When it comes to gender inequality in the church, one of the most quoted verses is 1 Corinthians 11:3: “...the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.”

The common interpretation is that men should lead and women should follow (which often leads to women being second-class citizens).

But guess what? That’s not what Paul meant at all! In fact, Paul was actually calling out the *inequality* between the sexes! Ready to learn more? Hit play!  

P.S. Don’t forget to check out the book On Purpose: Understanding God’s Freedom for Women Through Scripture by Julie Zine Coleman on which this episode is based. 

Show Notes:

• Intro

  • Alright, sister! As usual, I’m just going to jump right into it. I love how God has been purposefully exposing the truth behind Scriptures related to women - especially the ones that have been used by certain churches, or have become commonplace in Christian culture, in a way that keeps women from understanding and living out their full potential.

  • Not too long ago, I did an episode of the actual meaning behind the Proverbs 31 woman. (That was episode 34 if you’d like to check that out once you’ve finished this episode.) And today, we’re going to look at 1 Corinthians 11:1-16.

  • Now before I dive in, I want you to know that everything I’m about to share is based on the book On Purpose: Understanding God’s Freedom for Women Through Scripture by Julie Zine Coleman. Julie is the one who earned a M.A. in Biblical studies, dug into the theological research, and put all of this together in her book. I’m merely passing along the message so my fellow sisters can find true freedom and empowerment. 

  • I highly recommend grabbing a copy of the book yourself. Julie tackles several key topics that I think every woman has faced or grappled with at one time or another. And the Biblical truth that she presents is truly mind-blowing. It makes you realize that you’re not crazy; God’s design is not for you to be inequal or in a box. The longings or whispers you’ve had to do more or be more are legit. We just haven’t been presented with the truth. 

  • But, we’re going change that today by digging into 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. I’m going to start by reading the entire passage. I know it’s a little lengthy, but it’s important that we have a firm foundation.

  • 2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I handed them down to you. 3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 4 Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. 5 But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for it is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, have her also cut her hair off; however, if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, have her cover her head. 7 For a man should not have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; 9 for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. 10 Therefore the woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as the woman originated from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does even nature itself not teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her as a covering. 16 But if anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor have the churches of God.

  • Whew! Okay! There’s a lot going on here, right? One, it’s talking about men and women. And, two, it’s focusing on head coverings. Which seems a bit odd, right? I don’t know about you, but historically when I’ve read this passage, I’ve wondered why in the world head coverings are so important. 

  • So let’s break this down and gather some data and context for this passage. 

• First, we have The Method

  • Per Julie in her book, “Paul was well-educated and used sophisticated writing in all of his letters. Peter even wrote about how tricky is was for some to get the full meaning of Paul’s writings: ‘Just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in his letters…in which there are some things that are had to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort (2 Peter 3:15-16). Identifying Paul’s structure is key to a correct understanding.”

  • Julie then goes to say that Paul seems to be using a classic literary tool called a chiasm (or chiastic structure). This technique, which is frequently used in the Old Testament, is where someone presents an idea or ideas in parallel statements. One statement helps to interpret the other. There’s also a central idea - which is usually in the middle of those parallel statements. 

  • Now, in her book, Julie breaks down this passage to show those parallel statements. That’s much easier to consume in a visual format, like she’s done, so I won’t attempt to do that here via audio. 

  • However, the thing we do need to note here are the two central statements that appear within these sets of parallel statements. They are:

    • “Man…is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man…”

    • “However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman…all things originate from God.”

  • Again, to quote our expert Julie here, “With both statements, Paul is referring to creation order.” In the first one, he cites woman originating from man. In the second, Paul seems to contradict himself by disregarding the order of creation and saying that, in reality, all of us come from God.

  • Why would Paul seemingly contradict himself? And why this focus on creation as his central idea? 

  • To answer that, let’s look at…

• The Context behind this letter

  • One thing we need to keep in mind about Corinth is that, due to its location between Rome and its eastern provinces, it saw a lot of trade and, as such, had a lot of pagan population, religions, and influences.

  • In addition, “Rome had declared Corinth a Roman colony, and its proud citizens were zealous to attain public status, promote themselves, and secure power.”

  • Paul planted the church in Corinth while on his second missionary trip around 50-51 AD. (See Acts 18:1-22). He stayed for a year and a half, preaching the gospel and discipling converts, before leaving the city. Afterward, he kept up correspondence with the church.

  • What we refer to as 1 Corinthians today was actually written sometime after a previous letter of Paul’s; we know this from 1 Cor 5:9). Unfortunately, that first letter was lost, so we don’t know what it said. However, we do know that Paul received a response to his first letter - and also heard about the division issues in the church from members of Chloe's household (which we know from 1 Cor 1:11).

