All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Having commended the church for their remembrance of the
apostles' admonitions given to him by the Lord, For the ministry,
for the glory of Christ, Paul set forth the divine order of
submission and the evidence of the submission of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Christ, whose head is God, as
He is the Mediator. Here's the evidence of it. He
finished the work. Now Paul is going to set forth
now, starting in verse 4, still dealing with this issue of submission,
all to the glory of Christ. Every aspect of submission that
is set forth, sets forth the glory of Him, Christ, who submitted
Himself. The man being in submission to
Christ, the woman being submission to the man, that is the setting
forth of Christ's glory as God's servant. What that means is it
glorifies Him when we find ourselves submitting ourselves as He has
set forth. Now, let's pick up in verse 4,
1 Corinthians Chapter 11 and verse 4, and speaking of the
evidence, the outward evidence of. Every man praying or prophesying
having his head covered dishonoreth his head. Now here Paul establishes
for a man to stand up and to pray and to preach publicly. and having his head covered for
religious reasons, even just humanly speaking. I mean, a man to stand up, it's
customary. Whenever a man comes into a building,
especially to stand up and preach, how disrespectful it would be
for customs sake. If a man were set up here and
had his hat on, baseball cap on, something like that, you'd
say, you know what, that bothers me. That's just not the way we
do it. But let me ask you this. What
has custom got? We don't do it. We don't want
it done. A man came in here with his hat
on, wouldn't take his hat off. I'd say, look, take your hat
off. A man, it's respectful, but there's a reason, and it's
a spiritual reason, it's a biblical reason, why a man does not pray
or preach with his hat on. It's given in verse 7 of this
chapter. For a man indeed ought not to
cover his head for as much as he is the image and glory of
God. We know that. We know that the
man has been set forth, a man and a woman, between a marriage.
What is that position that a man holds positionally before God? He's a picture of Christ. That's what Paul just said. Man
doesn't have his head covered because he's an image of the
glory of God. So a man wouldn't do it. But is it just because it's customary? No. The scripture says it's because
he is the image and glory of God. What does that mean? Where can we find out what that's
talking about? Well, to understand the dishonor. that would be given if a man
were to stand up and had a, you know, the Jews back in the Old
Testament. Here's where it started. The Jews in the Old Testament,
there was a turban on that priest. It was linen. I'm going to read
this. It's in Exodus 28. I'll read
it for you. You don't have to turn to it. It's Exodus 28, 39.
It says, the coat of fine linen and shall
make the miter." It was a turban of fine linen. It was emblematic
of something. What was it? What was the emblem
of that? Well, it was an emblem of the
service and the servitude and the submission of that high priest,
a picture of Christ, who was the servant of Jehovah. It was
a picture. So he was, the priest back in
the Old Testament, he had a hat on. I mean, they do it even today. You know, that fellow over there
in Rome. You know, he's got that big old
pointed hat or something like that. He's got that big hat on.
You've got the Jews. Ever seen that little old round
thing? It's about like that and they put it right here on the
back of their head, you know, it covers that bald spot. Stuff
like that. Just put that little old thing on there. Why do they
do that? Why do they do that? Well, here's
where it is. It started back in the Old Testament.
And the Scripture says in Exodus 29.6, And thou shalt put the
mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
There was a gold plate. Holiness to the Lord. And that
mitre, that turban, was worn by the high priest. who is a
picture of Christ. Now how do I know that it was
a picture of servitude? Of submission? How do I know
that? Because Christ declared, was declared to be my servant. My servant. His own description
of Himself. God's description of Him. My
servant. He shall finish the work. He
was the servant of Jehovah. And that covering right there
was placed upon His head. It was a divine ornament set
upon the servant in the temple, that high priest. Isaiah 52,
Behold my servant. shall deal prudently. He shall
be exalted and extolled and be very high. So I know this. There was a reason. It was a
sign. It was a symbol. God said, you
take that servant, the high priest in the Old Testament, and you
put a hat on him. Because he is in there serving
me. A picture of my beloved son.
