In 1 Corinthians chapter 11,
while you're turning there, I want to let you know Rich Bird's father
passed away last week. So let's remember them in this
time. The funeral, I think, is going
to be this Tuesday. And once again, Eric and Lydia
are moving here and are going to be here in Georgetown. If
anyone can help, they'd appreciate it. Wednesday, 10 o'clock in
the morning. And Dawn has directions on how
to get there. First Corinthians chapter 11,
we're going to begin reading in verse 3 and read down to verse
16. 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. 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 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 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. For
this cause ought the woman to have power on her head, because
of the angels. 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." Judging yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto
God uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach
you that if a man has long hair, it is a shame unto But if a woman
had long hair, it's a glory to her and her hair is given her
for a covering. But if any man seemed to be contentious,
we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. Now, this
is certainly not an easy passage of scripture to preach from.
I guess you could probably figure that out just by listening to
what is being said, but it's part of the Bible. Therefore,
it's of great importance. And something we need to hear
and understand. You and I need this. Now, what
is the one word that stands out in this passage of Scripture
that I just read? Did you notice the word head? That word is repeated nine different
times in this passage of Scripture. The head is the authority. The
one who calls the shots. the one whom others are subordinate
unto. In Ephesians chapter 1, verse
22, we read where Christ is the head of all things. All things are subordinate to
him. We read in Colossians chapter
2, verse 10, that Christ is the head of all principality and
power, all rule, all power and all authority is subordinate
to him. Whatever authority it is, whatever
rule it is, whatever government it is, I don't care what it is,
all rule, all power, all authority, wherever it is, is subordinate
unto him. He controls everything. He's the one who has authority
over authority. The Scripture says he is the
blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and the Lord of
lords. He is said in Ephesians chapter
4, verse 15, Ephesians chapter 5, verse 23, and Colossians chapter
1, verse 18, he is said to be the head of the church, and the
church is called his body. And I could say without any fear
of being wrong about this, No believer has any problem subordinating
themselves to him. You know, it's a shame that there's
in human nature of rebellion towards authority because we
only hurt ourselves when we're like that. But no believer has
any problem subordinating themselves and bowing themselves to the
authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. He truly is superior. And we
truly are his inferior. And we know that, we believe
that, and we don't have any problem with that. We willingly bow to
his absolute authority, and it's false religion that refuses his
headship. In Colossians chapter 2, verse
19, let's turn there and look at this. Colossians chapter 2. His headship is his rule, it's
his authority. Verse 18. Let no man beguile
you of your reward in a voluntary humility." If I volunteer to
be humble, it's not very humble, is it? It's an act. A voluntary
humility is not humility. That's phony. He talks about
those who have a voluntary, I think I'm going to be humble here.
I think I'm going to take the load. You either, you are humble,
you don't act humble, you are humble, or you're proud, one
of the two. But this voluntary humility he
speaks of, it's offensive. Let no man beguile you with reward
in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels and truding into those
things which he's not seen. He talks about things he's seen
that he hadn't seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind and not
holding the head. Not holding. The head. Now back to our text. In verse
two, we considered this last week. Let's read it once again.
First Corinthians 11 verse two, but I would. Have you know that
the head no first two? I'm sorry now praise your brethren
that you remember me in all things. And keep the ordinances as I
delivered them to you and He is speaking of public worship. Now, remember, the word ordinances
means a handing down. There's the handing down of men.
We don't want to have anything to do with that. And then there's
the handing down of God, what he brings down. And what he's
talking about in the context of this passage of scripture
is public worship. Let me show you that. As a matter
of fact, the next four chapters, he talks about public worship. Look at verse 4, 5, 4 and 5 of
this text. Every man praying or prophesying,
having his head covered, dishonors his head. Now, this praying and
prophesying is something that's done publicly. Verse 5, But every
woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered, dishonors
her head. For that's even all as if she
were shorn. He's talking about something that's done publicly.
Look in verse 17 of this chapter. Now, in this that I declare unto
you, I praise you not that you come together. He's talking about
the gathering together of God's people. You don't come together
for the better, but for the worse. And that's a solemn thing to
think about. He said, when you gather together,
it's no benefit. It's for the worse. And he talks
about the abuses of the Lord's table. And we're going to consider
that, Lord willing, next week. And then in chapter 12, he's
talking about the gifts of ministry. He's talking about public worship
and the gifts of the ministry. Now, look how he ends up this
thought in verse 40 of chapter 14. He's been talking about public
worship all this time, and he ends up by saying, let all things
be done decently and in order. God is a God of order and in
bowing to his order, we demonstrate respect for his authority. We demonstrate a true, willing
submission and humility and proper propriety and protocol in our
attitude toward him. Now, what do I mean by that?
