Gender Expression & The Gospel

1:05Another answered, I think it's a choice. A third replied, we're selling uterus pins, but that doesn't mean that if you have a uterus, you're a woman, or if you don't have a uterus, you're not a woman. So according to the marchers, being a woman has nothing to do with biology. And attempting to define womanhood is impossible. It's a trick question. Gender, in other words, is nothing more than a social construct, something that we as individuals or we as a society create and define.

1:51But as a society, we are learning the hard way that there are real, indelible differences between men and women. We've seen it displayed in living color on the athletic field, where biological males, identifying as females, are taking scholarships and championships away from biological females. As Christians, we don't deny that gender is a social construct. The way that gender is expressed does vary slightly from culture to culture. However, we deny that gender is only a social construct.

2:43We deny that gender is even primarily a social construct. As Christians, we affirm that gender is something that is assigned to us by God. According to Genesis 1 and 2, he created us male and female with equal worth. But distinct roles. Today, in 1 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul is going to clearly teach these principles. And he's going to call the Corinthians and we ourselves to live out those principles in such a way that reveals the truth about God and creation and salvation.

3:25What we're going to learn in the text today is that in every culture, gender expression must tell the truth about God and his gospel. Let's take a look at the text together. He begins in verse 2 and says, Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. Usually when Paul is talking about the traditions, he's talking about the body of teaching, which includes first and primarily the gospel of Jesus Christ, but also what it means to live out the implications of the gospel in daily life. And so you have, for example, in Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council coming together to pass down what should be normative for all Christians in all places at all times based on what the gospel tells us. And so Paul begins with this commendation that they are maintaining those traditions. But he wants us to understand something. He wants the Corinthians to understand something. And in verse 3, what we have is the feeling. Foundation for the rest of the text. Unless we rightly understand what Paul is teaching here in verse 3, we won't be able to rightly understand and apply what follows.

4:44So, what must we understand according to verse 3? We must understand that in both the Godhead and in marriage, there is headship or authority and submission. So, Paul writes this: The head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. So, in terms of authority and headship, let's start from the top. The first thing that Paul says is that God the Father is the head of Christ the Son.

5:26Now, of course, we understand from Scripture that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. There is equality within the Godhead, but there is also headship and submission within the Godhead as well. The Son submits to the Father, and the Spirit submits to both the Son and the Father. See, the triune God is one God who expresses Himself simultaneously in three distinct persons. And God, the triune Christian God, is our model for understanding and applying the principles of headship and submission in human relationships.

6:11There is complete equality in the Godhead. No member of the Trinity is any more or any less God than the other two. And yet each member within the Trinity fills a distinct role, either as head or authority, or as one who gladly submits to that authority. Take a look at John chapter 6. Jesus says, For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. Take a look at John 16.

6:48Jesus is teaching about the Holy Spirit. He says, When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. So you see here that Jesus, God the Son, is also saying that he, as Christ, is submissive to his Father, and that the Spirit is submissive to both him and his father.

7:26So there is equality and submission or headship within the. Godhead. That's the first thing that we have to understand. Second truth, look again at verse 3. Christ is the head of every man. Now I want you to look at that word every. Christ is the head of every man. Every man, or for that matter, every person, is under the authority of Christ. No man is a law unto himself. A man's authority is a delegated and regulated authority.

8:04The only authority a man possesses has been delegated to him by God. He has no inherent authority. And his authority is a regulated authority because it is governed by the law of Christ. No man has the authority to change or alter or ignore the commands that we find in God's word. Look at Genesis chapter 2. Now this is prior to the creation of Eve when God is creating the man. It says, the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.

8:56We see here that the man is not a law unto himself. The head of every man is Christ. He must submit to God and to God's law because God is the creator. God is the author of life, and therefore he has the authority. And then, third and finally, in this text, we see in verse 3 that a husband is the head of his wife. Look again at the text. The head of a wife is her husband.

9:27That word her, her husband, is very important because, contrary to what some people believe, the Bible does not teach that every woman is to submit to every man. The Bible is very clear. Colossians 3.18, take a look at the screen. Wives, submit to your husbands. That could be rendered your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. As in the Trinity, there is equality in the marriage relationship, but there is also headship or authority and submission as well. And so the head of every woman is her husband. So, church, we have to understand these principles here in verse 3. The truth about headship and submission. That the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.

10:20Because if we don't understand those truths, then nothing that follows is going to make sense at all. His application of that theology, what we find in... Verses 4 through 6 is unique to first century Corinth. But the theology, the theological truths behind the application applies to all people, in all places, at all times. So the challenge for us then is to ask the question: how should we live out the timeless truth of God's Word in our particular culture?

