For man is not of woman, but woman of man.
Paul is settling how men and women should appear when they pray together, and he does not argue from custom. He goes back to Genesis, to how the woman was made — which raises a question people still ask: does coming out of man make her worth less?
Paul is not giving an opinion. He states what God did, and one writer sees marriage resting on it.
In 1 Cor. 11:8-9 the apostle Paul sums up the truth of the case in a few words, and it carries God's authority: "For man was not made from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man." Those who dare to dispute the fact must one day learn what it is to call God a liar. This is the ground of the sanctity of marriage: one woman for one man. From the beginning, He Who made her made her out of man, so that the two should be one flesh. People in general soon forgot it, and even Israel did. But there it stood, written and never erased, to instruct the faithful and shame the rebellious.
Paul is not describing how things run now. That is why he goes back to the start.
Creation is the proof, not the ordinary course of things since. So no one can judge this rightly without looking to the beginning. If verse 7 refers to where man and woman each came from, verse 8 then shows the woman made for the man, and after him. That is the ground of woman's subordination to man. Where people deny creation, or even ignore it, they naturally reason and work for their equality.
Does coming out of man make her lesser? One writer says the fact points the other way.
The very fact that woman was "taken out of man" proves her equality. She is not an inferior, but an equal, a helper suited to him. Between man and man there is similarity, sameness. Between man and woman there is equality, but with difference too.
This truth protects women. Where it is not known, they are degraded.
This divine ordinance, if observed, is a great protection for woman. She needs it, because she is at a disadvantage compared with man in more ways than one. In the pagan world this ordinance is unknown, and so woman becomes a mere possession, bought and sold and misused by man. These errors, and the abuses that come from them, cannot survive in the light of the truth we have here. Woman is not only of the same species as man, but in her origin was of his very flesh and bone — taken out of man.
One writer weighs the other side of the relationship.
No one should treat her as inferior to man, unfit to be his companion, unsuited to be his helper. For "as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman." She was taken out of man at the first, and ever since man has owed his life on earth to her. If both thought these simple words of Scripture through, they would learn their true place in relation to each other.
The origin of the woman leads to a visible sign. More than human eyes watch it.
In creation the man did not come from the woman, as has been true ever since. The woman came from the man: God took Eve from Adam's side. He created her for the man, since He said it was not good for man to be alone. This was God's order in creation. So the woman should wear the sign of authority on her head — that is, she is under authority to her head, the man. Paul adds here, "because of the angels." Angels take a deep interest in the order God has set in His creation, and they care whether both man and woman obey.
One writer reads the same verse as a picture of Christ and the church.
He was given, it is true, in due time for the church, but the church from everlasting had been given to Him, and not He to the church. "For man was not made from woman, but woman from man" (1 Cor. 11:8).
- Origin. Woman was formed out of man. Paul builds everything on that fact. It carries God's authority, and it makes marriage sacred.
- Order. The argument rests on the beginning, so no one can judge it rightly without looking there. Ignore creation, and people set out to win equality on their own terms.
- Equality. Taken out of man, she is of his own flesh and bone: equal, though different. That truth has protected women wherever it is known.
- Balance. She came from the man once; every man since has come by the woman, so neither may despise the other.
- Witness. The sign on the head shows this order, and angels watch it. Behind it stands a greater picture: the church is of Christ, given to Him.
For also man was not created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man.
Paul argues here from the start of the human race. The woman came out of man (v. 8), and she was made for him — but does that make her less, and does Eden still shape how Christians act when they meet?
Paul is not stating a cultural preference. One writer treats these words as carrying God's own authority, and rests marriage on them.
Paul sums up the truth of the case in 1 Cor. 11:8-9, and he does it with God's authority. Those who dare to dispute the fact must one day learn what it is to call God a liar. This is the ground of the sanctity of marriage: one woman for one man. That was the order from the beginning, laid down by Him who made her out of man, so that the two should be one flesh. Sadly, people in general forgot it far too soon, and even Israel forgot it. But there it was, written in a way that cannot be erased, to instruct the faithful and shame the rebellious.
The word "for" answers a question of purpose. Adam's need came first, and that need explains why God made a woman rather than a second man.
All this has to do with the present, not with what is final, what is heavenly, what is eternal. It is God's order as He set it up, and we are bound to respect it. Nor was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. The man was created first, and it was not good for him to be alone. The woman was created to meet this need. But why a woman — why not another man? Because another man would not have brought the same help. He needs someone who pictures the dependence of the creature, rather than the kind of independence given to man. That very dependence appeals to him, and appeals to his heart, because she depends on him.
Put the other way round, the direction of the help is fixed and cannot be reversed:
"Man was not created for the woman, but woman for the man" (1 Cor. 11:9). So the woman was intended to supplement the man, not the man to supplement the woman.
Being made for someone is not the same as being made lower than them. The way she was made proves the opposite.
The very fact that woman was taken out of man proves her equality with him. She is not his inferior, but his equal, his helper. There is equality, but with it diversity. Woman was made for man and to be with him at his side. God never intended that woman should be an independent creature apart from man, but that she should be associated with him... Woman never shines more brightly than when fulfilling the object for which she was created, which first of all was to be man's helper.
Verse 9 feeds straight into the instruction about a covered head in verse 10.