Well, let me try to illustrate this. You know, I just read that
passage of scripture where the Lord said, I'll be sanctified
by all men that come nigh unto me. Now, what is this proper
attitude all about? Well, what I was thinking about
was, let's say, if I'm going to have an audience, with the
President of the United States. I'm going to come with the proper
protocol. I'm not going to come wearing a T-shirt and shorts
and sandals. That's not the way I'm going
to come into the presence of the President of the United States.
I'm going to come with fear. I'm going to come with respect
for his authority. I'm going to come appropriately in that
sense. You know, how you dress is important. It demonstrates an attitude and
a respect for that authority. Here's another illustration,
and I'm not making a political statement about this, because
that's anathema from the pulpit. I'm not to give my political
views, but I did like Ronald Reagan. I did. And one of the things I liked
about him, do you know that when he went into the Oval Office,
he wouldn't go in without a jacket on? And it was because of the
respect he had for that office, and I admire that. I respect
that attitude. There is a propriety, a decorum
in coming into God's presence in worship. That's why I despise
this attitude of just come as you are. You know, in these contemporary
worship and contemporary churches, people actually come to wear
their pajamas on Sunday morning. You know, you don't need to make
any effort about this. Just come as you are. It doesn't make any
difference. I despise that attitude. That's just not right. This is not playing games. We're
coming into the presence of Christ. And that's not a flippant thing,
is it? There is a decorum. There is
an attitude that we bring when we come in. You know, if you
don't get ready physically, not putting any effort into it, you're
not getting ready spiritually either. Now, in this passage
of scripture, appearance is obviously an issue. He's talking about
the wearing of veils and not the wearing of veils. So let's
see what he says here. Let's look in verse, back to
1 Corinthians 11. Verse 3, 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 this is talking about God's
order. The head of every man is Christ. And the head of the woman is
the man. And this is talking about the husband and the wife.
I'm not the head of any other woman but my wife. The man is
to be the leader of the home. God has made it that way, and
if he's not being the leader, he's sinning against God. And
I dare say this, every woman wants her husband to be the leader
of the home. They want their husband to lead
in a way that's responsible and loving and gracious, and yet
being the decision maker, every woman What's that? And for a
man to not live up to that responsibility is to sin against God. You men,
you are called upon to lead your homes and to be the spiritual
leader of your homes. The home's in trouble when the
woman's the spiritual leader. The man is to be the spiritual
leader. Now, he says the head of Christ
is God the Father. The head of Christ is God. Jesus
Christ is equal to God. Scripture says in Philippians
chapter 2, he thought it not robbery. He thought it not wrong. He thought it not a thing to
be grasped for and reached for, to be equal with God. Is Jesus Christ inferior to God
the Father? Absolutely not. They're equal.
He said, I and my Father are one. But he is subordinate to his
Father in function, and position. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians,
chapter 15, verse 24. This is talking about the Lord
Jesus. 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 has
put all enemies under his feet, the last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death, for he hath put all things under his feet.
But when he saith all things are put under his feet, it is
manifest that he is accepted, which did put all things under
him. And when all things should be subdued unto him, then shall
the son who is equal to the father also himself be subject unto
him that put all things under him. that God may be all in all. Now, Christ Jesus is equal to
his father, and yet he is subordinate to his father, and he subordinates
himself to his father. And that gives us some idea of
the relationship between men and women, the husband and the
wife. Men and women are equal in person. Now, they are certainly
different. And I haven't figured out the
differences yet. I mean, there's so much stuff that I just don't
understand, but that's all right. You've heard of that book, Women
are from Venus and Men are from Mars? Anybody ever heard of that
book? It's interesting, and there's a lot of truth to the differences
between the sexes. I like what Bruce Daly, my dear
friend down in Crossville, Tennessee, he said, he said, women aren't
like other people. I can see that. I know you men
can see it. But at any rate, that's enough
of that, I guess. The point I want to make is men
are not more intelligent. They're not more spiritual. They're
not better. They're not more important in
the kingdom of God. As a matter of fact, I can say
this with full conviction. I can look at my wife and I can
esteem her as better than myself. And the reason I esteem her as
better than myself is because she is better than me. That's
why I don't have any problem with that. So when we're talking
about a man being the head of the woman, it's not him being
some kind of monster over her or some kind of slave driver.
You do what I... I tried that a lot when I was
It's amazing the kind of stuff I tried when we first got married.
