WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:04.379 You're listening to City Church Manchester. We 00:00:04.379 --> 00:00:07.360 are a church that invites everyone to enjoy Christ 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:11.259 for the glory of God. If we can serve you in 00:00:11.259 --> 00:00:15.039 any way, then visit our website at citychurchmanchester 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:20.019 .org to find out more. I praise you for remembering 00:00:20.019 --> 00:00:23.179 me in everything and for holding to the traditions 00:00:23.179 --> 00:00:26.920 just as I pass them on to you. But I want you 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:29.480 to realise that the head of every man is Christ. 00:00:30.089 --> 00:00:32.770 And the head of the woman is man, and the head 00:00:32.770 --> 00:00:37.270 of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies 00:00:37.270 --> 00:00:40.609 with his head covered dishonours his head. But 00:00:40.609 --> 00:00:42.869 every woman who prays or prophesies with her 00:00:42.869 --> 00:00:47.670 head uncovered dishonours her head. It is the 00:00:47.670 --> 00:00:50.509 same as having her head shaved. For if a woman 00:00:50.509 --> 00:00:53.130 does not cover her head, she might as well have 00:00:53.130 --> 00:00:57.079 her hair cut off. But if it... If it is a disgrace 00:00:57.079 --> 00:00:59.920 for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:03.820 shaved, then she should cover her head. A man 00:01:03.820 --> 00:01:06.400 ought not to cover his head, since he is the 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:09.819 image and glory of God. But woman is the glory 00:01:09.819 --> 00:01:13.060 of man. For man did not come from woman, but 00:01:13.060 --> 00:01:16.500 woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, 00:01:16.659 --> 00:01:20.519 but woman for man. It is for this reason that 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:23.239 a woman ought to have authority over her own 00:01:23.239 --> 00:01:28.280 head. because of the angels nevertheless in the 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:31.719 lord woman is not independent of man nor is man 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:35.239 independent of woman for as woman came from man 00:01:35.239 --> 00:01:39.060 so also man is born of woman but everything comes 00:01:39.060 --> 00:01:42.840 from god judge for yourselves is it proper for 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:45.019 a woman to pray to god with her head uncovered 00:01:45.019 --> 00:01:48.439 does not the very nature of things teach you 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:50.959 that if a man has long hair it is a disgrace 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:53.790 to him But that if a woman has long hair, it 00:01:53.790 --> 00:01:57.090 is her glory. For long hair is given to her as 00:01:57.090 --> 00:02:00.189 a covering. If anyone wants to be contentious 00:02:00.189 --> 00:02:03.250 about this, we have no other practice, nor do 00:02:03.250 --> 00:02:07.069 the churches of God. Thanks very much, Tessa. 00:02:08.150 --> 00:02:10.770 And good afternoon, everyone. Really good to 00:02:10.770 --> 00:02:14.349 be with you. And great to be with you as we unpack 00:02:14.349 --> 00:02:19.870 this passage. It's a short passage, but there's 00:02:19.870 --> 00:02:24.009 an awful... awful lot in it. So do keep your 00:02:24.009 --> 00:02:29.550 Bibles open as we trek through. And I think you'll 00:02:29.550 --> 00:02:32.189 agree, we're going to need the Lord's help, aren't 00:02:32.189 --> 00:02:37.830 we? So let's pray. Heavenly Father, we know that 00:02:37.830 --> 00:02:40.069 you are the God who speaks and we know that your 00:02:40.069 --> 00:02:46.530 word is true. Yet we come before you humbly recognising 00:02:46.530 --> 00:02:50.939 that we need your help to understand it. And 00:02:50.939 --> 00:02:54.199 to apply it. Father, we recognise that there's 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:57.539 a number of things that will chafe against the 00:02:57.539 --> 00:03:01.020 way of our culture. And perhaps the way of our 00:03:01.020 --> 00:03:03.599 own lives and our hearts. And whether that is 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:05.599 not consistent with what you teach, I pray that 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:09.520 we would hear that challenge and respond. But 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:12.280 Father, I pray that you would not give us the 00:03:12.280 --> 00:03:15.340 mind of contentiousness with a passage such as 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:18.039 this. But instead give us the mind of Christ. 00:03:18.139 --> 00:03:22.979 May we see him. And as your words are proclaimed 00:03:22.979 --> 00:03:26.039 over these next few minutes together, may the 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:29.240 very fragrance of the Lord Jesus Christ saturate 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:34.099 all of us, lift our hearts to praise him, and 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:37.120 lead our lives and actions to honour him in all 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:45.680 that we do. Amen. Whenever an intern or a trainee 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:49.960 pastor at City Church... has the opportunity 00:03:49.960 --> 00:03:52.639 to do a talk, either at City Church or somewhere 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:56.500 else. And they get the passage that they're going 00:03:56.500 --> 00:03:58.560 to be teaching on for the first time and they'll 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:00.759 come into the office and they'll say, hey, I've 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:02.539 got this passage that I'm going to be preaching 00:04:02.539 --> 00:04:06.360 on or teaching on. I tend to do a fairly cruel 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:10.199 and jokey thing. I turn to them and say, didn't 00:04:10.199 --> 00:04:13.039 you know that is the hardest passage in all of 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:16.120 Scripture? Good luck. And just watch their faces 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:20.310 drop. As that dawns on them. Now, of course, 00:04:20.310 --> 00:04:22.930 the joke is on me today because actually, genuinely, 00:04:22.970 --> 00:04:25.110 I think this is probably one of the toughest, 00:04:25.129 --> 00:04:29.230 if not the toughest passage in Scripture. And 00:04:29.230 --> 00:04:31.769 I've got nowhere to turn. So we're going to go 00:04:31.769 --> 00:04:35.129 straight through it and see what happens. And 00:04:35.129 --> 00:04:37.569 I think it's particularly difficult as a passage 00:04:37.569 --> 00:04:42.269 for three reasons. Number one, this passage is 00:04:42.269 --> 00:04:46.839 theologically thicker than a McFlurry. I think 