"For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God" (v. 7). As such he represents God, and God is to be prominent, not covered. "But woman is the glory of man" — and the glory of man is not to be prominent. She was created for the man, for God had said it was not good for man to be alone. This was God's order in creation, and therefore the woman should have the sign of authority on her head — that is, that she is under authority to her head, the man.
This order has an audience beyond the room:
There are other creatures who are intelligent and aware of the order of God's ways. In relation to them, the women were to be covered because of the angels. The angels watch the ways of God in redemption, and they watch what this wonderful work of His would produce.
Paul does not let his argument turn into tyranny. He adds that the two belong together.
Verses 11 and 12 show, however, that the man and the woman complete one another. The man is not a dictator, and the woman is not a slave. Each is needed in his or her place to keep the human race going. The woman came from man in the beginning. Yet ever since, the man has come "by the woman." "But all things of God." His wisdom and work is supreme in every part of creation.
The pattern set in Eden is not only about husbands and wives. One writer applies the same words to Christ and the church.
Is not the Church needful to Christ? Yes, truly. God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." And again, "Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man." So the question is no longer only whether God can save a poor, helpless sinner. He did not leave "the first man" without a helper fit for him; neither would He leave the "Second."
- Origin. She was taken out of man — which is why commentators say this proves equality, not inferiority.
- Purpose. She was made for him, to meet a need God Himself named; another man would not have brought the same help.
- Sign. Because of that purpose, the woman wears a token of authority on her head, and men uncover.
- Audience. Angels watch this order kept, so a small visible act carries weight far beyond the room.
- Balance. The man and the woman complete one another — and the pattern of one made for another reaches its height in the church made for Christ.
Therefore ought the woman to have authority on her head, on account of the angels.
The apostle has just traced a line of headship: God over Christ, Christ over the man, the man over the woman. His conclusion here raises two questions — what "authority on her head" means, and why angels come into it.
The wording is odd: she is told to have authority, when the point is that she stands under it.
The expression "authority on the head" has caused endless discussion. To have authority on the head unquestionably means to wear the sign of it in a covering or veil. On the other hand, in verses 11 and 12 the apostle is careful to insist that man and woman belong to each other. He denies that either is independent of the other. He affirms that God is the source of both, and of all things.
Another writer reads the covering as a statement the woman makes about herself.
The apostle takes the state of the physical head as a sign. It shows the condition of the man or the woman in relation to their moral head. The woman's head — the man — is really her head, and she must cover her own head as a sign of her subjection. So she says in effect, "I have no head myself. The man is my head, and I am in subjection." The man could not do that, or there would be no visible head.
"That is why" points back to creation, not to local custom in Corinth.
In creation the man did not come from the woman, though that has been the way ever since. The woman came from the man, as God took Eve from Adam's side. God made her for the man, for He had said it was not good for man to be alone. This was God's order in creation. So the woman should wear the sign of authority on her head — the sign that she is under authority to her head, the man.
The argument rests on the beginning, not on how things have gone since:
Creation is the proof — not, of course, the ordinary course of things since. It is therefore impossible to form a right estimate without looking to the beginning. It is easy to see what happens where people deny creation, or even ignore it. Men then naturally reason and labour for equality.
Angels come into it because of what they are by nature.
Two things mark off the angels who never fell from those who did: perfect subjection, and ready obedience to the voice of their Creator. The angels who fell did not keep the place first given to them. And the power that sets true order in God's Church is the same life-giving Spirit who adorned the heavens. That Spirit set the chosen angels in their appointed places. These, then, whose very nature is order, ought not to see disorder in God's house.
One writer marks where this applies, and who is watching there:
The apostle is not speaking of wearing the sign of subjection at all times, though I believe it would be very fitting. She is in this a spectacle, with all present, to the angels. The whole subject is modesty, order, decency, and things in their right place... Angels should learn something in the church.
Commentators differ over who these angels are. One writer runs through the other answers and rejects them all, including the idea that these are evil angels.
Most commentators have missed this thought completely. Some have drifted into degrading ideas about bad angels. Others have lowered the word to mean the righteous themselves, or Christian prophets, or those who preside in the assemblies, or people appointed to arrange betrothals, or mere spies sent there by the unfaithful.
Does this order make the woman less? One writer answers by pointing to Christ.
This shows us the woman's place in the natural sphere. Man is the head. This does not imply inferiority. If it did, Christ would be essentially inferior to God, His Father — a thought impossible to those who believe in His eternal Deity. But in position, and as Man, the blessed Son took the place of subjection and obedience to the Father.
There is more here than subjection. One writer calls the covering the woman's honour.
The woman's veil is not only a badge of her subjection; it is also her ornament and her praise. For meekness is beauty in the sight of God, and praise belongs to those who stay willingly in their appointed place.
- Cause. The "that is why" reaches back past custom to creation: woman from man, and for man. So the instruction stands wherever creation stands.
- Sign. "Authority on her head" means wearing the token of the authority she is under. The visible head pictures the moral head.
- Speech. The covering makes a silent statement: I am not my own head. Uncovered, she would show a headship that is not hers.
- Spectators. Angels come into the verse because order is their very nature. The assembly is a classroom, where beings who never fell watch God's order kept on earth.
- Balance. Order is not ranking. The Son Himself took the place of subjection, and the veil is the woman's ornament as well as her sign. The next verses insist neither man nor woman exists without the other, since all things come from God.