We noted earlier that the apparent unfairness of all this was recognised by Paul. He appreciated that the arrangement looks as if it is penalising women, possibly even creating a barrier to their eventual salvation. He therefore completed this section of his letter to Timothy by saying:
“Yet woman will be saved through bearing children, if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.” (verse 15)
What a strange thing to say! It sounds as if only those women who are mothers will be saved; or, possibly, that only believing women will be certain to survive the rigours of childbirth! Without appreciating the background in Genesis there would be no other obvious explanation for this verse. But we have seen that childbearing was one of the things affected for all women as a result of Eve’s disobedience. Paul was referring to this, and answering the criticism he knew would be levelled against his teaching about the woman’s role in the church. The record in Genesis emphasises the separate but complementary roles of man and woman. The man has a special responsibility to show spiritual leadership. The woman’s role is found in the qualities which uniquely fit her for motherhood – care, compassion and selfless dedication. Providing she is maintaining a faithful spiritual life, then through the exercise of these qualities she is ensuring her own salvation – as well as assisting others to apply the same principles as guides in their lives.
Paul was declaring in a straightforward way that the provision God was making for the future organisation of believers was essential if the effects of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden are finally to be removed from their descendants. Men and women meet together to worship God and to thank Him for the gift of His Son, and the salvation made possible in him. By taking up their divinely appointed roles they declare that, like their first parents, they are disobedient and as deserving as they were of the punishment God introduced. By their demeanour before Him, however, they are also declaring that they believe He will ultimately redeem them from death, and from all the other consequences of the first sin.
Men should not be domineering
Lest male believers should think that they have been placed in a position to lord it over women, or to dominate them, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord … husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:21-25). He was pointing out that the male / female relationship should take as its example the love of Christ for the believers, and their reliance upon him in all things. This principle can be seen reflected in the arrangements for communal worship: the men are to reflect Christ, while the women reflect the response of all the believers.
In the Corinthian church, these things were being done, and they were organised as Paul had directed, but the reason for them was not fully understood:
“I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:2,3)
Christ is the head of the body – his church. Human relationships within the church are therefore specially ordered to provide a constant reminder of God’s gracious provision of a saviour for mankind from his sin, and of how that sin first occurred when the authority of God was forsaken. Men and women have their special part to play in declaring their belief in these things. Not to organise themselves as God has appointed is effectively to deny the truth of what it is all designed to teach.
Authority – on the head
In explaining this to the Corinthians, Paul added a further requirement for men and women in communal worship. They were already doing what he commanded Timothy: the men, and not the women, were leading the congregational worship. But it would help the women believers if they could do something positive to show their understanding of these commands. This is what was commanded:
“Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head, but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled dishonours her head … 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 … That is why a woman ought to have a veil (Greek, authority) on her head, because of the angels.” (1 Corinthians 11:4,5,7,10)
It all seems a very strange provision until we realise (and as the Greek of verse 10 indicates) that it is an expression of how to respond to God’s ultimate authority, the authority that was forsaken by Adam and Eve in Eden. The man, reflecting Christ, is to appear before God bareheaded. To do otherwise would discredit his “head”, which is Christ. By contrast, the woman is to appear with her head covered. Her “head” is the man (see verse 3). If she was to appear uncovered she would be exposing not only herself to disgrace, but also the male believers. The only way both men and women can show that they are under the authority of God and Christ is to comply with this command – the man appearing bareheaded, and the woman with her head covered, when they approach before God to worship Him. The angels do not seek to usurp their position as God’s servants, so nor should men or women.
If these teachings are understood, how can the suggestion that women should take more of a leading role in communal worship be sustained? To do so would deny the whole process of salvation graciously provided by God for fallen mankind.
A kingdom – and priests!
The sacrifice of Christ ensures for faithful believers a place in his kingdom, to be established on the earth when he returns. The life of service for believers today is probationary. In His wisdom and mercy, God has provided for men and women the circumstances that will teach them of the glories of the future age – if they respond to them properly. There is no distinction of opportunity now between males and females, and in the kingdom the different roles will no longer be necessary. The lessons they are designed to teach will either have been learned, to the believers’ benefit, or forsaken, to their shame. Jesus taught about this when he said: “Those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage … they are equal to angels” (Luke 20:35,36).
At his return, the work of Christ will be seen in all the earth. Those redeemed by his sacrifice and judged to be his faithful servants will share with him in bringing the world into a full knowledge of God’s ways: “They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6). The Apostle Peter spoke in the same way of what lies in store for those who “love his (Christ’s) appearing”. They are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
What a wonderful promise! Let us therefore, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, honour God’s commands and through Christ “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name” and recognise His supreme authority (Hebrews 13:15).
Most Bible quotations are taken from the Revised Standard Version