I can remember getting to Liam's face, woman, submit. You don't have any choice. I'm
really trying to show her my authority and so on. And boy,
it doesn't work, let me tell you. It doesn't work. But that's just foolish to say
that to him. Maybe some of you may have tried
that before. You only submit because you want
to, don't you? You can't force somebody. If it's for submission,
it's not submission. The only way you can submit is
if you actually want to do it. So when we talk about the relationship
between a husband and wife, or husband being the head, the husband
being the authority, this thing of headship is a thing of responsibility,
of love, of graciousness. of thoughtfulness, of kindness. That's the kind of headship the
scripture's talking about. That the man is to be the leader.
That doesn't mean he's smarter than the woman. It doesn't mean
he's more important than the woman. He's not. He's not. You know, in Christ, there is
neither male nor female. Let me show you this in scripture. Turn to Galatians chapter 3. You know, the roles of male and
female will be abolished. There will be males and females.
The Lord tells us that all will be as the angels of God. This
whole role of male and female, husband and wife. Christ is the
husband. The bride is the wife. And there
won't be these roles that we see now. Look what Galatians
chapter 3, verse 27 says. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There's neither Jew
nor Greek. There is neither bond nor free. There is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ
Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are
ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Christ
is whole. In function and rule, Men and
women are not equal. That's God's order. The man is the head of the woman. And let me repeat this. I dare
say, I don't have any doubt about it, that every woman wants their
husband to lead. Now, they may kick against it.
The flesh may rebel against authority, but every woman truly wants her
husband to lead them. I mean in the right way. in the
right way. And if the husband is not doing
this, the woman is going to lose respect for him. Now, the woman
is to submit to her husband, and she wants her husband to
rule and to lead in a Christ-like, God-honoring way, and owe the
problems that occur when men fail to live up to their responsibilities.
So understand, men, your responsibility is to be the head, and that doesn't
mean to be a tyrant. That doesn't mean to give orders.
That doesn't mean to be a slave driver. But you are to be the
head of your home. Verse 4, back to our text, 1
Corinthians 11. Verse 3, I have you know that
the head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is the
man, and the head of Christ is God. Verse 4, every man praying
or prophesying Having his head covered dishonors his head. He dishonors himself and he brings
dishonor to Christ, his head, if he does this. Now, why is
that? Because of union with Christ,
I don't need a covering in my relationship with the Father.
Does Christ need a veil over him? Does Christ need a covering?
No. Christ comes into the presence
of his Father in complete You think of the relationship between
Christ and His Father. Now, this picture of the relationship
between a husband and wife, if the husband, if the man covers
his head, he's dishonoring his head because he's made in the
image of God. And that certainly doesn't need
to be covered, does it? That's why it would be wrong. We come
boldly into His presence and expect to be heard and accepted
in the Beloved. There's nothing to be covered,
and covering on a man would destroy this picture. Verse 5, But every
woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonors
her head, she dishonors her husband, for that is even all one, as
if she were shaven. That's different with a woman.
She represents the relationship between Christ and His Church,
doesn't she? It's a completely different picture
when we're talking about the woman. And, you know, in my relationship
with Christ, I am aware of my sin. And I need a covering at
all times. Now, when I think of union with
Christ, me coming into the presence of God as I'm united to Christ,
when I think of Christ coming into the presence of God and
being completely accepted and me being in Him, I don't see
a covering. I'm in the Lord Jesus Christ. But when I think of my
relationship, what I am with Christ, I'm very aware of my
sinfulness and I need a covering. And it would be very disrespectful
and wrong for me to think I can come into his presence without
a covering, and that's what this represents. She represents the
relationship between Christ and His Church. Now, if the woman
refuses this veil in this, let her be shaven to her shame. Now, somebody's thinking, what
is all this about women praying and prophesying publicly? Are
we in preaching? Well, I guess they were doing
the same thing Philip's virgin daughters were doing. They said
they all prophesied. What's all that mean? I don't know. But
is a woman to be a public preacher? Well, look in 1 Corinthians chapter
14. Paul deals with this issue. He says in verse 34, let your
women keep silence in the churches. For it is not permitted unto
them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also
sayeth the law. And if they will learn anything,
let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for a
woman to speak in the church." That's what the word of God says.
No woman is called to preach the gospel. I just know that. It's throughout the scriptures.
When I see a woman get up and preach the gospel, I think, do
you have no respect for the Word of God to get up and speak in
the name of God when God's Word expressly forbids you to preach?
