Husband
– Tyrant, or Prince?
1
Corinthians 11:1-16
There
is a recurring phenomenon in the church. Some
doctrine will swiftly become abominable to the world;
the church will produce “explainers” who tell all that the Bible
didn’t really mean what it said there; and – after a generation or two –
someone “rediscovers” the truth in the Bible.
In the meanwhile many are led astray.
In our time, one such “error” is the submission of women to their
husbands. Here we encounter it in
Paul’s words:
(1 Cor 11:1-16 NIV) Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. {2} I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you. {3} Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. {4} Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. {5} And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head--it is just as though her head were shaved. {6} If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. {7} A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. {8} For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; {9} neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. {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.
The
key to understanding this passage is found in verse one:
the imitation of Christ. If
we will keep his example before our minds, the entire question will become much
easier to deal with. First, a
review of the concept of submission.
Submission
In general
Consistent
readers will recall the general principles of Christian submission:
 | All of us, as
Christians, are in submission – at least to Jesus Christ.
That is the very nature of being a Christian.
Most of us are in submission to many other authorities as well –
governments, church leadership, teachers – the list is very long. |
| True submission is to
true (legitimate) authority – and that authority flows from Christ, to
whom all authority is given. |
| The nature of
authority – and hence the nature of submission – is determined by the
task assigned. Submission as a
student is different from submission as a wife. |
| With that task and
authority comes responsibility. |
| The one in authority
must always remember that such submission is voluntary;
you chose to become a Christian.
As my mother tells my wife, “you volunteered for this chicken
outfit.” |
| The reason for
submission is sin. Policemen
have authority because of it, for example.
Interestingly, the same rationale is given for husbands having
authority over their wives. |
The human side of authority
All
well and good, teacher – but how should this work out in actual, day to day
living?
| Our model is that of
Christ – see verse one! – and his model is that of the servant-leader.
Therefore, any Christian leader (including husband) should be a
servant-leader. |
| The beneficiary of the
submission relationship – is the person in submission.
(That’s one difference between a prince and a tyrant). |
| The motivation of any
Christian leader – we cannot expect this from our government – must be
that of Christ: love. |
| And as Christ was
exalted for his obedience as a servant-leader, so God will reward those
servant-leaders who obey his commands.
He will also punish those who don’t. |
Parallel essence
So
what really rankles us about this submission?
Is it not that submission makes us feel inferior?
This may simply be a question of sinful pride, but for the sake of those
in authority we will assume not. (It’s
a lot harder to abuse submission than it is authority).
In particular, does this mean that woman is inferior to man?
| Let’s look at the
example we are given: Jesus
Christ. Is He inferior to the
one to whom He is in submission, God the Father? As touching his manhood, yes; as touching his divinity, no – that was the ancient
formula. Even though He is
equal to God the Father, He made himself nothing and became like us – and
was obedient even to death on the cross.
With such an example of submission before us, can we really conclude
that submission means inferiority? |
| Paul makes much the
same point here. In one verse
it sounds like woman is completely inferior;
in the next point he says that man comes from woman (which makes them
equal) and then he gives the whole thing up and says that all is from God.
Like Christ and the Father, man and woman have the same essence, as
Aquinas would put it. |
Remember
that submission and authority exist because of sin. We often hear repeated the verse “that all are one in
Christ Jesus.” In Christ Jesus we
are without sin, and therefore we are indeed equal.
But because sin exists, God has created marriage – a submission
relationship – to deal with it. Interestingly,
in all the references I can find, the sinful nature for which this is prescribed
is that of the husband.
The
conclusion of the matter: the wife
is not inferior to the husband. She
is in submission to him.
Why,
then, do we have so much trouble with this?
Our World’s View
If
you were to ask this question of most Christians, you’d get a variety of
answers.
| Most would point to
the radical feminists of our day, claiming this to be the problem.
There is no doubt that the public school system proclaims the
feminist agenda in strident terms, beginning at the earliest age.
