Lessons #371 and 372
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Head Covering: Men-Women relationship (1 Cor 11:3-16)
… 10 For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. 11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
In our last study we indicated that the phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:10 because of the angels meant that a woman should cover her head while worshipping because angels are watching to see how believers conform to the concept of hierarchy in worship since angels adhere to hierarchy among them. In effect, angels watch us to see if we conform to the order God has established among his creation. Angels recognize hierarchy and so they are curious to see if we do. We indicated that this interpretation is supported by what the apostle wrote next in our verse, but we ran out of time and deferred the treatment of what the apostle wrote next in the verse we are considering. It is with this that we begin our study today.
That the apostle was concerned with hierarchy among angels as they observe believers’ worship is confirmed by the fact the apostle indicates that a woman should cover her head as a sign of authority as in the next clause of 1 Corinthians 11:10 the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. Literally, the Greek reads the woman ought to have authority on her head. The literal translation reveals that the word “sign” in the NIV or “symbol” in many of our English versions does not occur in the Greek. Thus, the question we face is how to understand what the apostle meant in the literal sentence the woman ought to have authority on her head. By the way, before we consider the key Greek words used here, we should recognize that the Greek word (kephalē) translated “head” although can figuratively refer to concept of authority but here refers to head in a literal sense of the part of the body that houses the brain.
Anyway, the word “have” is translated from a Greek word (echō) that means “to have” in the sense of “to possess or own something” as Apostle Paul used it to describe persons with knowledge in 1 Corinthians 8:1:
Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
The word may mean “to have on, wear” of clothes as it is used in the Lord Jesus’ parable of Wedding Banquet to describe a person who came without wearing the wedding dress as we read in Matthew 22:12:
‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:10, it has the sense of “to bear” or “to wear.”
The word “authority” is translated from a Greek word (exousia) that has a range of meanings. The word may mean “ability” to do something as that desired by Simon the Sorcerer to be able to lay his hand on someone, so the person receives the Holy Spirit as stated in Acts 8:19:
and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
The word may mean “power” that one exercises over another as it is used to describe the power Satan exercises over people in enslaving them as we read in Acts 26:18:
to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
The word may mean “authority” as that possessed by those who rule others that have the right to give orders as the word is used in Romans 13:1:
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
The word may mean “right” as Apostle Paul used it to convey that he has the right of support from believers in Thessalonica as we read in 2 Thessalonians 3:9:
We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.
The word may mean “control” as it is used to indicate God’s control over plagues that cause great pain on unbelievers that would be judged in the future as we read in Revelation 16:9:
They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:10, the word means “authority” but that does not resolve the difficulty of the literal sentence the woman ought to have authority on her head.
There are several ways this sentence has been interpreted. One interpretation is that the woman should have on her head a symbol of her dignity while involved in worship. Another interpretation is that the woman should have a covering on her head to protect her from the amorous glances of certain angels. Because we have indicated that the phrase because of the angels meant that a woman should cover her head while worshipping because angels are watching to see how believers conform to the concept of hierarchy in worship, we believe that the sentence means that a woman should wear on her head a symbol of her submission to authority. Of course, there is also the question of what it is that the woman should wear on her head as symbol of authority. It would seem the apostle was referring to a cloth covering or veil over the head that covers a woman’s head as was the case at the time of this epistle. However, it seems the apostle had much more than ordinary cloth or veil worn on the head. This we say because of what the apostle states later about how to interpret a woman’s hair that she received from God. Anyway, by considering the last clause of 1 Corinthians 11:10, we have ended our consideration of the concept of hierarchy that the apostle discoursed in verses 3 to 10.
Recall, the message of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 that is concerned with head covering, we have been considering is that Men should not have their head covered during prayer and likewise women who wear their hair the way God has given it to them, but they should cover it if they either cut or shave it. We had stated that expounding this message involves understanding of three parts knowledge the Holy Spirit through the apostle wants us to have. The first part concerns the concept of hierarchy given in verses 3 to 10. We have considered this concept of hierarchy in detail and so we proceed to consider the second part of knowledge we should have that involves the relationship between men and women given in verses 11 and 12.
