“But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:3 ESV
Reflection: what biblical topics would you consider to be the most controversial?
Of the hundreds and hundreds, possibly thousands of sermons I have heard during my lifetime, I cannot remember a pastor talking about Corinthians 11:1-16. Now, why is that? Why did Paul think it was important enough to write about to the church, to give instructions and then for us to ignore? But then we look at most of Paul’s writings, I don’t think anyone can claim that Paul was writing to the churches to gain favor or popularity with them. While he wrote so many beautiful things that encourages and lifts us up, he didn’t shy away from difficult subjects.
In 1 Corinthians chapters 11-14, Paul is addressing many topics for how to operate the churches, specifically to the gathering of the congregations. In the opening verses, Paul starts with laying a foundation for the church first, some topics that probably will get the blood boiling in many people. Take a deep breath, and let’s read the focus verse once again. He says that “the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:3b ESV. Paul continues, talking about head covering and how we bring honor to God, including “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.” 1 Corinthians 11:7 ESV. Might be good to check your blood pressure right about now. How are you doing? Still hanging in there? If we read on, there is more here that most preachers and pastors will avoid like the plague. And perhaps the first thought that comes to our minds reading this is that it must clearly be something that was written for that time period, not relevant to our modern society.
I’m not sure it is that simple.
And instead of just jumping over it, for that matter, jumping over any biblical teaching, should we at least consider why it is there? What sort of lessons we can gain from it? Now, please note that I am not arguing here for any extreme position or teaching, as we know that everything can be misinterpreted and misused. Cults and abuse of women and children have resulted from misinterpretation and misuse of the Bible, from the evil in mankind. But shouldn’t we always consider the whole scripture, including the more difficult, more controversial topics? Why do we avoid them, and not even talk about them?
Not sure about you, but it looks to me as if many churches today are more focused on being popular among people and a secular community, perhaps to grow their numbers, to bring in more people, rather than shepherding the flock that God has given them? With a focus on growth, the message to the congregation can easily become “diluted” in order to target newcomers, to not offend anyone. But is that the right approach? As Paul noted in the beginning of this letter, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” 1 Corinthians 3:6 ESV. Let’s not forget that the growth comes from God.
Are there topics in the Bible that you want to avoid? Paul wrote to Timothy “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV. Here is what I suggest to do today. Pray first that God will reveal His will to you through His Word, including why this difficult section that Paul wrote was included. Then read 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 expectantly. And ask yourself, why are we not talking about this? Is there something here we are missing?