First Corinthians chapter number 11, we're entitling this series division in the body because that's what Paul is addressing. He had been notified by many of the believers at Corinth about things that were going on, challenges, difficulties, some clicks. Some groups that had isolated themselves from everybody else because of the man that they were following. And the group that was following Christ is that as they said, they were obviously were not because had they been, they would not have been part of a clique. The body of Christ is not divided if it's the body of Christ. And when the body sees division, it sees challenges and difficulties. But we find Paul's addressing these. He's trying to bring this body of believers back into unison, into oneness. And he has spent time in the previous chapters. We've looked at this concept of the idol worship and the meat that was offered to idols. I may have said something. I had a recent email. I want just to say something in a general way. Someone asked me a question. Anytime you have a question about anything I say, please feel free to ask me or to email me. I don't mind that at all. I want it understood that in America, we do have a problem with idolatry, but not like it was at Corinth. Corinth was an idolatrous city and it was dedicated to idolatry. And so as a unit, Christianity was a very small segment of that. In America, with the history that we have, there is still a great deal of Christian influence in America. There are thousands and thousands and thousands of people going to church today, if they remember to set the clock forward an hour. But there is still the matter of idolatry. It's just our idols are not dedicated to one temple. It can be anything or anybody. So there is a matter of idolatry, but not as it was here. And so the meat that was associated with the idolatrous movement of that day had presented a problem in the church. To address that, I don't intend to go over it again, but I just didn't want someone to think that we don't believe there's idolatry issues in America. Oh, they're everywhere. And unfortunately, there are believers that hinge on falling into idolatry over something or someone that they place before God. Anything that I place in my life before God is an idol, anything. And so we have to be very careful. We have to be constantly examining who we are, our relationship with the Lord, how we are dealing with life and where we place the emphasis on things and issues. And so I wanted to just kind of throw that out and hopefully that will, if anyone else had a concern about that, maybe that'll help clarify it. But again, I encourage you, if you want to email me, text me, call me. see me after the service, I'd be glad to try to clarify something that I may say that is ambiguous. Hopefully, I don't say anything that is in error. If I do, I will be man enough to stand up here and say so and make it right. Now, another matter that had caused division in the church at Corinth is the men and the women knowing and keeping their proper place in the church, as well as properly behaving in the worship services. In verses 1 through 16, Paul addresses this issue, the proper place of the behavior of men and women in the local church. And in verse 17 through 34, he addresses the proper administration of the Lord's Supper. Now, I'll say this again in a moment, but I want to just kind of give a little heads up here. Today is not an attack on Women's Day. I want you to understand that. The scriptures here, we're gonna present it as we believe it should be presented. Paul was addressing something culturally, an issue that was in the matter of culture. Now, there are believers who believe that women, and there are some churches in Greenville area that believe and teach that women should all come to church with a hat on as a covering. Go back to this passage. There are individual believers, women who believe that. That's fine. I am not going to dispute with them over that. I'm not going to say they're wrong. I don't believe that's necessary. But if there's a believer who does, to God be the glory. I'm going to support you in that. I'll respect that. Sometimes I wish I had more covering on my head than I do, but you know, it is what it is. But I want you to understand we're dealing with something cultural. But at the same time, there are some biblical references that we have to consider. Go with me to 1 Timothy 3. There is a line of thinking today in many denominations that it's okay for women to be preachers. Now, I'm gonna clarify what I believe the Bible teaches, then you can decide what you believe. But in 1 Timothy 3, I want us to look at verse number one. This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. And these are where we get our qualifications for preachers. This is one of the places. Another one is Titus. But notice verse two, a bishop then must be blameless, these are qualifications, the husband of one wife. Now, if a woman can be the husband of one wife, then let her preach. And I mean according to what the scripture teaches a husband ought to be. I'm not talking about the marriages between men and men and women and women, I'm not talking of that. But the Bible clearly states that a preacher is to be the husband of a wife. And I believe that's what the Bible teaches and that's what God honors. So I don't agree with those who teach that women should be preachers in the church. Secondly, I want us to go back to Genesis chapter number 3. Just a little setting for what we want to look at. Genesis chapter 3, in verse 15, we have what we call a proto-evangelium. Now that's a long-term meaning, the first mention of the gospel in the Bible. Proto-Evangelium, verse 15. God is pronouncing a curse on the serpent. And he