Glory in the Creation Order

Transcript

GR 1338
11-05-06
Glory in the Creation Order
1 Corinthians 11:7-16
Gil Rugh

If you've been at Indian Hills recently, for the last year or two, we've been studying the role of men and women in 1 Corinthians 11. It may seem like it has been that long, but it hasn't been quite that long. But we are back in 1 Corinthians 11 today, and we may finish this section, Lord willing.

We're talking about the subject of men and women. The particular issue is head coverings. Paul said men ought not to wear a covering on their heads when they pray or prophesy, women must wear a covering on their heads when they pray or prophesy. We have noted that the issue is not worship in general, the issue is not any time the church comes together, the issue is not our daily lives. The issue is when prayer or prophesying is taking place. We also noted that there seems to be reason to connect prayer with the prophesying here, and these two items are mentioned together because a main part of a prophet's ministry was the prayer ministry. We looked at the example of Simeon and Anna in Luke 2. And we could take the time to look through the Old Testament prophets and see what a major part prayer plays in their prophetic lives and ministry. Such a view would also be consistent with 1 Timothy 2 where Paul says he wants the men to pray in every place, men in contrast to the women. So that what is in view in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 has to do with those who have the gift of prophesying, and some women have that gift, and when they exercise it in the congregation they would be speaking forth revelation that God gave to them and they would also be praying. Their prayers would often be inspired as well. Then they needed their heads to be covered.

The issue is the order that God has established, and it started in verse 3 where the Father is the head of God the Son, God the Son is the head of the man, and the man is the head of the woman. And so to recognize the headship or the authority of the man, when a woman is praying or prophesying, which would be a position that would be interpreted as leadership, asserting authority, she would have something on her head to indicate that she is under the authority of the man.

Now this is not an issue for us today directly, because the gift of prophecy is no longer present. We will delve more into that gift when we get to chapter 12 and Paul goes into an extensive discussion of spiritual gifts in chapters 12-14. The gift of prophesying is no longer present. There is no longer direct revelation being given. That would mean that the issue of a head covering for a woman on this occasion is not applicable to use today, because there are no prophetesses, there are no prophets. So the prophesying and the praying of a prophet or prophetess would not be taking place today. We noted it is important that we come to this conclusion, that a head covering is not required today for biblical reasons. We don't want to come to the right conclusion for the wrong reason. The head covering is not required today, but that's not because it was a cultural situation or a cultural issue. It's not an issue of something in the particular social setting of that time. A head covering is not required today because the gift of prophet or prophetess is not present in the church today, and that's what Paul addresses here—praying and prophesying, connecting the prophesying with the praying.

However, there are principles that are important for us and that is one of the reasons the Spirit of God has placed it here, because there is an extensive development here showing the order that God has established for His creation. And it's important to understand and recognize that the foundation for the instructions here is not cultural matters, social matters, the prevailing custom. The issue is what God intended in creation and that's what Paul is going to establish in the last part of this section. God created us as a reflection of the order that exists within the trinity, and particularly the example that he used in verse 3 was the relationship of God the Father to God the Son. God the Father is the head, He has authority over God the Son, even though the Son is equal to the Father. And it's the Father's intention that all would honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. But there is order and the Father has authority over the Son. The Son of God has authority over the male, and the male has authority over the female in the created order as God sets it forth.

So what Paul is going to do, picking up with verse 7, he showed first God's intention in creation supports the order and role and then he's going to show nature itself supports what he has said. So let's pick up with verse 7. For a man ought not to have his head covered since he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of man. Now if you believe that the Bible is the Word of God, that it's been God-breathed, the Spirit of God directed Paul in the writing of this, then you understand these are God's words to us. I want to clarify that because I don't want to be held responsible or accountable for what we are going to say today. If I err, then you can be upset with me. However, you must be careful that you are not upset with what God says. We read verse 7, for a man ought not to have his head covered since he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of man. Sounds like a put-down for the woman. I'm a man. I’m the glory of God; you're a woman. You’re my glory. Obviously there is a major step down here. But he's establishing the order. Now note here, he says man is the image and glory of God, woman is the glory of man. He does not say woman is the image and glory of man, because both man and woman are created in the image of God. So the point he picks up is on the glory.

