WEBVTT 00:00:02.569 --> 00:00:05.969 And today he's going to talk to all of us about 00:00:05.969 --> 00:00:14.369 order in the church. Order in the church. Some 00:00:14.369 --> 00:00:17.469 of us have at least seen court programs on television 00:00:17.469 --> 00:00:20.989 when there's been disruption in the court and 00:00:20.989 --> 00:00:24.530 the judge grabs the gavel and says order in the 00:00:24.530 --> 00:00:28.739 court. That's not always necessary, but occasionally 00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:32.420 because of the disarray, some disagreement or 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:35.060 dispute within the courtroom, the judge has to 00:00:35.060 --> 00:00:39.179 say, order. And that's what Paul is saying to 00:00:39.179 --> 00:00:42.740 the church in Corinth in this chapter. He is 00:00:42.740 --> 00:00:47.320 calling for order in their church. This letter 00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:50.399 was written to them because of the lack of order 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:54.729 in their fellowship. their worldly self -centered 00:00:54.729 --> 00:01:00.750 attitudes had created division, distrust, disputes, 00:01:01.850 --> 00:01:06.090 and even doctrinal aberrations. It was a congregation 00:01:06.090 --> 00:01:11.590 that was in chaos. And amazingly all of that 00:01:11.590 --> 00:01:15.769 after Paul himself had been their pastor for 00:01:15.769 --> 00:01:20.310 a year and a half. Among the issues that created 00:01:20.310 --> 00:01:23.209 tension in the Fellowship of Corinth was the 00:01:23.209 --> 00:01:27.569 abuse of Christian liberty. Christian liberty 00:01:27.569 --> 00:01:31.510 is a blessed truth. It says that we are no longer 00:01:31.510 --> 00:01:37.469 under the condemnation of law keeping. It says 00:01:37.469 --> 00:01:39.670 that we are no longer under the bondage that 00:01:39.670 --> 00:01:44.189 comes from man -made rules. It says that we are 00:01:44.189 --> 00:01:47.469 no longer blinded by the deceptive teachings 00:01:47.469 --> 00:01:50.090 of false religion that lead us away from the 00:01:50.090 --> 00:01:53.890 true God. We are free from those things. The 00:01:53.890 --> 00:01:58.049 Christian is liberated in Jesus Christ to walk 00:01:58.049 --> 00:02:02.909 in the truth and do fellowship with God. It's 00:02:02.909 --> 00:02:07.569 a wonderful, blessed truth. And yet I repeat 00:02:07.569 --> 00:02:10.430 that this particular congregation was destroying 00:02:10.430 --> 00:02:17.039 itself with abuse of Christian liberty. Because 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:21.580 you see there is a true idea of Christian liberty 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:26.099 and there's a false idea. The false notion is 00:02:26.099 --> 00:02:31.039 that a Christian is free to do whatever he wants 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:37.259 to do. That is not Christian liberty as defined 00:02:37.259 --> 00:02:41.780 in the Bible. The true idea of Christian liberty 00:02:41.780 --> 00:02:46.000 is that the Christian is free to do whatever 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:50.919 he should. Not whatever he wants, but whatever 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:55.400 he should under the lordship of Jesus Christ. 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:00.439 Now in the context of 1 Corinthians 11, the problem 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:06.759 arose out of the culture of that city. We have 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:09.460 talked before about this church being a worldly 00:03:09.460 --> 00:03:13.439 church. No church is in trouble because it's 00:03:13.439 --> 00:03:16.599 in the world, but when the world gets in the 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:20.180 church, it's in deep trouble. And that was the 00:03:20.180 --> 00:03:23.800 case with Corinth. Now the culture of that day 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:28.039 treated women basically as property, as slaves. 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:31.599 And as a response, in the culture of the city, 00:03:31.659 --> 00:03:35.159 there was a movement for women's freedom and 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:41.150 women's rights. It was right. they had been suppressed 00:03:41.150 --> 00:03:46.189 and oppressed. However, the difficulty for this 00:03:46.189 --> 00:03:50.210 church lay in understanding how believing women, 00:03:50.689 --> 00:03:53.889 Christian women, ought to conduct themselves 00:03:53.889 --> 00:03:58.289 in the context of that culture and in the context 00:03:58.289 --> 00:04:02.770 of their public worship. Apparently, some of 00:04:02.770 --> 00:04:05.889 them had gone too far being influenced by the 00:04:05.889 --> 00:04:09.900 liberation movement of their day. and had sought 00:04:09.900 --> 00:04:15.800 to discard some of the appropriate modest apparel 00:04:15.800 --> 00:04:19.199 and behavior that would glorify God and advance 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:23.079 his reputation in the midst of their pagan city. 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:27.540 Now as we come to this chapter we have to acknowledge 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:31.560 that the text is complicated and that there is 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:35.019 room in it for disagreement in certain respects. 