What would you think if you were told that there was a portion
of the Bible that, although it was never lost, was ignored for decades? If you
are a strong, Bible-believing Christian, I suppose you would get defensive at
first (I’m sure I would, too), but eventually you may want to know more about
this text.
Something like this happened in Josiah’s day as described
in 2 Kings 22. Josiah was a king who cared about the things of the Lord and
wanted to serve Him well. One day, Hilkiah, the high priest, discovered a text
that had been in the temple for a long time, but it had been set aside and
forgotten. The text was the Torah—Genesis through Deuteronomy—containing inspired
revelation. It was the Law that Israel was to observe. Judah was in such bad
condition that they were living without their foundational, inspired document.
Shaphan, a scribe, took hold of this vital text and brought
it to King Josiah, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book,” (v. 10). A
book? What irony. This Jewish scribe did not realize that the most
important document he could ever study or copy down was right there in his
hand. Shaphan proceeded to read the book for Josiah.
Upon hearing the Law, the king tore his clothes and
lamented. He exclaimed, “Great is the wrath of the Lord that burns against us,
because our fathers have not listened to the words of this book, to do
according to all that is written concerning us,” (v. 13). The Lord heard
Josiah’s cry and enabled him to enact a variety of reforms in Judah, promoting
lawful living among the people.
Josiah’s response to recovering God’s ignored revelation is
exemplary. All of God’s people should deeply desire to embrace every word from
God; our desire should be to feast on every word that comes from His mouth.
In many ways, 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 has been a “lost book”
for the church in recent generations. Even though this passage is not as
foundational to biblical theology as the Torah, and even though it has not been
as abandoned as the Torah was in Josiah’s day, the fact remains that it is
often ignored, sometimes suppressed, and rarely embraced. It has been dismissed
as too difficult, too culturally conditioned, and too unique. It has led many
to wonder, “Is it possible for Christians to actually understand this passage
and make application today?” The answer is Yes!
In August 2021, I had to reckon with this passage. For the
15 years of my Christian life that had preceded that time, I did my best to
sidestep the topic of head coverings and hair lengths any time it would come
up. “There’s only one passage about it,” I’d say; or, “We don’t fully
understand all of the cultural principles at play.” But these common retorts will
not do when one is charged with faithfully preaching through Scripture,
verse-by-verse and chapter-by-chapter.
I was a year into preaching through 1 Corinthians and this
passage was up next. What would I say? All I could do was exegete the text—and
honest exegesis has a way of tearing down man’s attempts to avoid what God has
said. This short book is the fruit of that effort.
There is a great deal at stake in this endeavor. This
passage is critical to arriving at a sound theology of gender roles in the
church and of headship and authority. (There is a reason why Joyce Meyer never
preaches this passage!) Further, this passage is a great test of our commitment
to consistent hermeneutics. Quite often, otherwise-sound Bible teachers change
their interpretive grid when dealing with this passage. We must consider why
this is and seek to be consistent with our own interpretive methods.
I have written this to call you to heed the word of God,
even though it may seem foreign or strange. First, I will start by examining
the text, offering conclusive observations with notes to back up my claims. I
am not presenting this material in verse-by-verse exposition like a commentary—there
are plenty of those already! Rather, I am presenting this material in more of a
debate format. This is not because I want to be divisive about this issue;
rather, my goal is to persuade you of the continuing significance of Paul’s
inspired instruction to the church. I hope that this format is more efficient at
addressing the key points.
Next, I will answer common objections and seek to make
application to today. I have also included two appendices that I hope are
particularly helpful for church leaders as they wrestle with this passage. This
is a difficult text to discuss in the modern age, but Bible teachers must do
it—and it does not have to divide a church.
I find it fascinating that most sound Bible readers,
commentators, and preachers understand the majority of the apostle’s
instructions in this passage. It was written plainly enough. However, when
considering modern-day application and significance, there are endless paths
people have taken to avoid modern-day significance. Some will disagree with my
conclusions on the basis of their own exegetical work. If a person has wrestled
with the text and he or she has a clear conscience before God, it is not my job
to judge; nevertheless, each one must deal with the text. I desire each one of
us to embrace the spirit of Josiah in desiring to listen to the word of God. We
must all seek to choose fear of God over fear of man and submissively hear the
Lord’s instruction.
Before we read the text and begin to examine it together, I want to share with you seven basic beliefs about the Bible and our hearts toward it. This is the same list I shared with our congregation before I preached through the passage in 2021, and it is vital for us to keep this in mind as we work through the text.
Jeremy Howard | October 2022
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