We go back to Genesis 1:26, then God said, let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule. So man will be created to be sovereign over all the rest of creation. Verse 27, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female. He created them. Now we have a great issue today over the use of man as the generic term for humanity, and that's become politically incorrect. That's simply another indication of the rebellion or our society against the purposes and plans of God and what He has revealed as the order in His creation, because God established the title man to cover both male and female. Because in verse 26 God said, let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. Verse 27, God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female. So he created man and man includes male and female. So it's just not a matter of societal convention, the politically correct idea that you cannot include ”man” and expect “woman” to be included in that today. It is the rejection of the order that God has established in creation. But what we're here to see is both male and female are created in the image and likeness of God and are thus to rule over the rest of creation. Verse 28, God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. But part of the image of God in man is that authority and sovereignty given and delegated to man as having authority over the rest of creation, animals and so on.

Turn over to Genesis 5:1, this is the book of the generations of Adam, in the day when God created man. He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female. He blessed them and named them man in the day when they were created. So what is the title God gives to the human race? Man. And that includes male and female. You'll note, they are made in the likeness of God. He created man, He made him in the likeness of God, He created them male and female. So male and female are in the image and likeness of God.

Turn over to Genesis 9. This is after the flood, God speaks to Noah. Verse 6, whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed. For the image of God He made man. Now this is the foundation for capital punishment. And the basic issue in capital punishment is not that it is a deterrent to crime. The basic reason there is capital punishment is when you kill another human being, you have struck at the image of God. That is a capital offense. Now this does not just apply if you kill another male, but it applies also if you kill a female, because man here is used in that sense. Man is in the image of God, as male and female, he was created in the image of God. So the woman as well as the man is in the image of God. You don't need to turn there for time, but James 3:9, James says that with the same tongue we bless God and curse man who is made in the image of God. Brethren, these things ought not to be. So there again indicating man created in the image of God, that includes male and female.

However, the man is the glory of God as well as the image of God. The woman is the image of God, but she's the glory of man. Come back to 1 Corinthians 11 for a moment. That word glory, I pulled out a Greek lexicon and some of the meanings given for that word translated “glory” are brightness, splendor, honor, magnificent. Down in verses 14-15, just pick up a point here, does not even nature teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him. If a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her. And you'll note the contrast is between dishonor at the end of verse 14, and glory in verse 15. It is a dishonor for a man to have long hair. It is a glory for a woman to have long hair. That word “glory” carrying the idea of honor in this context, that glory, that honor. We'll say more about that in a moment.

So the woman is the glory of the man, the man is the glory of God. How so? The explanation is in verses 8-9. Paul gives two reasons why that is so. First, verse 8, for man does not originate from woman, but woman from man. Now again there is nothing cultural here. There is nothing related to social issues of the day. We're going all the way back before even sin enters the world. Genesis 2. The Apostle Paul sees Genesis 1-2 as complimentary. He's just referred to Genesis 1:26-27 with man created in the image of God. Now what happens after the seven days of creation, which run through Genesis 2:3, the seventh day being a day of rest? Verse 4 picks up and now this is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, the day when God made the heavens and the earth. He's going to focus everything now on the details of the creation of man as male and female. He just made a summary statement about making man as male and female in His likeness and image, in Genesis 1:26-27. Now He's going to go into the details of the creation of man, because that's the most important part, obviously, of His creation. Genesis 2:7, then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And man became a living being. God took the dust and made a man. So when someone says to a man, you're nothing but a dirt bag, they're right. He's just dust put together by God. But you'll note, God directly creates man out of dirt, not another living being, not even another living entity. Not out of an animal, not out of a tree, not out of a flower. He creates him out of the dust, but he's a direct creation out of no life. And God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, man becomes a living being. So there is the creation of man as male.

Now down in verse 21 of chapter 2, so the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man and he slept. And He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man and brought her to the man. Now you see God directly creates the woman, but He doesn't create her out of the dust. So we don't have two dirt bags, we have one dirt bag and one beautiful woman. He creates the woman out of the man. He takes the life He has already created in His image and with a portion of that life, from the side part of the man, He fashions the woman. And there's no indication here, it doesn't say then He breathed into the woman the breath of life. Indication here is the woman and her life now is taken from the man. So she is directly formed by God, but she's not the direct creation of God in the way the man was, because she is part of the man. So that's the point Paul is making. The woman was created out of the man. The man does not originate from the woman, the woman from the man. That order is established. God's plan here, clear.

