In this chapter we will cover an important subject—head covering.
First Corinthians 11:2-16 does not speak of believers as brothers and sisters; rather, it speaks of them as men and women. It does not speak about our status in Christ, but rather of God’s order in His creation.
This passage does not echo the thought in John 10:30, which says, “I and the Father are one.” Rather, it says that God is the Head of Christ. It does not emphasize the relationship between the Father and the Son, but the relationship between God and Christ, between God and His Anointed. It is not a relationship between God the Father and God the Son in the Trinity of the Godhead, but a relationship between God and the One whom He sent to earth and anointed to be the Christ. The matter of head covering is an issue between God and His Anointed.
Neither does the matter of head covering have anything to do with the relationship between Christ and His church. The fact that Christ is the Head and the church is His Body is unrelated to head covering. The matter of head covering involves a totally different issue. First Corinthians 11:3 says that “Christ is the head of every man.” Christ is the Head of individual men. Although there are many men, Christ is the Head of them all. His being the Head does not refer to His headship in the church. His headship in this passage refers to His headship over every man. Hence, the subject here has nothing to do with the relationship between Christ and the church. It has to do with the relationship between Christ and every man. Thus, it does not refer to a relationship among God’s children or to a relationship between brothers and sisters. Verse 3 says that “man is the head of the woman.” We must be clear about this foundation before we can understand the meaning of head covering.
I would like to consider this subject from a much broader perspective. This will help us to understand 1 Corinthians 11. Only those who know God and who are familiar with the Bible will understand this chapter. This chapter can be difficult reading for many people. The first thing we have to know is that God has two systems in this universe: One we call the system of grace, and the other we call the system of government.
The church, our salvation, the brother-sister relationship in the Lord, and our being God’s children—these are all items within the system of God’s grace. Everything related to the church, the Holy Spirit, and redemption belongs to the system of grace. The centurion and the Syrophoenician woman both received grace from God. Peter received grace, and so did Mary. Lazarus could be resurrected, and Martha and Mary could serve. In the system of grace, man and woman are placed on equal footing.
There is another system in the Bible which we call God’s government. This system of government is altogether different from the system of grace. The system of God’s government is separate from the system of grace; it is another system altogether. In this system, God operates according to His own pleasure.
In His creation, God created both male and female. This distinction is related to God’s government. He first created the man and then the woman. This order was also a matter of God’s government. God operates according to His own pleasure. He has an independent will. He ordained that human beings would come out of the woman. Even the Lord Jesus was born of a woman. This was related to God’s government. No one can argue with God in this matter.
In the garden of Eden, man was given fruit for food. This was God’s government. After the flood man was given meat for food. This was God’s government as well.