It is easy to misunderstand that hierarchy does not mean the existence of inequality in believers’ position or standing with God . Therefore, the apostle, based on what he had taught in the preceding section regarding hierarchy, wants to be sure that we do not misunderstand and misapply the concept of authority as it relates to men and women, especially believers in Christ. For this reason, the apostle begins verse 11, in the word of the NIV, with however. The word “however” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (plēn) that can be used in two general ways. The word when used as a preposition may serve as a marker that denotes an exception and so means “except.” It is in this sense that the word is used to convey that when the church suffered its first strong wave of persecution, only the apostles were left in Jerusalem while the others were scattered to various locations, according to Acts 8:1:
And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
The Greek word when used as a conjunction can be used as marker of something that is contrastingly added for consideration. Thus, it can mean “but, nevertheless, only” as it is used in Jesus’ instruction to believers not to be concerned with their sustenance on this planet as the pagans do but to be concerned with God’s rule over them since when that is the case God will provide the things they need, as we read in Luke 12:31:
But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
The meaning “but, only” can indicate that a speaker is breaking off and passing on to a new subject. Hence, it is our Greek word that is used to show that Jesus ended His institution of the Lord’s Supper and so changed the subject to speak of the one who is going to betray Him. Jesus instituted the celebration of the cup in the Lord’s Supper, as we read in Luke 22:20:
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
But following this sentence, Jesus switched to another topic of His betrayal so that our Greek word is used with the meaning “but” in the next verse, that is, Luke 22:21:
But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.
Still our Greek word is used by Apostle Paul in his epistles with the meaning “only, in any case” to conclude a discussion and to emphasize what is essential or to break off a discussion and emphasize what is important or to indicate that he is returning to the main point of his argument after a digression. It is in this sense that the word although translated “however” in the NIV, is used in Ephesians 5:33:
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Our Greek word translated “however” in this passage of Ephesians 5:33 is used to conclude the discussion of marriage responsibilities of husbands and wives and to emphasize what is essential in the teaching regarding the subject of Christian marriage. It is also in the sense of concluding statement that the word is used in Philippians 3:16:
Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Here the translators of the NIV rendered our Greek word with the meaning “only.” This translation may imply that a condition must be satisfied but that is not likely what the apostle meant in this verse in Philippians. Instead, he is making a kind of concluding statement that is probably the reason the translators of the TEV rendered it however that may be. The question for us concerns the usage of our Greek word in 1 Corinthians 11:11. The apostle used it in breaking off his discourse on hierarchy while emphasizing the equality of believers before God regardless of gender. Thus, the word may be translated “in any case” as we find, for example, in the NET. The apostle is not so much concerned about the contrast between what he states in verse 11 and the preceding section as he is with emphasizing the point he makes in the verse.
The main point the apostle wanted to emphasize is that there is equality in standing of believers in Christ regardless of gender. That his emphasis is on the relationship between men and women in Christ is one of equal standing is introduced first with the phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:11 In the Lord which is the last phrase in the Greek of this verse. The first thing we should consider is who the apostle meant in his use of the word Lord.
The word “Lord” is translated from a Greek word (kyrios) that may mean “owner” in the sense of one who is in charge by virtue of possession. It is in this sense that the word is used to describe a slave girl that was involved in fortune-telling that Apostle Paul healed, as we read in Acts 16:16:
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
Another meaning of our Greek word refers to one who is in a position of authority and so means “lord, master.” It is in this sense that the word is used to describe the fact that Sarah considered Abraham as being of higher position than she in their marriage relationship, as we may gather from 1 Peter 3:6:
like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
Still another meaning of our Greek word is as a title of respect hence means “sir”, as it is used in the Philippian jailer’s address to Paul and Silas as we read in Acts 16:30:
He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The word may be used as a designation for God as that is the sense of the word when Apostle Paul used it to describe God as the creator while he preached the gospel to the Athenians as recorded in Acts 17:24:
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
The word may refer to an angel as in Acts 10:4:
Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
Our Greek word is used severally in the NT to refer to the Lord Jesus. This is the case when the OT is quoted in such a way that it should be clear that Jesus Christ is meant as we find, for example, in quoting from Prophet Isaiah regarding John the Baptist’s ministry in preparing the way for the ministry of Jesus Christ as we read in Matthew 3:3:
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
Matthew interpreted the word “Lord” in Isaiah 40:3 that he quoted as a reference to Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul used the word “Lord” quite often to refer to Jesus Christ. For example, he used it in describing the spreading of the gospel in such a way that there is no doubt he meant the Lord Jesus Christ as we read in 2 Thessalonians 3:1:
Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.
