Bw – The Head of a Wife is Her Husband 11: 2-10

The Head of a Wife is Her Husband
11: 2-10

The head of a wife is her husband DIG: What does it mean to be “the head?” What is the difference between positional leadership and real leadership? How are men and women viewed as being equal? How is the husband supposed to lead? Why was it so important that the women who were praying and prophesying in public worship wear head-coverings?

REFLECT: What reasons did Paul give that the Corinthian women should wear head coverings in his day? Does the Bible teach that women should wear head coverings today? Why or why not? What was the real issue that Paul was concerned about? What is the difference between the marriage relationship and the responsibility placed upon the husband by God?

The head of every man is Messiah,
and the head of a wife is her husband,
and the head of Messiah is God.

There was no reason for believers to needlessly scoff at accepted cultural traditions that did not violate Scripture. The Corinthian women had every right to not wear head coverings in the worship service because of their freedom in Messiah; but by refusing to voluntarily yield their right for the sake of others, they stumbled other immature believers and ruined their testimony with unbelievers in the community.²⁹⁵ Thus, they violated Paul’s basic principle: With all kinds of people, both Jews and Gentiles, I have become all kinds of things, so that in all kinds of circumstances I might save at least some of them (9:22b).

Paul continued: Now I praise you because you have remembered everything I told you and observe the traditions just the way I passed them on to you (11:2). These opening words seem to flow easily from what has immediately proceeded (to see link click Bq – The Danger of Overconfidence). Having encouraged the Corinthians to imitate his imitation of Messiah, Paul now praises them for doing so with regard to the traditions with which he himself had passed on to them. But this is quite surprising because although he commends them for observing the traditions that he had passed on to them, nevertheless, in the four chapters that follow there doesn’t seem to be a single instance of them doing so. Indeed, in regard to the next matter (see By – Issues Surrounding the Lord’s Supper), they are doing anything but! And according to the final sentence of the chapter: As for the other matters, I will instruct you about them when I come (11:34), it seems as though there are still further concerns regarding these matters that this letter does not address. How are we to understand these opening words? This opening sentence most likely serves to introduce the many things that needed correcting regarding their gatherings for worship in Chapters 11-14. Even though they remembered him in everything, there were still some areas with regard to the traditions where praise was not in order. They may have been following the traditions, as it were, but not in the proper ways.²⁹⁶

As a prelude to his encouragement, Paul characteristically laid down a theological base. In this instance, it concerned headship. Paul offered five reasons why women should wear head coverings in public worship.

1. The first reason is the divine order (11:3-6): Paul began his reasoning by clearly stating a basic divine principle: The head of every man is the Messiah (11:3a). He is uniquely the Head of the Church as its Savior and Lord (Eph 1:22-23, 4:15; Col 1:18). He has redeemed and bought it with His own blood (1 Cor 6:20; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 5:9). But in His divine authority, Messiah is the head of every human being, believer or unbeliever. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Matthew 28:18), Yeshua declared. Most of mankind has never acknowledged Messiah’s authority, but everything has been put in subjection under His feet (Hebrews 2:8), and one day every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth and under the earth – and every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua the Messiah is ADONAI, to the glory of the Father (Philippians 2:10-11). He is in ultimate control of everyone, now and forever.²⁹⁷

And the head (Greek: kephale, meaning prominence) of a wife is her husband (11:3b): All three, the man (husband), the woman (wife) and Messiah, equally, have a head, and are subject to that head, and acknowledge that head. The man has only Messiah as his head; the woman has another head in addition to Messiah, namely, her husband (if married). Kephale does not mean “source.” Many recent interpreters who prefer this option seek to eliminate any hint of the wife’s voluntary submission. No Greek Lexicon offers “source” as the meaning of kephale. To be “the head” of something simply means to occupy a position of authority, and there can be no responsibility without authority.²⁹⁸

There are similar verses in the Bible saying that wives should submit and be obedient to their husbands (First Peter 3:1a; Titus 2:5b; Colossians 3:18). The husband is head of the wife, as also Messiah is the head of the Church (Ephesians 5:22-23a; Colossians 3:19). Not only that, but the Bible teaches a wife that her desire will be toward her husband, but he will rule over her (Genesis 3:16b). But these verses cannot be fully appreciated without understanding the corresponding verse: Husbands, love your wives, just as the Messiah loved the Church, indeed, He gave Himself up on [her] behalf (Ephesians 5:25). And a part of God’s divine order, that children should be submissive to their parents (Ephesians 6:1), and (during Paul’s day) slaves should be submissive to their masters (Ephesians 6:5).