00:04:36.910 --> 00:04:40.670 The attempt has to be made to differentiate between 00:04:40.670 --> 00:04:45.649 the principles of God and the customs of the 00:04:45.649 --> 00:04:50.810 first century Corinthian culture. The principles 00:04:50.810 --> 00:04:53.430 we want to lift out of here as God will help 00:04:53.430 --> 00:04:58.470 us do that so that we can apply them to our own 00:04:58.470 --> 00:05:01.269 culture which is obviously quite different than 00:05:01.269 --> 00:05:05.920 first century Corinth. Paul views the root issue 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:10.399 here as one of disorder in the church. He sees 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:14.360 the essential problem as one of insubordination 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:19.720 to God's revealed pattern of authority. And in 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:24.319 that sense it is a serious breach of their theology. 00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:30.720 It is a breach of their theology that showed 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:34.399 itself in the way that they conducted themselves 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:39.639 in the church. What I want to say to you this 00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:44.139 morning basically is this, that order comes from 00:05:44.139 --> 00:05:50.819 God. And so to glorify God as we have been commanded 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:56.000 to do at the end of chapter 10, we must value 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:04.339 God's order and follow it gladly. Disorder, confusion, 00:06:05.220 --> 00:06:09.420 chaos, and disarray all come from either the 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:14.139 flesh or the devil. It is the result of sin at 00:06:14.139 --> 00:06:19.959 work. Order comes from God. We have been commanded 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:22.860 to glorify God in everything that we do and so 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:26.639 therefore we must value God's order and follow 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:33.199 it gladly. our text today by commending the Corinthians. 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:36.899 He says, I praise you because you remember me 00:06:36.899 --> 00:06:39.860 and everything and hold firmly to the traditions 00:06:39.860 --> 00:06:44.180 just as I delivered them to you. These are the 00:06:44.180 --> 00:06:48.839 oral teachings, the ordinances of the church. 00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:52.980 Paul begins by praising and commending them as, 00:06:52.980 --> 00:06:54.899 in fact, he does this whole book. You remember 00:06:54.899 --> 00:06:59.410 in chapter 1, he begins by reminding them that 00:06:59.410 --> 00:07:01.949 they have everything they need and God has enriched 00:07:01.949 --> 00:07:04.930 them and he commends them in certain respects 00:07:04.930 --> 00:07:08.410 and then he launches into this correction of 00:07:08.410 --> 00:07:12.470 the problems that they were experiencing. Now 00:07:12.470 --> 00:07:15.990 he does a similar thing here. He begins in verse 00:07:15.990 --> 00:07:18.430 1 by patting them on the back and while they're 00:07:18.430 --> 00:07:23.610 enjoying that he grabs them by the necktie. He 00:07:23.610 --> 00:07:25.170 says I have some things I want to talk to you 00:07:25.170 --> 00:07:30.110 about to correct you. The first thing that he 00:07:30.110 --> 00:07:35.829 does is to outline for them God's plan. God's 00:07:35.829 --> 00:07:40.550 plan for order, God's plan for authority. And 00:07:40.550 --> 00:07:44.230 it's summarized in three sentences, really in 00:07:44.230 --> 00:07:51.949 verse three, when he says, Christ is the head 00:07:51.949 --> 00:07:58.449 of every man, and the man is the head of a woman. 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:05.899 and God is the head of Christ. He says, here 00:08:05.899 --> 00:08:11.620 is God's plan. Now you notice there are three 00:08:11.620 --> 00:08:16.459 occasions that he uses the word head. There is 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:18.399 great debate today about what the meaning of 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:21.459 this word, kephale, is in the original language. 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.939 I am convinced from my own study of it that is 00:08:26.939 --> 00:08:31.959 referring to the idea of authority over. Now 00:08:31.959 --> 00:08:34.440 you will find those who try to tell us that it 00:08:34.440 --> 00:08:42.720 means the source of. They have the name within 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:45.620 the evangelical world today of egalitarians. 00:08:48.179 --> 00:08:51.399 And in reading their books and hearing their 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:55.210 talks, They sound very convincing that in fact 00:08:55.210 --> 00:08:58.330 the word Kephalae can be properly interpreted 00:08:58.330 --> 00:09:03.169 the source of. But if you look at the extra biblical 00:09:03.169 --> 00:09:07.429 literature and weigh the evidence, if you examine 00:09:07.429 --> 00:09:10.889 the Septuagint, that is the Greek translation 00:09:10.889 --> 00:09:16.350 of the Old Testament, which had the most powerful 00:09:16.350 --> 00:09:20.990 influence upon apostolic thinking and New Testament 00:09:20.990 --> 00:09:25.039 doctrine. And then if you look at how Paul uses 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:29.759 the words in the contexts where he does, it seems 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:33.720 to me that the stronger argument by far is that 00:09:33.720 --> 00:09:36.980 when Paul uses the word head, he's talking about 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:40.240 authority over. Now I mention this today because 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:42.299 within another week we're going to have a conference 00:09:42.299 --> 00:09:45.679 up the road from here of the Christians for Biblical 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:49.659 Equality, which as much as I know is a very fine, 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:53.240 sincere organization of egalitarians. those who 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:58.840 believe