Introduction | Table of Contents
A Sign of Authority
This forms the basis of injunctions concerning the gatherings of assemblies that the heads of men are to be uncovered and those of women are to be veiled. The reasons given are connected with the creation of man: "For a man indeed ought not to have his head veiled, forasmuch 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: for neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man."
The reference is to the Divine designs regarding authority and subjection; there is no suggestion of any distinction between men and women in their individual relation to Christ as believers. In that respect there is equality: "Neither is the woman without the man, nor the man without the woman, in the Lord" (verse 11). In regard, however, to the subject dealt with in the chapter, it is otherwise. Under the Headship of Christ man acts in his capacity as "the image and glory of God." He is not only a visible representation (image) of God, but is in himself a manifestation of God's excellence. There may be a representation without glory; or there may be a manifestation of glory without a visible representation. Both are combined in man. In the assembly, therefore, man is to be unveiled.
"The woman is the glory of the man." This signifies that without her there is not the full manifestation of what the man is. She is his counterpart and complement. The woman, too, sets forth the higher relationship of the Church to Christ. When Rebekah learned from her servant that the man who was walking in the field to meet them was his master, "she took her veil and covered herself" (Gen. 24:65) not only an indication of her position with regard to him who was to become her husband, but an intimation that her beauty was for him alone. The Church is not only derived from Christ but is designed to be set apart entirely for Him.
Headship and Subjection
In a gathering of the saints, then, the veiled head of the woman symbolizes the Headship of Christ and the subjection of the Church to Him. Her place of subordination is thus at the same time a position of glory and honour. It is one of subordination indeed, "for the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man: for neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man" (verses 8 and 9). What the woman possesses is derived from him. Eve was formed from Adam; she was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh (Gen. 2:23). Her name "Isshah" was derived from his, "Ish."
The first "I will" in the Bible is in God's declaration concerning Adam: "I will make him a help meet for (i.e., answering to) him" (Gen. 2:18). The last "I will" is in the invitation to John: "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride the wife of the Lamb" (Rev. 21:9). There is a significant connection between the two "I will's."
In the assembly, therefore, that the women have their heads covered is emblematic of the higher relationship of the Church to Christ. The matters of praying and prophesying in the gatherings of the saints are referred to in this passage incidentally. They do not here form the special subject with which the Apostle is dealing. What are in view here are general principles concerning the position of men and women in the church. Injunctions regarding the public utterances of men and women on occasions when the church assembles are laid down in the 14th chapter. Obviously the present passage does not state that women are to veil their heads at a given time during the gathering of the church, for their heads are to be veiled throughout the whole time of such gatherings, and in this respect he says, "For this cause ought a woman to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels" (verse 10, R.V.).
The witness given to the angels in the display of the Divine counsels of grace is of the utmost importance in God's sight. The Lord is now making known, through the Church, "unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places the manifold wisdom of God" (Eph. 3:10). The veiled condition of the woman, then, betokens the authority of Christ. She has a twofold covering. There is the temporary one, that of the veil, in regard to a gathering of the church, and put on for the immediate purpose, and there is the permanent one consisting of her long hair. "Doth not even nature itself teach you that, if a man have long hair, it is a dishonour to him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given to her for a covering." It is the glory of a Christian woman in this, that she thereby symbolically sets forth the Headship of Christ and the subjection of the Church to Him.
The careful consideration of the details of this passage in the light of the great principles of verse 3 will show that this is no insignificant matter. How could it be so when it is the express will of the Lord? Again and again, things which may seem to be of comparative insignificance, are, when brought within the scope of the teaching of Holy Scripture, seen to comprehend truths of the very highest order.
When the Apostle says, in the conclusion of this part of his subject, "If any man seemeth to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God" (verse 16), he is not by any means suggesting the abandonment of the injunction as to the veiled condition of the woman and the unveiled condition of the man, but to a custom of contending. This will be clear from the true significance of the word "seemeth." It has the meaning of "making a show," not, that is to say, merely of appearing to do something, but of making a display of it. People at Corinth would know exactly to what Paul was referring. Instead, therefore, of saying anything by way of retracting what he had just taught, he is confirming it by stating that these things do not come within the scope of contention.
A Second Sign
With regard to the second principle, that "the head of the woman is the man," what was said in regard to chapter 11 in connection with the significance of the veiled heads of the women in the gatherings of the church, likewise applies to the injunction given at the close of chapter 14, "Let the women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as also saith the law" (verse 34). Subjection implies authority, or headship. Accordingly, as the veil is a sign of authority (11:10) so is the silence of the women.
That this injunction does not refer to abstention from conversation or chattering, is shown both in the context and in the use of the word rendered "keep silence" in verse 28. There it is a command for men under certain circumstances, to refrain from oral ministry. Exactly the same meaning attaches to the word here. Moreover, if the reference was to conversation it would be equally unsuitable for men to engage in it during a meeting as for women. Their position of subjection would not be exhibited by their abstaining from chattering while the men did so.
