Paul and Headship

by Hugh DeLong

As you read I Corinthians 11, stop and meditate on this distinction. Many people in our country today dislike the concept of headship and may even use I Corinthians 11:11-12 to deny the rest of this section, but the truth can be built on the fact that Christ is the head of man. Christ and man are not interchangeable. Here Paul identifies the man and the woman separately. In such identification, he notes that the same action (wearing or not wearing the veil) could bring honor to one and dishonor to the other – which suggests that each was expected to appear recognizably as either male or female. What this means for today’s debate is that Paul does not treat sexual identity as merely personal preference or declaration.

This concept or argument is grounded in creation. Woman was made from man (Genesis 2:21-23). Woman was created for man (Genesis 2:18). This is not about “superiority”, either for the male or for the female. They are distinct but mutually dependent. Such mutual dependence does not erase the distinction.

What is happening today is changing the basis of the argument and the terms being used in the discussion. “Biological sex” is often replaced with “gender identity.” While it is argued that gender identity is a matter of choice and self-declaration, biological sex cannot change an adult’s biological sex completely from male to female or female to male. We can argue and legislate gender identification, but such does not change anyone’s biological sex.

Reread I Corinthians 11:1-12 in light of today’s confusion. From the beginning, the two biological sexes have been different and not interchangeable.