Adam recognizes this. You know it's hard for us to conceive the brilliance of the mind of Adam. We think there has been evolution, but there has really been devolution. We have gone down, not up. Adam's mind is untainted in any way with the effects of sin, he is perfect with a mind of capacities that we can only imagine. And he recognizes, verse 23, God brought the woman to the man, the female. The man said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. You see, he recognized this is not a totally new creation, this is part of me. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. This becomes the foundation for marriage. Incidentally, you ought to note, even though in Genesis this forms not only the creation of male and female, but also lays the foundation for marriage. Paul's use of this account applies it beyond just the marriage context, because in 1 Corinthians 11 he's talking about the responsibility of male and female as is true in other passages as well. We need to be careful that we don't say, this is just for marriage. Paul's use of this goes beyond marriage. The order of creation permeates everything. We need to recognize this. We say, well, this just applies to the church, and as we've noted, the church didn't even exist when Genesis 2 occurred. It was thousands of years away from the church. We'll talk about the implementation of this in the church, of course, but we recognize this is God's creation plan. As such, it establishes God's intention in roles for the male and for the female. That's the creation order. We need to be careful that we find reasons and say, this wouldn't have to apply here. Where doesn't creation apply? I mean, this goes back to God's intention when He made man as male and when He made man as female. And so that permeates everything.

Okay, so the woman came out of the man. That's the first reason that she's the glory of the man. The man was directly created by God out of nothing, so to speak, but dust. So it's the glory of God. But the woman was taken out of man so she, if you will, reflects his glory, brings honor to him. Recognize the distinction. She is called woman, Adam says, because she comes out of man. Recognize this is not just another me, this is part of me, but it's not two separate, distinct entities unrelated.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 11. Second reason why the man is the glory of God and the woman is the glory of man is in verse 9. For indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but the woman for the man's sake. This is biblical. Verse 9, man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake. You shouldn't get upset with me for just reading it. It's what God says.

Come back to Genesis 2. Now we have the unfolding of some of the details of creation that enable us to understand the uniqueness of man as male and man as female in Genesis 2. In verse 18, after He had created man from the dust of the ground, then the Lord God said, it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. Then the animals are all brought before the male, Adam, and he gives them names. Think of the brilliance of this man, I mean, as God created him, to give the names and recognize the differences and name them according to what they are and so on. Remarkable. We don't know how long Adam, the man, was present before the woman was created. I take it, just a short time, because God says it's not good for Adam to be alone. The animals are brought before Adam, but there is no companion, no helper. The end of verse 20, for Adam there was not a helper suitable for him. So you might love your dog and they make good companions, but they cannot fill the role that God has created here. There is an unbreachable chasm between the animal world and man. Now man in his rebellion against God, who desires to suppress the truth of God, comes up with ideas of evolution, that those are our ancestors. They're not our ancestors, Genesis 2 tells us. So God makes a helper suitable for Adam, and that helper made for Adam, that one suitable for him is the woman.

So the point is that man was not made for the woman, the woman was made for the man. The man was already here. God says it is not good for him to be alone. I’ll make a helper fitted, suitable, compatible for him. And He made the woman out of the man. So that order is the reason that woman is the glory of the man, the man is the glory of God. The woman was made for the man, to complete the man. It's not God's intention that man as male be independent, self-sufficient, on his own. Now we looked in 1 Corinthians 7, God's provision for singleness, but the normal order as God has created it is for man and woman and that is exemplified in marriage. But that order and relationship permeates everything. Man is male wherever he is and whatever he does, woman is female, man as female, wherever she is and whatever she does. She doesn't cease to be female because she's not in church any longer, she's over here. Man doesn't cease to be male. So understand this is God's creation. That's why Paul takes these creation matters and he shows they apply even when you're not in a marriage context. That order must be observed, because it's the order the Creator has built-in. And any rejection of that order is a rejection of the Creator who is behind it.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 11:10, therefore, the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels. The “therefore,” on account of this, the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head. This parallels verse seven. Verse 7 said a man ought not to have his head covered. Verse 10 says, the woman ought to have authority on her head, she ought to have her head covered. Verse 7, the man ought not to have his head covered; verse 10, the woman ought to have her head covered. The reason, found in verses 8-9, in between. So verse 7 and verse 10 are parallel, the explanation given in verses 8-9. The order of creation, the reason the woman was created for the man. So the woman ought to have, we have a symbol of on her head, it just says authority on her head, but as the parallel statement in verse 7 makes clear, it's the covering which represents the authority of the man over her, and her submission to his authority even when she was prophesying or praying as a prophetess. And thus could be interpreted to be assertive leadership. Her position is clearly recognized.

