1 Corinthians 11. In verse 1,
Paul says, Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. He begins by exhorting the Corinthian
believers and us to follow him, follow his doctrine, to follow
his example of a godly walk. But now, he doesn't tell anyone
to follow him blindly. to follow Him without discernment.
You know, you hear that a lot of times from preachers telling
you to, you know, follow them. They tell you that because they
want a hearing. So they tell you, well, you must follow me.
And what they mean is you've got to support me. You've got
to defend me. You know, no matter what he preaches,
no matter what he does in the pulpit or out of the pulpit,
you know, you've got to follow me because I'm a pastor. Well,
you know, that's not what Scripture teaches. And that's certainly
not what Paul's saying here because he says, be you followers of
me. even as I also am of Christ." You know, we do follow God's
servants, but only as they follow Christ. We follow the preaching
of our pastor as it glorifies Christ, as his preaching, as
his message points us to Christ. We follow his example, his example
of faith, his example of a walk through this world as he follows
Christ. See, Paul's not telling us to
be followers of him so he can Show everybody what a great leader
he is. Look at all these numbers of people, you know, they're
following me. We're told to be followers of God's servants for
one reason. That we be led to Christ. That's
the point. That's the point of everything
that we're doing here. Is to, through our preaching,
through our teaching, to lead sinners to Christ. That's the
whole point. That's the only point we have.
That's the only goal that we have. to point people to the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's our point, and that's
why Paul tells people to be followers of him. And he goes on in verse
2, he says, Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me
in all things, and ye keep the ordinances as I delivered them
to you. Now Paul praises them for how they had continued to
follow him, to follow his teaching, to follow his doctrine, even
in his absence. You know true faith. will follow
Christ. Guarantee it. God-given faith
will always follow Christ, no matter who's there physically
and who's not there. True faith will follow Christ.
You know, we never get to the point that we don't need pastors
and teachers. Never get to that point. But
you do get to the point you don't need John to hold your hand every
minute of the day and tell you every little thing, how to go
through your day and how to go through your life. You don't
need that if you've been taught of God. So even in Paul's absence,
they did continue to follow his teaching. And he gave praise
where praise is due, no doubt. But you know, here we've studied
through the first 10 chapters of this epistle. You know, there's
some things Paul's writing to correct. And he is going to do
that here in this chapter. There's a couple of things he
needs to correct. You follow my teaching, but here's
some things that need to be corrected. And he begins that in verse 3.
He says, But 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 Christ is the head of all
men. He's the creator. He's the one
who gives life. He's the one who sustains life.
He's the one that provides everything that we have, everything that
we need. And when we say that Christ is the head of all men,
what we mean is he's sovereign. He's the head. He's sovereign.
Look over in John chapter 17. John 17, verse two, as thou hast
given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given him. That's sovereign. That's
being the head, having power over all flesh and being able
to give eternal life to as many as God elected, as many as God
gave him. So he's the head of all men.
And Christ is the head of the church. Christ is the head of
all men. Some men may rebel against that
authority, against that leadership, against that headship, but not
in the church. Christ is the head of the church.
He's the head. We're the body. The head. is where all the glory resides.
He's the head. The head is where all the faculties,
all the intelligence resides. The head is the one that has
all the facilities to be able to take care of the rest of the
body. Christ is the head of the church.
Look over in Colossians chapter 1. Colossians 1, let's look here
at verse 15. who is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn of every creature. He's the king, the head of every
creature. For by him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by him and for him, and he is before
all things, and by him all things consist. He's the head, and he's
the head of the body. who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
He's the head. And the head, like I said, has
all the glory, all the preeminence of the body. Now, in that same
way, Scripture teaches us that the husband is the head of the
wife. And you know, that's a whole lot more than just being the
boss that can order people around. That being the head of the wife
is a whole lot more than that. Being the head means to love
her, to love the wife as Christ loved the church. It means to
provide for her as Christ provides for the church. It means to protect
her and to care for her as the head, as Christ protects the
church and cares for the church. Look over in Ephesians chapter
5. In Ephesians 5 verse 22. Wives,
submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For
the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head
of the church, and he is the Savior of the body. Therefore,
as the church is subject unto Christ, so let wives be to their
own husbands in everything." And listen, I understand human
nature. I got one. I understand human
nature. I understand that being subject
to the authority of someone else crosses that fleshly nature.