other than we do. When you hear people 00:09:58.840 --> 00:10:03.539 like Gilbert Belozikian, who is lifted up by 00:10:03.539 --> 00:10:07.279 Bill Hybels, who agrees with him, or you hear 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:11.220 or read Gordon Fee or Catherine Clark Kroger, 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:17.820 or more germane to our own area, Alvira Michelson, 00:10:18.269 --> 00:10:21.570 who along with her late husband Berkeley advocated 00:10:21.570 --> 00:10:23.649 this view. You will know where they're coming 00:10:23.649 --> 00:10:25.769 from. They're a part of the Christians for biblical 00:10:25.769 --> 00:10:28.730 equality, which is headquartered here in the 00:10:28.730 --> 00:10:32.230 Twin Cities. They take an opposite view of what 00:10:32.230 --> 00:10:36.389 I'm presenting to you this morning. But I'm convinced 00:10:36.389 --> 00:10:40.129 that when he says God is the head of Christ, 00:10:41.210 --> 00:10:43.730 the Apostle Paul is saying that God is the authority 00:10:43.730 --> 00:10:48.669 over Christ. that is Christ placed himself under 00:10:48.669 --> 00:10:52.389 the authority of the Father. Although we know 00:10:52.389 --> 00:10:56.710 in every respect he is equal to the Father, in 00:10:56.710 --> 00:11:02.549 every essence he is deity as is the Father. But 00:11:02.549 --> 00:11:07.570 for the purpose of order, for the purpose of 00:11:07.570 --> 00:11:10.049 function, for the purpose of carrying out the 00:11:10.049 --> 00:11:16.350 plan of redemption, the Son subordinated himself 00:11:16.350 --> 00:11:21.029 to the Father, though equal with him. And he 00:11:21.029 --> 00:11:24.669 says Christ is the head of every man. In other 00:11:24.669 --> 00:11:29.870 words, every believing man is his idea. The believing 00:11:29.870 --> 00:11:34.210 man submits himself to Christ's lordship and 00:11:34.210 --> 00:11:37.629 depends upon Christ for his grace and direction 00:11:37.629 --> 00:11:41.590 so that he might be the man of God and the leader 00:11:41.590 --> 00:11:45.190 of his home that he ought to be. A servant leader. 00:11:46.029 --> 00:11:49.129 Christ is the head, the authority over every 00:11:49.129 --> 00:11:54.350 man. And he says the man is the head of a woman. 00:11:55.870 --> 00:11:58.269 He is speaking here in the context of marriage. 00:11:58.350 --> 00:12:02.029 It is not that a man is the head over every woman, 00:12:03.590 --> 00:12:07.750 but a husband is the head of his wife. That is, 00:12:07.750 --> 00:12:13.039 he is the authority over her. And the wife? places 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:17.039 herself under the authority of her husband. She 00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:20.320 is not in the least inferior to her husband, 00:12:22.019 --> 00:12:25.799 and in some respects is superior to him, just 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:29.600 by the way that she's made and wired. But for 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:33.980 the purpose of the functioning of the home, she 00:12:33.980 --> 00:12:37.019 places herself subordinate to her husband, as 00:12:37.019 --> 00:12:40.899 Christ did the same to the Father. And as man 00:12:40.899 --> 00:12:45.100 does, to Christ. And so each of these couplings 00:12:45.100 --> 00:12:49.519 represents an equality of relationship and yet 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:55.820 there is an authority over in each case as well. 00:13:00.139 --> 00:13:04.100 Now Paul says that is God's plan. That is God's 00:13:04.100 --> 00:13:09.000 order. And what he wants us to do is to value 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:13.860 his order. not to try to get out of it because 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:19.419 of the pressures of our culture too, because 00:13:19.419 --> 00:13:21.879 in a certain respect our culture and the Corinthian 00:13:21.879 --> 00:13:27.500 culture have a lot in common. But he says in 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:30.399 the midst of the pressure in the opposite direction 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:34.840 we are to value God's order and follow it gladly. 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:39.860 And so, beginning with verse 4, the apostle begins 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:44.940 to delve into the Corinthian problem. And to 00:13:44.940 --> 00:13:47.399 put it succinctly, it seems to be that some believing 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:51.860 women were not giving evidence of submission 00:13:51.860 --> 00:13:55.759 to the authority that God had given, that is 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:59.919 to their husbands, and perhaps even to male leadership 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:03.500 within the church. Now you say, well what's the 00:14:03.500 --> 00:14:06.139 big deal about this? Why is this so important? 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:09.659 I'll tell you why. It is that the testimony of 00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:12.600 God's orderly arrangement in the church is at 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:18.679 stake. That's what's the big deal. God's testimony, 00:14:19.940 --> 00:14:23.919 God's plan, God's orderly arrangement of things 00:14:23.919 --> 00:14:28.500 is jeopardized when we don't value it and follow 00:14:28.500 --> 00:14:32.980 it. Now, the problem in Corinth was rooted in 00:14:32.980 --> 00:14:36.139 the customs of that culture, as we will see in 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:40.379 the language. It seems that the prostitutes of 00:14:40.379 --> 00:14:45.759 the temples shaved their heads, or they had shorn 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:49.580 hair, that is, hair that was cut short, and they 00:14:49.580 --> 00:14:52.960 walked around blatantly with unveiled heads. 