Now, is that because women are less able than men? Of course
not. I've already brought that out. They're equal. They're equal. There's no doubt about that.
But God has a certain decorum. He's got a certain protocol.
He's got a certain order. A woman is to be in obedience,
as also saith the law, like that scripture says. No, women are
not to be public preachers. Now back to our text. Verse 6. For if the woman be
not covered, let her also be shorn or shaved. But if it be
a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. If a woman refuses, let her be
shorn. She's a rebel. But if it be a
shame to her, then let her be veiled. Verse 7, For a man indeed
ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image
and glory of God. Now, you don't want to cover
the image and glory of God, do you? Man is created in the image
of God, and you don't cover that, but the woman is the glory of
the man. Verse 8. So the man is not of
the woman, but the woman of the man. And this is talking about
what took place in the Garden of Eden. Eve came from Adam. Adam didn't come from Eve. She
was taken out of his side. So the man is not of the woman,
but the woman of the man. Verse 9, neither was the man
created for the woman, but for the woman for the man. And this
is something I try to remind Lena from time to time. You're created for me, not me
for you. That's me in life, that part, don't worry. But it's true,
it's what the scripture says. The woman was created for the
man and not the man for the woman. Verse 10, for this cause ought
the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. This is a symbol of respect for
God's order and respect for God's authority. The angels certainly
respect it. Verse 11 and 12, 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,
Paul is saying, I'm not saying that men are more important than
women. Let's see where any of us would
be without a woman. I mean, we wouldn't be around and we're
just as dependent upon women as they are on us in that sense.
You know, one of the things that's glorious about the scripture
is it honors and respects and glorifies women. You know, other
religions, boy, they put women down so terribly. They abuse
them. They bring them down to second,
like they're inferior to men. But the Word of God doesn't do
that in any way. He talks about the glory of... He's the one
who made women. And they're wonderful in that sense. So he's saying
the man's dependent upon the woman. And I like when he says,
all things are of God, just like everything else, all things are
of God. He's in control. He's the one
who's established all this order. Verse 13, he says, judging yourselves,
is it comely? Is it appropriate that a woman
pray unto God uncovered? You know, believers know intuitively
that something is wrong with that. And I'm going to show why
he says that in just a moment. But he says, judging yourselves,
is it comely, is it appropriate that a woman pray unto God uncovered
without a covering? Does not even nature itself teach
you that if a man have long hair, it's a shame to him? Now, this
is a scripture that many fundamentalists have used to to prove you ought to have short
hair and so on. And well, it's talking about
a distinction between the sexes is what that's talking about.
Somebody says, how long? I don't know. You know, I've seen guys
that have had their hair twirl all over their head in order
to cover it. I mean, if it came down and it's down past their
shoulders, is that wrong? I mean, is that what that's talking
about? What he's talking about is a
distinction between the sexes. Let the man look like a man,
and let the woman look like a woman. Let the man dress like a man.
Let the woman dress like a woman. He's talking about a distinction
between the sexes. And it is shameful for a man
to act like and look like a woman. That's what he's saying. It's
wrong. And nature itself teaches you
that. You know it's wrong if a man
has long hair. It's a shame unto him. But if a woman has long
hair, It's a glory to her, for her hair is given to her for
a covering. Now, you know the reason, if it wasn't for that verse of
scripture, I think every woman in here ought to be wearing a
veil. That's what we do, because it's
what the Word of God says. But it says, her hair is given to
her for a covering. This feminine haircut is the
covering spoken of. Now, the veil they're talking
about, It's a velvet. It's not these little patsy things
women wear in some of these Baptist churches. It's something that
goes all the way down. And Paul tells us plainly that
a woman's feminine haircut, her long hair, is given to her for
a covering. Verse 16, if a woman have long hair, it's
a glory to her, for her hair is given to her for a covering.
But if any man seemed to be contentious, We have no such custom, neither
the churches of God. If somebody wants to argue against
this, is what he's saying. Well, he's saying this is the
way we do it. In the church, we have no customs
of the women being unveiled. What Paul is saying is, is this
is the way it is. Authority speaks, God's word
teaches this, and that's enough. Now, if God's word teaches something,
is that enough for you to bow to it? You don't really need
any other reason, do you? Well, what are we going to get
out of this? Like I said, this was not an easy passage of scripture
to preach from. I mean, as a matter of fact, I've been kind of stressing
over it the last few weeks, saying, what am I going to say about
that? Because it's a difficult passage of scripture to preach
from. Maybe it shouldn't be, but it is. Well, here's the conclusions
I want to draw from this. First, men, take your position
of headship very seriously. You are to be the leader in that
home. And that doesn't mean the sleigh
driver, but it does mean the spiritual leader. And leadership
is a big responsibility. You are responsible before God
for your home, for your wife, for your children. You be the
leader that God calls you to be. That's so very important. Here's another thing I thought
about. Aren't you glad Christ is our head? I'm so thankful for my head.