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:50.699 it is because actually it draws from ideas and 00:04:50.699 --> 00:04:53.660 threads from right across the Bible. Number two, 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:58.720 this passage is the equivalent of a pina colada 00:04:58.720 --> 00:05:03.180 of theological passages. It takes local historic 00:05:03.180 --> 00:05:08.079 customs from the time, some of which are not 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:11.480 relevant to today, and it takes other customs 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:14.699 that are very relevant today, and it puts them 00:05:14.699 --> 00:05:19.629 together. And number three, the set of applications 00:05:19.629 --> 00:05:23.129 that the Apostle Paul is making in this particular 00:05:23.129 --> 00:05:27.209 passage, by our current standards, could be interpreted 00:05:27.209 --> 00:05:33.009 as restrictive to men, regressive to women, and 00:05:33.009 --> 00:05:38.569 dangerous to both. So with that in mind, I want 00:05:38.569 --> 00:05:40.970 you to imagine this afternoon. Let's think of... 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:43.660 happier things. Let's imagine this afternoon 00:05:43.660 --> 00:05:47.019 we're going to be baking a cake. There's going 00:05:47.019 --> 00:05:49.459 to be two ingredients that we need to prepare 00:05:49.459 --> 00:05:55.300 up front. That is, we need to look at the theological 00:05:55.300 --> 00:05:58.560 framework and we need to look at the historical 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:02.899 context. Then we need to kind of whisk that together, 00:06:03.060 --> 00:06:06.870 so to speak. as we do the exegesis of what the 00:06:06.870 --> 00:06:09.949 passage exactly says. And then finally, we'll 00:06:09.949 --> 00:06:12.250 get the cake in the oven, pull it out, and pull 00:06:12.250 --> 00:06:14.709 out the application. Voila. Doesn't that sound 00:06:14.709 --> 00:06:17.589 nice? Now, some of you go, he knows nothing about 00:06:17.589 --> 00:06:24.730 baking. Why is he using that analogy? Well, let's 00:06:24.730 --> 00:06:27.629 dive in. The theological framework, the theological 00:06:27.629 --> 00:06:30.110 framework, the first of the two ingredients we 00:06:30.110 --> 00:06:34.160 need to prepare. Now, the challenge for The challenge 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:37.519 for Christianity when it takes root in any culture 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:41.279 is which customs from the culture does it need 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:43.860 to retain and which customs from the culture 00:06:43.860 --> 00:06:48.259 does it need to reject? And determining factor 00:06:48.259 --> 00:06:51.240 of which does it retain and which does it reject 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:55.379 comes down to what I like to call the fragrance 00:06:55.379 --> 00:07:01.040 of Eden. The fragrance of Eden. What do I mean? 00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:07.160 Well, in the Bible, the setup of Genesis, first 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:11.199 book of the Bible, chapters 1 and 2, that is 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:14.180 the creation and the relationships before the 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:19.459 fall, are used throughout Scripture as the enduring 00:07:19.459 --> 00:07:22.819 picture of God's design for how things should 00:07:22.819 --> 00:07:26.670 be. And in Genesis 1 and 2, you have a picture 00:07:26.670 --> 00:07:29.529 of a Trinitarian God, you have a good creation, 00:07:29.769 --> 00:07:34.149 and you have relational harmony between men and 00:07:34.149 --> 00:07:39.180 women. And in Genesis 1 and 2... You almost have 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:41.379 for us today, when you look at the whole of the 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:44.220 Bible, Genesis 1 and 2 is like the picture on 00:07:44.220 --> 00:07:47.680 the box of a thousand -piece jigsaw. You've got 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:50.199 a thousand pieces to put together, but Genesis 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:52.620 1 and 2 give you the picture of what it should 00:07:52.620 --> 00:07:57.060 look like when it does fit together. So what 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:59.379 does Genesis 1 and 2 talk about? Well, Genesis 00:07:59.379 --> 00:08:04.160 describes at the very beginning. You have our 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:08.959 God, Father, Son, and Spirit, one God, but three 00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:12.980 distinct persons, equally God, but different 00:08:12.980 --> 00:08:17.899 roles. In God, there is oneness, there is diversity, 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:22.579 there is equal dignity and equal power, but they 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:28.959 require the key ingredient of headship. What 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:33.279 is headship? is a relationship dynamic where 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:36.759 not all of the persons are fighting for power, 00:08:36.860 --> 00:08:41.659 but they are willing, because of love and because 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:46.179 of trust, to lay down their inherent authority 00:08:46.179 --> 00:08:50.460 to the other. It's a little bit like a dance 00:08:50.460 --> 00:08:54.539 where one person leads and the other person follows 00:08:54.539 --> 00:08:59.240 in absolute synchronicity that it is beautiful 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:04.870 to watch. And in Genesis chapter 1 and 2, where 00:09:04.870 --> 00:09:10.330 all relationships are in harmony, human relationships 00:09:10.330 --> 00:09:16.110 echo the diversity and the unity of God. And 00:09:16.110 --> 00:09:19.710 that's meant to be beautiful for us to see. Now 00:09:19.710 --> 00:09:22.870 that is true as it plays out amongst those of 00:09:22.870 --> 00:09:27.169 us here who are single, but it is particularly 00:09:27.169 --> 00:09:35.700 echoed in married couples. For marriage holds 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:42.480 the particular powerful fragrance of Eden. Because 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:46.139 just as God the Father is the head of God the 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:49.740 Son, and God the Son submits to God the Father, 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:54.259 the husband has headship over his wife, and the 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:59.279 wife submits to her husband. Do you see? They 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:02.580 echo one another. Now, I appreciate here that 00:10:02.580 --> 00:10:05.799 the word submit means that alarm bells are going 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:07.980 to be ringing in the heads of a number of you. 