00:14:54.220 --> 00:15:01.870 There was no modesty in them. Paul is here saying 00:15:01.870 --> 00:15:05.909 that the Corinthian women dare not identify with 00:15:05.909 --> 00:15:11.649 that kind of woman. The Corinthian believing 00:15:11.649 --> 00:15:14.190 women seem to have understood their liberation 00:15:14.190 --> 00:15:17.610 in Christ, their identity in Christ, that there 00:15:17.610 --> 00:15:22.529 is neither male nor female any longer. And then 00:15:22.529 --> 00:15:24.769 in light of that little statement that we've 00:15:24.769 --> 00:15:27.529 looked at before that was popular, all things 00:15:27.529 --> 00:15:32.860 are lawful. They disregarded the customs about 00:15:32.860 --> 00:15:36.899 head coverings and in doing so gave the fellowship 00:15:36.899 --> 00:15:41.960 a bad reputation. They were ruining its testimony 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:46.779 by their reaction, their abuse of Christian liberty. 00:15:47.980 --> 00:15:50.879 And so Paul's answer to them is that women should 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:55.480 continue to show modesty and submission in church 00:15:55.480 --> 00:16:00.340 by covering their heads. And he gives six reasons 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:04.759 why women should take this action. The first 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:08.340 is for the reason of propriety, verses five and 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:12.159 six. Let's back up to catch verse four, where 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:15.059 he says, every man who has something on his head 00:16:15.059 --> 00:16:18.480 while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:24.159 But every woman who has her head uncovered while 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:29.240 praying or prophesying disgraces her head. For 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:32.980 she is one and the same with her whose head is 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:38.100 shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, 00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:41.879 let her also have her hair cut off." He's speaking 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:45.740 ironically here. But if it is disgraceful for 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:48.320 a woman to have her hair cut off or her head 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:53.080 shaved, let her cover her head. Paul is saying, 00:16:53.259 --> 00:16:57.480 for reason of propriety. A woman needs to be 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:00.720 modest and cover her head in church. To participate 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:04.900 in public worship immodestly disgraces her head. 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:10.380 And that word head here could be referring to 00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:14.059 she herself or it could be referring to her husband. 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:17.079 But in either respect, Paul sees a certain disgrace 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:21.200 for the women to so act within the church as 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:24.549 they are participating in worship. Secondly, 00:17:24.549 --> 00:17:28.250 he says, for reason of creation, women are to 00:17:28.250 --> 00:17:31.950 show their submission in this respect. For a 00:17:31.950 --> 00:17:36.289 man ought not to have his head covered, since 00:17:36.289 --> 00:17:40.309 he is the image and glory of God, but the woman 00:17:40.309 --> 00:17:44.789 is the glory of the man. Now Paul is not saying 00:17:44.789 --> 00:17:46.890 here that a woman is not created in the image 00:17:46.890 --> 00:17:50.150 of God, but his thrust here, his emphasis is 00:17:50.150 --> 00:17:53.650 on the word glory. That's his point. And he's 00:17:53.650 --> 00:17:55.849 saying that a man is created in the glory of 00:17:55.849 --> 00:17:59.609 God. A woman is the glory of the man. And he 00:17:59.609 --> 00:18:03.789 explains what he means. For a man does not originate 00:18:03.789 --> 00:18:10.150 from woman, but woman from man. He is going back 00:18:10.150 --> 00:18:15.569 to creation. And he is saying that man was created 00:18:15.569 --> 00:18:22.789 by God out of dust. A woman was created out of 00:18:22.789 --> 00:18:29.109 man from his rib. Verse 9, for indeed man was 00:18:29.109 --> 00:18:33.329 not created for the woman's sake, but the woman 00:18:33.329 --> 00:18:39.069 for the man's sake. That is Eve was created because 00:18:39.069 --> 00:18:45.630 Adam was incomplete. Adam needed a helper. And 00:18:45.630 --> 00:18:51.559 so God created Eve to be his helper. to help 00:18:51.559 --> 00:18:57.380 him with his tasks, to compliment him. And so 00:18:57.380 --> 00:19:00.220 Paul is going back to the order of creation and 00:19:00.220 --> 00:19:04.359 to the reason of creation. And he says, for this 00:19:04.359 --> 00:19:08.140 reason a woman needs to take her role in the 00:19:08.140 --> 00:19:14.549 church very seriously by covering her head. and 00:19:14.549 --> 00:19:17.730 showing outwardly her subordination to God's 00:19:17.730 --> 00:19:20.990 order of things which was evident even in the 00:19:20.990 --> 00:19:24.809 creation. Now those who take the opposite view 00:19:24.809 --> 00:19:27.009 from me will say, yes, but you know all of that 00:19:27.009 --> 00:19:30.690 has to do with the fall. Friends, what he talks 00:19:30.690 --> 00:19:34.410 about in verses 8 and 9 was before the fall into 00:19:34.410 --> 00:19:39.529 sin. It's unrelated to that. It has to do with 00:19:39.529 --> 00:19:42.970 God's order of creation when everything was good. 