Dear loving Heavenly Father, Praise You for being so loving. Thank You that Your example of great love is the example You use for the husband’s love for his wife (Ephesians 5:25-26). Praise you that Your love is never selfish, never mean nor lazy – but Your love is always surrounded by Your holiness and faithfulness. In holiness You call us to be holy – yet You so willingly give those who love You Your holiness. As Your Word declares: You are to be holy because I am holy (First Peter 1:16). In Your holy Son’s name. Amen

So, the critical question for the husband is, “How did Messiah love the Church?” Once again, the Bible gives us the answer: For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve – and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). There was no sacrifice too great for her. Therefore, the husband needs to listen to his wife, take her advice seriously, and respect her. So, the husband needs to think of his wife first, making sure that her needs are met by serving her . . . washing her feet daily, as it were. There is no room for tyranny here, no such thing as bullying, lording over, or bossing. It is a gracious humility that honors the physically weak one (First Peter 3:7).²⁹⁹ When husbands abuse their freedom in Messiah, they dishonor their head, the Messiah; when wives abuse their freedom in Messiah, they dishonor their head, their husband. This is what was happening with the head coverings in the church at Corinth.

But this servant kind of a relationship seems a lot different from: he shall rule over you (Genesis 3:16b), doesn’t it? That sounds pretty harsh, not like a servant at all. Which is it? Does he come to serve or rule? If you think this is confusing, just look at the state of marital roles. It is one of the most confused areas in and out of the Church today. The main problem is the confusion between the husband’s relationship with his wife, and his responsibility with what goes on in the marriage.

Let’s look at relationship first. The Bible clearly teaches that men and women are equals socially, psychologically, and spiritually. In other words, they are equals in their relationship with each other. God created us as equals (Genesis 1:27-28), and we are to be one when married (Genesis 2:24). We are equally sinful (Romans 3:23), and equally saved (John 1:12-13; Second Corinthians 5:17; First Peter 3:7). Husbands and wives are to submit to each other sexually (First Corinthians 7:2-5) and socially (Ephesian5:21). Furthermore, the Bible teaches that there shall be no sexual discrimination (Galatians 3:28). Men and women are equally dependent on God (First Corinthians 11:11-12), accepted equally as believers (Acts 5:14), and co-laborers for Him (Romans 16:1, 3-6;Philippians 4:3). So, in their relationship, men and women are equals. There is no doubt about that. But there is another area that we need to look at.

The second area the Bible teaches us about is responsibility. Even though men and women are equal in their relationship to one another, husbands are ultimately held responsible for what goes on in the marriage. The Bible tells us that when Abram lied about Sarai being his wife, Pharaoh held Abram responsible (Genesis 12:17-20). Later, after God changed their names, Abraham and Sarah did the same thing again and Abimelech held Abraham responsible (Genesis 20:9). And it seems the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree, as Abraham’s son Isaac was held responsible for the lie about Rebekah (Genesis 26:9). Much later, God held David responsible for his sin with Bathsheba and sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke him. Here, Adam and Eve both ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; in fact, Eve led the way, but God held Adam responsible (Genesis 3:9). This principle is not only taught in the TaNaKh, but also in the B’rit Chadashah where Paul tells us that through one man sin entered the world (see the commentary on Romans Bm – The Consequences of Adam). God took Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden in order to have him work it and guard it (Genesis 2:15 ISV). When Satan came against Eve, Adam stood there and said nothing. He didn’t protect his wife or guard the Garden. Responsibility begs for accountability, and God held Adam responsible.

Therefore, with this understanding, we come back to the original question: how shall Adam rule over Eve? He rules over her in the sense that with the big decisions in life, if they are still at an impasse, he is ultimately going to be held responsible for the decision. How he handles the situation, how he listens to his wife and takes her feelings and opinions into consideration are important. She needs to be heard. Husbands who do not listen to their wives are fools, because Elohim made her a helper suitable for him (Genesis 2:18). If the wife does not feel like she is being heard or has any input in the marriage, it will crush her spirit and/or drive her away (physically and/or emotionally). Husbands and wives should make the big decisions together as a team, but if they cannot agree, he has to make the call because he is responsible before God.

