves one
to another, his people, me and you being servants one to another,
submitting ourselves one to another, not trying to take the highest
seat, and the uppermost room at the feast, but being lowly,
submitting yourselves, not being arrogant and thinking you deserve
some kind of special recognition, but submitting yourselves one
to another. In the fear of God, wives, submit
yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. How? As unto the Lord. Because the
Lord says to do this, this is the reason to do it. No other
reason is needed. That's not speaking of the inferiority
of the woman to the man in any way. Was Christ inferior to His
Father when He submitted Himself? No. He's equal to the Father.
And the woman and the man are equal in that sense. It's not
like the man is superior to the woman. He's not. But this is
God's order. This is what God says to do.
This is God's Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, but they
don't deserve it. That doesn't have anything to do with it.
You do it as unto the Lord. He's the purpose you do this.
Well, I've got a problem with that thing. You've got a problem
with the Lord because He's the one who says to do this. And
it's not because of some kind of authoritarian thing. This
is something you willingly do because you want to. Let's go
on reading. Verse 23, for the husband is
the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church.
There we have that again, the same thing. The husband is the
head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and
he's the savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject
under Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives even as Christ loved the church. and gave himself for it. Now talking about tall order,
husbands, you love your wives as Christ loved the church. That doesn't have anything to
do with, well, my wife's rebellious. That don't, what woman is not,
what man is not. As far as that goes, we automatically
rebel against authority. I mean, that just, I just, even
in my person right now, I can't stand for people telling me what
to do. It just goes through me. I don't like it. Don't tell me
what to do. Should I be that way? No. But
that's the way I am. I'm not excusing it. I'm not
saying it's okay. If I draw a line in the sand, don't you cross
that. What are you gonna do? You're gonna cross it. I mean,
and some people are worse about that than others, but the point
I'm making, this is about the gospel. Women submitting themselves
to their husband for Christ's sake, as they would unto the
Lord. And men loving their wives the way Christ loved the church.
And oh, his love for the church, how he gave himself You know,
it wouldn't be hard to submit to somebody that loved you like
Christ loved the church, would it? Now, the head of the woman is
man and the father being Christ's head, like I said, it doesn't
imply inferiority. This is not saying Men and women
are in any way, or women are inferior to men, as far as that
goes. In Christ, there's no male or female anyway. And as a matter
of fact, do you know in heaven there will be no gender? There
will be no male or female. There will be no bond or free.
There will be no rich or poor. All there will be is the bride
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and there is no gender in heaven. And when it's talking about this
order, this is not saying that, when it's talking about a woman's
submission to the male, it's talking about to her husband,
and that's talking about in the church. It's not talking about
other situations like, In Lexington, Kentucky, we have a woman that's
mayor. I think she's a good mayor. And guess what? She has authority
over me. She's the mayor of the city.
She's a woman. She's got authority over me,
a man. Do I have any problem with that? No, I don't. She's
a good mayor. I'm thankful for how well she
does as a mayor. As far as I can tell, I don't
know. You know, I mean, all the stuff
about politics, I don't know. But I'm thankful for her. And
she has authority over me. So this is not saying that a
woman, when it's talking about a woman submitting to the authority
of the man, that's talking about her husband. And that's talking
about male leadership in the church. It's a man that is to
pastor. It's a man that is to preach.
The woman is not to assert authority over the man in the church, according
to the scriptures. Now, this is what God says in
his word. Now, let's look at the part about
head coverings. Back to 1 Corinthians 11. Verse four, every man praying
or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. Who's his head? Christ is his
head. Does Christ have a covering?
I love to think of the way He can go into the presence of the
Father, completely accepted, altogether glorious, altogether
lovely. He comes into the Father's presence,
and me and you come into the Father's presence in Him, our
head. That is why we come and we don't
dishonor our head because we know our head needs no covering. He's altogether glorious to his
father. He's altogether lovely to his
father. Every man praying or prophesying
having his head covered dishonors his head. But every woman that
prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonors her
head, for that is even all one as if she were shaven." Now what
does the wife represent in the gospel? The church. Is the church
subject to Christ's authority? Absolutely. And the church is
always aware of its need of a covering. There's not a second of my life
when I'm not aware of my need to be covered in him. Somebody
thinks, what about the woman prophesying? Well, what about
Philip's four virgin daughters that prophesied in Acts chapter
21, verse nine? They sure did. You say, what's
that mean? Well, whatever it means, I know
that it is still subservient to Paul saying, for I suffer
not a woman to teach nor to assert authority. But that woman was
prophesying, or those four daughters, they were sharing the gospel,
witnessing the gospel. I don't know what they were doing,
but I'm thankful for it. And I hope every woman in this
assembly will be ready to preach the gospel to whoever they're
around, and to testify of who God is. Now, he saved sinners
by Christ, but that's not her usurping authority in the church,
Paul said, I suffer not a woman to teach or to assert authority.