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:51.079 He says the woman is from man, therefore she 00:19:51.079 --> 00:19:56.000 is his glory and she should honor him as such. 00:19:57.619 --> 00:20:00.859 In verse 10 he gives another reason. Therefore 00:20:00.859 --> 00:20:05.000 the woman ought to have a symbol of authority 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.539 on her head because of the angels. I call this 00:20:09.539 --> 00:20:12.200 the reason of example and frankly I do not fully 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:17.299 understand it. see what Paul says here. He says 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:20.140 there is some respect in which angels are present 00:20:20.140 --> 00:20:26.079 as we worship God together. And a woman who is 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:31.380 modest and is submissive and gives evidence of 00:20:31.380 --> 00:20:34.539 that by her head covering in that culture is 00:20:34.539 --> 00:20:38.460 a woman who is an example to the angels of the 00:20:38.460 --> 00:20:43.109 beauty of subordination. The beauty of God's 00:20:43.109 --> 00:20:47.710 order. The angels are watching, and for that 00:20:47.710 --> 00:20:50.630 reason she should conduct herself in this way. 00:20:51.049 --> 00:20:53.369 Number four, verses 11 and 12, for reason of 00:20:53.369 --> 00:20:57.329 theology. Now Paul kind of takes the other side 00:20:57.329 --> 00:20:59.549 for a moment because he says, however in the 00:20:59.549 --> 00:21:02.410 Lord neither is the woman independent of the 00:21:02.410 --> 00:21:06.809 man, nor is man independent of woman. In other 00:21:06.809 --> 00:21:11.720 words, there is an interdependence. For as the 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:18.380 woman originates from the man, Adam's rib, so 00:21:18.380 --> 00:21:22.119 also the man has his birth through the woman. 00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:25.980 That is the case from every generation since 00:21:25.980 --> 00:21:29.839 Adam. And so we are dependent upon each other. 00:21:29.859 --> 00:21:34.079 He points toward an interdependence and yet he 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:39.559 says all things originate from God. The interdependence 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:46.819 as well as the difference of role. The difference 00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:51.799 of function. All things originate from God. And 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:54.759 so he points toward theology here. He says God 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:59.440 is the one who has established not only the need 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:04.539 for each other and the equality that exists, 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:08.039 but he is the one who has set the difference. 00:22:10.520 --> 00:22:14.460 I must hasten on to verses 13 -15 where he gives 00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:18.920 the reason of nature. He says, Judge for yourselves, 00:22:20.019 --> 00:22:22.839 is it proper, is it fitting for a woman to pray 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:27.619 to God with head uncovered? Does not even nature 00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:31.700 itself teach you that if a man has long hair 00:22:31.700 --> 00:22:34.940 it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long 00:22:34.940 --> 00:22:40.079 hair it is a glory to her? For her hair is given 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:43.779 to her for a covering that is a natural covering. 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:48.119 It doesn't negate what he said before about this 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:53.900 shawl covering that he is asking for, that he 00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:56.039 says it is a natural covering. Now notice here 00:22:56.039 --> 00:22:59.799 the argument or the reason from nature. Now what 00:22:59.799 --> 00:23:02.640 does he mean by this? There are those who say, 00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:05.480 well it's the culture of that day that was saying 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:10.640 it, nothing beyond that. But I think the better 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:13.160 argument is that Paul is talking about the very 00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:16.420 nature of things the way that we think it is 00:23:16.420 --> 00:23:22.680 inbred in us That this is the case It may be 00:23:22.680 --> 00:23:25.019 reflected in culture and reinforced and it may 00:23:25.019 --> 00:23:28.420 not be But it's the nature of things. It's the 00:23:28.420 --> 00:23:31.700 same idea that he used in Romans chapter 1 when 00:23:31.700 --> 00:23:35.559 he talks about Men with men and women with women 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:41.170 doing that which is against nature The very same 00:23:41.170 --> 00:23:46.509 word. He's talking about that which we innately 00:23:46.509 --> 00:23:54.130 know as right or wrong. And he says even nature 00:23:54.130 --> 00:23:56.109 tells us that. And then in verse 16 he gives 00:23:56.109 --> 00:24:00.349 his final reason. He says if one is inclined 00:24:00.349 --> 00:24:04.150 to be contentious, to fight about this, we have 00:24:04.150 --> 00:24:07.819 no other practice. nor have the churches of God. 00:24:07.980 --> 00:24:10.740 Here is the reason of uniformity. Paul says, 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:13.839 I want you in Corinth to do the same that is 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:16.359 done in the other churches that have been founded. 00:24:16.700 --> 00:24:18.799 There is no other practice than the one that 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:24.160 I'm telling you now. And so adhere to it. And 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:28.299 so Paul brings before us the problem in Corinth. 