When things go bad at work, nobody wants to be in charge when the boss walks in and says, “All right, who is in charge of this mess?” And all eyes are on you. It is much more comforting to be able to point at someone else, anyone else, and say, “Here’s the one!” It is in that sense that Adam would rule over Eve. It is in that sense that Eve should submit and be obedient to Adam; not in their relationship, because in their relationship they are equals. But Adam was held responsible for what went on in his marriage. Decision making can be fun without responsibility. If it works, you get all the credit, and if it doesn’t, just try something else. It just doesn’t matter. But decision making with eternal consequences is quite different. And the head of the Messiah is God (11:3c). Yeshua made nothing clearer than the fact that He submitted Himself to His Father’s will (John 4:34, 5:30, 6:38; First Corinthians 3:23, 15:24-28). Messiah has never been – before, during, or after His incarnation – inferior in any way to the Father. But during His incarnation, He willingly submitted Himself to His Father’s will as an act of humble obedience in fulfilling His divine purpose.³⁰⁰

Paul begins his argument with men (husbands). Every man who prays or prophesies wearing something down over his head brings shame to his head – Messiah (11:4). He seems to be setting up his argument with the women (wives) by means of a hypothetical situation for the men (husbands) that would be equally shameful in their relationship to their head (Messiah) as the wives were doing to theirs. The words pray and prophesy make it certain that the problem has to do with public worship. One may pray in private, but not so with prophesy.³⁰¹

Generally speaking, among the Greeks, only slaves’ heads were covered, and the uncovered head was a sign of freedom. The Romans, however, reversed this, and Corinth was a Roman colony.³⁰² A statue from Corinth of a veiled Agustus – with his toga pulled down over his head offering a pagan sacrifice, offers an important clue. Thus, Paul is asserting how shameful it would be for a man (husband) to pray or prophesy in the worship service wearing something pulled down over his head like the pagans did. He will next make the case that it would be no less shameful for a woman (wife) to pray or prophesy with her head uncovered.³⁰³

It seems that the Corinthian slogan “everything is permitted,” had been applied to the worship service as well, and the women had expressed that belief by throwing off their distinguishing attire, their head coverings. But Paul said that every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered brings shame to her head. For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head (11:5-6). By not covering her head during public worship she disgraced herself and her spiritual head, her husband.

One of the interesting facets here is the assumption Paul makes that both men and women would pray and prophesy in public worship. But what seems obvious in verses 4-6 is that Corinthian women were engaging in public worship without a proper head covering – the sort of head covering that was normally appropriate in mixed company.³⁰⁴

Greek women were usually covered in social life, except in their homes. Uncovering the head in public had sexual implications, giving nonverbal clues that they were “available.” However, respectable women did nothing to draw attention to themselves. A head covering constituted a warning. It signified that the wearer was a respectable woman and that no man (married or not) should approach her without risking repercussions. Women were not to be ogled at as sex objects during public worship. Paul’s primary interest in this passage was to prevent this from happening and he argued that women’s heads should be covered.³⁰⁵

2. The second reason was creation (11:7-9): The man, on the other hand, should not have his head covered, because he is the image and glory of God. Paul supported his conclusion from Scripture (Genesis 2:7 and 21-23). In the case of the women (wives) it would be just the opposite. Strictly speaking, according to the creation account (see the commentary on Genesis Ax – Then the LORD God Made a Woman from the Rib He had Taken Out of the Man), the wife’s glory and image is derived from, and complementary to, that of her husband (11:7). Adam was created in God’s image, and as such, if men (husbands) covered their heads in any way, it would be a denial of his being in God’s image and glory. It would be improper, even wrong, for men to cover their heads. The reverse cannot be said. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man; and indeed, man was not created for the sake of the woman but woman for the sake of the man (11:8-9).

3. The third reason was divine order (11:10): The reason a woman (wife) ought to have authority (Greek: exousia) over her head (11:10a NIV). Some translations have the phrase, a sign, but it is not in the Greek text. In the context here, exousia means to have authority over her own head. That is, she is to exercise control over her head so as not to expose it to indignity. It seems clear that Paul is playing with the word head here, using it in more than one sense, referring both to her husband as head and to the woman’s own physical head. Instead of shaving her head, she needed to wear a head covering according to the traditions of that time.³⁰⁶

Paul addressed the final phrase because of the angels (11:10), as a matter that needed no further explanation whatsoever. The simple manner in which this final phrase was added indicates that no new point is being introduced into the discussion. The brief mention of the angels caps all that preceded it.³⁰⁷ Because the angels implies that God’s holy angels are known to participate in worship (Isaiah 6:1-4; Luke 2:14; Revelation 5:11-12 and 7:11-12), so the Corinthian worship shouldn’t offend them. Such an offense would in fact occur, however, if women (wives) prayed and prophesied with uncovered heads.

In sum, Paul’s message to the first century Corinthian church was that the man (husband) stands uncovered in public worship because he reflects the glory of God; the woman (wife) must be covered because she is the glory of man (her husband). We should not take away from this that women should wear a head covering in public worship today. Paul was not laying down an unalterable command that would be in effect for every age. The Corinthians had their traditions in the First Century and we have ours. Women today have the freedom in Messiah to choose to wear a head covering in public worship or not. The application of these verses for us is that everyone, men and women, husbands and wives, should dress appropriately, especially in public worship, so as not to stumble other weak believers or ruin their testimony with unbelievers.