He spoke from heaven. This is my beloved son whom I'm
well pleased. And that servant, that I mentioned
just a few minutes ago, he obeyed the Father in all points, every
step, every thought, and finally went to the cross itself. And
there he cried from the cross, John 19.30, it is finished. It is finished. Okay, now what
was finished? What was finished? Well, the
entirety The Levitical Law. It was honored. All of the types,
all of the pictures, all of the ceremonies were finished. And there were no more, there
were no more types, there were no more pictures, there was no
more shadows. Christ had come and had finished
the work and it was opened up and when He died and cried, it
is finished. The veil, that veil that covered
over that holy of holies that the high priest one year could
come into, one day a year, not without blood. It was nobody
looked at that, that high priest only. Go in there. And it was
opened up. It was rent, top to bottom. It
was open. No more shadows. No more pictures. No more types. It was over. And that turban that was a picture
and a type of the one who had been sent to finish the work,
given him by God, the servant of Jehovah. He finished the work. And all of the pictures, all
of the types, were removed. They don't have it. There is
God Almighty. They don't have any more types
and pictures. There's not a man clothed in
a priestly garment with stones on his head and shoulders and
turbans and sash and holiness. Christ has fulfilled the law. He's the end of the law. He's
the end of it. He's the end of it. So a man
now, to revert back, So those pictures, types, shadows, and
to go back and start wearing that covering that was nothing
more than a picture and a type of Jehovah's servant would actually
be disrespecting, dishonoring His head because Christ now has
fulfilled the law and now we don't go back to those pictures.
I'm wearing a suit here, it's just an appropriate clothing,
but I'm not wearing anything any different than any other
man's got a suit on. It's a suit, it's just a set of clothing. I don't have a collar that's
backwards that differentiates me from you. I don't have a hat,
I don't have a special turban. Why? Because Christ is the end
of the law. So therefore, every man praying,
prophesying, having his head covered as they set forth in
the Old Testament as a picture of Christ who would come to be
the servant to fulfill the law. He wears not now that servitude. He's finished the law. So a man now, he doesn't cover
his head because he's an image. That's what the verse said. The
man indeed ought not to cover his head for as much as he is
the image and he's the glory of Almighty God. The Lord Jesus
Christ, the husband of the bride, finished the work. So why does
a man not have a hat on? Why does he not have a turban
on? Because that picture and type has been put away. The servant
has come and now he's the exalted king. He's the master. He's the Lord of glory. Verses
5 to 9. But every woman that prayeth
or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head,
for that is even all one, as if she were shaven. For if the
woman be not covered, let her also be shorn. 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. Neither was the man created for
the woman, but the woman for the man." Now what is he saying?
Just as the man is a picture, an image, of the glory of God
in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he does not wear
a hat, religiously speaking. He doesn't wear a hat to set
forth that he is the servant, because Christ the servant has
already fulfilled the law and the pictures are over. So he
does it just as a man should not wear a covering because of
the dishonor to the Lord. It dishonors his finished works,
what it does. It's what He's saying. He's saying,
well, we're going to go back to the law. And you're saying that Christ
never finished it. Christ has finished it. It's over. Just
as a man does not wear a covering for a woman, it's said to be
dishonoring to her head. It's dishonoring to the man who
is a picture of Christ. It's dishonoring to her. But it's dishonoring if she doesn't
have a covering. If a woman does not have a covering,
it's the same as if she'd just be shaven. A symbol of unfaithfulness
or suspected unfaithfulness. I'll just tell you this, Numbers
5 verses 11 to 18. I'm not going to go into it for
the sake of time. Numbers 5, 11 to 18. But there
was a law that was given. And if a man suspected He didn't
have any proof, but just suspected that his wife was unfaithful.