  • Now, with his second letter - which we call 1 Corinthians - Paul is following up on the issues that had been raised.

  • We don’t have a copy of the Corinthians’ letter, but based on 1 Corinthians, we can make some fair assumptions about what was happening which included:

    • Sexual immorality

    • Division in the church body

    • Split loyalties

    • Self-promotion

    • Communion issues

    • Personal squabbles

  • The gist of the situation was this: the Corinthian church was more of a reflection of secular society than it was a reflection of the Kingdom of God. (Remember what I said a few minutes ago about Corinth being rife with pagan beliefs? And that there was a general desire for power and to promote the city within the Roman empire?) This was seeping into the church and causing issues - the ones I just listed that Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians.

  • As Julie so aptly puts it: “The Corinthians needed some serious guidance on how to relate to each other.”

  • Something else we need to remember in terms of context is that the original document was not broken into chapters and verses. It was just one, long letter. This means that the letter’s content wasn’t divided into sections or subtitles. The entire letter was meant to flow together from beginning to end. 

  • And as it happens, Chapter 11 is simply part of a larger argument that Paul started back in Chapter 7. He’s addressing the false dichotomy that the Corinthians have advocated between:

    • Husband and wives (7:1-6)

    • The circumcised and uncircumcised (7:17-20)

    • Slaves and free men (7:21-24)

    • Single and married persons (7:24-40)

    • Those who ate food sacrificed to idols and those who did not (8:1-13)

    • The privileged and the underprivileged (11:19-34)

  • Again, Juile says it so well: “Lines had been drawn in the sand every which way in Corinth. The priority of their hearts did not match the kingdom that Jesus preached.” (Did you catch that, Jesus empowered maiden? Paul was addressing issues within the Corinthian church that did not align with what Jesus preached.) 

  • Paul was calling the church on not treating each other as the brothers and sisters in Christ that they should be.

  • After our passage, in Chapter 12, Paul compels them to start acting like one body - where everyone is important and needed. In Chapter 13, he focuses on love and how to relate God’s way. In Chapter 14, Paul urges unity regarding the use of spiritual gifts.

  • So, what does this all mean when it comes to the real message of 1 Cor 11:1-16?

• The Real Message of 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

  • Looking at our Chapter 11: 1-16 within the context of the entire letter, it makes sense to see these verses as an “entry to a list of dangerous fractions that were tearing the church apart: inequality between men and women.” 

  • And the dispute about head coverings is just the superficial issue. (Just like circumcision which was also an issue. The church was more focused on the internal than the external.) Paul is addressing the real issue which is gender inequality within the body of Christ. 

  • Remember, again, that Paul is writing 1 Corinthians in response to a letter from that church. One that, given the time period, meant that months would have passed between responses. Which is why Paul is reminding the church within his response what they had written about - like, as Juile says, we do today with emails, including the original message in our response.

  • He also begins Chapter 7 with, “Now concerning the things about which you had written.”

  • So, let’s revisit those two central statements from Chapter 11 that we touched on at the beginning of the episode. If you recall, in the first one, Paul cites woman originating from man. And in the second, he seems to contradict himself by disregarding the order of creation and saying that, in reality, all of us come from God.

  • It’s entirely possible that Paul is initially restating what they - the church - had written in their letter (verses 2-10). And then, in his second statement (verses 11-16 which starts with “However, in thee Lord…”), he’s making his point to counter that. So in other words, the church was seeing women in a way that made them inequal. But Paul is saying that , in God’s kingdom, they are equal.

  • By the way, Juile goes on to explain verse 3 which says “...God is the head of Christ.” She does this because if this verse were untrue, then it would place doubts on the rest of our passage. I don’t want to go into it here because her explanation is lengthy, and I’ve already thrown a lot at you. But you can read more about that in her book. 

• Wrap-up

  • Sister, I know we’ve covered a lot. But I hope that you’ve come to see 1 Corinthians 11 in a completely different light. Paul’s intention behind our passage for today was not to say that women had to follow men in the church or the body of Christ. That we’re subservient or less important. Or that women had to wear head coverings (which was a misunderstanding within the church.) Instead, throughout numerous chapters, Paul was urging the church in Corinth to love and treat each other equally across all peoples.

  • Again, Julie says it really well: “Paul knew that they needed to build a community based on love, selflessness, and the equal worth of every member. Any idea or value that caused separation in the body was not from God. Jesus wanted unity for His church, not a hierarchy or division between the haves and have-nots (see John 17:20-21). No longer were they to be driven by personal rivalries or self-interest. In all matters, they were to work for the common good. As members of His body, men and women were to function as one.”

  • So good! Cheers, sister!