10:59Let's take a look at verses 4 through 6 and consider how Paul helps the Corinthians to answer that question. Verse 4. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. But every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.

11:36So here's the question. Since God is the head of Christ, and Christ is the head of every man, and every husband is the head of his wife, how should Christians live out those truths in first century Corinth? That's what Paul is asking here. So what we need to understand is that in the ancient Near East, women wore head coverings when They were out in public. Most of the women who didn't wear head coverings were prostitutes because going around with your head uncovered signaled availability.

12:13And you and I hear that in 21st-century America, and we're like, really? Going around with your head uncovered signaled availability? But if you've ever studied other cultures, you know that every culture has its thing. In China, it's feet. The only man who sees a woman's feet uncovered is her husband. In Africa, it's thighs. Many women in Africa go around topless, but they wear coverings over their thighs because that is reserved only for their husband. And in America, well, I think we all know what it is in America.

13:03And in case you didn't know this, lots of cultures, like in Europe and in Africa, find our particular obsession very odd indeed. But in Corinth and in many Middle Eastern countries still today, the issue was hair. Women only uncovered and let down their hair at home. In front of their husbands, sometimes in front of their children. But that was it. But it seems from the context that some of the people in Corinth, and maybe some who were starting to come to worship with the Corinthians or who were already worshiping with the Corinthians, they were starting to remove their head coverings. They were doing this at least in the worship service, if not at other times as well. The question is why?

13:56We're not told specifically in the text. But Mark Dever offers this possibility. Take a look at the screen. A movement arose in Rome and in cities around the empire in which women were rejecting the use of head coverings in public. Women discarded their head coverings to indicate that they wanted to be treated equally to their husbands, particularly in the area of sexual liberties. If you know anything about Roman culture in the first century, you know that unfaithfulness was rampant among married men at that time.

14:34Having multiple mistresses was totally the norm. And it seems like some of these women were saying, listen, if he's going to run around on me, well, then two can play that game. I'm going to uncover my head. I'm going to signal availability. And so that's certainly possible. But since we're talking about women who are attending the worship service with the Corinthians, it seems. Like, there's a more likely possibility. It seems to me that as these women began learning the teachings of the Bible, they were hearing for the very first time in their lives that women were just as valuable to God as men.

15:19That they were not inherently inferior to men. Friends, that was a revolutionary concept. Nothing other than pure ignorance of the Bible leads people to say that the Bible devalues women. The Bible is the only ancient book that affirms the inherent worth and dignity of women. It is the only ancient book that posits, both in the Old and the New Testament, that women and men are created equally in the image of God, and therefore that both have equal worth and dignity.

16:04So I believe that the most likely explanation for why some of these women were removing their head coverings is because they were hearing for the first time that they were equal with men and that they were trying to figure out how to live that out in everyday life. Well, friends, theologically, there's no problem with women removing their head coverings. It's not a moral issue. But removing their head coverings. Culturally, that decision would have been a big stumbling block for everyone around them.

16:36Removing their head coverings would be like coming to worship barefoot in China as a woman. It would be like showing up to worship in short shorts as a woman in Africa. It would be like coming to worship topless in America. It would be absolutely scandalous. No one could worship in that environment. And those outside the church who already thought the Christian faith and practice was very strange, it looked like these women were saying, I don't submit to my husband, and I'm available.

17:13You can imagine every Corinthian husband telling his wife and his daughters, I don't want you going anywhere near those people. It would have hurt their gospel witness in the city. And so Paul tells these women that they need to cover their heads in worship. If they don't want to cover their heads, then they can shave their heads so they won't be a distraction. But Paul knows no Corinthian woman is going to do that. The only women with shaved heads in that culture were slaves or women who had been convicted of adultery. So they're not going to do that. And since that's the case, Paul says at the end of verse 6, then let her cover her head.

17:58But friends, what Paul is... Doing is he's trying to help us understand the why. That's so much of this passage. It's helping us to understand the theological foundation so that we can all, whether in first-century Corinth or 21st century America today, so that we can all make practical application of that theology. And so, what he's going to do in verses 7 through 12 is lay out even more theological groundwork. He goes back to the creation accounts of Genesis 1 and 2 to explain. Let's pick up in verse 7: For 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 was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

18:52That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. In Genesis chapter 2, God has created all things, including Adam, and he brings all of the animals before Adam for him to name them. And what he is doing is he's looking for a suitable helper. So here's what we find in Genesis 2:21 through 23, because no suitable helper is found. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man. And while he slept, took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man, he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.

