[0:00] Good morning. Welcome to the service this morning.! We decided to have our Thanksgiving weekend next weekend, the church lunch, and so I thought I would postpone my Thanksgiving message until next weekend as well.
[0:46] And so we will be having that next Sunday, Lord willing. And so we'll keep going in Corinthians. So what's happening in the world today?
[1:10] That depends where we look, right? But what's a huge event that's going to happen in the next 24 hours? I'm not talking about the rapture.
[1:25] I'm talking about the rapture. Anyone? The hostages. The hostages. And why is that so big?
[1:37] So for those that are tuned out, in the next 24 hours, Hamas is releasing all of the living hostages, and in the next few days, the bodies of those deceased as well.
[1:55] And why is this so important? They believe there's 20 that are alive. There's 20 of them.
[2:07] And I thought it's worth our attention to this matter in the world today. as these hostages, prisoners, represent the fruit of evil.
[2:32] It's the fruit of evil in the world. And it's a battle that our whole world is engaged in.
[2:43] We have Hamas, an Arab group, sect, so to speak, bent on the destruction of Jews across the globe.
[3:02] They have been fed. They have been fed. They are simply a tool through whom countries like Iran, Turkey, Syria, there's a few more, that have been feeding and working their plans against Israel.
[3:32] And Hamas was the vehicle through which they did it. Qatar is another, probably the biggest one. But they're so smart, they're behind the scenes.
[3:43] We have, we had an axis of evil reigning. And now, this past week, with the pressures and so on from President Trump and others, and the buy-in of the Arab countries, and we don't know what's all behind the scenes, at least I don't, and yet, something has forced these countries to back off.
[4:19] And by doing that, they're acknowledging we are defeated. We're done. For Israel, this is huge.
[4:30] And for them to bring back 20 of their citizens alive was worth giving up the lives of several hundred of their soldiers in the process.
[4:46] Because it reflects a principle that's a major principle of integrity at stake.
[5:00] We have hostages held by evil forces. We will do what it takes. And so, we are in a pivotal time on the world scene, I believe, like never before.
[5:17] As we see the evil being forced to back off for a bit. And so, with that, I'm not suggesting that this is the peace plan that Daniel talks about that will preside during the seven-year tribulation period.
[5:43] But it's sure leading up to it. And it's very similar. So, I would encourage us, pray for Israel.
[5:56] Pray for those families who are waiting for their loved ones in the next hours. And pray for those families that will be receiving the bodies of their loved ones.
[6:11] That have, they know they've died. They've been killed. But it's closure. And it's something that has affected the country of Israel like nothing else ever has.
[6:27] And I think we in Canada are so removed, we lose sight of the depth of this. So, I want to encourage us as Christians, as God's church, that we don't forget.
[6:41] And just recognize what's happening here. The days ahead will be interesting as a world as well.
[6:54] And then, on the tail of that, in our bulletins, was the announcement that there's a trip to Israel planned in February. February into March.
[7:06] An 11-day trip. And it's something, if it intrigues you, to go see the country, the land, where most scripture has been written.
[7:23] This is an opportunity. And some of the details are in the bulletin announcement. But if you are interested, and if you have questions, please come and talk with myself after the service or during the week.
[7:41] And as we would like to see commitments by the end of the month. So we know how many potentially are considering going. And so we would be joining an existing tour led by Friends of Israel with one of their leaders, John Plants.
[8:02] And so they're doing the details. We would simply be joining them. So it's not that I'm organizing or planning it. And so even the dates are set by them.
[8:14] But it's an opportunity. And many here have expressed a desire in the past. So, yeah, give that some serious thought. It's an opportunity that you will likely never regret.
[8:30] As it's very educational to go there. All right, enough said on that.
[8:48] Thank you, Abe, for reading our passage this morning. I've titled the message, Godly Headship. Godly Headship. And we want to bring this passage into context.
[9:05] And as I start off, when we think of the word submission, does it have a negative effect on us or a positive?
[9:27] To submit. To submit. To bow underneath.
[10:05] Anyone else? Submission. What does it mean to you? Probably the most prominent verse in Scripture is, wives, submit to your husbands.