She must do this because of the angels. Now we say, why bring that in. He's all of a sudden throwing in angels here. She does this in light of the reasons given in verses 8-9, and she does it because of the angels. The angels have been created by God, evidently were created early on the first day of creation because Job 38:4-7 tell us the angels were there to sing at the creation. So they are present, they are part of the creation, they are given oversight and administrative responsibility in the realm of God's creation. And now, verse 9, we are a little lower than the angels when the kingdom is established and we rule and reign, then the angels will be under our oversight and authority. But they are involved as created beings and overseeing the creation. We see some of their responsibility and administrative responsibility in various places in the Word.

Back up to 1 Corinthians 4. We're being told that angels are beholding what is going on, and they must see among the people of God an obedience to the will of God in functioning in the roles that God intends us to function. So in 1 Corinthians 4:9, for I think God has exhibited us apostles last of all as men condemned to death. Behold we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are on the stage, the theater, we are a spectacle to the whole world, as angels behold us and men behold us. We see there the role of angels and Paul sees that his sufferings and his faithfulness through suffering being beheld by the angels as well as men.

Turn over to Ephesians 3:9. Paul talking about he gets to preach the unfathomable riches of Christ. And to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery, which for ages has been hidden in God, note, who created all things. The sovereign position of God as the creator of all things behind even the message of redemption for fallen creation. Verse 10, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies. These are angelic beings who have order. They are rulers and authorities. But they learn of redemption through the ministry of the church of Jesus Christ. Because there are only two orders of angels—fallen and unfallen, angels who never sinned and are the holy angels of God and angels who sinned and are condemned to an eternal hell. There are no forgiven angels. Because any angel who sinned and rebelled against God was judged and condemned to an eternal hell. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never became an angel and provided redemption for angels. So the rulers and authorities are beholding the work of redemption in the church, and learning of it through the ministry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are the beholders.

One other passage and we have to move on, I Timothy 5. Paul gives a solemn charge to Timothy, and he says in 1 Timothy 5:21, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels.” In the sight of these God the Father, God the Son, and the angels who do the bidding of God, His chosen angels, maintain these principles without bias, do nothing out of partiality. You see the angels are beholding and if you don't do this faithfully, you don't do this without partiality, God will know, Christ will know, the angels there to observe the order that God has established will know. Serious matter.

So this order must be established, so that if a woman has the gift of prophesying and she was going to prophesy and pray, it's important she have her head covered because the angels are beholding, expecting to see the woman functioning in the role that God has given her. But here she is stepping up, addressing the men as well as the woman, but the head covering indicates the recognition of her position and the acceptance of the authority of the man, even though she is exercising this particular gift. Amazing how concerned God is about the details of what He intends in even His creative work. Why didn't God just tell the angels, that's all right, I gave them the gift prophecy, so the women are not out of alignment. No, they must see, it must be evident not only for men but for angels that we walk in humble obedience to the roles God has given in His creative purpose.

Let's get back to 1 Corinthians 11. We have to put this in a correction. You know what? We men as male are sinners and we're quick to jump on this, because I think this is a great passage. Just establishes that I am the sovereign boss and sole authority. And so verse 11 Paul tells us, however in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. Now in the Lord doesn't mean now everything I've said has been annihilated because if you're in Christ there is neither male nor female. The point is the same at the end of verse 12, all things originate from God. You see, Paul is writing to the church. Now these creation ordinances, if you will, the role, the order established, the roles established for a man and a woman, marriage established by God, they are binding on all creation. But as fallen, sinful beings, all humanity is in rebellion against God. So the only ones concerned with the implementing of God's truth and living in obedience to God are those who are in the Lord, those who recognize all things originate from God, because He is the creator. So that puts in balance, I recognize God has given me authority as male. That doesn't mean I am independent of the female, and our roles are intertwined. And the man was not complete without her, it's not good for a man to be alone. That becomes exemplified in marriage, but it permeates all of God's creation. There is a reason God did not appoint any women as priests in Israel, and that God did not appoint any women to rule Israel. The woman who rules is in rebellion against the rule of authority of God. It permeates His creation. But a man has to understand, he's not independent of the woman. He has authority, but there is interdependence. And that is illustrated by the fact the woman originates from man, began this way. Unique situation.

There is a male and the woman comes out of the male. But ever since then there has not been one exception, every man now has come from a woman. So as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman. All things originate from God. So the man ought not to get a wrong idea here. He has been given authority, this is the creation order, the roles God has established. But that does not mean man is independent of the woman. Remember when the marriage situation occurs, 1 Peter 3:7, the man is to honor the woman as a coheir of life, a fellow-heir of life. So we recognize that interdependence, and that would be true in all our relationships as male and female, the understanding of that mutual interdependence, even though there is order.

