1 Cor. 11:1-16-A Ministry of Women: Spiritual Authority – Headshi
1Cor-11.1-11-A-Ministry-of-Women-Zemeski.docPosted by: bzemeski <bzemeski@...>
A Ministry of Women
Spiritual Authority – Headship
TEXT: 1 Cor. 11:1-16 << DON’T READ
INTRODUCTION:
Take God’s Word and turn to 1 Cor. 11 to one of the most difficult passages to interpret and for its readers to understand in the Word of God but one that is crammed full of blessings, if we look at it carefully.
We are dealing in this message with the subject, “A Ministry of Women.” Follow me as I read the 16 verses of this passage so we can get the sweep of this Scripture. I would ask of you to listen to it carefully. << READ
Now, I don’t think we need to explain that why don’t we just have the benediction just sit down as it is all so clear and so simple that is enough said? No in all seriousness there is a lot packed into these Scriptures and we are going to have to slow down and look at them as we talk to you on this subject of the ministry of women.
This passage actually deals with this matter of headship and of spiritual authority.
Look if you will first of all at what I call…
I. THE SECRET OF SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY – VS. 1-2
A. Paul EXERCISED His authority
1. Here is the apostle Paul giving instruction to the Corinthian church and anyone who can read black print on white paper is able to know that he is speaking authoritatively.
2. He was speaking with the authority of an apostle. He says:
§ “Be ye FOLLOWERS of me…”
§ “REMEMBER me in all things!
§ “KEEP the ordinances, as I delivered them to you!”
3. There is no hesitation, no stutter, no stammer, no apology with boldness and power – he is God’s man with full assurance, as ever man of God ought to be! He is speaking with authority!
4. He is not like some of our modern clergy you might know who are not sure where they are going but want you to follow them and plus PAY the fare for their travels into who knows where!
Paul was NOT that way! He was a man who knew where he was going and knew what he believed and spoke with authority.
Not only did Paul EXERCISE his authority in the same breath…
B. He EXPRESSED His Submission As A Servant
Look at it in vs. 1 – “Be ye FOLLOWERS of me even as I also am of Christ!”
1. The apostle Paul had learned the secret of spiritual authority!
a. He says, “You can follow me, because I follow Christ.” That is he had learned that anyway, any man, woman, boy or girl can be OVER is to learn to be UNDER.
b. The secret of having authority is being under authority. No one can say follow me until he can say I follow Christ. Be ye followers of me even also as I follow Christ.
There is a story over in Luke 7:1-10 that when Jesus entered Capernaum a centurion who heard of Jesus’ coming had a sick servant who was about to die.
He asked some of the Jewish elders if they would approach Jesus and see if he would come and heal his servant? These man pleaded with Jesus in behalf of the centurion to heal the servant making the case the that is Roman was worthy of such attention. Convinced, Jesus started off and centurion sent friends to Jesus saying, ‘Look you don’t need to come under my roof, I’m not worthy. That is why I didn’t come to you If you will’ “but say in a word…my servant shall be healed.”
Then he gave this rationale: he said to Jesus “For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it” (Lk. 7:8). Jesus I know how you work, just say the word and my servant will be healed.
Luke recorded that Jesus “marvelled at him.” He was a centurion, a Roman army office, not even a Jew, and Jesus said of him, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Jesus marvelled because this man with a penetrating insight had understood as to how the kingdom works. It is just like an army.
Here was the centurion who said, “I know how you work for I also am under authority. I have officers over me — Generals, cornels as such over me, therefore I have the lieutenants, the sergeants and so forth under me. BECAUSE I stay in a right relationship with the authority over me, I have been given authority! “I say unto one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it”
Jesus I know how you work. God has given you authority because you are under authority.
THAT my friend is the secret of SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY.
GOD wants every one of us to live authoritatively. He wants to pour into all of us incredible power and make us useful, BUT WE WILL NEVER ever have authority until we learn submission.