But can we not dig deeper? |
| Perhaps the underlying
problem is our sinful nature – though feminists deny the existence of sin
(it’s old fashioned, you know). It is just barely possible that feminism is the second
wrong desperately attempting to make a right.
If Christian husbands modeled Christ to their wives, would we see
such things in their children? |
| Remember:
Satan cannot create anything – he can only twist what God has
created. Therefore, let us
examine his twistings. |
Twistings
Some
of the twistings that we see:
| We are much enamored
of the legal fiction that all are equal – as the Declaration of
Independence puts it, “that all men are created equal.”
It is a very useful legal fiction;
but in the church we must put aside fiction and deal with reality.
We are all equal in Christ – but we are not all interchangeable
parts. Male is not
interchangeable with female. |
| As Americans, we hold
as a matter of principle that it is our duty to rebel against tyranny.
But we have now twisted that – making rebellion against authority
to be a positive good. You
don’t think so? Visit any
nearby public high school. Rudeness
and rebellion against authority are now considered a normal part of growing
up. |
| We even twist the
words we use so that their meanings will end up as opposites.
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet?
Consider a few examples. Does
marriage really mean two lesbians? Does
family mean any conglomeration of people under one roof?
Does love really mean nothing but sexual passion excuses all? |
Why is the sexual distinction so important?
Paul here seems to be complaining of some rather trivial things. The length of hair, after all, is something subject to fashion. I submit for your consideration the following thoughts:
Design Principle
| You can use a hammer
to drive a screw into wood. Does
that make a hammer a screwdriver? No.
It makes it a tool misused. Just
because it works doesn’t mean it was designed to work that way. |
| Men and women are
designed differently – and therefore we need to recognize that difference
and deal with it in the manner intended by the Designer.
Just because we can make a woman do a man’s job doesn’t mean that
we should make her do it. |
Right use of authority
This
is not a matter of whether or not women can teach math, or fly airplanes, or
other such things. This is a matter
of spiritual authority – which has eternal consequences. The man was given this authority, I submit, for at least
these reasons:
| First, for the sake of
the children. If children know
that their parents are “equal” they will play one off against the other.
They will quickly learn that authority is to be manipulated, not
obeyed. I leave the results of this to your imagination. |
| Next, this authority
is given as a corrective to the man’s physical strength and arrogance.
Does this surprise you? Remember
the nature of authority: it is
to be exercised in servant leadership.
The example set before the man is that of Christ himself. |
| This authority is also
given to correct a woman’s protectiveness of her children. |
Submission in symbolism
The
submission shown here is largely symbolic.
In verse six Paul talks of shaving a woman’s head.
You might ask why; but remember – men go bald.
The point is simply that if the woman is going to act like a man, then
disgrace her by making her look like a man.
It is a measure of the depravity of our society that many think this a
good thing.
Our
forebears would have understood this much more clearly.
They understood the difference, and the importance of the difference.
That’s because they understood the difference between the Bride, the
church, and Christ. God has painted
on the living canvas of our bodies a picture of his love for the church;
let us not mar the painting.
Tyrant – or prince
I
cannot leave this subject without a word for the men. I frame it in terms of a quiz for the women, but it really
applies to men. Ladies, do you know
the difference between being married to a tyrant – or a prince?
| The tyrant does not
have legitimate authority; the
prince does. If you have
legitimate authority, it comes from Christ. Therefore, if you are married to a prince, your husband
recognizes Christ’s authority over him and is obedient to Christ –
especially in the things of marriage. Does
your husband have the authority of Christ?
Then he is a prince. |
| The tyrant’s motive
is his own self-interest. The
prince cares for his own. His
motive is his love for his people. Does
your husband place his love for you above his own self-interest?
Then he is a prince. |
| Finally, the tyrant
considers himself his own best example.
The prince knows that Christ is his example.
Does your husband imitate his Lord and Savior in servant leadership?
Does he say to you, follow me, as I follow Christ? Then he is a prince. |
So
I leave it to you: is your husband
a tyrant, or a prince?
