On Covering the Head in Worship: 1 Cor 11:2-16, pt 11

“A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.”

Having understood that this passage–which gives instruction about both a principle and its corresponding practice–is one about headship and a God-designed order of roles, it might be tempting (particularly for a woman reading this passage) to associate the instruction here for her with punishment. I happen to be reading through the book of Genesis right now, and I read this passage the other day:

“To the woman [God] said, ‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.'” (3:16)

And reading that passage does seem to connect man’s authority over woman (or at least a husband’s over his wife) to punishment, the result of Eve’s discontent and then disobedience. And Paul does, indeed, make a connection elsewhere to the events of the Fall, in another instruction of his regarding the order of worship:

“A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.”  (1 Timothy 2:11-14)

But it is interesting–and should not be overlooked–that it is not only, or even primarily, the events of the Fall that have determined God’s word about man’s and woman’s role in worship. In the passage from 1 Timothy 2, Paul does make a connection to Eve’s disobedience, but only after he references the original order of creation–indicating that the woman’s distinct role from the man is not only a consequence of her punishment. And in the passage with which we are primarily concerned–1 Corinthians 11–Paul does not even refer to the Fall, but only to God’s originally-designed order of creation.

In other words, Paul’s emphasis of God’s original design, before the Fall, reveals to us that this issue of headship, authority, and ordering of roles is one that has always–since the creation of humanity–been pleasing to God. Before the stain of sin could mar the work of God, woman was created to be man’s helper and made for a submitted role. God had designed this all and said of it–“very good.”

And yet we who after the Fall continue to be deceived by the cunning Serpent, in our discontent, insist that God’s design for us must be punishment (because it seems so to us)!

To answer a question from the previous post–does [this practice that Paul writes about] sound like a matter of culture?–I would say that this reasoning from God’s created order would strongly argue that it does not. What reason, I wonder, could be given that more distanced itself from culture than this?