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:14.100 Because one of the ways that headship and even 00:10:14.100 --> 00:10:18.299 submission has been used in history has been 00:10:18.299 --> 00:10:23.480 to justify abuse and slavery and all manner of 00:10:23.480 --> 00:10:29.440 terrible sins. But biblically, this idea of headship 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:33.059 and submission is a word that must be reclaimed 00:10:33.059 --> 00:10:36.340 for the beauty that it's meant to actually represent. 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:40.740 It is this idea of I love you and I trust you 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:46.259 so much that I'm willing to place my well -being 00:10:46.259 --> 00:10:50.080 and my thriving into your hands and where you 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:54.460 lead, I will follow. It's not meant to be a dirty 00:10:54.460 --> 00:10:59.000 word. It's meant to be beautiful. Ephesians 5 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:03.440 says that the responsibility actually is so great 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:05.740 for the one who is leading the relationship, 00:11:06.019 --> 00:11:10.100 so great that when someone puts their trust in 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:12.000 you, that if you are the leader in that relationship, 00:11:12.259 --> 00:11:15.779 that if it is necessary for you to sacrifice 00:11:15.779 --> 00:11:20.899 yourself for the other, then you should do it 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:27.500 as standard. Think about it like this. If Christ 00:11:27.500 --> 00:11:32.639 submits to God the Father, then there is nothing 00:11:32.639 --> 00:11:36.980 undignified about submitting to someone who is 00:11:36.980 --> 00:11:41.600 worthy of that trust. And that is what the picture 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:45.000 of marriage is meant to show. Marriage for Christians 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:48.120 is radically different to any other marriage. 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:52.940 And it radically is meant to smell. like Eden. 00:11:53.039 --> 00:11:55.059 It's meant to reflect the picture of Genesis 00:11:55.059 --> 00:11:58.580 1 and 2. Now, one of the most beautiful aspects 00:11:58.580 --> 00:12:02.840 of this headship dynamic is that the leader, 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:07.399 the husband, is supposed to be a walking advertisement 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:12.080 for the glory of the wife, the one who is following. 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:16.659 That is, the husband is meant to proclaim to 00:12:16.659 --> 00:12:21.240 the rooftops the significance, the wonder, And 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:25.899 the value of his wife. That is part of the Eden 00:12:25.899 --> 00:12:29.919 fragrance. For example, when humanity is created, 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:34.159 God proclaims from the rooftops at the joy of 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:37.679 creation. He says creation isn't just good, it 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:44.179 is very good. When Jesus is baptised and God 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:48.360 the Father proudly proclaims with joy, you are 00:12:48.360 --> 00:12:52.720 my beloved son. With you I am well pleased. He's 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:57.919 proclaiming from the rooftops. And when Eve is 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:03.240 created from Adam, her husband, Adam's joy just 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:07.220 bubbles over into a poem where he says, This 00:13:07.220 --> 00:13:10.559 is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. One of 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:14.360 the very first poems is penned to the glory of 00:13:14.360 --> 00:13:19.100 his wife. It is the ancient world way of saying, 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:27.019 You complete me. Now, when Eve is created, she 00:13:27.019 --> 00:13:32.740 is given the title of helper. And that word is 00:13:32.740 --> 00:13:36.759 used to describe wives in marriage. But you need 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:40.019 to know that it is not the equivalent of a lesser 00:13:40.019 --> 00:13:44.149 servant. No, the word helper. that is given to 00:13:44.149 --> 00:13:47.950 wives, can be found 20 times in the Old Testament. 00:13:48.250 --> 00:13:51.730 17 of those times is used to describe what God 00:13:51.730 --> 00:13:55.669 is like. And three of those times is used to 00:13:55.669 --> 00:13:59.129 describe a strong and powerful military aid. 00:13:59.409 --> 00:14:04.110 There is nothing weak, nothing regressive, nothing 00:14:04.110 --> 00:14:08.929 patronizing about that title. And so when a married 00:14:08.929 --> 00:14:14.409 couple dance through life, In a way that echoes 00:14:14.409 --> 00:14:19.230 the Godhead. It brings glory to God. And it is 00:14:19.230 --> 00:14:23.090 a powerful signpost to the world to show that 00:14:23.090 --> 00:14:28.549 God is good and he is glorious. So that's the 00:14:28.549 --> 00:14:30.549 theological framework. I need you to remember 00:14:30.549 --> 00:14:34.389 that. Next, come with me to the context of 1 00:14:34.389 --> 00:14:38.659 Corinthians. The context of 1 Corinthians. Now, 00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:41.000 the church in Corinth that we've been walking 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:45.059 with over this series had its work cut out to 00:14:45.059 --> 00:14:48.299 thrive. Because the church in Corinth, you can 00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:50.600 imagine they're full of young Christians and 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:53.000 they're thinking to themselves, which Roman customs 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:57.539 do we retain and which Roman customs do we reject? 00:14:58.539 --> 00:15:01.720 Which Roman customs are consistent with following 00:15:01.720 --> 00:15:05.190 Jesus and which Roman customs are not? And Paul 00:15:05.190 --> 00:15:07.470 in this book of 1 Corinthians has challenged 00:15:07.470 --> 00:15:10.389 them on some of their customs. He's challenged 00:15:10.389 --> 00:15:13.909 them on the Roman custom of picking your favorites 00:15:13.909 --> 00:15:16.309 and creating factions. And he said, reject that. 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:19.720 He's challenged them on eating food offered to 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:22.299 idols that could damage the faith of other Christians. 