2. There are plenty of pastors today that are the figurehead of churches, but who have no spiritual authority because they are not submitted to Word of God, to the Lord of that Word, and the Lord of that Word!
a. Since these men are not submitted they are not bound to this Book, nor are the UNDER this Book and therefore will have no real spiritual authority.
b. BUT a man of God who is under authority will have GOD given authority.
I like what one lady said when was asked:
“Would you follow your pastor in his leadership decision?” She replied, “I would follow my pastor in an assault on hell with a water pistol!”
That is the kind of follow ship we should have in our church but we can’t have that kind of follow ship unless we have the kind of leadership that says, “You follow me as – to the same degree – in the same way – as I follow Christ.” BUT there are some pastors who don’t have that kind of authority.
3. There are some Christians who don’t have any authority over the Devil and the reason is they don’t have any authority is because they are NOT under the authority of God.
4. We hear a lot today about rebuking the Devil, and resisting the Devil, and standing against the Devil, BUT if you will turn to the Book of Acts chapter 19 starting vs. 13 you find there where Sceva, who was the chief Jewish priest, had seven (7) vagabond sons of who were exorcists – they took it upon themselves to cast out “evil spritits” i.e. devils – demons.
a. They were going to cast some evil spirits from a man and said to him,
“We adjure [order] you by Jesus whom Paul preaches,” come out of him!
b. BUT that man, who was full of demons, was given supernatural strength and he turned on those 7 men and jumped on them, beating the snot out them stripping them of their clothes, leaving them wounded and naked — they barely escaped with their lives.
c. One demon processed man against 7! These men aimed to cast out of that man but lacked the power. What was the problem?
1) They said, “in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
2) What they had was second-hand religion
3) They didn’t said in the name of Jesus whom I know or in the name of Jesus who I serve.
4) You can’t cast the Devil out of anybody in the name of Jesus that Zemeski preaches! BUT only in the name of Jesus who you know! In the name of Jesus whom you are submitted to.
5) AND if you are not UNDER God you will NEVER have authority OVER the Devil.
5. There are possibly fathers here that don’t have any authority in their home
a. God has set the dads as the head in the home, but these dads don’t have any authority because they are backslidden and because they are backslidden they have no testimony, no ring of authority when they teach and preach and lead in their home.
b. I am thinking of Lot. Lot was a dad who lived in Sodom. Lot knew God and Lot was saved. But he was not submitted – he knew nothing of being under God
c. So, when he said to his family “follow me for God is going to destroy Sodom with fire and brimstone” his daughters and son’s in-laws laugh at him and mocked him. He absolutely no spiritual authority.
6. There are possibly wives sitting here and wonder why you don’t have persuasion with your children.
a. You wonder why your prayers are not answered. Why is it you cannot lead your children – why you cannot mould their lives in Christ
b. I’ll tell you why – because you are not submitted to your husbands. AND because you have never learned to be under God never put you over and you don’t have the spiritual authority that you ought to have
7. There are young people here who don’t have and spiritual authority.
a. You are bombarded with sex and lust and dope and pornography and you wonder – “Why can’t I live a godly Christian life?
b. I’ll tell you why – it is because you are not submitted to your parents!
c. You are a rebel (either actively or passively) and God does not give spiritual authority or spiritual power to rebels.
The secret of spiritual authority is this — the apostle Paul authoritatively spoke saying you follow me, remember to do what I have commanded you and keep the ordinances – you follow me as I follow Christ!
8. Governments will have no authority until they submit to the authority of Almighty God.
a. They’ll not have the given authority they ought to have.
b. It is unspeakably ignorant for a man or woman to lay their hand on God’s Book and take an oath to office and then to flaunt what this Book says!
c. How do we expect to have the blessings and the authority of God in ruling of a nation—no Prime Minister, no President, no leader can be rightly over until he learns to under what God has said!
d. If you are not going to obey the Bible then just don’t put you hand on the Bible and take the oath of office.
Not only do I want you to see the secret of this authority, I want you to see…
II. THE SEQUENCE OF THIS AUTHORITY – VS. 3
A. Here is a directly line of authority and God has established it!
God the father, God the Son, the Man and the Woman
1. God has given them in a sequence
a. When God says the man is the of the woman that doesn’t in any way mean the woman is inferior to the man.
b. Why? Because the head of Christ is God and if you know your theology you know that Christ as God the Son is NOT inferior to God the Father.