He'd take her to the priest, and there was a drink that the
priest would make up, make her drink it. And if she was guilty,
the Lord divinely would, she'd swell up and her thighs would
rot and stuff like this. And just being suspected of doing
it. And shave her head for suspecting. But now with the bride of Christ,
there's no spot. There's no blemish in her. There's
no suspecting of her. But the point that I wanted to
make is that part of being shaven. If he suspected that she was
unfaithful, they would shave her head as a token of even giving
her husband reason to think that she might be unfaithful. So for
a woman to not have a covering, Be as if she were shaving. For
a woman to not have a covering, it would be a symbol of suspected
unfaithfulness. Suspected of being disrespectful
to her husband. So here's the reason that a woman
should be covered. She's a picture of the church.
The reason that a woman should be covered. Just as that That
man back in the Old Testament, that high priest, he was a servant,
he was in submission, he was a submission to God, he was a
picture. The woman in type in this world
is in submission. So for her to not have that hat
on, that picture of a servant and submission and under authority,
for her not to have would be disrespectful. It's a picture
of her servitude and being in agreement with God's divine order
concerning the honor of Christ. She bows to that. She believes
it. My husband is my head. She knows
that she was taken out of the man. A regenerated woman knows
that she's the weaker of the vessels, and she's needy. Still,
being a picture of Christ providing for his bride, she recognizes
her position, and she knows that man was not created for the woman,
but the woman was created for the man. Every woman knows that. What does that mean? The man
was not created for the woman, the woman created for the man.
What does that mean? Christ was not created for the bride. The
bride was created for Him. That's what He's saying. So the
bride was created for Christ. Father gave Him a bride. And
so to be covered is a symbol, would be a respectful symbol
of her submission. A man, he doesn't wear it because
of the dishonor that he gives Christ who finished the work.
The woman is to have a covering because of that symbol of being
in submission. So that covering, that hiding,
it's a picture of being needy, being weak, being in submission,
being respectful. First time that it's ever mentioned. about that hiding is in Genesis,
I'll read this again, 24-65. Abraham's servant had gone and
gotten Isaac a wife. Her name was Rebekah. And the
servant's bringing her back. And they're coming up and they
see this fella out there in the field. And Rebekah asked Abraham's
servant, who's that? And here's what happened. What
man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant
had said, this is my master. That's Isaac. That's the one
I'm bringing you for. That's the one that you're to
be his wife. That's your husband right there.
Therefore she took a veil and covered herself. Why? It was
a token or show of modesty, of reverence. and subjection. So
why would a woman, why should she have a covering on? It's
a picture. It's a type. It's a show. The subjection to her husband,
but yes, the greater picture is the bride's subjection to
Christ. That's why she should have it
on. The seraphims, whenever they stood above the Lord who was
sitting on the throne, Isaiah, they were high and lifted up,
these seraphims, And Isaiah saw them. And they had six wings,
each of them. Two of them, they covered their
face. Two of them, they covered their feet. Two of them, they
did fly. Why? Modest. Modest in subjection
to the Almighty God. That was the reason. Whenever
God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, What did Moses
do? The Scripture says Moses hid
his face out of fear and respect as God Almighty spoke to him
in Exodus chapter 3. So the Scripture sets forth.
It says, Every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head
uncovered dishonoreth her head, for that she is even as one as
if she were shaven. If she doesn't have a covering,
it's like she's unfaithful. unfaithful, disrespectful. She used to be modest, and she
used to be in subjection to, and have her head and her face
covered, and you know, don't look, I'm not worthy, I'm not
worthy. That's what's being pictured. She should be shown, and the
reason being, verse 7, because the woman is the glory of the
man. The woman, the bride, is the
glory of the man, Christ Jesus. The man's not of the woman, the
woman's of the man. Neither was the man created for
the woman, the woman for the man. But then look at verse 10.
For this cause ought the woman to have power or covering on
her head because of the angels. Now there's many thoughts upon
this passage and as to its true and glorious meaning. I'm going to tell you what, in
keeping with the context. And if you want to know what
a scripture means, What is being talked about? Don't take it out of the context
and try to get the meaning out of something that's not even
talked about. What is being talked about? It's talking about submission. It's talking about reverence
and it's talking about respect. For this cause ought the woman
to have power on her head. The marginal reading is a covering,
a sign that she's under the power. of her husband, not usurping
the authority over her. If a woman would be uncovered,
it would be like she's saying, I don't like the position God
put me in. It would be like the bride saying,
I don't like the position that Christ put me in. I want to be
the head. No, dishonor, dishonor. So this
part is, the woman, scripture says, this cause ought the woman
to have power on her head. Okay, but what is this part about
the angels? Because of the angels. Now I'm
going to stay with the context of what's being talked about.
