HEAD OF EVERY MAN

That all things should ‘be done decently and in order’, 1 Cor. 14. 40, is part of the divine plan for God’s people. A vital part of that order, in the gatherings of the assembly and in the home, is the recognition of headship. The concept of headship has nothing to do with superiority - the head of Christ is God, the Father, v. 3, yet, in divine nature, Christ and the Father are one and thus equal. It has rather to do with role. Christ subordinated Himself to the Father for the purposes of redemption. In that sense, He submitted Himself to the authority of the Father. When Scripture then tells us the head of the woman is the man this does not imply inferiority at all, but rather the difference of role between male and female. The divine flowchart of authority is God first of all, then Christ, then the male and then the female.

Christ is the Head of every believing man. It is true that He is also the Head of every believing woman, but the thought throughout this chapter is of the distinction in headship between male and female. Differences in gender are unimportant as far as salvation is concerned, ‘there is neither male nor female’, Gal. 3. 28, yet they are essential as far as service is concerned. This difference in gender and headship is to be made visible in two ways. In the first place, a man is to uncover his head in public worship. By doing this, he honours his Head, who is Christ, refusing to veil His glory and showing his acceptance of Christ’s authority over him. The woman, however, is to cover her head, thus showing her acceptance of the authority of the man and, as his glory, she must be covered. The second way in which differences of gender are to be made visible is in the length of hair, vv. 14-15. God hates the blurring of gender.

These visible displays of the acceptance of Christ’s authority over the man, and the man’s authority over the woman are of particular interest to the angels, as they observe the recognition of divine order. Angels also have a real interest in the salvation of sinners, and stoop down to look into matters of the gospel, Luke 15.10 and 1 Pet. 1.12. How careful we should be to show Christ’s headship in our lives, by deed as well as by word.