We know that the Lord in this passage refers to Christ because the Greek indicates that the phrase the message of the Lord may fully be translated the message about the Lord or the message from the Lord. In either case, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that is in view so that the Lord certainly refers to Jesus Christ. Sometimes, Apostle Paul used the word translated “Lord” in such a way that it leaves us not being certain if he meant Jesus or God in a general sense. This is the way we see him use it when he speaks of punishment for sin as we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:6:
and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:11, the apostle used the word “Lord” to refer to Jesus Christ.
We are confident that the word Lord in 1 Corinthians 11:11 refers to Jesus Christ because of the phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:11 In the Lord. How? You may ask. To begin with, the preposition “in” is translated from a Greek preposition (en) that has several usages. For example, it may be used as a marker of cause or reason in which case it may be translated “because” as Apostle Paul used the word to encourage the Ephesians not to be discouraged because of his suffering as recorded in Ephesians 3:13:
I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.
The Greek preposition may be used as marker of close association within a limit and so means “in.” Thus, it can have the sense of “in association” as it is used with Jesus Christ in relation to creation as we read in Colossians 1:16:
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
The sentence all things were created by him may be translated everything was created in association with him. When the Greek word is used in the sense of “in someone” that is equivalent to “in one’s innermost being.” It is in this sense that it is used for Christ as a spiritual being, filling people so as to be in charge of their lives as we read, for example, of Christ dwelling in the believer in Romans 8:10:
But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
The preposition under this usage may mean “in union with” as that is the sense in which Apostle Paul used it in the instruction to the Philippians in Philippians 4:1:
Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
The phrase in the Lord may be understood as in union with the Lord. Furthermore, the word Lord is commonly used by Apostle Paul to describe Jesus Christ and no other member of the God head, as for example, in Philippians 2:19:
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you.
The fact that the apostle does not use the word “Lord” to describe any other member of the God head implies that in 1 Corinthians 11:11, he used it for Jesus Christ.
Anyway, the reason we are confident that the Lord in the phrase of Corinthians 11:11 In the Lord refers to Jesus Christ is because the phrase is one that Apostle Paul used to convey several concepts that are related to Jesus Christ. The apostle used the phrase in the Lord to describe a believer in Christ. Thus, he used it to indicate that he is a believer in Christ or as a Christian as we read in Romans 14:14:
As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
The clause who is in the Lord Jesus is the apostle’s way of saying that he is a believer in Christ or a Christian. It is in the same sense of the phrase being used for believers or Christians that the apostle used it in sending his greetings to believers in Rome as we read in Romans 16:11:
Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
Of course, the meaning of the phrase in the Lord is to be determined by the context as we may note from different usages of the phrase. For example, the phrase may mean to be in the Lord’s service as that is the sense of the phrase in the apostle’s use of it to greet some named faithful women in the church in Rome as we read in Romans 16:12:
Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.
The phrase in the Lord may mean to be a representative of the Lord or refers to His authority or even to be in association with Him as Apostle Paul used it in Ephesians 4:17:
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
The phrase in the Lord may mean to be obedient to the Lord or to be under His lordship as that is the sense the apostle used it in his instruction to two believing women that were at odds with each other as we read in Philippians 4:2:
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.
