In the early church, women enjoyed a counter-cultural elevation of status that was not without controversy at the time. This is why the apostles (who initially promoted the status of women) had to continually remind the church to be mindful of cultural conventions so as to avoid this controversy. The Corinthian Christians were particularly prone to cast off all conventions. So, Paul here reminds them of how they might offend cultural sensibilities around gender roles. He also wanted to ensure that the church did not lose sight of the biblical view of gender. The ideal set out in Genesis 1 and 2 is that of humanity reflecting God’s glory as two mutually dependent halves of a whole. Man is the glory of God, Paul argues. But that glory is dependent on women who complete men. (This doesn’t invalidate singleness. Cf. 9:26,40.) Paul’s point is that the glory of God is expressed in the complementary difference of the two genders. It is not one gender but both genders together through which God’s image and glory is reflected. True unity requires difference. The genders share equal status before God, but equality does not entail sameness. What Paul wants here is a culturally intelligible way of signifying this principle. Some people abandon biblical ideals for culture and others abandon culture for biblical ideals. But our mission is to embody biblical ideals within our culture and in ways that do not unnecessarily offend that culture. Paul laid down this principle in chapter 9. If this passage bothers you, try bending your mind to the text rather than the text to your mind.
Reflect on how we can express an appreciation for the unity and diversity of the genders in our context.
Read 1 Corinthians 11:1-16