Now that's just God's way of doing things. Turn with me for
a moment to Genesis chapter three. Genesis chapter three. This is
right after the fall. This is what he says to Eve,
verse 16. This was after the fall. And
to the woman, he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and
thy conception. In sorrow shalt thou bring forth
children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, or to
thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. In four different translations,
and I think there's something to this, your desire is to rule
over him and he will rule over thee. And I think that might have something
to do with what that is being said. I mean, who doesn't desire
to rule? I mean, if I let Lynn, Uh, you
know, and that's just the way it is. And she knows, she'll
tell you that's true. Uh, but the, the point is, this is God's
protocol. Um, she will desire to rule over
you, but you will rule over her. And that's the place of the woman
in that sense. Now, turn back to our text in
verse eight, verse six, rather. For if the
woman be not covered, let her also be shorn, which was a thing
of shame. But if it be a shame for a woman
to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed
ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the image
and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. For
the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man." What
that means is, where did Eve come from? Out of Adam. God created
Adam, Eve came out of him. Neither was the man created for
the woman, but the woman for the man. God said, it's not good
for a man to dwell alone. I'll make him a help mate. Now,
once again, this is not talking about an inferior position of
the woman there. We're all one in Christ Jesus.
And there's in Christ, there's not male or female, but God looked
at the man and he said, it's not good for a man to dwell alone.
I'll make for him a help mate. Verse 10. for this cause off
the woman to have power on her head because of the angels."
Now this is talking about this covering, this signification of willing submission
to authority. She ought to have power on her
head, something that would show her submission to authority because
of the angels. Now what in the world is that
name, because of the angels? Well, I thought of the seraphims of
Isaiah 6. That's the most information we're
given about angels. And the scripture says they had
six wings. With two, they covered their
face. They couldn't look upon the God
of glory, the blessed and only potentate. They covered their
face. With two, they covered their feet. These sinless angels
knew that they would fall unless God kept them up, and they were
ashamed of themselves. They knew they were mutable creatures,
and they'd seen the other angels fall away, and they knew they
would do the same thing unless the Lord kept it from happening.
I love that scripture in 1 Timothy 5 of the elect angels. You know,
the angels that didn't fall is because they were elected by
God not to fall. And with two, they did fly ready to do His
will, willing submission and subordination, a desire to do
His will. And when they see rebellion and
lack of subordination and lack of submission, don't you know
that they're offended? What is this? Do they know what
they're doing? They're offended when they see,
you know, this is a, this is an amazing thing. Angels are
here tonight. Don't see them, but they're here. They're wherever
the gospel is preached. They're angels in this place.
I don't see them. I don't feel them, but I know
they're here. Uh, they're, you know, they, they're, there's
all kinds of what we would think of real important events going
around the world. They don't have any interest in. Oh, they're
interested in the gospel of God's glory. They're interested in
the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I love that scripture in
Peter, which angels desire to look into. You see, they have
never understood what it is to be a sinner saved by the grace
of God, and they're astounded by it. And they're offended at
our lack of understanding. Let's go on reading verse 11. Nevertheless, neither is the
man without the woman, neither the woman without the man and
the Lord. There wouldn't be any men without women. And there
wouldn't be women without men. Equally dependent on one another. For as the woman is of the man,
even so the man also by the woman, but all things are of God. Judging
yourselves, is it comely? Is it appropriate that a woman
pray unto God uncovered? Now, it just, like I said, I
think that that is, the principle is true right now, but I think
that culturally they were all covered. And I don't think the
Corinthian women were doing this. And that's why Paul's addressing
this situation. Like that, they thought that
is not important. And that's why Paul is dealing
with it. Judging yourselves is it comely that a woman pray to
God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach
you that if a man have long hair, it's a shame unto him. But if
a woman have long hair, it's glory to her, for her hair is
given for her a covering. But if any man seem to be contentious,
we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. Now, is
the point length of hair? Man, I've heard people use this
to preach against long hair. Particularly when I was growing
up, I had long hair. And it used to be in style back then. Everybody
had their hair down to their shoulders and then you'd get
some fundamentalist come up and he'd get this scripture and threaten
everybody with short hair. Is that what that's talking about?