00:15:22.500 --> 00:15:26.100 And he says that custom, reject it. And now he's 00:15:26.100 --> 00:15:28.399 challenging the customs that they were bringing 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:30.580 into the Lord's Supper. Mark was talking about 00:15:30.580 --> 00:15:34.600 that last week. For in Roman times, it would 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:38.740 not be customary for the poor to eat the same 00:15:38.740 --> 00:15:42.360 food as the rich or for the nobility to sit at 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:46.500 the same table as slaves. And that was coming 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:50.240 into the Lord's Supper and Paul is challenging 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:54.139 them on those customs. And he does that in chapter 00:15:54.139 --> 00:16:00.120 10 last week and chapter 11 next week. And these 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:02.559 divisive social customs that were coming into 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:04.419 the church, Paul's saying, no, we need to challenge 00:16:04.419 --> 00:16:08.159 them. But nestled right in between chapter 10 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:11.399 on the Lord's Supper and chapter 11 on the Lord's 00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:15.490 Supper, we have our passage. Verses 2 to 16, 00:16:15.669 --> 00:16:20.149 nestled right in between. Because Paul wants 00:16:20.149 --> 00:16:23.009 to address, as he's talking about the Lord's 00:16:23.009 --> 00:16:26.730 Supper, he wants to address another complex custom 00:16:26.730 --> 00:16:30.070 that needs to be navigated by this new church. 00:16:30.110 --> 00:16:32.750 And it's the custom of this, what are you going 00:16:32.750 --> 00:16:39.970 to do about hair? Come with me to our next point, 00:16:40.070 --> 00:16:44.990 the context of hair. Hair was a really big deal 00:16:44.990 --> 00:16:48.929 in Roman society. It was as if men used their 00:16:48.929 --> 00:16:51.529 hair as the equivalent of their social media 00:16:51.529 --> 00:16:54.269 profiles, that they would use their hairstyle 00:16:54.269 --> 00:16:56.450 to communicate anything from their relationship 00:16:56.450 --> 00:16:59.610 status to their political affiliations. That 00:16:59.610 --> 00:17:04.190 was the Roman way. A common custom for many married 00:17:04.190 --> 00:17:09.470 women was to wear a special veil. Now, married 00:17:09.470 --> 00:17:13.710 women wearing a veil mark their status as respectable 00:17:13.710 --> 00:17:19.369 married women, much like a person might wear 00:17:19.369 --> 00:17:23.210 a wedding ring. However, just as one fashion 00:17:23.210 --> 00:17:25.809 becomes the custom, another counter -fashion 00:17:25.809 --> 00:17:30.960 rises up in rebellion. And there's one notable 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.220 example in the first century where wives all 00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:36.900 over the Roman Empire began adopting the dress 00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:42.099 code of the haetare. And this is where they would 00:17:42.099 --> 00:17:45.920 refuse to wear a veil, and they adopted far more 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:49.960 flamboyant hairstyles and clothes in order to 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:54.079 make themselves a reputation, a name within society. 00:17:54.440 --> 00:17:57.180 That was the equivalent of a move that was part 00:17:57.180 --> 00:18:02.259 ancient world clickbait to increase your followers. 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:08.029 And for some, this removal of veils... was a 00:18:08.029 --> 00:18:14.089 public way to conduct a marital breakdown by 00:18:14.089 --> 00:18:18.150 embarrassing your husbands. It was like someone 00:18:18.150 --> 00:18:20.890 saying something terrible on social media and 00:18:20.890 --> 00:18:24.170 trying to get people to like their comments against 00:18:24.170 --> 00:18:27.509 their spouse in order to embarrass their other 00:18:27.509 --> 00:18:31.890 half. Such moves actually at the time were discussed 00:18:31.890 --> 00:18:34.049 by the philosophers of the age. You can find 00:18:34.049 --> 00:18:38.029 writings on it by Seneca. Ovid and Cicero all 00:18:38.029 --> 00:18:42.029 talking about this particular fashion statement 00:18:42.029 --> 00:18:46.190 of married women going without veils. And much 00:18:46.190 --> 00:18:49.170 like today, it had even become a royal scandal 00:18:49.170 --> 00:18:53.390 when the Emperor Augustus' niece, Julia, was 00:18:53.390 --> 00:18:56.690 tried and convicted for this fashion faux pas 00:18:56.690 --> 00:19:03.230 by actually having her head shaved. But men's 00:19:03.230 --> 00:19:07.910 hair was no less contentious. In the Roman Empire, 00:19:07.970 --> 00:19:10.190 the custom was for men actually to keep their 00:19:10.190 --> 00:19:13.730 hair relatively short as a sign of kind of dignity 00:19:13.730 --> 00:19:18.490 and control. A short -haired man was the equivalent 00:19:18.490 --> 00:19:20.930 of someone who was wearing a shirt and tie to 00:19:20.930 --> 00:19:25.490 work. But politicians used their artistic depictions 00:19:25.490 --> 00:19:28.650 of their hair to send political messages about 00:19:28.650 --> 00:19:31.210 the things that they stood for and how they wanted 00:19:31.210 --> 00:19:34.279 to be viewed in their leadership. And at the 00:19:34.279 --> 00:19:37.099 time that Paul was writing, which is most likely 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:40.980 a similar time to Emperor Nero, Nero as an emperor 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:44.160 was extravagant, he was loud, he was bold, and 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:47.880 he triggered a whole fashion movement of men's 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:52.039 hair being long and flamboyant in order to command 00:19:52.039 --> 00:19:54.359 attention, a little bit like someone going out 00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:57.259 in public in order to show their Rolex watch. 