He's the head. I'm the body. He's the authority. And it's so easy to submit to
his authority because he's so vastly superior. I mean, you
can't even describe how superior he is. It's easy to bow to his
authority. He's God. And if I don't understand
what he says, that's okay. I'm still going to believe everything
he says. I'm going to bow to what he says, whether I can completely
grasp it or not. You know, there's so many things
now that I understand so much more clearly than I did 20 years
ago. You know, when I was baptized,
I really didn't understand baptism. I just knew I was supposed to
do it. That's it. I knew the Lord did it. I knew
I was supposed to do it. And I did it. I didn't understand
what all it meant, what all it represented. And I don't know
how many times I've thought since then. You reckon I ought to be
baptized again? I mean, did I even understand?
Well, I believe this. So no, no. Now, I've grown in
knowledge a lot. I've grown in understanding a
lot. But this is just a thing where I bow to what he says,
whether I understand it or not. Now, it's a blessing when we
come to understand something more clearly, isn't it? His word
is the authority and we bow to what he says. And what about
the area of submission? Well. You can only submit because you
want to. Wives. The only way you're going to
submit to your husbands is because you want to do it. Not because
they make you. Not because they scare you. Not because they try
to force it. That's not submission anyway.
The only way you can truly submit to your husbands is because you
want to. You know it's the right thing
to do and you're doing it for Christ's sake. Even if you feel
like they're not being the leader they ought to be. No doubt. I
guarantee you there's been times when I haven't provided the leadership
I should. But that still doesn't mean that
My wife has a reason to not submit to my authority, doesn't she?
You do it for Christ's sake, because He calls upon you to
do it. And we submit. We submit to the Lord. I submit
to Christ. I want to. That's what I want
to do. I bow to His authority. Whatever He says is right, I
believe whatever He says. And what a head! My head's in
heaven right now. I love the headship of Christ. He's the head. What's the head
to the body? I mean, when you take a picture
of somebody, what do you take a picture of? You take a picture of their
face. You don't take a picture of their body. If you take a
picture of their body, you've got a bad reason for doing it.
You take a picture of their face, their head. That's who they are.
Christ is my identity before God. Christ, that's who I am
before God. He is my head. I'm his body. And respect authority. This is
about authority. Remember, the powers that be
are ordained of God. God is the absolute authority
and all authority comes from him. And to disrespect any authority
is to disrespect him. Now, if I don't respect the authority
of the word. If I don't respect the authority
of the pastor, if I don't respect the authority of the teacher.
of the employer, of the government, I don't respect God. You see, in this society that
we live in, I really believe the greatest problem in this
society is no respect for authority. And you know where that comes from?
It comes from the pulpit. There has been a God preached
who really doesn't have any authority. A God who wants things, but he
can't make sure his will is done. He really doesn't have any authority.
He's got to wait and see what you're going to do. And that
God that's been preached for all these generations has weakened
everybody's respect for authority. Now, I have no doubt that there
was a time when there was more respect for authority than there
is now. And I think that is the biggest problem of our society,
is no respect for authority. Respect authority. Teach your
kids to respect authority. That's the most important thing
you can do for your kids. I really believe this. The most
important thing you can do for your kids is to teach them to
respect authority. You know, they're going to be
a lot more successful in life if they respect authority. If they
have problems with authority. They're going to have problems
in school. They're going to have problems on the job. They're going to have
problems in their homes. There's always going to be problems.
But a respect for authority, they're going to succeed more.
They're going to do better in school. They're going to do better
in relationships. They're going to do better on
the job with this respect for authority. May God give us grace
to truly respect authority. And I want to say this, too,
how you dress, I've already pointed to this, how you dress in worship
matters. Now, I'm against formalism, but
I'm not against formality. There's nothing casual about
public worship. It's not come as you are. Men dress respectfully like men,
women dress respectfully like women, and don't stand, don't
stick out, don't wear a tuxedo, don't wear some evening gown
where you're overdressed, don't underdress, don't dress in a
slovenly manner. Remember what we're doing. We're
coming into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And because
of that, we come respectfully. So, yes, it is important how
you carry yourself, how you bring yourself into the house of God. But let me close on this note. Isn't it wonderful to have Christ
as our head? Let's pray together.