August 5
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HEADSHIP IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I handed them down to you. 3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 4 Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. 5 But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for it is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. – 1 Corinthians 11:1-5
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In this letter, Paul reminds the Corinthian believers about headship in the kingdom of God. In the first verse, he makes himself a role model for the Christians to follow, so that they know how it is to submit to authority. Since he learned from Christ himself, he wants them to imitate the example that Jesus set for him to follow. If they follow him, they are also following Jesus Christ. In verse 2 he acknowledges their adherence to the traditions that were handed down to them but points out the importance of knowing the order that God has set for all believers to follow. Here is the order in the kingdom of God according to this letter of Paul to the Corinthians:
• God is the head of Christ
• Every man in the family of believers has to submit to Christ since He is the head of every man. – he particularly specifies that if there is something else on his head while he is praying or prophesying, then he is disgracing himself.
• Every woman has to submit to the man since he is the head of a woman –According to Clarke, It was a custom, both among the Greeks and Romans, and among the Jews an express law, that no woman should be seen abroad without a veil. This was, and is, a common custom through all the east, and none but public prostitutes go without veils.” To be without a head covering is equals to have no protection. Paul clearly likens a woman without a head covering as one who has a shaved head.
Sadly, in our world today, the order in God’s kingdom had been messed up. The world has twisted God’s order and has made each person without a covering, not submitting to an authority, but only following their own will. When someone is not under the authority of someone, they are actually exposing themselves to danger. Can you imagine a world where no one submits to authority? It would be chaos and destruction, wouldn’t it?
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REFLECTION
• How is submitting to authority or your head a mark of a true believer?