00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:02.569 Moreover... A new style was often trending in 00:20:02.569 --> 00:20:06.890 the empire known as the philosopher locks. You 00:20:06.890 --> 00:20:08.109 never thought you would be going through this, 00:20:08.170 --> 00:20:11.230 did you, on a Sunday afternoon? Philosopher locks 00:20:11.230 --> 00:20:14.730 was a hairstyle to convey a sense of intellectual 00:20:14.730 --> 00:20:18.250 superiority with anyone else in the room. It 00:20:18.250 --> 00:20:20.230 was in order to kind of take you to be head and 00:20:20.230 --> 00:20:23.789 shoulders above the rest. But in combination 00:20:23.789 --> 00:20:29.720 with this, there was another hair. accoutrement 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:33.700 that was causing an issue. In pagan worship, 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:37.680 men were covering their heads when they were 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:40.519 trying to forecast to everyone else in the public 00:20:40.519 --> 00:20:43.380 gathering that they were the most important worshipper 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:46.759 there. Why? Because the priests in pagan worship 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:50.359 covered their heads. And if you were a guy in 00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:54.549 a kind of pagan worship you would cover your 00:20:54.549 --> 00:20:56.910 head to show that you're the big dog, that you're 00:20:56.910 --> 00:20:59.150 the alpha, that you're the person who really 00:20:59.150 --> 00:21:02.690 God wants to listen to. It almost had this connotation 00:21:02.690 --> 00:21:04.549 that if you were covering your head as a man, 00:21:04.730 --> 00:21:08.630 you were cloaking your humanity so that your 00:21:08.630 --> 00:21:11.170 humanity wouldn't distract the gods and so that 00:21:11.170 --> 00:21:16.809 they could talk to you more personally. So how 00:21:16.809 --> 00:21:20.190 would these hair customs work out in the cocktail 00:21:20.190 --> 00:21:25.809 of... the new church in Corinth? Where should 00:21:25.809 --> 00:21:29.349 the hair customs be rejected? And where should 00:21:29.349 --> 00:21:33.309 the customs be retained? That's the key question. 00:21:33.829 --> 00:21:36.349 So let's look at the exegesis of the passage. 00:21:36.410 --> 00:21:41.369 Come with me to our passage today. Okay, I'm 00:21:41.369 --> 00:21:44.950 going to move quite fast, but hopefully the platform 00:21:44.950 --> 00:21:48.109 that we've got will enable us to do that. For 00:21:48.109 --> 00:21:49.670 those of you who are like, oh, this is already 00:21:49.670 --> 00:21:53.430 pretty heavy. The general summary is this. Where 00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:58.109 the custom echoes the picture of Eden, the custom 00:21:58.109 --> 00:22:01.150 should be retained. But where the custom breeds 00:22:01.150 --> 00:22:04.890 disunity, it should be rejected. That's the headline. 00:22:05.509 --> 00:22:10.170 I also need to say, kind of just by note, confusion 00:22:10.170 --> 00:22:14.460 warning here. Almost every verse that we're looking 00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:17.500 at is highly contentious and very difficult to 00:22:17.500 --> 00:22:20.880 translate, which means that your Bible might 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.059 say something quite different to the person sat 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:24.779 next to you if they've got a different translation. 00:22:25.160 --> 00:22:29.339 Just saying. Okay, let's go. Look at me at verse 00:22:29.339 --> 00:22:33.480 3. Verse 3, Paul opens with a description of 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:37.230 Eden relationships. Do you see that? Christ is 00:22:37.230 --> 00:22:39.210 the maker of all things and has headship over 00:22:39.210 --> 00:22:41.809 Adam. Adam has headship over Eve and God the 00:22:41.809 --> 00:22:44.509 Father has headship over God the Son. We saw 00:22:44.509 --> 00:22:47.430 this in Eden, didn't we? Just as we looked at, 00:22:47.569 --> 00:22:50.529 you've got a picture of Trinitarian unity and 00:22:50.529 --> 00:22:54.430 distinction involving one submitting to another. 00:22:55.289 --> 00:22:58.769 And Paul's point here is that marital unity should 00:22:58.769 --> 00:23:02.950 echo the Trinity in that sense. It should involve 00:23:02.950 --> 00:23:06.950 one submitting to another. The language of women 00:23:06.950 --> 00:23:12.630 in the original text actually means wife. Some 00:23:12.630 --> 00:23:14.930 of you will have that in your translations. That 00:23:14.930 --> 00:23:17.230 means that married people are the particular 00:23:17.230 --> 00:23:21.309 focus of this passage. Now, having established 00:23:21.309 --> 00:23:25.410 the necessity in order to echo Eden, Paul applies 00:23:25.410 --> 00:23:27.950 this to the Roman custom, first relating it to 00:23:27.950 --> 00:23:29.930 men, then relating it to women. Look with me 00:23:29.930 --> 00:23:35.740 at verse 4. Verse 4, men should not cover their 00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:38.819 heads because that custom, remember the pagan 00:23:38.819 --> 00:23:42.559 priests, would signify that they are the most 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:45.279 important people in the room, which is an insult 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:48.619 to Jesus who is our only and true high priest. 00:23:50.140 --> 00:23:54.339 To dishonour his head isn't a physical insult 00:23:54.339 --> 00:23:58.220 on his skull, it's referring to a man dishonouring 00:23:58.220 --> 00:24:04.079 Christ. Look with me at verse 5. Verse 5 switches 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:08.539 to the custom of married women wearing veils. 00:24:09.099 --> 00:24:16.599 And at this point, he's saying, look, if you 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:22.259 can keep that custom, you should. Because it 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:27.069 honours marriage in Roman Corinth. It publicly 00:24:27.069 --> 00:24:30.930 declares that Christian marriage is really, really 00:24:30.930 --> 00:24:34.150 special because it is uniquely and wonderfully 00:24:34.150 --> 00:24:37.349 echoing what God is like. Remember, headship 00:24:37.349 --> 00:24:41.230 in marriage echoes the relationship between God 00:24:41.230 --> 00:24:43.069 the Father and God the Son. And he's saying, 00:24:43.150 --> 00:24:45.430 if you're going to echo that in your marriage, 00:24:45.750 --> 00:24:48.750 then why wouldn't you? Because it's such a beautiful 00:24:48.750 --> 00:24:54.670 picture. And it's a scandal to do otherwise. 00:24:55.480 --> 00:24:59.220 Come with me to verse 6. This is where Paul picks 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:01.859 up the consequence in Roman culture of a woman 00:25:01.859 --> 00:25:05.839 not wearing a covering. And his point is this. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:09.400 He says, look, it's a scandal. It is a dishonor 00:25:09.400 --> 00:25:12.220 in Roman culture for a married woman not to wear 00:25:12.220 --> 00:25:16.119 a head covering in public gathering. So why would 00:25:16.119 --> 00:25:20.359 you want your own marriage to be tainted by that 00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:23.950 image? When it's such a beautiful picture for 00:25:23.950 --> 00:25:30.490 everyone to see. Verses 7, 8 and 9. Look at me 00:25:30.490 --> 00:25:32.190 at verses 7, 8 and 9. We'll look at those as 00:25:32.190 --> 00:25:35.710 a block. Paul is summarising his arguments so 00:25:35.710 --> 00:25:39.630 far. He's acknowledging that he's saying to men, 00:25:39.829 --> 00:25:42.990 don't cover your heads. But then he's turning 00:25:42.990 --> 00:25:45.970 to women and he's saying, women, cover your heads. 