It's talking about the submission because of the angels. Meaning,
in which I will say that I do thank the Lord and bow to the
truth that there are the ministering spirits that are sent forth to
minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation. I don't doubt
for one second that Almighty God who has sent heavenly beings,
angels, to watch over God's people and to guard them and protect
them. I have no idea what we've been kept from. But the Scripture
says that they are ministering spirits sent forth to minister
for them. But in keeping with the context,
a woman should have her head A woman ought to have power on
her head because of the angels, the ministers. That's what angels
means. It means messengers. Because
of the message, because of what she's heard through the messengers,
the preachers. She's heard something. God has
taught her something. And she's in respect to it. She
ought to have a cover on her head because of the message. that's been brought to her from
God through God's preachers. So then verses 11 and 12, nevertheless,
nevertheless, 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 are of God. Now
with this discourse that has been given to the woman about
the care that should be taken concerning her subjection to
the man. The Spirit of God moved upon
the apostle to remind both men and women of what he's been talking
about, a man that should not have a covering on his head.
Why? Because of the disrespect it gives to the finished work
of Christ. He finished it. He finished it.
We don't have those symbols anymore setting forth him. set forth
Christ. Every part of that outfit, that
priest's war, set forth Christ. So a man shouldn't, and a woman
should, should have a covering on her head. But Paul says, but
I want to tell you both something. While we're men and women, while
we live, nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman,
neither is the woman without the man, in the Lord. Whereas
the woman is of the man, even so the man also is by the woman.
All things are of God. We were both created for and
stand in need of each other, men and women, unless men should
become too high and mighty and overbearing and harsh toward
their wives. And look upon them, those that
have been set forth to be in subjection to, now unless men
should be too haughty and lifted up, feeling that somehow they
stand in a position of independence Or that a woman should feel,
because of her position of submission to her husband, that she's nothing
more than a slave. A slave without a voice, or a
slave without a spirit. They need to be reminded of something. Now listen, both of us, we need
each other. That's what he says. In verse
11. Nevertheless, neither is the
man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in
the Lord. We need each other. Now yes, the woman was first
taken out of the man. We know that. We know that God
said that the woman was taken out of the man. We know that
God removed a rib from Adam. We know that. Where did the woman
come from? She came out of the man. So the
woman set forth in the Scriptures right here is the woman, verse
12, is of the man. Where did she come from? She
came out of the man. But since then, where does the
man come from? He comes out of the woman. That's
what he's saying. For as the woman is of the man,
even so is the man also by the woman. God took the woman first
out of a man, but now He takes a man out of the woman. That's
in natural childbirth. So all these things are divinely
set forth and ordered by God Himself and leaves us no reason. Fellas, we don't have anything
to brag over positionally. We're to watch over our wives
and take care of them. Yes, sir. But don't ever forget
where we came from. God took Eve out of Adam, but
He took everybody else out of the woman from there. So judge
for yourself. Verse 6. Judge in yourself. Is
it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? But just judge
for yourself, is it proper for a woman to act outside of her
God-given position? Is it honorable? We need each
other. Yes, we do. Yes, we do. But don't
ever forget, God still has an order. Since the Lord has given
a woman a station, a position of being a picture, a type of
Christ, one in subjection and submissive to her husband, a
type of the Lord Jesus, Is it humbly? Is it proper for her
to not continually set forth the manifestation of that position? Is it right? Well, obviously,
it's not right. It's not humbly. It's not proper
for a woman to pray or prophesy or even hear. It's not right. for a woman to hear the Word
of God being preached without being covered. It's not right. Shouldn't a woman set forth a
picture or type or token of her submission? Is that not right?