No. It's not what it's talking about
at all. The Lord Jesus Christ, without
question, had longer hair than any man in here. He was a Nazarite. And he had long hair and a beard. The point between this, a woman
having a feminine haircut and a man having a masculine haircut,
he's talking about the difference between the genders. And as a
matter of fact, in the Old Testament, God said it's an abomination
for a man to be dressed like a woman. And it's an abomination
for a woman to be dressed like a man. The point is gender. God
made gender. He's glorious in making gender. And He made it. And a woman is
to be a woman, and a man is to be a man. That's what that is
talking about. It's not talking about the length
of hair. It's talking about a woman is a woman, and a man is to be
a man. And I love what verse 15
says. But if a woman have long hair,
and that's talking about a feminine haircut. It's not talking about
how long your hair is. That's talking about a feminine
haircut. If a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her for her
hair is given her for a covering. Now there it says that larger
women have a covering, they got one. Their hair is their covering. I mean, that's what it says.
And Paul says in verse 16, but if any man seemed to be contentious
and wants to argue about this, you know what he's saying? This is the way it is. This is
the way it is in the churches. If you're going to argue about
it, go ahead, but that's not going to change the fact this
is the way it is. First Corinthians 15, I want
you to see this. in conclusion, what beauty there
is in Christ's willing submission to His Father. And 1 Corinthians
15 verse 24, Then come at the end, when He
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when
He shall have put down all rule and all authority, and power,
for he must reign till he hath put in all enemies under his
feet. The last enemy that should be destroyed is death, for he
hath put all things under his feet. But when he sayeth all
things are put under him, it's manifest that he's accepted,
which did put all things under him." Talking about the father,
the father's not under him. And when all things shall be
subdued unto him, then shall the son also himself be subject
unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all
in all." Isn't that beautiful? The son submitting himself to
the father. And in this thing of submission,
It's when willing, it's beautiful. I want to submit myself to the
Lord in every way. When blessed with a sense of
his love, a palace of toy would appear. Oh, it starts out content
with beholding his face. My all to his pleasure resigns. No changes of season or place
would make any change in my mind. When blessed with a sense of
his love, a palace, a toy would appear, and prisons would palaces
prove if Jesus would dwell with me there. At submission, content
with beholding his face. I need nothing else. What a glorious
thing it is that Christ is our head. He's my head. He's my identity. Do you remember when David said,
is there any left of the house of Saul that I can show kindness
to for Jonathan's sake? Remember that covenant he made
with Jonathan years before? They made an agreement. Jonathan
knew when you become king of the world, remember me and my
descendants. And he agreed to do it. And after
he has defeated all of his enemies, the scripture says, the fear
of David fell on every nation. This is how powerful this man
was. He was absolute authority. And he said, is there any that
I can show the kindness of God to for Jonathan's sake? And a man by the name of Ziba
said, yeah, there's one. He's not worth much. He's lame
in both of his feet. He can't work for you. He can't
be in your army. All he can be is carried, nothing
else. Jonathan, son, his name is Mephibosheth. And David said, go fetch him. He didn't say invite him over.
He said, go fetch him, bring him in. He couldn't get there
unless David fetched him there. And he's brought before David,
and David looks at him. And I know who he saw. He saw
Jonathan. That's the face he saw when he
looked at that poor, sinful, helpless man. He saw Jonathan. And he said, you're going to
set at my table. Jonathan said, who am I that
you'd look on such a dead dog as I? Well, he was doing it for
Jonathan's sake. And God does what he does for
Christ's sake. And when he sees you, he doesn't
see you, he sees his son and you in his son. What a glorious
thing to have him as my head. And to be submissive to one another. Submit yourselves to one another.
Why submit yourselves to your husband? Everybody submit yourselves
to one another. And you know when I was speaking of problems
with authority in our society, you know what fault it is? The
men. It's the man's fault. And that's
where all the problems come from. The men failing to be men. And may the Lord deliver us from
that and cause us men, may we be enabled to be like Joshua.
He says, for me and my house. We shall serve the Lord. Well, I believe in dealing with
that, we've heard the gospel. Christ is my head. Christ is
my identity. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for our
head, the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord, give us the grace to not
dishonor our head. We pray for your blessing upon
our homes. We pray for your blessing on
our marriages. We pray for your blessing upon
our children. Lord, we ask that we would be
enabled by your grace to have great respect for authority because
we know that all authority comes from you and that the powers
that be ordained of God teach us to be true respecters of authority. But most of all, Lord, let us
be. believers in thy son, and by
your grace, submit to him in all things. Bless this message
for Christ's sake. In his name we pray, amen. Let's stand and sing 125, Jesus
paid it all.