19:53See, God created Eve from Adam, for Adam. And because of that, she should cover her head, which signified in first century Corinth that she was submissive to her husband's authority and to God's created order, the way that he created the earth and everything in it. In other words, friends, how she dressed in public communicated what she believed about God and his authority. She was submitting first to God and to his word, and only secondarily to her husband, whom God appointed as her head or authority.

20:36Our theology has to find appropriate expression in our daily lives. It's not enough to believe something if our actions are communicating the opposite of that belief. If the Corinthian women were submissive to God and their husbands, then they needed to dress in a way that communicated that to those around them. And according to verse 10, that includes the angels. Now, what in the world does this mean? No, really, I'm asking, what in the world does this mean?

21:16This is for sure the most confusing phrase in the entire passage. And that's really saying something, isn't it? The Greek word here is on galos. And that, depending on the context, is either translated angels or messengers. The context is the only way to know how to translate that word properly. And here, the context just isn't clear. Paul could be referring to literal angels. Because in many places in the scripture, think about Isaiah 6, where Isaiah has that great vision of God. What are the angels doing in front of God?

21:57With two, they covered their face, with two wings they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were covering themselves in the presence of God. And you see this all throughout the scripture, angels covering themselves in God's presence. Or if we translate it messengers, it could be referring to messengers who came from other churches, who would be surprised and offended to see other Christian women not wearing a head covering in worship. Or it could be referring to messengers that were sent from the government.

22:31Remember, they are under a military occupation, the entire world. This was not a free society where you could meet whenever you wanted to and say whatever you wanted to say. They were very concerned about these Christian meetings that were happening weekly on the first day of the week where these people were getting together and saying and believing strange things, claiming to worship, but there was no statue. There was no idol. And so the messengers could be messengers from the government that were sent to make sure that everything was above board. Well, here's the thing, friends. In terms of understanding what Paul is saying, the precise meaning here isn't all that important because the point is so obvious.

23:17He is saying is that women should cover themselves because the angels do, or because it might offend other Christians, or because it might offend and mislead non-Christians. In other words, the point is that women should lay down their rights and submit to this social custom so they won't send the wrong message to anyone. That fits the context very well. Go back to 1 Corinthians 10. Take a look at the last few verses of chapter 10, starting in verse 31.

23:54So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. And so Paul is appealing to them to lay down their rights. They don't have to wear a head covering. But by wearing the head covering, they're not going to lead anybody else astray.

24:31That's the same reason that I take my hat off when I pray. I don't have to take my hat off when I pray. I always find it funny, the inconsistent application. If men have to take their hats off when they pray, we need to take them off and give them to a woman. How else would you make sense of this passage? I take my hat off when I pray so that I don't offend older believers who have been taught culturally that you remove your hat when you are praying to the Lord. Fine. I'm happy to submit to that. I don't want to cause offense, especially not in prayer.

25:07And so that brings us to verses 11 and 12, where Paul underscores the point that men and women are created with equal worth. Look what he says. Nevertheless, in the Lord, woman is not independent of man, nor man of woman. For as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman, and all things are from God. Paul wants to be sure that he is just as clear about the worth and value of women as he has been about their need to submit to their own husbands. That men are not independent from or superior to women in any way.

25:50But in observing this practice, this cultural practice of head covering, women can demonstrate their submission first to God and then to their husbands as equals in the Lord. That's what Paul is saying here. And that takes him, that bridge takes him into the conclusion of this section, verses 13 through 16. And here in these final four verses, he makes the case that even nature itself supports the social custom of wearing head coverings in Corinth. He argues that the long hair of women is a form of natural covering, even given by God.

26:30So we know that in most cultures generally, men have tended to wear their hair shorter, while women have tended to wear their hair longer. Now, of course, there are exceptions to that. Think about men in 18th century America. Consider Thor an Aquaman. Consider Ryan Bickham. But in general, Men have tended to wear their hair shorter, and women have tended to wear their hair longer in every culture. And friends, that was certainly the case in first-century Roman times. Long hair on men, as Paul says in this final section, was considered disgraceful and unnatural.

27:22So I found the ESV study Bible commentary to be really helpful here. Look at what it says. Here, the word nature probably means your natural sense of what is appropriate for men and women. It would be a disgrace for a man to look like a woman because of his hairstyle. Although the norms of appropriate hairstyle and dress may vary from culture to culture, Paul's point is that men should look like men in that culture, and women should look like women in that culture, rather than seeking to deny or disparage the God-given differences between the sexes.