Thus, according to the UBS handbook the phrase in the Lord in this specific context may be translated “by obeying the Lord.” So, one gets the idea that the meaning of the phrase in the Lord depends on the context in which it is used. The question is how we should understand the phrase in our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:11. The phrase is used either in the sense of describing believers or in the sense of being in union with Christ. Both interpretations say the same thing in that Apostle Paul was concerned with relationship between men and women as Christians.
The relationship of men and women who are Christians or those who are in union with Christ is one that as far as their status or standing in Christ there is no difference although the distinctions between them that go back to creation should be maintained. In effect, that in Christianity there is equality in the status of men and women before God but that does not mean there is no distinction between them as per God’s order in their creation. This truth the apostle conveyed in 1 Corinthians 11:11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. To say the least, our English versions have translated the Greek interpretatively. Many of our English versions reflect the translation of the NIV but there are those that do not. For example, the NJB reads However, in the Lord, though woman is nothing without man, man is nothing without woman. The REB reads Yet in the Lord’s fellowship woman is as essential to man as man to woman. The TPT (The Passion Translation) renders it So then, I have to insist that in the Lord, neither is woman inferior to man nor is man inferior to woman. So, you get the idea that our English versions struggled to make sense of the Greek. Literally, the Greek reads However neither woman without man nor man without woman in (the) Lord. There are two noticeable differences between the translation of the NIV or the English versions that I have cited and the literal translation. First, as we have stated previously, the phrase In the Lord is the last one in the Greek sentence whereas the NIV has it as the first phrase of the sentence; the other versions certainly did not maintain the Greek order. Second, there is no verb in the Greek although the NIV and majority of our English versions introduced the verb “is.”
The differences between the translation of the NIV and the literal translation notwithstanding, the word “independent” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (chōris) that may mean “separately, apart” as in the description of clothing involved in the burial of Jesus Christ as recorded in John 20:7:
as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.
The sentence The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen is literally not lying with the strips of linen cloth but folded up separately in one place. The word may mean “without” as it is used to indicate no one hears the gospel without someone declaring it as we read in Romans 10:14:
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:11, it means “apart from.” It is, of course, possible to understand the Greek word to mean “different from” as some have suggested based on the use of such meaning of the word in the Septuagint of Genesis 26:1. While that meaning is implied but it is probably the meaning “apart from” that was foremost in the apostle’s mind since the meaning “different from” is not reflected in fifteen other usages of the word by the apostle in his epistles. Hence, the apostle primarily says that among Christians the woman is not “apart from” man while recognizing that they are different.
What does the apostle meant to convey when he said that woman is not “apart from” man and man is not “apart from” woman or that woman is not independent of man and vice-versa, in the words of the NIV? On surface reading of 1 Corinthians 11:11, it would seem the apostle is saying that a woman could not exist without a man and vice versa. It is true that man or woman could not exists without each other. In fact, as we have already noted God created the woman to be an assistant to the man and so also to be his companion and vice-versa. This truth is certainly embedded in what the apostle says here but because he limited his declaration to believers only then he must mean more than what is obvious. It is obvious that men and women need each other on this planet to function but that is not the point of the apostle here. Because he limited his declaration to those who are Christians or believers in Christ, then we believe that the apostle meant to convey that among Christians, men and women are of equal standing before the Lord while still different as God made them from creation. We are saying that the apostle meant to convey first that among Christians (men and women) there is equality of status, not of function, before the Lord. In effect, it is the same truth that he wrote to the Galatians that he meant here although differences between them are implied. I am referring to what is recorded for us in Galatians 3:28:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
We should be clear that this passage is not saying that there is no physical distinction between men and women in Christ Jesus but that there is no difference in their spiritual status before God. Note that I did not say their “spiritual condition” but status since believers differ in their spiritual condition at any given moment. Anyhow, the teaching of the apostle in Galatians 3:28 is that there is equality in spiritual standing of men and women before God. It is this teaching that the apostle meant also to convey in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. This teaching of the apostle, as we have already indicated, is necessary because of the possibility that some would think that the concept of hierarchy the apostle expounded in verses 3 to 10 of 1 Corinthians implies inequality of men and women in their spiritual standing with the Lord.