[10:44] And turn with me to the verse before in Ephesians 5. Verse 22.
[11:08] Two has wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. But 20 and 21 in that chapter. Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[11:24] Submitting to one another in fear of God. Now, who's all excluded from verse 21?
[11:41] Nobody. Speaking to the family of God. Submitting to one another in the fear of the Lord. You see, that word submission is a godly term.
[11:59] And it's a term that reflects healthy relationships. And when you don't submit to your boss at work, what happens?
[12:19] It's probably not going to look good. It doesn't matter where we turn to in life. We are to submit to one another.
[12:35] In family relationships, in work relationships, in church relationships, submitting is vital as it shows respect and honor for fellow mankind.
[12:51] Whether it's male or female. Man or woman. Submission is crucial. It's of the Lord. And so, we're going to just look at this 1 Corinthians passage in light of of the theme here.
[13:13] headship as God created it. And we're going to work through it from that that angle. So, in verse 1, in 1 Corinthians 11, he says, imitate me just as I also imitate Christ.
[13:34] And now, I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. And here, Paul is referring to traditions or the teachings and practices that he has been preaching to them.
[13:54] and the last few chapters where it's more Pastor Henry that's been going through them and he has been harping on that it's not my way or my rights but I need to respect others and not intentionally offend or live to offend them.
[14:16] and I'd rather give up my rights in order that I can live in peace. That's kind of the theme of the preceding chapters and so here Paul praises them that they remember and keep the traditions as he has taught them.
[14:35] And then he moves on into the teaching on headship. Very often this chapter or the first half of this chapter is looked at just as a teaching on head coverings and it does address that as well and we will speak to it this morning.
[15:03] The issue of head coverings inside and outside of the church is very long the history of it and very extensive and very different and so we have a very wide spectrum of our understanding of that and so we want to just work through this passage and see what is the intent here?
[15:36] What is God desiring from us? And when it comes to this instruction and if we want to focus on just the head covering as in a kerchief this is the first place that scripture brings it out that it mentions it it's not in the Old Testament it's not in the law it's not in the teachings of Jesus Christ but here Paul brings it up in one of his letters to the church in Corinth is there culture involved very likely do we understand it probably not so we need to keep these factors as we go through this to just consider that and so I'm going to read the next few verses as we begin to work through it verse 3
[16:49] I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ the head of woman is man and the head of Christ is God everyone praying or prophesying having his head covered dishonors his head but every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved for if a woman is not covered let her also be shorn but if it's shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved let her be covered for a man indeed ought not to cover his head since he is the image and glory of God but woman is the glory of man and we remember that in the garden Adam being alone and and God saw that it was not good for man to be alone and he created
[17:55] Eve a woman out of his rib and brought her to him as the glory of man to compliment him to be his help meat and so that's the background of that but Paul starts here with the concept of headship that the head of every man is Christ and the word head here is authority so the authority of every man is Christ the head of woman the authority of the woman is the man and and in context it is her husband not any man but her husband and the head of Christ the authority of Christ is God so what's at stake here we just pause after verse three
[19:00] Paul is addressing and speaking to the order of creation head ship in creation and he exemplifies first of all that that our God our triune God practices head ship now how is that possible and humanly that's hard to understand are the father the son and the holy spirit equal see a lot of nods yes they are they are all equally and truly divine or
[20:03] God and yet the father sent the son to die and the son said it's to your advantage that I go back to the father because I will send the holy spirit a comforter someone who will be with you forever Jesus during his earthly walk continually prayed to the father he continually taught the Jewish people I have come to do my father's will see from a human perspective that's all wrong how can they all be
[21:08] God but from God's perspective it's perfectly in harmony and so if there is head ship it does not speak to identity or to value because they're all equally God and they were all equally there from the beginning from everlasting nothing and yet Jesus submits to the father and the spirit submits to Jesus by the way this is God's intended picture for marriage that husband and wife coming together reflect the image of
[22:11] God in harmony and yet in proper submission one to another and we could say all of our relationships reflect that or maybe they don't that God's will that they do and as we are spirit led they will reflect that teaching that doctrine of headship and so in marriage the husband the man is accountable to Jesus Christ and he will answer for his leadership and that is why Paul teaches repeatedly husbands what is it love your wives because when we lead without love without agape love we will not reflect
[23:33] Jesus Christ it is what God has in his wisdom put upon the man to be the head of the home and to be accountable directly to Christ!