It just does. That's why people want to be
in business for themselves so they don't have a boss. Because
we do not want to be in subjection to someone else. And I understand
that can be hard to do. But the answer to this thing
of being in subjection to your husband, the answer is Christ. You know, when Janet finishes
her lesson with the little ones back here, She tricks them into
teaching them more. She gets them color, and then
she starts asking them questions, you know, so they don't know
she's teaching them more. She doesn't really know, they
don't really know they're answering these questions. And whenever
she asks them a question, and they don't know the answer, they
kind of get nervous, they start looking at each other, and she
says, they answer God. Because they know that's the
answer to everything. You know, that's got to be a
good answer, God. And it is! He's the answer to everything,
isn't He? And the answer to this issue, being in subjection to
your husband, the answer is the Lord Jesus Christ. Because look
at the end of this verse three. Look what he says. And the head
of Christ is God. Christ is the answer to this
question now. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ
is equal with the Father, completely equal. He is no less God than
God the Father. We know that, don't we? He has
the same divine power. He has the same perfection, the
same holiness, the same eternality. Before Abraham was, he said,
I am. He is fully God. And yet he willingly
put himself in subjection to the father to be the savior of
his people. He put himself in subjection
to the father to be the mediator of the covenant of grace. came
incarnate, came to this world to do the will of the Father,
as a servant to the Father. Even though he's equal in every
way with the Father, he put himself in subjection to the Father as
a servant. Why? For the good of his people. That's why. And wives are equal
to their husbands in many ways. Typically not physical strength
or whatever, but they can be just as smart. They have just
as much understanding and ability in many ways. But you put yourself
in subjection to your husband for the good of the home. Christ
put himself in subjection to the Father for the good of his
people. Wives, submit yourselves to your husband, to his authority,
his God-given authority, for the good of your home. I promise
you this. Do it God's way. Your home will
run better. You'll have a happier home. I
can say that without reservation, you'll have a happier home. And
that doesn't make you less of a person. It doesn't make you
less of a woman. It certainly doesn't make you
a second class citizen. Did Christ become a second class
citizen when he put himself in subjection to the Father? Of
course not. He came to save his people from
their sins and really in that way was glorified. And you'll
have glory and honor from the Father. by doing it God's way,
putting yourself in subjection to your husband, because he's
the head of the home. Now verse 4, Every man praying
or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head.
But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head
uncovered, dishonoreth her head. For that is even all as if she
were shaving. For if the woman be not covered,
let her also be shorn. But if it be a shame, if you
think it's a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, then let
her be covered. Now, I did a lot of reading on
these verses this week. I've actually kind of wondered
about these verses, you know. But every commentator I read
on these verses, they all agree that these verses are teaching
about the custom of that country at that time in that day. And
what it's teaching us is we should follow the customs of our country
of the times that we live in. as long as those customs do not
violate the word of God. He's not telling all you women
you've got to start wearing hats to church. What he's saying is
follow the customs of the times as long as it doesn't violate
the word of God. Because this head covering he's
talking about here is really, it's not just a hat, it's an
all-encompassing veil. And that's not a commandment
of God. That's a Jewish law or Muslim law or custom of some
sort. Now, at this time in history, if a man prayed publicly, well,
he would never, ever cover his head because to them, their custom,
that would show that he had some authority over his head other
than Christ, other than God. Now, today you see the Jews and
Muslims and people, they wear prayer caps. I mean, I guess,
I don't know why, I guess customs and times have changed or whatever.
They never pray without a hat on their head. just a different
custom, I reckon. I don't know that much about
it, but I know it's different. And at the same time, if a woman
then, if she went out in public without her veil or covering,
it would be a great shame. It would be a great shame because
that would be looked upon as an act of rebellion against authority.
So if a woman would come to the worship service and she'd take
off her veil or her covering, Society would see that as an
act of rebellion against her husband and an act of rebellion
against God. She'd be showing people publicly
she did not agree with God, that it was right for a woman to be
in subjection to her husband. She would be showing she disagreed
with God in her judgment for her part in the fall. And that
would be shameful. It would be just as shameful
as if you walked down the road with your head shaved. I mean,
women just, you know, you don't do that. It's looked on as odd
or whatever. It would be just as much of a,
it would stand out just as much. And when Paul talks about women
praying and prophesying, he's not meaning that they in public
worship service, you know, in both men and women, they pray
aloud or preach. He's talking about taking part,
attending the worship service where there's prayer and preaching.