There is more to the sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. It is that men and women in the church of Christ are equally important in that their roles although different are necessary for the functioning of the church. This means that believing men could not say to believing women that they are not needed in the local church or that their function is not useful and vice-versa. In fact, the importance of each member of the local church in the body of Christ is later implied when the apostle wrote about unity in the body of Christ using metaphors of human parts, as for example, as may gather from 1 Corinthians 12:21–22:
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
We are saying that men and women in Christ need each other in a local church although each group serves in different capacity. Regardless of how the women serve in the local church, they are not to be in leadership role despite the attempts of many to teach and practice otherwise. It seems to me that believers who advocate for women to be in leadership role in the church for the equality of men and women in Christ to be true, have forgotten that being in Christ does not change God’s order in creation which the apostle implies in what he wrote in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. The woman was created to be a helper or an assistant to the man as we have already referenced in Genesis 2:18:
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
This role of the woman being a helper or an assistant to the man was assigned to her before the fall. Therefore, the fall did not change this role. If anything, the fall resulted in a woman wanting to reverse this role as implied in the passage that we have examined in the past that indicates a woman’s desire for the control of her husband as conveyed in Genesis 3:16:
To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
We explained in the past that the sentence Your desire will be for your husband means that the woman or wife would want to act independent of the husband but not just that she wants to rule the or control her husband, hence God’s instruction to the man to be the ruler in the sentence he will rule over you. As I have already stated, it seems to me that it is failure to remember the fact that the role assigned to the woman as man’s helper was before the fall, that leads some to think a woman should have a leadership role in the church. Likewise, those who pursue this practice of leadership for women in the church of Christ either are not aware that the fall did not change God’s order in creation or that they have not carefully considered the effect of the fall that leads a woman to want to be in a leadership role. Nonetheless, the truth is that in Christ men and women have roles that they are to perform for the smooth running of a local church. All I am arguing is that in whatever role a woman serves it must not put her in a leadership role so that she has authority over men. This is in keeping with what Apostle Paul conveyed in the passage we are studying.
There are those who advocate leadership role for believing women because of a woman Phoebe the apostle mentioned in the greeting section of his epistle to Roman believers as we read in Romans 16:1:
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.
Phoebe is only mentioned here in the Scripture so that we do not know much about her. She was probably the carrier of Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Notwithstanding, she is described as a servant of the church. It is because of this phrase that some contend that she must have had a leadership role in the church in Cenchrea. This is in part due to how our English versions translated the Greek phrase. For example, the NRSV rendered the Greek phrase as a deacon of the church at Cenchreae and the REB rendered it a minister in the church at Cenchreae. The word “servant” is translated from a Greek word (diakonos) that may means “servant,” that is, one who serves, without necessarily having the office of deacon. The word may mean one who gets something done, at the behest of a superior, hence an assistant. It is probably this interpretation that is adopted by the translators of the NCV that reads a helper in the church in Cenchrea. The word also means “deacon” as one entrusted to serve the needs of believers. Some contend that the office of deacon Apostle Paul mentioned in his epistle to the Philippians and his first epistle to Timothy probably did not exist when he wrote the epistle to the Romans. That notwithstanding, the best we can say is that Phoebe was one that rendered help to believers in her local church. The nature of her help is not given but it should not be taken as leadership role. She could have been one who assisted widows, the poor, and sick in meeting their physical needs. The point is that she should not be used to advocate women leadership in the church.
