Sermon Tone Analysis
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Many of you know that before I was in ministry, I worked in food service.
I’ve been in management in my college’s Dining services, in Subway, in McDonald’s, and Chick-fil-A.
My favorite, by far, was Chick-fil-A.
Each place I worked had a form of training: how do you run the cash registers, how do you make the food, policies and procedures.
And so on.
Each touched on the culture of the company.
The most detailed was Chick-fil-A.
The company is so detailed that expect their employees to use certain words, like “my pleasure” because of the culture of the company.
Each place I worked had expectations on the uniform.
When you walk into McDonald’s, every employee is going to be dressed the same.
Subway is the same.
Chick-fil-A is the same, but with even higher standards.
The companies want everyone to know who their employees are by what they do and by how they dress.
When I worked at Chick-fil-A, I was the night manager.
After our shift on Fridays, the crew and I would go out for milk shakes.
Whatever restaurant we were at, people knew we worked at Chick-fil-A, because how we acted and because of how we dressed.
Our faith should be the same way.
We are those who confess to follow Jesus.
Hopefully, there has been a time in our lives when we have turned from our sins and confessed Jesus as our savior, choosing to rest on his alone for our salvation, receiving that intimate relationship.
If we have done that, everything that we do, including how we dress, is defined by the Gospel.
People should be able to look at us, at our choices of actions, words, and attire, and know that we are a follower of Jesus Christ.
The passage we are going to read today is one of the most hotly debated passages in the New Testament, both for translation and for application.
Let us read it, remembering to show grace.
Okay.
Let’s get this over with.
I am not here to say that all you ladies need to put on head coverings.
That is not the point of this passage.
So, let’s hear a sigh of relief.
Thanks.
Now that that’s over with, let’s pray.
Everything we do, including how we dress, is defined by the Gospel.
This passage is the meeting of three different concepts, all crashing into the subject of dress.
To apply this passage, we are going to look at three different questions.
Each question will be answer by looking at the historical background of the passage, the theological background of the passage, and then a modern day application of the passage.
The key to any Bible study is understanding the background of the passage and applying the principles and the truths to a modern day situation.
That is what we are going to try to do without getting caught in the quicksand that is especially apparent with this passage.
Also, just as an aside, so many people focus on the female aspect of this passage.
In fact, many Bibles have as a heading for this passage: women’s head coverings.
However, Paul talks about men first:
So, why do so many people single out the women, when Paul is talking to both men and women?
Let’s dive into the questions:
1.
Does how we dress show how God made us?
The first question is: does how we dress show how God made us?
God made two sexes, male and female.
God made these sexes distinct.
Not distinct in status, for we are equal before God, but distinct in function.
Let’s look at what is happening historically at this time.
A. Historical Discussion
The Corinthian church had realized the radicalness of the Gospel.
In Roman society, Jewish society, basically all the societies, women did not have many rights.
But then, Paul comes along, with the other apostles and proclaims something different.
In Christian churches, women were radically lifted up.
In fact, where most polite societies would not allow women to address a public gathering, churches allowed women to lead the congregation in prayer and to engage in public prophesy.
When Paul sent his letter to the Romans, it was a woman who delivered the letter and read the letter to the church in their church service.
Women were equal with men for the first time of their lives.
So, many women were saying, if we are equal with men, let’s dress like it.
Traditionally, In Christian churches, men would uncover heads during worship.
Women would cover their heads with the hood of their outer garment.
More on the reasons for that later.
Because wanting to dress according to their status as equals, many women were praying and prophesying in the church service with their head uncovered.
Some were beginning to adopt different hair styles, cutting their hair shorter, because they were equal with men.
Some men, on the other hand, were beginning to adopt more feminine styles, for some reason.
Covering their heads, letting their hair grow.
I’ll give the reasons for that later, as well.
Paul gives a hard stop to this trend in unisex fashion.
B. Theological Discussion
He points to creation, throwing out words such as
head,
image,
glory.
All sorts of words that cause many women to start screaming on the inside.
Let’s start by talking about head.
There are many different ideas of what Paul is talking about with the word “head”.
Some people say he is talking about authority, such as the head of a company.
Some people say that he is talking about source, such as the head of a river.
Other people agree with me head is referring to foremost or preeminent.
This is the one who must bear responsibility.
In the words of Jesus, the leader must serve.
The foremost in the group must protect the status and self-respect of the weaker for whom they must take that responsibility.
God created man and woman different in function.
The man has a responsibility to care for and protect the woman and others in his sphere.
Let’s talk about image and glory.
Notice that Paul does not repeat the phrase image here.
Man was made in the image of God.
So was woman.
God created man as a way of bringing honor and praise to himself.
O
ur existence brings glory to God.
But, man is not complete.
We needed a companion who is like us but different, someone who is uniquely his glory.
In this difference man ‘glories’ in her.
God created women distinct from man, for in this distinctiveness, she has the ability to complement man with an incomparably richer reality which is irreplaceable.
Man and woman, when they willingly choose to glory in their roles as leader and complement, showing who God is in a way nothing else in society and nature does.
God the Father and God the Son are both equally and completely God.
They are equal in status but different in function.
But the Son willingly chooses to follow the Father and complement him.
This is not something which is imposed, but something which is chosen.
In the same way, man and woman are the glory of another.
This would not be possible if “the other” became “the same.”
(Point to Maggie) And it would be impossible for man or woman to glory in another human person if they were not accorded dignity and respect as a fellow human being of equal status in the Gospel.
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