00:25:46.589 --> 00:25:50.009 And he's saying, look, I'm not being hypocritical 00:25:50.009 --> 00:25:53.839 here. Because the pattern laid down in Genesis 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:58.319 engages with these two customs in two different 00:25:58.319 --> 00:26:03.500 ways. Come with me to verse 10. Look with me 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:07.200 at verse 10. The most persuasive translation 00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:10.779 that I've read over the last two weeks is this. 00:26:11.539 --> 00:26:14.380 Verse 10 translates as this. For this reason, 00:26:14.460 --> 00:26:22.680 a wife should exercise control over her... Meaning, 00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:26.759 a Christian woman has freedom to do as she pleases. 00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:31.579 That was what was part of the freedom that Paul 00:26:31.579 --> 00:26:35.079 was talking about in chapter 10. But he goes 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:40.279 on to say this in verse 10. So please, women 00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:46.839 who are married, use your own agency to intentionally 00:26:46.839 --> 00:26:53.349 honour your marriage. Through this custom. I 00:26:53.349 --> 00:26:55.410 think that's what he's saying. He says, it's 00:26:55.410 --> 00:26:57.869 your head. You've got the power. It's your authority. 00:26:58.809 --> 00:27:03.990 But please lay that down. In the light of showcasing 00:27:03.990 --> 00:27:06.650 how glorious marriage is. Because marriage showcases 00:27:06.650 --> 00:27:12.130 what God is like. And then we come to that wondrous 00:27:12.130 --> 00:27:15.589 phrase. Because of the angels. I was thinking, 00:27:15.710 --> 00:27:19.430 should I just skim over this? Very briefly, right, 00:27:19.490 --> 00:27:21.529 this is very, very difficult, and I'm not entirely 00:27:21.529 --> 00:27:24.049 sure, to be honest. But I think it's probably 00:27:24.049 --> 00:27:27.650 closer to something like this. In chapter 6, 00:27:28.029 --> 00:27:30.869 Paul has been saying to the Corinthians, hey, 00:27:30.890 --> 00:27:34.450 guys, why are you using your authority to basically 00:27:34.450 --> 00:27:36.690 take each other to the law courts and sue each 00:27:36.690 --> 00:27:38.450 other? That's just not very fair. It's not very 00:27:38.450 --> 00:27:41.609 just. It's not very loving. And he goes, do you 00:27:41.609 --> 00:27:44.309 not know that you guys are going to have such 00:27:44.309 --> 00:27:46.329 authority that you're even going to be judging 00:27:46.329 --> 00:27:50.859 the angels? Therefore, use your authority really 00:27:50.859 --> 00:27:53.759 wisely because God has given you great authority 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:56.619 over his creation. And I think there might be 00:27:56.619 --> 00:28:00.000 a sense here in verse 10 where he's saying, look, 00:28:00.059 --> 00:28:03.140 ladies, you have been given all of this great 00:28:03.140 --> 00:28:07.720 authority that God has given you. Bearing in 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:09.740 mind what I said about the fact that you guys 00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:13.480 are going to be judging the angels, use your 00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:16.420 authority well. Use your authority well. Use 00:28:16.420 --> 00:28:22.019 your power for good on that one. Now look with 00:28:22.019 --> 00:28:25.480 me at verse 11. Paul is aware that this talk 00:28:25.480 --> 00:28:29.539 of male headship over women might, in Roman culture, 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:33.839 sound like he's affirming the horrendous cultural 00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:37.099 practice of treating women like they're less 00:28:37.099 --> 00:28:39.259 valued, like they're just something on a man's 00:28:39.259 --> 00:28:44.259 shoe. And so Paul goes back to the Eden fragrance. 00:28:44.500 --> 00:28:48.140 He goes back to the Eden pattern in verse 11 00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:51.740 because he wants to reiterate that both men, 00:28:51.980 --> 00:28:55.680 both men, let me say it again, both men and women 00:28:55.680 --> 00:29:00.759 are image bearers of God. And just as the Father 00:29:00.759 --> 00:29:04.740 is equal in status and dignity with the Son, 00:29:07.170 --> 00:29:09.750 despite their roles being different in creation 00:29:09.750 --> 00:29:14.009 and salvation. Similarly, men and women are equal 00:29:14.009 --> 00:29:17.309 in dignity and equally need each other in order 00:29:17.309 --> 00:29:20.349 to fulfill their purpose and equally bring God 00:29:20.349 --> 00:29:23.410 glory when they both submit to the will of God, 00:29:23.569 --> 00:29:27.549 which is why he says, because everything comes 00:29:27.549 --> 00:29:32.970 from God. In other words, and I think we need 00:29:32.970 --> 00:29:37.039 to hear this. Don't get distracted by male headship 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:41.619 in marriage because everyone and everything submits 00:29:41.619 --> 00:29:46.319 to God. I think Paul's saying, look, I'm not 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:50.420 saying that men are more important. I think he's 00:29:50.420 --> 00:29:53.660 making that really clear in verses 11 and 12. 00:29:54.220 --> 00:29:59.319 Look at me at verses 13 to 15. Paul closes his 00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:02.900 argument about the difference. between men and 00:30:02.900 --> 00:30:05.940 women, in applying or rejecting the customs of 00:30:05.940 --> 00:30:10.480 head covering by appealing to the cultural perceptions 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:13.460 of the differences between the two sexes. And 00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:15.960 I need you to notice he's now broadening his 00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:19.480 scope, not merely to marry people, but he's talking 00:30:19.480 --> 00:30:26.079 to all believers. And he needs to do this. Because 00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:29.079 Christianity, and don't miss this, Christianity 00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:33.420 was so, so counter -cultural within the Roman 00:30:33.420 --> 00:30:37.119 Empire. For in the Roman Empire, there were so 00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:39.420 many different places in society where women 00:30:39.420 --> 00:30:41.599 were pushed down, where they were segregated 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:44.839 from men, where they were considered to be lesser 00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:50.400 and treated as lesser. But Christianity, now 00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:53.599 the church has come along, has made women of 00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:57.609 equal status. And equal dignity with men and 00:30:57.609 --> 00:31:00.750 given women the first time the opportunity to 00:31:00.750 --> 00:31:04.589 equally participate in worship with men. It's 00:31:04.589 --> 00:31:10.769 right there in verse 5. It's almost, I think, 00:31:10.789 --> 00:31:14.069 there's a danger to a young or baby Christian. 