1) As a matter of fact He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father.
2) In Phil. 2:5-6 it says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6] Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7] But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant…”
2. Learn this about men and women – all Christians are equal in the sight of God, BUT all Christians are not the same.
a. Equality does not mean sameness of function
b. Women are not inferior to men and men are not superior to women.
c. The only way a man is superior to a woman is in being a man.
d. The only way a woman is superior to a man is in being a woman.
e. The woman is often referred to as “the weaker sex,” yet she out lives the man by 7 yrs. on average. J BUT I think the weaker sex becomes the stronger sex because of the weakness of the stronger sex for the weaker sex.
B. Concerning HEADSHIP – Some argue that Paul was just addressing the local scene at Corinth and wasn’t making this a mandate for everyone to follow for all time.
1. Headship is biblical doctrine that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden in Gen. 3 where God said to Eve, “thy husband shall rule over thee” (vs. 16).
2. God put the couple into headship, with the man as the leader, but I want to again emphasize that this doe not mean the woman is inferior to the man – God made man = male & female (Gen. 1:27).
3. Every human being has abilities that differ from another and in a marriage you will find for the most part each spouse’s abilities are complementary – they not only improve the overall marriage experience, but help bind and build the marriage relationship.
Let us suppose there is a gifted athlete with extraordinary abilities
He signs a sports contract for an enormous amount to money. The manager/coach will never make as much money in all his years as this star will make in a couple. There are other players on the team that will not make as much money as this star.
Now, on the team there is a captain, a man who calls the plays for this star player to run. This player is under the authority of the team captain. It is quite possible the captain might never get paid this star player’s salary, BUT he is the one who calls the play and the captain gets paid more than the manager/coach who originates the play. Now, does because the captain calls the play because he is superior to this star player? NO! He calls the play because somebody on the team does. Well who decides who is gonna call the play? The manager/coach does.
4. Who decides who is going to be the head of the home? God the Father does.
a. When God says the husband is to call the play does that mean the husband is superior to the wife?
b. NO, it just simply means that in the home there just has to be a head. Anything with no head is dead and anything with two heads is confused.
c. God has put headship in the home, just as there is headship in the trinity.
d. Headship does not mean superiority or inferiority, it just means that there is a divine difference, and there is a divine order.
5. Submission does not demean a woman – submission actually exalts a woman!
a. When you are in rebellion you are like the Devil.
b. When you are in submission you are like Christ.
c. Now who is more exalted?
A person like the Devil or a person who is like Christ?
Now let us go a little deeper. We have talked about the SECRET and the SEQUENCE of this authority. Let us talk about…
III. THE SYMBOL OF SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY – VS. 4
A. No man in the NT is to pray with his hat on – he needs to take his hat off when he prays
B. Paul insists that women who pray or prophesy in church do so with covered heads – vs. 5. The rationale is as follows:
1. The covered head was a symbol of a woman’s submission to her own husband
2. To fail to acknowledge publicly this headship was a disgrace of such magnitude as to equal to have a shorn head, which was a symbol of a shameless and dishonoured woman.
3. In Corinth, as well in other cities, there were pagan temple prostitutes who would have their heads shaved. The shaved head was the mark of a prostitute – vs. 6
C. Having the head covered was a symbol of authority – it symbolised that someone was UNDER someone – vs. 7-9
1. In the home the man represents God, so since man represents God in the home he is NOT to have his head covered – vs. 4, 7
2. A man has the greater responsibility in the home.
a. We talk about a man having authority in the home, but let is understand with that authority comes responsibility, because in the home the man is to represent God.
b. Men, I want to say as a general rule, that if the home is wrong it is because you are wrong!
c. How shameful it is for weak willed men to fail to take the proper place that God wants them to have. It is the root of the problems in most homes.
1) It is not primarily rebellious women, it is drop out dads, fathers who are shirkers, and slackers, cowards and quitters who fail to take there God-given place.