says, I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed. Now that's a reference to Christ, obviously, because the women don't carry the seed, the men do in normal childbearing. But he says, between your seat and her seat, it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel. If you've ever bruised your heel, it can be extremely painful, but you probably won't die from it. You may think you're going to die from the pain, but you can easily die from a blow to the head. An improper blow to the head can cause all kinds of damage and ultimately death. The most severe of these two wounds is the wound to the head. And that's going to be when Christ wounded Satan's head at Calvary. So there's a foretelling of what's to come, what we call a proto-evangelium. The next verse, verse 16. Under the woman, he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. This King James interpretation is not the best. It should read this way. In the middle of the verse, after the part about bringing children into the world, and thy desire, or you will desire to control your husband. is a better interpretation of that, but he will rule over thee. Meaning there's going to be a conflict between who rules the nest, the man or the woman. Well, this concept, this idea seems to have carried over into the church. Here in 1 Corinthians 11, there are some women that it seems are not following the set custom and the guideline that shows that they are following what God wants them to be. And so in these first 16 verses, Paul is going to deal with that. So let's begin, verse 1. Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Most commentators believe that verse 1 of chapter 11 should be verse 34 of chapter 10, because he's given his summation of what he is, what he's going to do, and then he closes that out with saying, I want you to follow me, because what I'm doing is to follow Christ. Now, remembering in the original writings, there weren't chapter and verses. These came later. You may have a translation that places that verse at the end of chapter 11. But we see in verse 2, Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you. Point B under point one, Paul compliments them on the obedience that is found in the church of Corinth. These were not all bad people. They weren't doing everything wrong. There were some serious issues that needed to be addressed, but they definitely were doing things right. And so Paul says, I commend you on that, on those things that you are doing, keeping the ordinances. Well, an ordinance is something to be done because it has been commanded by another. The New Testament church has two ordinances. One is baptism, and the other is the Lord's table. Since he's coming up to the part about addressing the Lord's table, there's a good possibility this is a reference to the Lord's table. But even there, they're not fully doing it as they should, and he will address that. So we see, even though they thought they had kept it, they were not keeping it correctly. And Paul will address this later in the chapter. Paul in verse 3, begin dealing with the matter at hand, verse 3. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of every woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Now we just looked at a reference over in Genesis. Paul is wanting to establish the order of authority. It, first of all, is Christ. In the local church, Christ is to be the authority. Secondly, it's to be the man. And third, it's to be the woman. I thank God that our church is not just made up of women. there are a lot of churches that suffer for male leadership in them. And I thank God that we have male leadership. We have men in our church that are serving the Lord and bring their families and contribute and set that example of leadership that needs to be set. Now that does not say that women cannot also serve in positions of leadership in the church, but it must be under the umbrella of the men being in authority. Paul says so in this third verse. I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of every woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covereth dishonoreth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head. For that is even all one as if she were shaven. So we find in these verses, down through verse 10, we'll look at these together, but first of all, the place of men and women in the local church, point two. And under that, the situation in the church at Corinth. The custom of that period was that women wore a head covering in church. They wore something on top of their hair. Now this head covering, point A, showed submission to God, and B, this head covering was a sign of obedience to God. And again, I'm talking about the custom of that day, and I'm not suggesting for all of you women that are here without a head covering are not being submissive and are not being obedient. Paul is addressing something of that day. Now this custom, point two, seemingly had not been followed by some of the women in the church. Three, this must have been an important issue else God would not have instructed Paul to give such a lengthy discussion to the matter. He takes up the better part of one chapter, 16 verses. When you look at the matters that are discussed in this book, this is an important one, not as important as some of the others. but definitely something that he did just hit and move on. So he's addressing this matter. In verse 3 through verse 7, we see the proper fulfilling of this custom of that day. And that was, one, men were not to cover their head in church. And two, women were not to uncover their head in church. So verse six, for if a woman be not covered, let her be also shorn. But if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. Now that's a severe statement. Paul's saying if a woman's going to come to church