And what he's teaching us here is to conform to the custom of
the day. So that your dress doesn't become
a focal point. So your dress doesn't become
a distraction in the worship service. You know, whenever I
teach or preach, I wear a suit. Because that's our custom. It's
not because it makes me more holy or whatever. It's our custom. It's dressing more formally to
show respect for the pulpit, for what we're doing, for the
teaching of God's Word. And that's our custom. Now, if
I came in and, you know, I'm hot-blooded. I mean, to me, it's
hot in here. I'd be much more comfortable
in the way I go to work every day in slacks and a golf shirt.
But I don't do it because it would be a distraction to you
because you're used to seeing, you know, preachers dressed this
way. So that's fine. That's what we do. But if I go to Mexico,
I'm not going to dress to preach. I'm not going to dress like this.
I'm going to wear my short-sleeved shirt and slacks. Because that's
what they wear. And this dress would be a distraction
to them. And the whole point is, don't
become a distraction at the worship service because of the way you
dress or whatever. And look nice when you come to
the worship service. But remember, you're not going
to a fashion show. Remember last week, verse 15,
back in chapter 10, I speak as to wise men. Judge ye what I
say. You've got the wisdom to know
the difference and how you ought to dress. And you ought to look
nice when you come to the worship service. But now listen, I'd
a whole lot rather somebody come in here in rags and hear the
gospel than stay away because they're afraid that I don't look
nice enough and that we look down our nose at them because
they don't dress up to our standards. I'd a whole lot rather they come
dressed however they are to hear the gospel. And just don't get
too caught up in dressing. I know we all look nice, but
we need to remember this. God's worshipped from the heart.
He's not worshipped from our outward appearance. He's worshipped
from the heart. And you're not closer to God if you wear a hat. You don't have to wear one. Now,
I know people that feel like they ought to. And if you feel
like you ought to, that's fine and dandy. Do it. The only advice
I have on that is this. Don't wear a derby hat. You know,
those great big things they wear that nobody can see. You know,
if you do, sit in the back row because it's going to be a distraction,
you know. But that's not what it's not
teaching that you have to wear it. What it's teaching us is
don't have your dress which however you choose to address, be a distraction
from the worship service. Now, verse 7, for a man indeed
ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image
and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. Now,
remember, he's still talking about the custom of the time,
that men didn't cover their head. If he did, it showed he had some
authority over him other than God. And that's reversed today. You know, today, kings wear crowns. They wear a head covering and
their subjects take off their hats in the presence of the king.
You know, it's different. But in that day, a man who's
a believer ought to conform to the customs of the day. To show
that he agreed with God's order. And he showed that by not covering
his head. Now, Adam was created in the likeness of God. God said,
let us make man in our image. And he was created to show the
glory of God. Adam and all men after Adam did
a mighty poor job of that. But that's why he was created
in the image of God. Adam was created to be the representative
on earth of God's authority. And the same thing applies today
in the home. He's the representative of God's authority in the home.
Now Eve, she was created out of Adam, out of his rib, to be
a helpmate for Adam. She was created to be the representative
of her husband, the glory of her husband. Now, a man can bring
shame on God and God's creation through our sin and through our
rebellion, or he can bring glory to God in worship and in godly
walk. And in the same way, a woman
can bring shame on her husband through bad public behavior and
so forth, or she can bring glory to her husband through a kind,
gracious, loving personality. And when she does that, she's
a reflection of her husband's leadership. If a husband will
lead according to God's word, then his wife will have the freedom
and the ability to be kind and gracious. You know, if he's mean
and he's ugly to her and he's always beating her down, well,
she's got to protect herself. She's got to be hard. But if
he's a good leader, a loving leader, as Christ loves the church,
then she'd be kind. gracious, and she'll be a reflection
of her husband's leadership in the home. You know, it baffles
me. I mean, I do know why, because
it's man's depraved nature, but why men look down on their wives
and talk about their wives like, you know, the old lady in the
ball and chain, these things. She's not your enemy. She's not a detraction. Scripture
says she's your glory. We'll treat her that way. That's
what he's teaching us. Adam was created to be the ruler. The ruler of the earth. The leader
in the home. And Eve was created to be a helpmate
for Adam. To be in subjection to him. And
in our day, men and women love to reverse those roles. It's
astounding. just so willingly look for ways
to shrug off the responsibilities of leadership, to shrug off the
responsibilities of being the leader in their home, the protector
of their home, the provider of their home. They're willing to
just shrug all that off. Just let their wife make all
the decisions and follow her, you know. Just let them rule
the rule of the home. And women, they don't want to
be in subjection to their husbands, so they try to take the lead
and lead their husbands around and so forth. And God didn't
make either for that role. God made the man to be the leader
in the home and he made the wife to be in subjection to him. And
when we try to reverse those roles, what we're showing is
I disagree with God's way. And really, we're not talking
about being in rebellion to God's way so much. What he's talking
about here is giving the appearance of that by not following the
customs of the day and giving an appearance of being in rebellion.