00:24:28.880 --> 00:24:32.700 and then lays out the reasons why he is correcting 00:24:32.700 --> 00:24:36.299 their practice or their mispractice, their malpractice. 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:40.640 Now what is the application to us today? It's 00:24:40.640 --> 00:24:44.019 not to be found, in my opinion, in the wearing 00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:49.619 of shawls or hats or veils by women. I believe 00:24:49.619 --> 00:24:53.240 that aspect of the chapter is indeed cultural. 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:59.089 But he is talking about an attitude that needs 00:24:59.089 --> 00:25:01.769 to be displayed. That is the spirit of humility 00:25:01.769 --> 00:25:07.430 and modesty and submission. That spirit is at 00:25:07.430 --> 00:25:11.430 the very heart of godliness and of true femininity. 00:25:14.029 --> 00:25:18.009 And whatever the cultural means that appropriately 00:25:18.009 --> 00:25:22.029 shows that is, that's what the woman in a culture 00:25:22.029 --> 00:25:24.980 should adopt. And it will be different here in 00:25:24.980 --> 00:25:26.960 the United States than it will be in a tribal 00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:33.619 group in the middle of India. And so we need 00:25:33.619 --> 00:25:37.700 to understand that how it's shown is not as important 00:25:37.700 --> 00:25:43.599 as the spirit, the heart attitude that values 00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:47.400 God's order. Now in closing I want to look at 00:25:47.400 --> 00:25:50.859 our principles. What are the principles that 00:25:50.859 --> 00:25:55.150 come out of this text that we need to alert ourselves 00:25:55.150 --> 00:25:59.430 to in the midst of a culture like ours. Okay? 00:26:00.589 --> 00:26:02.650 As I talk about our principles, I want to begin 00:26:02.650 --> 00:26:05.089 by telling you what this text does not teach. 00:26:05.849 --> 00:26:08.369 It does not teach that women must wear hats to 00:26:08.369 --> 00:26:16.049 church. What if they do? Wonderful. It's a good 00:26:16.049 --> 00:26:19.910 thing. But it's not required. If it's fashionable, 00:26:20.210 --> 00:26:24.920 fine. Secondly, it does not teach that women 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:27.400 have no ministry in the church when it's gathered 00:26:27.400 --> 00:26:30.339 together. Indeed, there is suggestion here that 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:32.819 the women of Corinth were praying and prophesying 00:26:32.819 --> 00:26:37.460 in the church. And Paul, acknowledging that, 00:26:37.619 --> 00:26:42.519 does not correct it. Now when we get to chapter 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:45.859 14, we're going to argue this a little bit, because 00:26:45.859 --> 00:26:50.730 there he seems to correct it. But in this context 00:26:50.730 --> 00:26:53.089 he acknowledges that the women were in their 00:26:53.089 --> 00:26:56.049 public services participating by leading in prayer 00:26:56.049 --> 00:27:01.289 and by prophesying. Only there to do it now, 00:27:01.309 --> 00:27:06.609 he says, showing proper subordination. And then 00:27:06.609 --> 00:27:08.690 it does not teach that women can never be an 00:27:08.690 --> 00:27:12.029 authority over men in any context including ministry. 00:27:13.430 --> 00:27:15.250 There are times when it is quite appropriate 00:27:15.250 --> 00:27:20.779 for women to be over men. I was just reading, 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:26.839 in fact, an article written several years ago 00:27:26.839 --> 00:27:28.940 now by a professor in a seminary where there 00:27:28.940 --> 00:27:32.619 was a debate regarding whether a woman should 00:27:32.619 --> 00:27:37.420 be put on the faculty of that seminary in a particular 00:27:37.420 --> 00:27:43.539 area. And his argument I thought was very powerful, 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:46.319 that a seminary is not the same thing as a church, 00:27:46.460 --> 00:27:49.180 first of all. It's not a local church. It's a 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:52.880 seminary. And so we can't bring the rules of 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:55.099 the church directly into the seminary and say 00:27:55.099 --> 00:27:58.079 these have to apply there. But he went on to 00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:01.460 show, I thought persuasively, that in fact it 00:28:01.460 --> 00:28:03.819 was appropriate for her to be appointed to the 00:28:03.819 --> 00:28:06.980 faculty of that seminary in that particular area, 00:28:07.660 --> 00:28:10.799 even though she would have male students answering 00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:15.410 to her. Paul is not saying here that women can 00:28:15.410 --> 00:28:18.809 never be an authority over men. That is not what 00:28:18.809 --> 00:28:21.910 he's saying. But in the context of the church 00:28:21.910 --> 00:28:24.650 and particularly of the public worship, that's 00:28:24.650 --> 00:28:27.970 what he is calling for. Now there are principles 00:28:27.970 --> 00:28:31.150 to guide our conduct also. I think that these 00:28:31.150 --> 00:28:36.769 are supra -cultural ideals that we need to apply 00:28:36.769 --> 00:28:40.210 in our own lives, our own church. The first is 00:28:40.210 --> 00:28:45.789 the principle of modesty. Modesty. Modesty is 00:28:45.789 --> 00:28:49.789 always appropriate in any culture for Christian 00:28:49.789 --> 00:28:57.430 women and men. Our attire, especially the attire 00:28:57.430 --> 00:29:03.470 that we wear to church, ought to be decent. Now 00:29:03.470 --> 00:29:06.950 it may not be the latest fashion. It doesn't 00:29:06.950 --> 00:29:09.269 have to be the most expensive. I'm not saying 00:29:09.269 --> 00:29:12.759 that at all, but it ought to be decent. It ought 00:29:12.759 --> 00:29:15.920 to be appropriate for a time when we come into 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:20.539 the presence of God. We have to be careful what 00:29:20.539 --> 00:29:24.579 we wear to church and give some thought to it. 