and she didn't have her head covered, then she needs to have her hair cut off. That's just extreme. But he says that would be improper. So let the woman cover her head. Verse 7, for a man indeed ought not to cover his head for as much as he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. So we find the situation is laid out and we see the proper fulfilling of that custom that men are not to cover their head and the women are to cover their head. And then we find point three that Paul refers back to creation in that first of all, Adam was created. Adam was created first. Secondly, Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs. Notice what Paul says. He says, for the man, verse eight, is not of the woman, but the woman is of the man. Then we see this woman that he's referring to, Eve, Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs to be a help meat to him. If you go back and read what we see God saying, all the animals have mates except Adam. He's alone. I'm going to create for him a help meat. What is a help meat? Well, she's a someone to aid Adam in his life. Adam, that tie doesn't match that shirt. You need to find a different tie to wear with that shirt. Or Adam, maybe you should consider wearing something other than blue jeans. We're going to a formal dinner. I know you wear blue jeans all the time, but this might be a good time to consider wearing a suit. You know, she's to be an aid to him. B, it was not meant for it to be a position of control over the man. We see this is going to be an ongoing issue between husbands and wives. And God said, I want you to understand it's going to be an issue but the man is to rule over the woman. He is to be the head of the home. Men, if you're married, you're here today, you are the head of your home, and you need to conduct yourself in that way. It does not mean that you do not rely on your wife, you do not get her counsel, advice, and she have input in making the decisions, but the authority stops with you as the head of the home. You can't blame your wife for the failures of your family. You are responsible for the failures of your family. And so you must take this matter seriously. You are the head of your home. So just take the job and run with it. And when you do, God will give you the wisdom you need to correct problems from the past and have strength to do right in the future. But we see this, the helpmeet is not that she is placed in a position of control over the man. She has great influence into the man. She has a woman's perspective that the man needs. Sometimes she has great insight that the man doesn't have, but she's to be a helpmeet, someone to come alongside him and help him to be all that God wants him to be. Now, I know we're living in a liberated world, and I know the mindset of the world is that the women are equal with the men. I believe if both of them are doing a job, they both ought to get the same pay if they're both qualified the same way. I think it's wrong for the woman to get a lesser income for the same job the man's doing. I think they both should get the same. But in God's economy, there is no equality. God created the man and out of the man He created the woman to be the helpmeet for the man. And the problem in America today is that the men aren't stepping up and being the leaders that they ought to be. And it's tragic. I thank God for you men that exhibit leadership in your families. And I thank God for what He's doing through you. And I thank God for you women that are willing to be a helpmeet to your husband. It's not easy. My wife does not have an easy job being a helpmate to me, but it's what God has called you to do and I commend you for your willingness to do that. Third, point C, this was meant to be a position of coming alongside man and helping him in a complimentary or a completing fashion. to complete him, that he would be the man that God would have him to be because he has the woman that God has given him to help him become the man that he ought to be. And D, yet over her head, over the woman's head and her covering, talking about her hair now in verse number 10, the woman has the power and control and maintains what her hair looks like. I know I'm treading on dangerous ground, but there are situations that I have known in the past where the woman couldn't do anything to her hair unless she got the approval of her husband first. And I'm going to tell you, when my wife comes to me and asks me about her hair, I don't have a clue on how she should maintain it. I don't have anything to go on. But I just let her manage it. She will come and ask me questions about appearance or whatever the case may be. But I'm not an authority and I don't know that there's a man here that's an authority on women's hair unless you've been to beautician school and you studied it and you know about it. So let your wife make her choices about how her hair looks and what she does with it. Because as I'm reading this verse, I believe that's what it's saying. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head. Now the phrase because of angels. I don't know. I don't know exactly what all that implies. So I will move on. If you have an answer, I'll be glad to entertain your answer. once the service is over. Now point D in verse 11 and verse 12. Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither is the woman without the man in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God. Now in verses three through 10, especially verse three to seven, Paul addresses this matter of creation in verse 8 through 10. How God created and how God established this position of authority. But then he comes back and he throws something out that has to be considered. For the arrogant, bossy, I am Mr. Independent man in the world that don't need a woman, just has them around to do my dirty laundry and do my cooking. Paul says, I want to say something to you. And that is, there is a situation in the Lord, for point D. In the Lord, Paul shares a different thought process. He's writing to believers. He's writing to Christians and what he's going to say does not negate the authority issue and who the authority is to be in the home and in the church. But he brings up a thought that men have to consider if they're going to be well balanced and godly men thinking as scripture says they ought to think. And here's what he says. In the Lord, point one, there seems to be equality of importance. In the Lord, the man is not more important than the woman, and the woman is not more important than the man. And that's in verse 11. In verse 12, the first part of the verse, Paul says that the first woman was created from man's side. Three, from that time forward, all people born come from the woman. There hasn't been a man yet that had a baby. The women have the children. The first woman came from the man. From there on, all people come from the woman. She gives birth. Point four, yet God is in control of all things and all people. To say we don't need the woman, she's just there to, as I said, do my dirty laundry and cook my meals, well, that's wrong. That's way out of scriptural balance. In God, they both are important. And to say, well, Who's more important? Neither. Because the woman has a role that the man can't fulfill, and the man has a role that the woman can't fulfill. And for a balance that God wants there to be in a marriage and in a church, there has to be the exercise of both equally. Because they both carry the same significance. And without one, you have an off balance. Without the other, you have an off balance. And so in God, in Christ, there seems to be an equality between the man and the woman. Somebody says, well, I don't understand that. Well, that's why Paul says, hey, I just want you to know, you may not be able to figure this out, but in all things, all things are of God. It's God that set this up. We just accept it and we believe it and we act accordingly. And anytime we feel that the woman is a lesser element in the family or in the local church, we're wrong. And anytime we believe that the woman should be more in control of the local church or more in control of the home and take authority over the man or over the husband, we're wrong. And the same is true on the man's side. Well, let's just let the women take care of it. No, it's wrong. It's wrong. And so we understand, Paul says, I've established the authority factor, but I've also established that in Christ as believers, there's no one less important than the other in Christ. All believers are equally important because all believers are part of the body of Christ. There's nobody here today more important or less important than anybody else. I'm not the most important person here. I'm just the guy that God has called to be the pastor of this church. I'm just fulfilling a responsibility to be the spiritual teacher and leader of this congregation. This church can survive well without me because this is God's church. It's not mine. I'm just fulfilling a responsibility. Maybe you don't hold an official position in the church. That doesn't make you insignificant. You're just as important as anybody else in Christ. in Christ. So we find that Paul says God's in control, point four, of all things and all people. The woman first came from man after that man comes from the woman and both are totally dependent on God for their existence. Both of them. In verse 13 through verse 16, Paul draws conclusions as to the covering on men and women. Verse 13. Judging yourselves, is it comely or proper that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it's a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her for a covering. But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. Well, we come to a conclusion here. Now, point A, when interpreting these verses, we must not forget that the application was relevant to the time and the people of the church at Corinth. One, down through the years, these verses have been used to set standards for men and for women. I'm not saying that's right or wrong. I'm just saying it has been used. Two, Whether this is correct or not is not an issue we care to address. It's a personal matter between each believer and the Lord. I have been privileged by God to see ministry opportunities beyond what people would call, and I hate to use the term, but for identification's sake, beyond the fundamental circle. God has allowed me to minister in lives of various believers of various faiths of various churches in the Greenville area and in other places. I know some very godly women with very short hair and I know some very godly men with long hair. Now I say that because I believe you have to determine where God wants you as a woman and as a man to have your hair. You say, well, but Jesus had long hair. Look at all the pictures. Okay, we'll leave that one alone. You know, if that's your argument, then I don't have anything else to discuss with you. But I believe as believers, Paul addresses the matter of liberty here in this book. And we must not look at someone and judge them based on the length of their hair. To do so, I believe, is wrong. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. So we ought to do our best as believers to try to find out what's going on in that heart. What's in the heart of that believer? And let God take care of the rest. So I believe, do I take these verses and say, well, you know, if you men have long hair, then you're ungodly. Well, okay, what's long? You know, what's long? Anything an inch is long. compared to me, you know? So who has the divine ruler to draw the line or to get the guideline? We have to let God give the direction here. Point three. This was an issue that was causing division in the church. And it wasn't so much that the guys had their long hair, it was that the women were coming to church uncovered. They didn't have a head covering. And their hair is not the head covering. It was some type of covering they wore over their hair. And they wanted to participate in the church service uncovered. So the issue here was causing division in the church at Corinth. So Paul reminds the believers of the proper thinking for believers of that day. He says, judge yourselves. Verse 13, judge in yourselves. I want you to discuss among yourselves and see if what I am saying is not correct. B, I want you to judge among yourselves, is it proper for the woman to pray with her head uncovered? Now this is not a reference to her being without long hair. Two, this is a reference to her head covering that she was to wear on her hair. And three, as I've already stated, this is considered a sign of submission to the men in the church as well as to God. Verse 14 to 16, point C, seemed to state that it's natural for a woman to have long hair and unnatural for a man. One, the long hair is a sign of submission which God created. He says, doth not even nature itself teach you. Now, I'm gonna ask a dumb question here. Maybe I'm gonna play devil's advocate, I'm not sure. How many of you have gone out to the forest and sat down under a tree and asked a tree, what's long hair for men? and had that tree talk back to you and say, well, this is what it is. Natural, death not, nature itself. Nature teaches me that when spring comes, it's going to bring forth life. When fall comes, the leaves are going to fall off the trees and the plants are going to die. That's what nature teaches me. It's never taught me the first lesson about the length of somebody's hair, man or woman. What I would say, it seems to state that it's natural. It's a natural thing for a man to be distinguished by shorter hair than the woman. Again, what's short, what's long. Two, the long hair on the woman is indicating that the woman is submissive to the man. Verse 15. And three, for the man to have long hair reverses that rule since he is to be the one in authority and not the one in submission. The long hair seems to be a note of submission to authority. A under that, a thought aimed at men who might be contentious about the submission to God's authority in Paul's teaching. In verse number 16, he says, if any man seemed to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither in the churches of God." Paul indicates that this is the rule here at Corinth and in all the other churches as well, and it's not going to change to accommodate the argumentative person. How do we apply these verses? We must remember Paul's talking about the custom of his day. And we must, as individual believers, decide how our appearance looks to the world. Can the world distinguish by looking at us that we are different from the world? Men and women. So that we can be a proper testimony to God and to the glory of God of our salvation experience. But it is a personal matter between you and the Lord. And I have a struggle with someone who wants to come along and lay down a guideline and say that this is the way it is for all believers. Now, I understand I'm not knocking any educational institution that has guidelines and standards for how their students are to dress. That's a whole different world. And I believe they have that right and can exercise that right. And if a person doesn't want to go there because of the standard, they don't have to go. But I think we must be careful about where we go with some of this. Now, I'm speaking to you from someone, this is the guy standing up here today, who quite a few years back would have said to you, if a man has hair down over his ears, it's long, and it's wrong. But God began to work in my heart and say, you know, some of these things you're holding on to, there's not a real strong biblical basis for it. And I began looking for the divine ruler to determine the length of the hair, and I never found one. So again, if you don't agree with me on this, I'm not going to separate with you, and I hope you won't separate with me over it. My goodness, this is not cardinal doctrine, but it is something that Paul addressed and going chapter by chapter, line upon line, we must look at it. The things that he says to the people at Corinth about the way the Lord's table was being used, we're not guilty of that here at Bible Baptist Church, but we're going to look at it. I don't want to pass over a passage. These are not easy passages to preach, but to God be the glory. I hope that you've gotten something from it. Lord, help us to be a body, a family of believers that love you first and love each other, that you would honor us with more people being saved, more people being added to this church, more children coming in, that we would see you honor the Trail Life ministry that we want to see go, and we would see it impact our community and this church. The American Heritage Girls Club, that it would impact this community and this church for the glory of God. that we could impact young people's lives so that as they come to adulthood, they will be men and women ready to serve you because of the impact they've received through this ministry. We are frail, we are weak, and we fail you in many, many ways, but it is our desire to glorify you most of all. Help us to know where we're not, to change that, and help us, Father, to glorify you in the ways that we are even more completely and fully. And we pray our prayer in our name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Amen. Thank you and God bless you.