to God's way. Now he goes on, verse 8, he says,
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 was created for
the man. The man wasn't made for the woman. He wasn't made
to be in subjection to the woman. He was made to be in subjection
to God and to be the leader, the ruler. Man was made for God's
glory, to serve God. He is made to lead his to love
her. He has the ability to provide
for her and protect her. And the woman was made to be
in help me to her husband. And she was physically made to
be in subjection to him. Look over in Genesis chapter
3. This is God's judgment in the fall because of her part
in the fall. Genesis 3 verse 16. Under the woman, he said, I will
greatly multiply thy sorrow in my conception. In sorrow thou
shalt bring forth children, and my desires shall be to thy husband,
and he shall rule over thee." See, this is God's way. This
is God's way that he announced in judgment after the fall. Now,
Paul's talking to believers. In his epistle here, he's talking
to believers. And God's commandments are not
grievous to his people. God's commandment is not grievous
to his children. God's children see those commandments
as good and right. Look over 1 John chapter 3. God's way, God's commandments,
his law is good and right. In John 5 verse 3. For this is
the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments
are not grievous. They're not grievous to a believer.
You've been born with the nature of God. His commandments are
not grievous to you. That's why David could say, I
love thy law, because God's commandments are not grievous. Now, verse
10, back in our text. For this cause ought the woman
to have power on her head because of the angels. Now, for this
cause, not in order to be holy. You know, wearing a hat doesn't
make you more holy. That's not the cause. The cause is because
of the custom of that day, that a woman wearing a veil is showing
a symbol, an outward symbol of submission to her husband. So
since that's the case, in that day, Paul's saying to those people
who lived in that day, since that's the case, wear a veil. So nobody else will be mistaken
into thinking that you're in rebellion against God, or that
you're in rebellion against your husband. Look over in Genesis
chapter 4. This is what Rebekah did. In
Genesis 24, and she did it because that's the custom of the day.
Genesis 24, verse 61, this is when the servant came to get
a wife for Isaac. In verse 61, Genesis 24, and
Rebekah arose in her damsels and they rode upon the camels
and followed the man. And the servant took Rebekah
and went his way. And Isaac came from the way of the well of for he dwelt in the south country. And Isaac went out to meditate
in the field at the eventide. And he lifted up his eyes, and
he saw, and behold, the camels were coming. And Rebekah lifted
up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel."
Boy, she jumped off that camel right quick. "'For she had said
unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field
to meet And the servant had said, it's my master. Therefore, she
took a veil and covered herself, because this is going to be her
husband. And she showed right from the start, submission to
her husband. And the servant told Isaac all
the things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his
mother Sarah's tent and took Rebecca. And she became his wife. And he loved her. See, it has
to be both. She showed submission to him.
He loved her. And Isaac was comforted after
his mother's death. See, that's the way that it's
supposed to be. That's the way it's supposed
to work. She showed submission to him, but he loved her. So
another reason here Paul gives to conform to the custom of the
day and show this sign that you agree with God's way, because
of the angels. Now that could mean evil angels.
Eve was deceived by Satan, the evil woman. And make no mistake,
evil spirits still roam this earth and they'll capitalize
on that rebellious heart if they see it. They think they can get
a foothold. If they see a foothold in the church, they're going
to seize that opportunity. So he says, don't give them one.
Or it could mean the elect angels, the angels who minister among
the elect, who would be grieved. by an open show of rebellion.