The Glory of the Significance
Nor, again, is the prohibition a case of curtailment of what some consider to be women's rights. On the contrary, when understood in the light of the teaching concerning Christ and the Church, the silence of the woman, in respect of oral ministry in the gathering, is seen to be a matter of holy privilege and high honour. This must be the case with anything that sets forth the glory of Christ, and it holds good in the circumstance, as it did in chapter I I regarding the veil on the head, that "the woman is the glory of the man." The Apostle does indeed base his injunction upon God's decree recorded in Gen. 3:16, "thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee" (for it is to that verse that the words, "as also saith the law" apply). Yet what was decreed of God in the garden of Eden, as a result of transgression, is, while still binding, transformed into a matter of glory and honour, as a result of the work of the Cross and the exaltation of Christ as "Head over all things to the Church." The subjection of the woman remains, but it is a subjection which sets forth the relation of the Church to Christ.
False Ideas
All theories advocating that these exhortations were Paul's prejudiced opinions, are at once ruled out by what the Apostle himself says, as are those which argue the inapplicability and impracticability of the teaching in regard to the present time. "If any man," says the Apostle, "thinketh himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, that they are the commandment of the Lord" (verse 37). It is not therefore a case of the opinion of Paul, or of an out dated restriction, but of the binding will of the Head of the Church.
The interpretation that the injunction was simply a prohibition against chattering on the part of women is not borne out by the context; it is largely an inference derived from a supposed custom of the time, always a precarious way of handling Scripture. As was pointed out above, the word rendered "keep silence" is the same as that in verse 28, and is not to be understood in any different sense; there the meaning is obvious; the silence enjoined was abstention from the form of ministry referred to unless there was an interpreter.
Again, in regard to the explanation, "for it is not permitted unto them to speak," the idea that the speaking was chattering or conversation is quite arbitrary and unreasonable. The word rendered "speak" is the same as in verse 27. We must avoid, therefore, any paraphrasing of the passage which gives the idea of a prohibition against mere conversation. If that were the case the good behaviour of the men, in their abstention from conversation during the meeting, would likewise indicate that they were thereby in subjection, a conclusion patently contrary to the significance of the passage.
Again, the Apostle is not simply dealing with disorder in the gatherings of the church; he is doing much more, he is giving instruction as to varying forms of ministry.
The additional injunction that, if the women desired to learn anything, they were to ask their own husbands at home, is a continuation of the instruction concerning the attitude of subjection, and not an enforcing of a supposed prohibition against conversation.
Whatever was said in the eleventh chapter as to the praying or prophesying of women must therefore be read in the light of the injunction in this fourteenth chapter, where the phrase "in the church" is added. It was absent in 11:4. Broad principles were laid down there; here details of the actual assembling are taken up.
The injunction is confirmed in the second chapter of I Timothy. That the Apostle is dealing in that Epistle with the behaviour of women in the church and not simply in the home, is clear both from the context in that chapter and from what is said in the third chapter as to the object for which the Epistle is written. There he says that he is writing to give instruction "how it is necessary (i.e., for believers the word "thou" as in the A.V. is not in the original; nor is the word 64men" as in the R.V. the reference is to the conduct of all in the church) to behave in the house of God, which is the church of the living God (i.e., the local assembly), the pillar and ground of the truth" (3:15).
Praying and Teaching
The 8th verse of the 2nd chapter enjoins that "the men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and disputing." The exhortation is especially, then, as to a manner of life or conduct, and in connection with this the consistent conduct of women follows immediately: "In like manner, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment; but (which becometh women professing godliness) through good works."
There is no reference here to public prayers on the part of women. This is mentioned only in regard to men. That not merely conduct in general is in view, but also those occasions when the church assembles, is clear from what follows: "Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness."
Here again the admonition is not against chattering, but against public teaching on the part of women in mixed gatherings. This is not a case of undue literalism, but of a plain meaning. That there is no reference to singing and no possibility of any inconsistency with such a meaning where women join in singing, should be perfectly clear, where mere quibbling is avoided. The same is to be said in regard to Bible Class and Sunday School work.
The Great Object
What the Epistle is enjoining is the need of holiness on the part of all in the assembly. The reasons given for the injunction that a woman is not to teach or to have dominion over a man, but to be in subjection, are, firstly, the order in which God created man, "Adam was first formed, then Eve;" secondly, that Eve, the second in creation, was the first in transgression, "Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression." The effect of her transgression was the Divine declaration that she should bring forth children with sorrow. Here the Apostle says, "She shall be saved through the childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety." This assurance has been understood in different ways. It seems not unlikely that what is referred to is that, by bearing children and so being saved from becoming a prey to the vices which characterized the world at that time, and which are far from being absent today, the woman who brought up a family for God would thus take her place in the maintenance of the witness given by the local church.
Widows and Aged Women
In the 5th chapter of this Epistle special injunctions are given concerning the responsibility of the local church with regard to widows. Incidental to the main instructions there are set in striking contrast the godly manner of life of women who fear the Lord and those who fall into the snare of the Adversary. The former obtain a good report through having diligently followed every good work, both in their home life and in ministering to the needs of others, washing the feet of the saints and relieving the afflicted. Those who turn aside after Satan are such as "learn to be idle, going about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not" (verses 10-13).