Anyway, we contend that despite what we have said about Phoebe that believing men and women have essential functions in the local church that are recognized by Apostle Paul when he wrote the sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. The fact that men and women have essential functions in the church may be seen from the way the apostle recognized the husband-wife team of Aquilla and Priscilla as we may gather from what he wrote in Romans 16:3–5:
3Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
Apostle Paul considered the husband and wife as his fellow workers in Christ Jesus probably because both were involved in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is because both were devoted to the ministry of God’s word that they opened their house to believers to meet since at that early stage in church history, believers met at homes that were large enough to accommodate them. The point is that men and women in Christ have roles that the Holy Spirit assigned them that are essential for the proper function of the church. Take for example, older believing women have been assigned a specialized role of teaching younger women as we read in Titus 2:3–5:
3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
So, we should recognize that there is equality in the spiritual status of men and women in the Lord and they have spiritual functions that although may differ but are essential for the church to carry out its mission on this planet. In other words, we are saying that when the apostle wrote the sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman his point is that men and women in Christ have equal standing before God in their spiritual status, but they are still different from each other in keeping with God’s order in creation. In other words, the new order in Christ did not obliterate the differences between men and women as it was in original creation.
The apostle having stated the equality of men and women and that being in Christ does not eliminate the difference between the two as it pertains to God’s order in creation, provides the explanation or reason for such equality and difference that go back to creation. We say that the apostle provides explanation or reason because of the first word for in 1 Corinthians 11:12. The word “for” is translated from a Greek conjunction (gar) that generally indicates a causal relation between two statements, whereby the second statement gives a reason for or explains the first and so it is often translated “for” in our English version as it is done in majority of English versions of the verse we are considering. The conjunction is used to provide explanation or further reasons for the equality of men and women in Christ and for each being essential in the church’s mission on the earth as well as the difference between them.
The explanation or reason goes back to creation as in the sentence in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 11:12 For as woman came from man. This clause presents a comparison that indicates that men and women are of equal importance to each other from physical perspective, different from each other although the apostle’s focus is on the spiritual equality of men and women in Christ. By the way, there is no verb in the Greek since literally the Greek translates into the English as For just as the woman from the man. The word “from” is translated from a Greek preposition (ek) that means “from” that may be understood in different ways. The word “from” may be used as a marker that denotes separation or direction from which something comes. In our verse, it is used as a marker that denotes origin, specifically it is used to denote derivation. Thus, the apostle indicated that the woman is derived from the man as stated in the passage we have cited in a previous study, that is, Genesis 2:21–22:
21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The reference to creation account of a woman being formed from a man is not merely to convey how a woman came into existence but also a reminder of the order in God’s creation that puts the woman under the man’s authority and reminds us of her function not as a leader but as a helper. Thus, the new birth in Christ does not change this truth.
In any case, there is a similarity between how a man comes into the world today to that in which the woman came into the world. This similarity is given in clause of 1 Corinthians 11:12 so also man is born of woman. There are no verbs in the Greek since literally the Greek reads so also the man through the woman. The similarity is that both the woman coming into the world at creation and the man coming into the world today involves a human means. The man was the means God used to bring the woman into the world and the woman is now the means a man comes into the world as indicated in the use of the word “through” in the literal translation. The word “through” is translated from a Greek preposition (dia) that when used with a noun in a genitive case means “through” as a marker of personal agency or marker of instrumentality or circumstance whereby something is accomplished or effected. However, there is a difference between man and woman as the means of a man coming into the world. In the case of the first woman, the man was inactive participant but in case of man coming through a woman, a man is an active participant. Again, the process conveys that a man needs a woman as much as a woman needs a man for children to be born. Because man and woman need each other for birth to take place implies that there is an equality between men and women in the role of procreation, but each still has a different function. Consequently, in Christ there is equality of spiritual standing, but each has a different function and the difference between them established by God in creation is not obliterated.
The apostle having referred to creation and consequent procreation of humans, makes the important statement that God is involved in both the first case of woman’s existence and the consequent procreation. In each case, God must still give life. Thus, when the apostle wrote in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 11:12 But everything comes from God he meant that God is responsible for the first existence of woman and consequent existence of men and women in the world. We are saying that the word everything or literally all refers to the coming into the world of man and woman either through the first creative work of God or through the subsequent procreation of men and women.
In any event, as we end our consideration, we should bear in mind that in the two verses we have considered the Holy Spirit through the apostle conveyed to us that there is equality in the standing of believers – male and female – before God in Christ Jesus and that each contributes to the mission of the church of Christ in such a way not to disregard the order in God’s creation of men and women.
12/10//21