It's not just the folks here who could be grieved by it, it's
the angels, he says. So for that reason, he says,
you're conformed to the image, the custom of the day that you
don't show yourself in rebellion to God. Now verse 11, nevertheless,
neither is the man without the woman, and neither the woman
without the man and the Lord. For as the woman is of the man,
even so is the man also by the woman. But all things of God.
Now here Paul gives a warning to men. Don't get carried away
with this authority business now. Don't become harsh and overbearing. And think somehow that you're
independent of your wife. That you don't need her. That
she's just there to serve you. Now don't fall into that thinking. That thinking is error. God created
the woman for the good of the man. Because God in His wisdom
Saul, it's not good that the man dwell long. And men, we don't
need a servant. We need a wife. A wife. Men and women need each other
for love, for comfort, for companionship, so that they become one flesh.
And you don't look down on your own flesh. You're one flesh.
Just like Rebecca, Isaac took her and loved her and what'd
she do? She was there to comfort him when Sarah died. See, we
need each other. And it is the will of God that
a wife be in subjection to her husband. And it's the will of
God that husbands love their wives and cherish their wives
and never abuse that authority. And don't just get too carried
away. Well, you know, now the woman came out of the man. Well,
that's true. Eve did. She came out of Adam's rib, didn't
she? Every other man who's ever walked
on this earth came from a woman. So don't think you don't need
her. That's what he's saying. Even our Lord Jesus, the seed
of woman wasn't he? Came from a woman. So I'm mighty
thankful for women. Now verse 13. Now judge this
in yourselves. Is it comely that a woman pray
unto God uncovered? Well on that day, no. Does not
even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair,
it's a shame unto him? Now, judge this yourselves. You've
got the discernment to know these things. You know, in our day,
you've got the sense to know how to dress and how to conduct
yourselves appropriately. The last thing I will ever be
is the clothes police, you know, as soon as everybody's dressed
just right. First of all, because I'm unqualified,
you know, I've got to ask my wife and daughter, can I wear
these colors together? You know, and then I've got to
remember, okay, yeah, they said I can wear, you know, these two colors together,
because I'd just be completely unqualified. But second of all,
someone who just sets himself up as the clothes police, he
just makes himself self-righteous. That's what it'll lead to every
time. I'm going to be the hair police and tell people how long
their hair ought to be. You know how long your hair.
I mean, my wife tells me all the time, I don't know. I don't
want to burn my hair. I just love it. And she said,
you don't know nothing. That's why she cuts my hair and
never does it the way I want it, because she said it looks
better. I'd be unqualified to be the hair police. When I was
a kid, we lived up in Michigan. I don't remember this. Mom told
me a story. Past their time. Told a man to put their hand
on the back of their neck there on their collar. He said, the
top of your hand touches your hair, your hair's too long. Surely
to goodness, he's got better things to do than that. Surely,
if he knows the gospel, he's got better things to do than
that. And you know, you've got the sense to know how to come
to worship service. And through the rest of your
life. But here's what he's teaching us here, something we need to
remember. They do. Not just look like men, but act
like men. Be a man. Stand up and be a man. Be a leader. And be strong. Not just physically, but be a
strong, positive leader in your home. Watch out for your family. Teach them in love as Christ
is the head of the church. And women ought to look like
women. Do it in the custom of the day. You don't have to wear
hats. Years ago, you never saw a woman out in public wearing
pants. That was just a horrible shame. Well, today you do all
the time and nobody thinks anything of it. It's fine. As long as
you don't violate God's Word, follow the custom of the day.
Be feminine. Be tender. Be kind. The world
needs that. The world needs that and your
home needs that. That's what you give your home.
So do that. And verse 16, Paul says, but if any man seem to
be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches
of God. You know, if somebody wants to argue with this, just
know this. All the apostles agreed on this matter. And observe the
customs of the day so that worship is not disturbed. Because by
far, you know, we do a lot of important things through our
week. Things that must be done. Yeah,
your job and things that must be done. But by far, the most
important thing we do all week is right here, right here. So
don't be a distraction. Don't let your dress and some
sort of rebellious thought go through your mind. Be a distraction to the rest of the flock, to
the people of God. Don't take away, don't distract
from their opportunity to worship, to learn more of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And that's just reasonable, isn't
it? And that's all he's teaching right there.