All right, Paul is ready to wrap this up, and it's not the way I would wrap it up, but then again, I'm not inspired and he is. He says in verse 13, “Judge for yourself. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?” So, I would take it that's in the context here as we've been talking about, pray or prophesy, and the context is the authority that a man has over a woman in the plan of God. So I don't just take this verse 13 as though it didn't have a context. He's going to go on to show it's connected again to the relationship of the man. Paul's point is, even you Corinthians just by observation of nature should know that the covering of the woman is proper. So how I've applied it here would be even supported by nature.

Let's go to verse 14, does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him. If a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given to her for a covering. Nature teaches you simple truth. Women have long hair. Men have short hair. Now we have to be careful we don't change the meaning of terms so they fit better what we wish the Spirit of God had said. One commentary, and it's a good commentary, I've used it regularly on Corinthians. But this man writes, when Paul speaks of nature he means what his society understands to be natural. Since male hair grows the same way as female hair does, he must be referring to hair that conforms to societal expectations concerning male and female hairdos. In general it is dishonorable for men in this culture to have long hair. I don't think that's the point. The word “nature” does not mean what conforms to his society. Rather as another person has written, Paul's use of nature elsewhere and the use of the word “teach,” here suggest that he is referring to the natural and instinctive sense of right and wrong that God has implanted in us. This has particular application to sexual areas. This is the sense of what is fitting, what is appropriate. We have that. That's what the word “nature,” means. It's not what our culture or our society determines, it's what God has built into us as those made in His image. Now that's been marred by sin, but it's still there. We live in our society, the bulk of which has rejected the authority of God in their lives, rejected the Bible as the Word of God, yet we have a sense of right and wrong. Abuse of children is wrong. We can all agree on that. The atheist generally would say, yes, that's wrong. How do you know that? I mean, I watched an animal program and they savage their young and eat them. We say, this is wrong to abuse children. Why? By nature they know that. As Romans 2 says, they have the law of God written on their hearts.

Come back to Romans 1. It is important that we define terms biblically and correctly. Romans 1:26, man who has rejected the revelation of God, suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness, Romans 1:18. Look at verse 26, for this reason God gave them over to degrading passions, for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, literally that which is against nature. Same word. What does it mean, against nature? It's against what God created them to do and to be. Homosexuality in all its forms is against nature, it is an unnatural act, it is like having sex with an animal. That is a rejection of what the Creator has ordered and established for His creation. So we can learn from the very nature of things what is right and wrong. Now we have to be careful because of sin, it's been corrupted, but it is still there.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 11. Does not even nature itself teach you. There are things we learn from just what is in us instinctively as human beings. If a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, if a woman has long hair it is a glory to her. For her hair is given her for a covering. The natural order is generally recognized. There is a difference between the hair of men and woman. I've gotten old enough now, I can talk about when I was a kid, and those are the Dark Ages for many. But when I was a young person in grade school, when it came time to get a haircut you know what they'd say. You have to get a haircut. I don't feel like a haircut. Well, do you want to look like a girl? That's just natural. My parents weren't believers. We didn't get that out of the Bible. Everybody knew. I mean, you let your hair grow down your back . . . If I went to school with my hair down my back, I mean, I would have been scorned and laughed at. It would have been like going to school in a dress. Why? Everybody knew boys wore short hair and girls wore long hair. How did they know that? They know it instinctively. And two thousand years later just generally, that's the pattern we see all around. We see those who want to make a statement, the rock musicians whose goal is to demonstrate their rebellion, rejection of standards, we often see then the men with their hair down their back. Why? They are declaring their rebellion and rejection of what is considered natural. And of course then in a society we want to follow a pattern and we want to express ourselves and our rebellion.

It's what God says here, if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him. If a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, an honor to her. It is a covering. It is given to her for a covering. This is God's plan for her. When He created man as male, He put in him that nature, instinctive knowledge that his hair should be kept cut. When He created the woman, He put in her very nature that sense that her hair should be long. It's there. You say, I disagree. Well, that's your privilege, but don't blame me for it. I mean, I'm just reading verses 14-15, right? This is what God says. Now you want the absolute standard of long and short. And I read some commentaries who ventured out on this limb, I'm not going to. You say, oh you fudged. I'm not a barber. God didn't call me to that. You read it. If a man has long hair, it's a dishonor to him. And somebody sitting behind a male, you think, I bet she's pretty, and he turns around and he isn't pretty. His hair is too long. And if a man is sitting behind a woman and he says, he's got his hair cut short, and she turns around and it's not he, her hair is too short. There ought to be a clear difference. You say, well doesn't society determine? Well society may say a butch haircut is cool for a woman. I take it what God says is that is an act of rebellion.