The Apostle is occupied here as elsewhere, not with the spiritual privileges and blessings of the believers, but with the moral duties which are essential to a good witness in the world on the part of the church. The enemy must not have just cause for casting aspersion upon the saints. Widows, indeed, that is to say, who were in indigent circumstances and lacked relatives to support them, were to be maintained by church gifts. Those who had children or grandchildren were to be maintained by them. If any one had widows in his household or family, and did not provide for them he had "denied the faith" and was "worse than an unbeliever" (see the R.V. of verse 8). A charge is given as to the age at which a widow was to be enrolled, that is to say, put on the list of those who were recognized by the assembly in the way referred to.
Whatever were the particular circumstances of that time at Ephesus, including the possibility that there were widows who gave themselves to the care of orphans, binding themselves to abstain from marriage, the great point of instruction in the passage is that of piety in the home and in the church. The women who marry are to bear children and rule the household, and give none occasion to the adversary for railing. Their manner of life is to be such that, should they arrive at a condition of need, their circumstances may receive practical recognition on the part of the assembly.
Similar instructions concerning conduct are given in the Epistle to Titus. The aged women are to be "reverent in demeanour, not slanderers nor enslaved to much wine, teachers of that which is good; that they may train the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sober minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed" (Titus 2:3-5, R.V.).
Family Relationships
In that section of the Epistle to the Ephesians in which the obligations connected with family relations are enjoined, certain facts are especially noticeable.
Firstly, in each case, whether of husbands and wives, or parents and children, or masters and servants, the obligation rests especially upon the spiritual connection with Christ. The wives are to be in subjection unto their own husbands "as unto the Lord." The husbands are to love their wives "even as Christ also loved the Church." Children are to obey their parents "in the Lord." The fathers are to bring them up "in the chastening and admonition of the Lord." Servants are to be obedient to their masters "as unto Christ" and are to render service as "unto the Lord." Masters are to act towards their servants in the realization that Christ is Master both of themselves and of those who serve them, and that there is no respect of persons with Him. Everything is to be regulated, then, not simply on the ground of natural conditions but particularly in view of the relationship to Christ and in recognition of His authority. Natural ties, so far from being cancelled by spiritual conditions, are raised thereby to a higher level.
Secondly, the order, wife and husband, children a servants and masters, is not given so as to stress particularly the duties of the weaker, but by way of emphasizing the corresponding duties of the stronger. There is to be mutual subjection in the fear of Christ (verse 21, R.V.).
Thirdly, the discharge of all these duties comes under the great command, "be filled with the Spirit." For believers are filled with the Spirit, not by passing into some ecstatic state, but by ordering their lives in the apprehension of their relation to Christ and of His authority as their Lord.
Fourthly, the obligations of wives to husbands and husbands to wives are laid down first, inasmuch as that relation is the very foundation of human life as Divinely designed. The Creator of man and woman assigned to each that position which would fulfil His beneficent will for each toward the other and for all the conditions of a well ordered family life.
The adornment of the women was to be "the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible apparel of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner aforetime the holy women ... who hoped in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection to their own husbands: as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord" (1 Pet. 3:4-6). The Divinely appointed counterpart of this is that the husbands dwell with their wives "according to knowledge, giving honour unto the woman, as unto the weaker vessel, as being also joint-heirs of the grace of life" (verse 7).
The Spiritual Significance
Fifthly, it is the relation of husband and wife that is used to provide a comparison of the relation between Christ and the Church. "The husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the Head of the Church, being Himself the Saviour of the Body" (Eph. 5:23). Authority and control rest in the husband. From him the wife receives protection and counsel, just as the Church does from Christ.
The second point of comparison in the simile is that "as the Church is subject to Christ" so the wives are to be to their husbands in everything; that is to say, in everything belonging to the sphere of conjugal obligation. The third comparison has to do with affection. The husbands are to love their wives, f4even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself up for it; that He might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present the Church to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his own wife loveth himself."
The love that leads to the union should perpetually maintain it in harmony and happiness. The headship of the husband is never to be exercised at the expense of love to the wife. The love of the husband towards his wife is to be a reflection of Christ's love to the Church, self-abandoning, tender, ardent. In the glory and purity of the Church the love of Christ finds the realization of the designs of Divine grace.
The next point in the simile is that in nourishing and cherishing his wife as himself, the husband is acting as Christ does towards the Church, "because we are members of His body" (verses 29, 30). The nourishment given by Christ is by the Holy Spirit through the Word, the Word of God viewed here in its various parts, each part of the Holy Scriptures being used from time to time for the required purpose. As Eve derived her being and her life from Adam and physically was of his body, so spiritually are believers of Christ. The very life of Christ is extended to all the members. He is made unto them "wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption." "When Christ Who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with Him be manifested in glory."