28:01I want you to look at that last line. Men should look like men in that culture. Women should look like women in that culture rather than seeking to deny or disparage the God-given differences between the sexes. Friends, that's what we see happening all around us: is that people are trying to deny that there is any real difference between. Men and women, that gender is nothing more than a social construct. It's just a choice that you make that has nothing to do with how God created you at the biological level.

28:44But as followers of Jesus, we must reject the idea that gender is simply or only or even primarily a social construct. We deny that it is simply a choice that you make and a choice that you can change anytime you want to, to be a boy or a girl, to be a man or a woman. We must deny that as believers and followers of Jesus Christ. As followers of Christ, we're called to reflect the fact that God has created male and female equal and yet different, to reflect the order and wisdom of the way that God created the world and everything in it, and to reflect our submission to Him and the timeless truth of His Word.

29:34In a society that is redefining what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman, we must show that we submit to God and His Word. He defines what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman because He is our Creator. He is the author of life. So He has the authority to define everything, including what it means to be a man. and what it means to be a woman.

30:05So church, what do we make of all this? Here's what Tom Schreiner had to say. Working out the implications of the passage is not easy, since culture and theology merge. It is clear that the distinctions between the sexes must be preserved. Thus, there is no warrant for the notion that one's gender is simply a social construct. God designed from the beginning a beautiful complementarity between males and females. Seeing this text as authoritative does not demand that the cultural expression of wearing head coverings should be practiced today. In many cultures today, whether women are covered or veiled during worship does not communicate anything about the relationship of men and women, though in first century Corinth it sent a powerful message. Each culture has to work out how the theological principle articulated should be lived out in its particular circumstances.

31:16In other words, this passage isn't really about head coverings. It is, as Dr. Schreiner noted, about preserving the distinctions Between the sexes. Because preserving those distinctions tells the truth about God. It tells the truth about how God designed us. And it tells the truth about the gospel itself. Take a look at Ephesians chapter 5. Paul writes, Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now, as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

32:32You see, in the marriage relationship, husbands are a picture of Christ who loved the church and gave himself up for her. And wives are a picture of the church who submits to Christ as Lord and Savior. Marriage between one man and one woman glorifies God by pointing to Christ's work in his life and death and resurrection on behalf of his people. And his people Appropriate response to Christ's lordship and salvation. And for the many of you who are single, whether in this season or for life, you must understand that you also bring glory to God by living out God's design and intention for men and women. All of us glorify God by exuding biblical masculinity or biblical femininity because both men and women are God's image bearers.

33:38So, how do we do that? Men, you are to exude biblical masculinity in all that you do for the glory of God. The Apostle Peter taught that elders in the church are supposed to serve as an example of what it is to be a man. And so, we look to those qualifications to understand biblical manhood. What is a biblical man? He is above reproach, he is devoted to his wife or to his future wife. He is sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, one who manages his household. well.

34:32That is how God defines a man. And men, we must allow God and not our culture to define what it is to be a man. Ladies, you are to exude biblical femininity in all that you do for the glory of God. And if we take the Proverbs 31 woman as an example, what is a godly woman? She is trustworthy, industrious, disciplined, wise, entrepreneurial, strong, generous, helpful, loving, and beautiful, especially on the inside. Ladies, you must allow God to define what it is to be a woman and not the culture around you.

35:36Church, the way that we live out masculinity and femininity as individuals, as married couples, as singles, and as a church body is sending a message to the watching world. And so in every culture, gender expression must tell the truth about God and his gospel. Let's pray. Father, even for people who want to submit to your word and want to believe every single thing written in it, there are some things taught in this passage and throughout your word about manhood and womanhood that challenge a lot of what we have been told, a lot of maybe what we've started to believe at some level. That really there aren't differences between men and women, that they are totally interchangeable.

36:45And Father, your word tells us that men and women are different because you created us that way, equal and yet different. And I think our tendency is to look around us and to see the shows that are on TV and watch the news and just consider how culture is redefining these things and to feel hopeless. But the cracks in that foundation are already splitting wide open. It is already becoming obvious to everyone that we can no longer... Pretend that men and women are the same.

37:34You are right, and the world is wrong. And so, I pray that we would believe that, and I pray that we would live in light of it, and I pray that we would unapologetically and yet graciously and lovingly and winsomely present and live out the truth and the beauty of your design for men and women. God, I pray that our culture could look at single men and single women who are Christians. I pray that the church could look at married couples who are Christians. I pray that the world could look at the church and they could see the wisdom and how God has called us to live so that we can point to you and your gospel so that they might be saved.

38:29Thank you, God, for your word. We so desperately need you to tell us the truth, and you have done it again. In Christ's name, amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.