Headship is still authority in marriage Part 2 addendum

It’s been stated, not only by DR, but others from what I’ve seen that nowhere is headship equated with authority. As we have established in the on Headship is authority in marriage and wifely submission is obedience, both Jesus in John 13-15 and Peter in 1 Peter 3 show that there is a hierarchy within marriage through Paul’s direct analogies.

However, we also have evidence that Paul regards head as authority via 1 Corinthians 11.

1 Corinthians 11:1 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 delivered them 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 she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head.

7 For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; 9 for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.

10 Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

11 However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.

13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.

Paul makes several different arguments here which we will summarize in several points.

1. First, Paul declares that everything he is saying from here on out is being an imitator of himself and he is imitating Christ. This establishes what he is saying as direct teaching from God on the matter.
2. Second, he specifically declares headship as God > Christ > man > woman. We’ve already seen in the gospels where Jesus specifically says he only does what the Father does and submits to the Father’s authority. Hence, we can understand by association that this headship here is authoritative in nature. Likewise, Jesus and Paul both indicate that Christ as the head of the Church is authoritative via Teacher and Lord.
3. Third, we have several different arguments presented after the headship statements.

• Argument from Creation v7-9 – man is in the image and glory of God but woman is the glory of man, starting from head coverings argument.
• Argument of authority v10 – woman ought to have a symbol of authority** on her head meaning that it is her duty to be under authority. The word for ought (opheileo) is also used in 1 Corinthians 7 for each spouse owing sex to the other or it being their duty to each other. “Because of the angels” is cryptic, but usually interpreted as the angels are witnesses. The early Church believed that angels were watching over the Churches (e.g. Jesus writes in Revelation 2-3 to the angels at the 7 Churches – “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:”) and the angels appearances to the apostles like Peter in prison, Paul, and many other believers. In other words, women ought to have an outward symbol of authority on her head as this representation of Created and inward truth of submission to authority, which is witnessed and confirmed by the angels.
• Symbiosis hierarchy of man and woman v11-12 – which is the Genuine/Godly hierarchy that Jesus talks about rather than the Gentile one. No independence of man and woman from each other.
• Argument from nature v13-16 – dishonor for long hair and glory of a woman’s long hair

** – The Greek actually only says: “Therefore the woman ought to have authority (exousia) on her head, because of the angels.” Most translations use symbol of authority because Paul is discussing head coverings before that, so it likely relates to the outward symbol of authority which is a head covering. However, this more readily emphasizes to the English reader the understanding that the head covering is an outward symbol of authority which is relating to a more fundamental truth of headship authority.

Therefore, we have Paul directly referring that being the head means there is authority (exousia) between men and women in the Church — Creation, (symbol of) authority, nature.

This is directly echoed and confirmed in 1 Corinthians 14 where women are to keep silent in Churches and ask their husbands at home to learn, and 1 Timothy 2 where women are not to teach or have authority over men.

This also dispels the notion that Jesus, Paul, Peter, and the other disciples were teaching them how to act within the confines of their particular culture, and that a hierarchy structure is not necessarily what we should do today. The argument for headship by way of head coverings is from Creation and nature pre-fall, which is when God would have created perfectly before any sin warped Genuine/Godly authority into Genuine authority. In other words, the structure itself is correct, but we need to make sure to use the authority from the structure in a godly manner. 

In conclusion, we have ample confirmation that not only does Jesus and Peter say that there is authority in marriage directly, but Paul shows that there is authority within headship itself and the Church and by extension marriage both indirectly in this passage and directly in 1 Corinthians 14 where the husband is established as the teacher of the wife. The arguments are from Creation, which means they are universal as opposed to cultural.