[23:53] God the wife is to submit to her husband and to organize herself under him allowing him to lead and that brings glory to God and she will answer to Jesus Christ as well on her submission here on earth and so there's this concept of human relationships reflecting God himself as we have it displayed here so again it is not addressing human value for every human being is made in the image of
[24:57] God and is loved by God amen amen but he has given us different roles in life and we need to recognize that and not fight what God has ordained because ultimately when I struggle with submission here on earth for men and women ultimately I'm struggling with submitting to God that's where it points to I don't like his design I don't like the way God planned it I'm fighting it and non submission is our way of showing it and so
[25:59] Paul brings that out as the theme verse of this passage that the order of creation and so then following he says every man praying or prophesying have his head covered dishonors his head now it's talking about our physical head our literal head and every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head that is one and the same as if her head were shaved now these chapters in Corinthians largely are in the context of public worship and here is the instruction that a man is not to cover his head and a woman is not to be uncovered for she brings shame to her head her husband and the man if he has his head covered brings shame to his head which is
[27:11] Jesus Christ that's what Paul is saying here now embedded into that is for sure some culture that we like I said before we probably don't know in depth verse six for if a woman is not covered let her also be shorn but if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved let her be covered for a man indeed ought not to cover his head since he is the image and glory of God but woman is the glory of man and so verse six is probably also a focal verse in understanding for if a woman is not covered let her also be shorn but if it's shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved let her be covered and here is where we have lots of interpretations that play out you will have to work through this for yourself many hold to the fact that in
[28:36] Corinth the prostitutes the prostitutes would cut short their hair to recognize to give recognition to who they were it was symbolic and and Paul is saying to the church ladies if you resemble them it is just like being shaved or shorn now God has naturally made every woman beautiful amen right women are naturally beautiful and hair a woman's hair are the object of attention an object of glory and for a woman to be shaved it doesn't look right she has lost her glory and
[30:04] I don't know if there's anybody in this room any ladies that have gone through chemo treatments where they've lost their hair I've talked to some women who have they find it very hard whereas guys it's not a big deal at least to most of them and for the woman it's her symbol of glory that is gone and so that is likely playing into this as well now some historians write that there were practices of the women wearing a physical covering in Corinth there's writing in history books that reveal that but there's also writings that men wore head coverings and
[31:05] I found it interesting that when we were in Israel a number of years back that we were not allowed to go into the synagogue without covering our heads they said that would be the utmost of disrespect to the Jewish people for a man to walk into a church with his head uncovered and if nothing else at least do this hold a piece of paper on your head as a sign of submission to God and bowing well for me from my background that's weird that's very different I had never heard of that before so I was taken aback but that is what they practice to this day and hence when you see
[32:07] Jewish men on television they often have the black cap on their heads right the kifah and that is why so they they understand that to mean the man must submit to Christ that's his way of doing it so we have all kinds of culture tied up in this!