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:31.400 Our dress reflects our heart. Sometimes the informality 00:29:31.400 --> 00:29:34.779 of our dress alarms me when we come to church. 00:29:35.140 --> 00:29:38.250 And I wonder if we really understand that we're 00:29:38.250 --> 00:29:41.049 not just going to a picnic, we are coming into 00:29:41.049 --> 00:29:44.329 the presence of the holy and awesome God of the 00:29:44.329 --> 00:29:47.829 universe. If we've really thought about that 00:29:47.829 --> 00:29:53.990 as we've gotten dressed to go to church. I call 00:29:53.990 --> 00:29:59.049 it the principle of modesty. I think under this 00:29:59.049 --> 00:30:01.309 heading also I want to say this, that there should 00:30:01.309 --> 00:30:04.009 be a distinction between men and women in appearance 00:30:04.009 --> 00:30:10.480 and in fashion. We still have within our culture 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:18.579 this thread of unisex. Trying to design clothing 00:30:18.579 --> 00:30:20.759 that makes no distinction. I had never heard 00:30:20.759 --> 00:30:23.119 of Versace before this week. I'm sorry, that's 00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:25.819 my ignorance. I acknowledge that. I'm way out 00:30:25.819 --> 00:30:29.099 of touch in the world of fashion. And I'm very 00:30:29.099 --> 00:30:32.160 sorry about the man's death. Truly, I am sorry 00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:40.490 about that. But just look at the people who are 00:30:40.490 --> 00:30:45.670 designing clothing in the fashion world today 00:30:45.670 --> 00:30:53.509 and their lifestyle. And it should alarm any 00:30:53.509 --> 00:30:55.710 thinking person who is aware of the distinction 00:30:55.710 --> 00:31:01.970 between sexes about the influence that these 00:31:01.970 --> 00:31:12.619 people have as they try to force immodest, disgraceful, 00:31:13.259 --> 00:31:19.180 unisex, and my wife would join me by saying ugly 00:31:19.180 --> 00:31:25.460 fashions that do not enhance femininity often, 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:32.099 but degrade it. Well, I'm in deep enough on that 00:31:32.099 --> 00:31:34.339 one. Let me move on to principle number two, 00:31:34.460 --> 00:31:39.230 the principle of testimony. Every church member 00:31:39.230 --> 00:31:42.130 should consider the effect of his or her choices 00:31:42.130 --> 00:31:46.549 in his life upon the church's witness in the 00:31:46.549 --> 00:31:50.190 community. Paul is telling these women, look, 00:31:50.410 --> 00:31:53.250 how you conduct yourself is affecting the witness 00:31:53.250 --> 00:31:57.849 of your church. That ought to be a concern to 00:31:57.849 --> 00:32:03.859 all of us, men and women. It's a concern is that 00:32:03.859 --> 00:32:06.960 we live our lives conduct ourselves out there 00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:09.460 in the offices in the business world and on the 00:32:09.460 --> 00:32:12.740 streets and and in driving and in everything 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:16.380 that we do So that nothing would detract from 00:32:16.380 --> 00:32:18.839 the witness of our church and from the glory 00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:24.180 of God Principle number three the principle of 00:32:24.180 --> 00:32:28.619 respect While we are equally members of one body 00:32:28.619 --> 00:32:32.750 all of us We have differing functions due to 00:32:32.750 --> 00:32:38.089 gender, due to gifts, due to calling. And God, 00:32:38.190 --> 00:32:43.710 God has arranged it that way. We are to uphold 00:32:43.710 --> 00:32:48.309 God's order. We are to value God's order and 00:32:48.309 --> 00:32:55.269 one another. We are to respect one another for 00:32:55.269 --> 00:33:01.539 whom God has called us to be. the principle of 00:33:01.539 --> 00:33:06.180 respect. And before, the principle of observation. 00:33:08.539 --> 00:33:12.319 I don't understand this, but gathered here today, 00:33:12.420 --> 00:33:17.400 we are the objects of intense curiosity in the 00:33:17.400 --> 00:33:23.420 spirit world. God is using us as examples of 00:33:23.420 --> 00:33:28.400 His grace and His wisdom to these creatures that 00:33:28.400 --> 00:33:33.549 we cannot see. but who every day intersect with 00:33:33.549 --> 00:33:39.970 our lives and our world. The principle of observation 00:33:39.970 --> 00:33:44.289 and how that ought to affect all of us every 00:33:44.289 --> 00:33:47.970 day. And one final principle, and that's the 00:33:47.970 --> 00:33:51.670 principle of authority. God has established proper 00:33:51.670 --> 00:33:55.930 lines of authority. He has done that in the home 00:33:55.930 --> 00:34:00.940 and in the church and in the state. We are called 00:34:00.940 --> 00:34:04.900 upon to serve God within those lines. He is a 00:34:04.900 --> 00:34:10.079 God of order. He is a God of peace. And His order 00:34:10.079 --> 00:34:12.400 and peace should be reflected in our worship 00:34:12.400 --> 00:34:18.119 and in our conduct. It is God who has ordained 00:34:18.119 --> 00:34:24.440 that husbands should lead the home. It is God 00:34:24.440 --> 00:34:28.780 who has ordained that Qualified, godly, called 00:34:28.780 --> 00:34:37.039 men should lead the church. We need to value 00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:41.500 God's order and gladly follow it. Understand 00:34:41.500 --> 00:34:44.480 that when God establishes order, He does it not 00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:48.539 to hurt us, not to hinder us, but to help us, 00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:56.050 to protect us, all of us. I believe that we prove 00:34:56.050 --> 00:35:00.389 that we value God's order when we put into practice 00:35:00.389 --> 00:35:04.250 these five principles that we just looked at. 00:35:05.550 --> 00:35:07.989 It's one thing to say, yes, I value God's order. 