But now we're going to get down to the heart of it. Right here.
This is the part you've been wanting to know. Right here. What is the evidence? What is the proper token of submission? Does the physical covering truly
exhibit or reveal submission of the heart? Let me ask you
something. You can take and put a hat on
a woman. A woman can take and put a hat
on. She can put a doily on. She can do, I mean, whatever.
She can put on it. Let me ask you this. Is that
the evidence of submissive heart? Anybody can put a hat on. Anybody! Does that mean that there is
a submissiveness of her spirit? Should she not truly be covered,
but should that covering not truly reveal the evidence of
her heart? Reminded me of the little boy
they said about, he was standing up in the back of the car. His
daddy said, sit down. He said, no. And he said, I said
sit down. He jerked him down. He was sitting
down. He said, now. Now you're sitting down. He said,
yeah, but I'm still standing up in my heart. Does that mean
that just because she puts on, what is, should she have a covering? Let me ask you this. Should a
woman have a covering? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. And if she doesn't, if she doesn't,
it's a sign or a token of rebellion and resentment before God and
disrespect to God's order. Should she have a covering? Yes. It is a shame if she doesn't. But what is it? What is it? Is
it that little doily? Is it? Hold your place. Turn with me to 1 Peter 3. 1
Peter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3 verses 1 to 6.
Likewise ye wives be in subjection to your own husbands. Now let
me ask you this. Do you think that we're still
talking about the same thing he's been talking about? Yes
sir. What's he talking about? He's talking about submission
of a wife to her husband. Likewise you wives be in subjection
to your own husbands. that if any obey not the word,
they also may without the word be won by the conversation, by
the walk, by the manner of living of their wives. While they behold
your chaste conversation, your walk that is consistent, that
walk that honors the gospel, that gives glory to Christ. Behold
your chaste conversation coupled with fear and respect for God.
Who's adorning? Okay, now let's talk about the
adorning right now. Who's adorning? Let it not be
that outward adorning of plaiting of the hair, wearing of gold,
or putting on of apparel, but let it be the hidden man of the
heart in that which is not corruptible. even the ornament of a meek and
quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God, of great price. For after this manner, in the
old time, the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves,
being in subjection unto their own husbands." What was their
sign? What was the sign? What was that
token? Did he put a hat on? No, no, no, no. It wasn't the
outward adorning. That wasn't the token. No, the
token was that meek and quiet spirit, which was in the sight
of God. Great price. That was her adorning. Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham,
calling him Lord, whose daughters ye are, as long as you do well
and not afraid with any amazement. What is the adorning? Should a woman have a covering? Yes. If she does not have a covering,
is it a problem? Yes! It means that there's shame
there. She might as well just be shaven
and play the part, because this is her heart. If she will not
be in submission to God Almighty's position that He's placed her
in as being a picture of the church in submission of Christ.
If she has no heart for that, she has no adorning, no covering
for a head, but what is her covering? It's that meek, not the outward,
that meek and quiet spirit. There's nothing that is more
adorning to a wife. There's nothing that's more adorning
to a husband that loves his wife and cares for her and watches
over her, protects her, speaks respectfully to her because he's
a picture of Christ and does it because of Christ who has
finished the work, given Him life. And there's nothing that
is more adorning and more beautiful in the sight of God, that's what
we say, than that adorning of a meek and quiet spirit. So I say, well I think it ought
to, I think it should be, you know, it ought to be this, it
ought to be that. God said this is what it is. God Almighty said
this is that spirit, that submissive and loving spirit is the token
of her love for her husband before God and love for Him. And as
the Lord has made a believing woman to be submissive in her
heart to her head, and He's made a believing man to be submissive
to his head and listen to his head, as Christ loved the church,
husbands, you love your wife. keep their own position, right
there, for the glory of God. And then verse 14 says, I'll
wrap this up. Verse 14 says, Does 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 a glory
to her, for her hair is given her for a covering. Now it doesn't
even nature. Now here again, let's don't get
out of the context. Let's don't start getting into,
you know, Is long hair three inches or six inches? How long
is long? My dad used to ask me this just
to show me how stupid sometimes my questions were. He'd say,
how long is a string? Well, I don't know. How long
is long? But what is he talking about?