Let me read you what one person wrote. Paul's point then is that how men and women wear their hair is a significant indication of whether they are abiding by the created order. This has to do with more than just marriage, this has to do with the creation order, man as male and man as female. And are you submissive to that order that God has established at His creation, or are you in rebellion against the Creator? God has given the woman her hair as a covering. Now that doesn't mean that's the covering he's been talking about. He's been talking about another covering and the previous verses like 5-6 wouldn't make any sense if hair is the issue. But the point is that the long hair on the woman is an indication of the covering that God intends for her. And she adds to that covering another covering when she might be praying or prophesying with men present, so that there is no confusion on the role, so that the angels that observe would see clear obedience to the creation laws that God has established. These must be so among God's people.

The point in verse 16 and we wrap it up. But if anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God. I mean, some people do anything to get out of just taking God at what He says. Some say this will mean, Paul says if you want to be contentious about it, we won't fight over it, do whatever you want. If you know much about the Bible, you know that's not the way God speaks. The point is if anyone is inclined to be contentious, if anyone wants to argue over the points that I've made here, we have no other practice. We, the apostle writing this, those associated with it. There is no other practice, there is no other position than the one that I have presented here. There is nothing to argue over because there is no other position, this is the only one. If you want to be contentious, if you want to argue about this, I want you to know we have no other practice, there are no other choices. This is the only thing to be done.

Nor have the churches of God. So you see this is not just applied to the church at Corinth. The church at Corinth in Greece, people go over to Asia and make converts. The church at Ephesus will do the same thing, keep moving. The churches in Galatia will do the same thing, the church in Jerusalem does the same thing. All the people of God, wherever they are, obey the Word of God. They honor God as the Creator and submit to what He, the Creator, has ordained in His creation. There is no other practice. This is a serious matter. We say, does it matter outside the church? Of course, it does, because we are the people of God. God's intention for me as a male doesn't stop when I walk out and get in the parking lot, I'm not now male when I go to work if I have a job in what we call the secular realm. I mean, this is a creation order, preceded everything and so it's true for everything. Male is male no matter where he is and what he is doing. Female is female wherever she is and whatever she is doing. And God intends that, that distinction be maintained and those roles that. He has established be honored and observed. So the point is made, while it may not carry down to today on the head coverings because we don't have prophetesses today or prophets, the point that he is establishing on the importance of His people carrying out His purposes for His creation. Don't expect the world to, they will come into judgment for their rebellion. But the people of God are manifesting before an unbelieving world as lights in darkness, the purposes of the Creator.

Romans 12:2 says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the making new of your mind. We have to be careful. The world around us wants to set the standard and we all want to be in style, but we need to be concerned more about being in accord with the Creator than in accord with the styles of the day. Now I'm not saying we have to dress funny and it doesn't mean there is only one hairstyle, get it long, wrap it in a bun and put it there. I mean, we were a part of a church like that for a long time, that was the only acceptable style for a woman. But it does mean we have to be careful that we don't go and say, what's the borderline. I say, stay away from the edge. You know, I don't want to say, how far can I go. If I get my hair down, how far can I get it down before I'm in trouble. Well, be mature, don't flirt with disaster, don't be stupid, don't do anything that might confuse the angels who are observing regarding your obedience, that could be taken as possible rebellion against the Creator. He is not only my Creator now. He is my Savior, my Redeemer. He is to be the joy of my life, my greatest blessing, to honor Him with my obedience. This is what is foundational.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for great blessings. Thank you for the simplicity of your Word, thank you for its challenges. Lord, we want to honor you with our lives. We know you as the Creator, as the Savior, and we've been redeemed by your grace. We are privileged to understand your truth, we are privileged to know your purposes in creating man as male and female, the beauty of that purpose, the distinctions between the male and the female. And yet the interdependence, that they complement one another, they complete one another. Lord, may we be careful in our lives personally as well as the conduct of our church to be obedient and to be faithful, to be living testimonies, shining lights in the midst of the darkness of this sin-cursed world of your work of grace in our lives. May our obedience testify to your grace. We pray in Christ's name, amen.