2) It is these men who fail to take the moral leadership of submission to God and therefore authority in their home that they ought to have.
D. The man according to vs. 4, 7 when he prays he ought not to have anything on his head but what about the woman?
1. The woman is to wear a covering on her head as a sign of submission – vs. 5-6
2. What is the covering?
a. Some people today think it is a hat, or veil, or headscarf.
1) Most of us have seen women come into church to worship with a covering on their head.
2) I have no problem or quarrel with that whatsoever. It is the custom in many different countries
b. But it seems that is NOT what Paul is talking about when he is talking about a covering for a woman’s head.
c. Others say it was a veil but it was just a local custom, which maybe so seeing that saved prostitutes would have shorn heads.
d. BUT we get into this discussion and we lose the train of thought tying to determine what was this was that women were to have on their head.
E. Frankly, I believe the Bible teaches the covering is the long hair a woman should have – vs. 13-15
1. What is Paul saying? He is saying you ought not to have any mannish looking women. Women ought to be feminine in their dress. They ought to be famine in their style. Let us understand that femininity DOES NOT mean dressing sexy.
2. A woman ought to look like a woman and a man ought to look like a man. There is something natural about seeing a woman with long hair and man with short hair.
3. The Devil is into this unisex idea and we see today man wearing their hair on their shoulders and women with their heads shaved.
a. This unisex idea came out of hell.
b. The Bible is against shemen and hewomen
c. The Bible teaches a man ought to look like a man and woman like a woman with any guesswork.
4. I am not going to get into an argument with you if you believe the head covering is a scarf or hat. I am not going to get into an argument with you about how long is long or how short is short, but I am saying you ought not have to guess.
a. Sometimes in a toilet I wonder who is who? If I have to look, I look for the “Adam’s apple.” If they have one of those I think maybe it is alright.
b. I heard where a preacher at the wedding wasn’t sure who was who or what was what so he said, “Will one of you please kiss the bride.”
We ought to show by the way we dress; by the way we act, by our personal decorum the SYMBOL of being under spiritual authority!
IV. Now let is consider the seriousness of Our spirituality AUTHORITY – vs. 10
A. Woman’s head is to be covered because of the angels
1. The Gk. Word for “power” is translated as such 61 times and “authority” 28 times. To have power on her head is to be understood as being under authority.
2. If you will recall that when Lucifer rebelled in heaven against God’s authority he drew a third of the angels to follow him. This is his demonic horde that exists today.
3. Women are to demonstrate their submission to authority under God because of the attendance of ministering angels, who are attending our church service right now.
4. These ministering angels also know and we should understand what happen to the fallen angels, we should understand the chaos and rebellion that took place that made this world a spiritual wilderness.
5. That is the reason Samuel told Saul in 1 Sam. 15:23 – “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft…”
B. When a person has a rebellious spirit, they are like a person practicing witchcraft.
1. Because it was rebellion that made the Devil the Devil to begin with and witchcraft is consorting with the demonic underworld.
2. This is the seriousness of the matter.
V. LASTLY let is talk about the SOLIDARITY of Our spirituality AUTHORITY – vs. 11-12
A. Paul was not trying to start a gender war.
1. Paul was not trying to get one of the sexes to lord it over the other
2. Paul is saying be reasonable we are all one in Christ! TURN >> Gal. 3:28
3. The ground at the cross of Jesus is level.
a. It takes the same amount of blood to save a man as it does a woman and visa-versa.
b. Men and Women are not is a race competing against each other – we are in a pilgrimage.
c. It is not a matter as to who is first on earth, it is a matter of who rules in heaven
B. We men ought to thank God for the ministry of women!
In the American magazine called the “Saturday Review,” Ashley Montague wrote a wonderful statement about “The Man Who Is Of The Woman.”