He's talking about maintaining the position that you were given,
that a man and a woman maintain their position. Doesn't even
nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, now
the wonder of this is that long hair is spoken of in 14 and 15,
if a woman have long hair. So I looked it up just to find
out what does that mean. Actually it doesn't have anything
to do with the length of the hair. It has everything to do with
the way that the hair is presented concerning a woman and the way
that it means long, the word long right there actually means
tresses, tresses of hair. It has to do with the curls or
the locks of a hair as a woman wears her hair. God has given
a woman Her hair, the scripture sets forth, as her covering. This is a beautiful picture of
that quiet and meek spirit. And it's a glory to her. That's
the word of verse 3. If a woman has tresses of hair,
beautiful hair as a woman is given. It's a glory to her. But
don't let a man, don't let a man try to wear his hair. It has
nothing to do with length. Now I'm going to be honest with
you. Believe this or not, when I was in school, I used to have
hair, and it was longer. It was longer. And it was nothing
that I had that was respectful. Believe me, it was not. And I
don't really like to see, you know, someone that's unruly and
unkept and stuff like this. I don't like that. I think, you
know, get a haircut. Just get a haircut. Make it neat
and make it look... Be as a man. I'm not trying to
look like a woman. I don't want to wear my hair
in tresses or in the style or in the custom of a woman. Customs come, customs go. I understand
that. But Paul is sitting here, he
said, nature teaches that a man to have long hair is a shame
unto him. That is for a man to try to act in the position of
a woman. That's what he's talking about.
The man was created to be a picture of Christ. a picture of the bride. Don't let a man try to change
that position. It's a shame. It does not glorify
God. Let a man and a woman be a man
and a woman. Man and woman. That's how God
created it. Don't try to cross sides. Let
the sexes be as they are, as God created them. It's suitable. Even in the Song of Solomon,
God spoke of the hair of the bride as being her glory. What is it about the hair of
a woman? And remember, a woman is being
a picture of the bride. What is it about her hair that
is spoken of as being glorious? Well, it comes out of the head. It's attached to the head. A
picture of the bride attached to Christ, all of its nourishment
comes out of the head. All of its beauty comes out of
the head. So if nature teaches that a man to have or to act
like or to try to take the position as a woman, it's a shame to him. That's not the position that
God placed him in. But if a woman had the hair of
a woman, long hair, it's a glory to her for her hair is given
her for a covering. But then Paul sums this up in
verse 16. If any man seemed to be contentious,
well, I think a woman ought to wear a doily. Well, I'm going to tell you this,
if she thinks that that doily is going to make her closer to
God, it's not. That's not the way God set it
forth. I think a man ought to do this,
I think if any If they seem to be contentious,
here's what the Apostle Paul says, we have no such custom. We have no such custom. And these
are matters that don't need to be debated or argued over. If someone, if a woman, I'm going
to tell you right now as I told you a while ago, if a woman desires
to wear a head, a dress, a covering, a doily, a day cap, as long as
you realize if it's an adorning of just part of her clothing
or something, that's fine. It's okay. It's okay. It's okay.
We're not going to make an issue over that. We don't argue over
this. Paul says if any man seems to
be contentious, we don't have any custom concerning this. We
don't. If someone would like to wear
one, or if you'd like to, as I said a while ago, if you want
to put a barrette in your hair, that's okay. That's okay. That's
okay. The true ornament is the meek
and quiet spirit. The reason a man doesn't wear
the hat is because it honors the Lord who finished the work.
The reason a woman wears an ornament, the meek and quiet spirit, is
it sets forth her being in submission to her husband. I pray the Lord
might be pleased to bless these things and to answer the questions
that we might have concerning is it right or is it wrong. The
scriptures has set forth the truth of it. For Christ's sake
and for our good. Amen.