00:31:15.049 --> 00:31:20.329 You might even think that Christianity has eroded 00:31:20.329 --> 00:31:26.029 any difference between men and women. You might 00:31:26.029 --> 00:31:27.910 even think that if you're a baby Christian, so 00:31:27.910 --> 00:31:30.670 radical is Christianity in the Roman Empire. 00:31:31.450 --> 00:31:35.490 And so Paul wants to reiterate, actually, whoa, 00:31:35.609 --> 00:31:38.789 whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. There is a natural 00:31:38.789 --> 00:31:43.670 distinction between men and women. And in order 00:31:43.670 --> 00:31:46.390 to make the case to do that, he appeals to a 00:31:46.390 --> 00:31:50.930 Roman cultural idea that women have long hair 00:31:50.930 --> 00:31:54.890 and it marks their beauty. And that men typically 00:31:54.890 --> 00:31:57.809 in the Roman Empire had short hair as a mark 00:31:57.809 --> 00:31:59.690 of their honour. It was a little bit like men 00:31:59.690 --> 00:32:02.329 had a kind of short hair buzz cuts for the military 00:32:02.329 --> 00:32:07.069 because Rome was a military empire. And that's 00:32:07.069 --> 00:32:09.849 how you could quickly tell the difference between 00:32:09.849 --> 00:32:12.910 the two sexes in any gathering. In other words, 00:32:12.910 --> 00:32:16.109 he's saying, look, for a Roman, the natural expectation 00:32:16.109 --> 00:32:19.609 was that a woman would look different to a man. 00:32:19.809 --> 00:32:25.609 And therefore, he's saying, church. Don't be 00:32:25.609 --> 00:32:29.410 embarrassed about that in the church. Don't be 00:32:29.410 --> 00:32:33.190 embarrassed that there are men here and that 00:32:33.190 --> 00:32:35.529 there are women here. You don't have to leave 00:32:35.529 --> 00:32:40.630 that at the door when you come in. Look with 00:32:40.630 --> 00:32:45.829 me at verse 16. Paul's summary of which customs 00:32:45.829 --> 00:32:50.349 to retain and which to reject has a default. 00:32:50.490 --> 00:32:52.170 And I think it's this. I think this is the summary 00:32:52.170 --> 00:32:58.559 default. Pursue unity even at personal expense. 00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:02.480 Pursue unity even at personal expense. That's 00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:06.259 what this is really all about. Pursue unity even 00:33:06.259 --> 00:33:10.339 at personal expense. Let's take the cake out 00:33:10.339 --> 00:33:16.279 of the oven and apply it. Some of you may just 00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:19.140 be waking up and saying, oh, that was hard work. 00:33:19.220 --> 00:33:22.279 Just tell me, do women need to wear head coverings 00:33:22.279 --> 00:33:29.329 in church or not? Come on! Famous theologians 00:33:29.329 --> 00:33:31.490 you might have heard of, Martin Luther and John 00:33:31.490 --> 00:33:34.730 Calvin, commended women for covering their heads 00:33:34.730 --> 00:33:38.190 in public assemblies. But both of those theologians 00:33:38.190 --> 00:33:40.769 noted that it was really a matter of custom. 00:33:42.690 --> 00:33:45.690 The famous writer and theologian Charles Hodge 00:33:45.690 --> 00:33:50.049 put the matter in this way. Dress is in great 00:33:50.049 --> 00:33:53.440 degree conventional. A costume that is proper 00:33:53.440 --> 00:33:57.700 in one country would be indecorous in another. 00:33:58.460 --> 00:34:00.819 In other words, you've got to be discerning in 00:34:00.819 --> 00:34:03.519 applying this. In other words, let me put it 00:34:03.519 --> 00:34:07.319 like this. If wearing a head covering in your 00:34:07.319 --> 00:34:11.599 culture signifies the beauty of Christian marriage 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:15.360 and echoes the relational dynamics of the Trinity, 00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:21.699 then by all means, wear a hat. But if it doesn't, 00:34:21.699 --> 00:34:27.280 then you're free not to. But if the focus is 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:30.659 actually really more on unity than headwear, 00:34:30.880 --> 00:34:35.059 and it's really all about the fragrance of Eden 00:34:35.059 --> 00:34:38.000 in the Christian community, then I think the 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:40.179 application that we have to work hard at here 00:34:40.179 --> 00:34:44.079 at City Church is to discern how do we show sacrificial 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:47.420 love of Jesus... in the specific culture that 00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:50.980 we live in today of Manchester 2026? That really 00:34:50.980 --> 00:34:55.940 is the hard question of this passage. And to 00:34:55.940 --> 00:34:58.300 answer it, sometimes the answer to that question 00:34:58.300 --> 00:35:02.380 means you break cultural norms, and at other 00:35:02.380 --> 00:35:07.239 times it means you keep them. Let me put it like 00:35:07.239 --> 00:35:12.519 this. Do you remember when Jesus meets the Samaritan 00:35:12.519 --> 00:35:15.769 woman in John chapter 4? Meets her at a well. 00:35:16.570 --> 00:35:19.989 And Jesus goes up to this woman and he talks 00:35:19.989 --> 00:35:22.929 to her. Now, Samaritans and Jews were enemies 00:35:22.929 --> 00:35:27.150 with each other. And it is a total cultural outrage 00:35:27.150 --> 00:35:30.550 that Jesus would chat to this woman. In that 00:35:30.550 --> 00:35:34.510 moment, Jesus breaks the custom, smashes it to 00:35:34.510 --> 00:35:39.929 pieces. If you remember from John 4, he then 00:35:39.929 --> 00:35:43.050 talks to this woman and he challenges this woman. 00:35:44.039 --> 00:35:47.960 about her attitude towards marriage. Do you remember 00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:51.219 that? And he's like, even the man that you are 00:35:51.219 --> 00:35:56.179 now with isn't your husband. And he challenges 00:35:56.179 --> 00:35:58.039 her on that. Did you see what Jesus is doing 00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:01.320 there? He's reinforcing the custom of the day. 00:36:01.639 --> 00:36:05.039 He's actually reinforcing the custom of marriage 00:36:05.039 --> 00:36:09.780 relationships. Jesus then reveals that he is 00:36:09.780 --> 00:36:13.820 God himself. He's revealing the ultimate headship 00:36:13.820 --> 00:36:18.820 over this woman. And he offers her the water 00:36:18.820 --> 00:36:21.719 of life. That is, he offers her in that moment 00:36:21.719 --> 00:36:26.079 the hope of the gospel. But that very same invitation 00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:35.559 ultimately requires him, in love, to lay down 00:36:35.559 --> 00:36:41.230 his power. And lay down his rights. And sacrificially 00:36:41.230 --> 00:36:46.949 die for her on the cross. Say that this woman 00:36:46.949 --> 00:36:51.210 who has been abandoned and ostracized by her 00:36:51.210 --> 00:36:58.449 society and her community. Could share in the 00:36:58.449 --> 00:37:05.250 very glory of God. That is the fragrance of Jesus. 