Women have great gifts to bring to the world of men. The qualities of love, compassion and humanity, that is, beauty of spirit. It is the function of women to humanise, since women are the natural mothers of humanity. Women by nature are endowed with the most important of all adaptive traits: the capacity to love, this is their principle function to teach men. There can be no more important function. It can be wished that both men and women understood this. Once women know this they will realise that no man can every play as an important role in the life of humanity as a mentally healthy women. [Let me repeat that last line.] And by mental heath I mean the ability to love and the ability to work. Being a good wife, a good mother, in short a good homemaker is the most important of all occupations in the world. It surely cannot be too often pointed out that the making of human beings is far more important than the making of anything else. And that in the formative years of a child’s life the mother is the best equipped to provide these firm foundations upon which one can subsequently build.
“…The woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman…”
C. What can women do in the church? What is the ministry of women?
Women play a vital and important part in the Local Church. River Valley Baptist Church could not function without the ministry of the women of our assembly!
Let me give you four major things that our women may do.
1. One of the ministries of women is that they may prophecy in public
a. Vs. 5 speaks of their WITNESS — it assumes a women will prophecy cp. Acts 2 to see what God did prophecy of the church age – 2:17 cp. Acts 8:1, 3-4
b. Now that doesn’t mean they are prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel or Daniel were prophets.
c. Nor does it mean they can usurp authority over men and be a pastor of a church.
1) LOOK in the context and TURN >> 1 Cor. 14 to see exactly what is prophecy – i.e. what defines prophecy – 1 Cor. 14:3
2) I woman may stand in the public assembly and woman may exhort, a woman may edify, a woman may comfort, IF SHE IS A WOMAN UNDER AUTHORITY. The Bible makes it clear and makes it plain that women can prophecy
a) Edification = to build up
b) Exhortation = to fire up
c) Comfort = to shore up
2. Secondly, a woman may pray in public — this speaks of her WORSHIP
– vs. 5, 13 cp. Acts 1:14
3. We have their witness, their worship and thirdly, their WISDOM
a. Women have been given incredible wisdom though not referred to directly here in 1 Cor. 11 TURN >> Judges 4:4 Woman can plan and exercise wise judgement.
b. Women should be included in the planning committees and decision making of the church. Women often have a perspective that men are to often blind.
c. Though the husband is accountable to God for his home he would be a fool not to take in the counsel, discernment, and wisdom of his wife in his decision-making.
d. We ought to thank God for their WITNESS, we ought to thank God for the WORSHIP and we ought to thank God for their WISDOM
e. NOTE that back in Judges, that when Deborah wanted to execute God’s plan she needed to get a man – Barak.
f. Even with the wisdom God was giving her she still under the authority of the male leadership of the nation. Barak lead the nation into battle with Deborah at his side, but he leaned on her wisdom.
g. Some people think that because women are under authority that we should negate and ignore the wealth of wisdom God has given them.
It would be absolutely stupid to such a thing.
4. Not only do we see their WITNESS, their WORSHIP, their WISDOM, but now their WORKS—the good things that God has given them to do – 1Cor. 11:11-12 cp. Vs. 3 – “…The head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man…”
a. What does this mean? It means in the home the man represents God and the woman represents the church.
b. As the church is subject to Christ is all things, so should women be to their own husbands.
c. Now, let me ask you a question. How does Jesus get His work done here on earth? Is it not through the church?
1) Have you ever thought of the incredible responsibility that Jesus has give to the church? And the woman represents the church!
2) The work of God is done here on earth through the church and the woman represents the church. Oh, thank God for the ministry of women!
3) If you were to take the ministry of women out of this church its ministry would be in a mess! Phil. 4:3
Help those women who help this pastor – pray for them. Help those women who labour with me in the Gospel. They can PROPHECY, they can PRAY, they can PLAN, they can PERFORM, They can WITNESS, they can WORSHIP, they have WISDOM, and they can WORK!
YES indeed the Bible teaches there are to be no women pastors, BECAUSE being a pastor is an authoritative position.
YES indeed the apostle Paul said, “suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man…” Indeed God says that because God has put order in the church, but that does not mean our women have no place in this church. They have an incredible place. This wonderful army of ladies are leading us and helping us to minister for Jesus Christ.
Let’s us Pray!
Father, help us to learn to appreciate and to use and utilize the ministry of Women, for we pray in Jesus dear name!
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