00:35:08.050 --> 00:35:11.570 It's another to live it. And when we practice 00:35:11.570 --> 00:35:14.190 these five principles we've just talked about 00:35:14.190 --> 00:35:17.750 in the context of our culture today, we're showing 00:35:17.750 --> 00:35:23.199 that we truly value God's arrangement. Can I 00:35:23.199 --> 00:35:25.699 ask you the question, do you value God's orderly 00:35:25.699 --> 00:35:32.940 arrangement? Are you following God's order gladly 00:35:32.940 --> 00:35:38.739 in the church? Are you following God's order 00:35:38.739 --> 00:35:45.659 gladly in your home? If so, then that honors 00:35:45.659 --> 00:35:50.429 God, and He is pleased by that. If so, then you 00:35:50.429 --> 00:35:52.730 are doing what Paul tells us to do when he says 00:35:52.730 --> 00:35:55.269 whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, 00:35:55.610 --> 00:36:01.530 do it all to the glory of God. And then he immediately 00:36:01.530 --> 00:36:08.849 tells us what God's order is. Glorify Him in 00:36:08.849 --> 00:36:12.309 the order that He has given. How can we know 00:36:12.309 --> 00:36:16.800 when we're not valuing God's order? How do we 00:36:16.800 --> 00:36:20.079 know when we're not truly valuing the authority 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:24.739 that God has placed in our lives? Chuck Swindoll 00:36:24.739 --> 00:36:30.480 in a message regarding Saul's life, King Saul 00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:33.480 of the Old Testament, shares four characteristics 00:36:33.480 --> 00:36:36.539 of those who are not valuing God's order and 00:36:36.539 --> 00:36:39.480 God's authority. He says number one, there's 00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:43.460 defiance against authority to accomplish one's 00:36:43.460 --> 00:36:51.340 own desire. Defiance. Number two, there is rationalization 00:36:51.340 --> 00:36:57.159 and cover up to excuse sinful action. There's 00:36:57.159 --> 00:37:01.420 rationalization, there's argument to cover up. 00:37:01.719 --> 00:37:04.179 Number three, there's defensiveness when confronted 00:37:04.179 --> 00:37:08.559 with the truth. And number four, there's resistance 00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:11.599 to accountability when wrong has been committed. 00:37:14.510 --> 00:37:16.829 To the extent that those kinds of things are 00:37:16.829 --> 00:37:18.889 in our lives, we really need to examine whether 00:37:18.889 --> 00:37:24.389 we're valuing and following God's order. When 00:37:24.389 --> 00:37:29.809 we follow God's order, when we value what God 00:37:29.809 --> 00:37:34.469 has ordained for our good, it brings blessing 00:37:34.469 --> 00:37:38.710 to our lives. And that's what Paul longed for 00:37:38.710 --> 00:37:41.289 in the church in Corinth. Oh, that they would 00:37:41.289 --> 00:37:44.650 get themselves in order. Order in the church, 00:37:44.650 --> 00:37:49.750 he says, so that they as a body could be blessed 00:37:49.750 --> 00:37:54.650 and could experience the fullness of joy that 00:37:54.650 --> 00:37:58.369 comes from obedience to God. Let's all be living 00:37:58.369 --> 00:38:02.269 there. Let's all value what God has said to us, 00:38:02.289 --> 00:38:05.449 even if sometimes we don't fully understand it. 00:38:06.610 --> 00:38:10.610 Even if sometimes it doesn't allow us to do all 00:38:10.610 --> 00:38:13.940 that we want to do. And we may even chafe a bit 00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:19.000 inside. Let's ask God to teach us why His order 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:25.239 is right, and value it, and follow it gladly. 00:38:26.500 --> 00:38:37.420 Gladly. Let's pray. To whatever extent, Lord, 00:38:37.420 --> 00:38:41.300 that our lives are not following Your order. 00:38:43.280 --> 00:38:47.340 I pray that you will, in your loving and gracious 00:38:47.340 --> 00:38:53.400 way, show us that and give us hearts that are 00:38:53.400 --> 00:38:58.440 sorry, which are moved to genuine repentance. 00:39:01.739 --> 00:39:05.159 Lord, remind us that your order is given for 00:39:05.159 --> 00:39:10.250 our good. And today, if some of us are really 00:39:10.250 --> 00:39:13.050 resisting and chafing inside against the order 00:39:13.050 --> 00:39:17.929 that you have put into our lives, turn us around 00:39:17.929 --> 00:39:22.150 for our own good, for the good of our families, 00:39:23.050 --> 00:39:24.909 for the good of our marriages, for the good of 00:39:24.909 --> 00:39:29.489 our church fellowship, for the good of our own 00:39:29.489 --> 00:39:38.010 health. Turn us around and humble us. and help 00:39:38.010 --> 00:39:43.869 us to truly, truly value the authorities that 00:39:43.869 --> 00:39:49.070 you have placed in our lives. And we begin that 00:39:49.070 --> 00:39:52.809 process by submitting ourselves to you, Lord 00:39:52.809 --> 00:40:01.789 Jesus. Subordinating ourselves to you. Have your 00:40:01.789 --> 00:40:08.699 way in us. Let's sing together that little chorus 00:40:08.699 --> 00:40:27.360 that calls him Lord. As you subordinate yourself 00:40:27.360 --> 00:40:31.860 to the Father, so we subordinate ourselves to 00:40:31.860 --> 00:40:34.019 the authorities that you placed in our lives, 00:40:34.099 --> 00:40:37.409 first to you and then to others. And we choose 00:40:37.409 --> 00:41:04.280 to follow it gladly. Amen. I thought that thunder 00:41:04.280 --> 00:41:06.679 was very effective, didn't you, to the background 00:41:06.679 --> 00:41:09.860 of his prayer. So that being the case, I would 00:41:09.860 --> 00:41:13.500 imagine we need to vacate this auditorium so 00:41:13.500 --> 00:41:16.360 that others can get in here for their next worship 00:41:16.360 --> 00:41:19.099 service. God bless you and have a wonderful week 00:41:19.099 --> 00:41:21.280 walking with the Lord. I hope to see you tonight 00:41:21.280 --> 00:41:24.420 at a quarter till six for ice cream.