00:37:06.010 --> 00:37:09.050 That is the very fragrance of Genesis 1 and 2. 00:37:09.230 --> 00:37:12.489 And whatever that fragrance smells like, it does 00:37:12.489 --> 00:37:17.250 not smell of, I'm too cowardly to challenge unloving 00:37:17.250 --> 00:37:19.489 cultural customs because it will look bad at 00:37:19.489 --> 00:37:24.889 me. And it does not smell like I'm too proud 00:37:24.889 --> 00:37:29.329 to lay down my power and my rights for the benefit 00:37:29.329 --> 00:37:32.210 of others. Whatever it smells like, it does not 00:37:32.210 --> 00:37:35.590 smell like either of those things. Now, the fragrance 00:37:35.590 --> 00:37:37.730 of Jesus is beautiful and unique, and I think 00:37:37.730 --> 00:37:40.849 based on this particular passage, in our community 00:37:40.849 --> 00:37:43.329 here at City Church, it smells like three things 00:37:43.329 --> 00:37:45.730 that we've got to pay attention to. Number one, 00:37:46.710 --> 00:37:49.150 retain customs that promote the beauty of marriage. 00:37:50.469 --> 00:37:52.550 We need to be a church where marriage is held 00:37:52.550 --> 00:37:55.269 up as a good thing, and where loving, sacrificial 00:37:55.269 --> 00:37:57.670 marriages that point to Christ are honoured and 00:37:57.670 --> 00:38:00.909 thrive. What might that look like? Well, for 00:38:00.909 --> 00:38:04.070 example, I know for some of you who are married, 00:38:04.230 --> 00:38:07.909 when we enjoy the custom of talking to people 00:38:07.909 --> 00:38:10.050 about how things are going in our life, it's 00:38:10.050 --> 00:38:14.409 a custom, isn't it? How you doing? I know some 00:38:14.409 --> 00:38:16.369 of us who are married find it difficult to be 00:38:16.369 --> 00:38:18.769 honest about what's going on in our marriage. 00:38:19.710 --> 00:38:22.070 If we're talking particularly to people who are 00:38:22.070 --> 00:38:24.909 single. Because we don't want to make them feel 00:38:24.909 --> 00:38:29.929 awkward. Actually, no. No, no, we should be talking 00:38:29.929 --> 00:38:32.789 about our marriage where it is appropriate in 00:38:32.789 --> 00:38:35.769 those conversations. We need to be people who 00:38:35.769 --> 00:38:37.949 talk honestly about our marriage. We need to 00:38:37.949 --> 00:38:39.949 be men and women who are married who talk well 00:38:39.949 --> 00:38:44.090 of our spouses. We need to be celebrating from 00:38:44.090 --> 00:38:47.110 the rooftops when he takes out the rubbish or 00:38:47.110 --> 00:38:51.309 when he picks up wet towels from the floor. I'm 00:38:51.309 --> 00:38:52.849 sorry, I'm just actually applying this passage 00:38:52.849 --> 00:38:58.280 to me. But you get the idea, don't you? You get 00:38:58.280 --> 00:39:02.119 the idea. Secondly, the fragrance of Jesus in 00:39:02.119 --> 00:39:04.579 our community based on this passage is we must 00:39:04.579 --> 00:39:08.980 reject customs that don't promote male humility. 00:39:11.059 --> 00:39:15.340 Corinth, the big dogs covered their heads. For 00:39:15.340 --> 00:39:21.699 us, it means men, we should not pursue arrogance 00:39:21.699 --> 00:39:26.510 of status. You come to church, some of you attempting 00:39:26.510 --> 00:39:29.369 to showcase that you're the alpha by what you 00:39:29.369 --> 00:39:32.690 wear or who you speak to or what you do. No. 00:39:34.469 --> 00:39:37.070 The fragrance of Christ is that you sacrificially 00:39:37.070 --> 00:39:43.949 give away your power. You want to be the spiritual 00:39:43.949 --> 00:39:46.449 giga -chad, and I learnt what that word means. 00:39:49.230 --> 00:39:51.230 then you need to be the last one to leave church 00:39:51.230 --> 00:39:53.030 on a Sunday because there's chairs to be stacked 00:39:53.030 --> 00:39:56.630 and there's washing up to be done. You get it. 00:39:57.989 --> 00:40:00.710 Thirdly, the fragrance of Jesus in our community, 00:40:00.710 --> 00:40:03.429 based on this passage, means that we need to 00:40:03.429 --> 00:40:06.090 retain customs that promote male and female distinction. 00:40:07.039 --> 00:40:09.659 Your friends, when you bring them to City Church 00:40:09.659 --> 00:40:11.400 or when they connect with City Church, you should 00:40:11.400 --> 00:40:13.360 notice something different about us in the way 00:40:13.360 --> 00:40:16.539 that men speak to women and women speak about 00:40:16.539 --> 00:40:19.079 men and the way that we're tripping over each 00:40:19.079 --> 00:40:22.559 other in order to honour and respect each other. 00:40:22.599 --> 00:40:24.539 There should be something different about us 00:40:24.539 --> 00:40:27.900 when people come amongst us. You see, let me 00:40:27.900 --> 00:40:30.559 give you an example. Our culture has a custom, 00:40:30.719 --> 00:40:33.840 doesn't it? A custom in our culture where men... 00:40:34.329 --> 00:40:37.570 open doors for women, not because they can't 00:40:37.570 --> 00:40:39.789 do it themselves, but because we're simply showing 00:40:39.789 --> 00:40:44.909 respect and honour to women. Well, perhaps that 00:40:44.909 --> 00:40:48.110 is something that as a church we should become 00:40:48.110 --> 00:40:53.789 proficient at. And that's just one example of 00:40:53.789 --> 00:40:55.989 many things that we should be figuring out together. 00:40:56.090 --> 00:40:58.989 What does it look like to be honouring each other 00:40:58.989 --> 00:41:04.650 in this place? But the headline is this. The 00:41:04.650 --> 00:41:10.989 world's fragrance is put yourself first. Look 00:41:10.989 --> 00:41:14.230 after your own power. Look after your own status. 00:41:14.690 --> 00:41:20.690 Look after your own preferences. The fragrance 00:41:20.690 --> 00:41:26.969 of Jesus is sacrifice yourself. Love others. 00:41:28.349 --> 00:41:33.099 Put the needs of others before yourself. Jesus' 00:41:33.219 --> 00:41:39.760 fragrance is better. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, 00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:41.500 we come before you knowing that this is a hard 00:41:41.500 --> 00:41:44.500 passage, but we do pray that you will have spoken 00:41:44.500 --> 00:41:46.559 to us today as we've looked on the Lord Jesus, 00:41:46.679 --> 00:41:50.280 the one who sacrificed everything for us, that 00:41:50.280 --> 00:41:53.900 we deserve nothing. May we be those who echo 00:41:53.900 --> 00:41:57.440 that in the way that we sacrificially love others. 00:41:58.059 --> 00:42:01.260 Help us not to be obsessed with ourselves and 00:42:01.260 --> 00:42:05.079 our own rights, but may we be men and women who 00:42:05.079 --> 00:42:08.800 are saturated in the very fragrance of the Lord 00:42:08.800 --> 00:42:13.840 Jesus Christ, a fragrance of love and service 00:42:13.840 --> 00:42:15.139 and humility.