[32:28] in our time in Bolivia we saw head coverings from Yehi the school girls and it changed in color as they grew older and when they were baptized and married it had its final state or color and so on but depending which colony it varied so different interpretations of man and yet what's God's intent here his intent is headship the recognition that that God created Adam to lead and Eve to come alongside and to help him as his companion I'll read on verse 8 for man is not from woman but woman from man nor was man created for the woman but the woman for the man for this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels nevertheless neither is man independent of woman nor woman independent of man in the
[34:01] Lord for as woman also comes from man even so man also comes through woman but all things are from God so the first the first two verses 8 and 9 they clarify that Adam did not come from Eve but Eve from Adam by God's creation Adam was not created for Eve Eve was created for Adam he's clarifying that that holds true today it's God's design he says for this reason the women ought to have a symbol and the word symbol is in italics meaning it's a word that's not in the Greek but they put it in there so it flows better so the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels and just like the angels sang and rejoiced when
[35:16] God created we read that in Job the morning stars sang for joy when God created all things so the angels are watching over us and when we submit to God's plan the angels are rejoicing just like they did at creation so that's the intent here because of the angels they are witnesses of whether we recognize God's plan here or not and then verse 11 and 12 he balances it out and he says even though the man was not from the woman but the woman from the man and so on he says even though or nevertheless neither is man independent of woman nor woman independent of man in the
[36:19] Lord and independent means I can stand alone I don't need my wife man says no we're not independent we're interdependent we need each other for as women came from man even so man also comes through woman but all things are from God and so everyone born after Adam and Eve they were created everyone born after that everyone came from a woman no exceptions we're all born from our mother it's God's way of showing the interdependence of creation we need each other and yet having said that there's still an order that we need to follow
[37:22] I want us to turn to 1st Timothy chapter 2 now start in verse 11 through 15 let a woman learn in silence so in 1st Timothy 2 11 let a woman learn in silence with all submission and I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man but to be in silence for Adam was formed first then Eve and Adam was not deceived but the woman being deceived fell into transgression nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith love holiness with self control tell me how many children do you ladies need to ensure that you're going to heaven zero but she will be saved in childbearing!
[38:52] what is God saying here? I always thought ten was the magic number we didn't get that far God is saying Eve Eve went against her place in her relationship with Adam Eve disrespected her head and allowed Satan to deceive her and she had a desire to be the head Paul is teaching here that in childbearing she will be saved it is a way of saying that when we recognize and submit to
[40:12] God's plan his order that's what brings right relationship we we all know that women too must accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior right that's that's not what it's what saying here but embedded in that to acknowledge Jesus Christ is the fact to recognize this is God's order design and to not fight it you see the world fights this women and men we fight this we fight what God has put forth of what works and there's always danger of these teachings and concepts to to come into church
[41:19] I don't need to submit no God says you do all of us ultimately it's submission to him and then to each other in whatever form so that's what's at stake here and that's the principal teaching of 1st Corinthians 11 is to recognize God's design to to to to to to to to to finish up but whether you interpret this chapter this portion to mean a physical head covering or not the principle is that you recognize God's design for you whether you are husband or wife that's what's at stake here that is what
[42:24] Paul was straightening out verse 13 and onward to 16 judge among yourselves is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair it's a dishonor to him but if a woman has long hair it is a glory to her for her hair is given to her for a covering so he sums up with this teaching and when we just allow this text to be the context then we would have to interpret that that the woman's covering is her long hair and that the man's uncovering is to have short hair if we will go to no other sources that's what we would get out in proper hermeneutics because that's what it says but having said that and like
[43:50] I said before other sources indicate that even at this time there was forms of head coverings both men and women and yet just taking this passage it interprets itself and so hence for a woman not to be covered meant that she had cut her hair short or shaved but if anyone seems to be contentious we have no such custom nor do the churches of God you see this is not a salvation issue we need to recognize that in many cultures it has been promoted as such that's a salvation issue
[44:51] I have met many a lady wearing a physical covering and by the way I am not for or against I'm not suggesting that but I've met many a lady wearing a physical covering who is the leader at home and her husband is underneath they have missed God's principle they have completely missed the point but it's to recognize God's design so whether you interpret this as a physical covering or the long hair is to me not as important as to recognize that this is the order of relationship husband and wife that's what's at stake so may
[45:57] God lead you and give you things to think about with this are we acknowledging him in our marriage and we tend to be harder on our women with passages like this but equally equally the husband fails in leading as the wife does in submitting and both are failures before God we need help we need God's help and we need to understand what he wants so may he bless you in this!
[46:47] my prayer is that that the physical issue of head covering will never bring disunity to the body of Christ no matter which way you interpret it do not let it destroy our unity because Paul says that's not what his intent is if anyone is contentious we have no such custom nor do the churches of God let us not let it destroy our relationships let's pray Father this morning we marvel at our
[47:49] Godhead the triune God displaying exemplifying submission and order Father we do not fully grasp this and yet it is before us and that is what you desire from us as your creation to follow suit in fact you designed us for that and Lord we acknowledge this morning that only as we recognize your design and only as we follow it are we truly at peace may your will be done in Jesus name amen you!