LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 313

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313

THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Husbands, too, receive a strong exhortation from Peter:
Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an
understanding way, showing honor to the woman
as the weaker vessel,37 since they are heirs with you
of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be
hindered (1 Pet 3:7).
Whereas Paul emphasized that husbands are to love their wives,
Peter now calls on them to honor their wives and asks each of them
to regard his wife “as a fellow heir of the grace of life.” To neglect
honoring and respecting his wife can imperil the husband’s relationship to the Lord. As fellow heirs of “the grace of life,” their
marriage will surely be strengthened as they deepen their relationship with God through worship and prayer.
In his Large Catechism Luther said of the relation of children
to their parents: “Not only has [God] commanded us to love parents but to honor them … it is a much higher thing to honor than
to love. Honor includes not only love, but also deference, humility, and modesty directed (so to speak) toward a majesty concealed
within them”(LC I, 105–6). Surely, what Luther said of children
can also be said of husbands toward their wives. Husbands are to
honor them, for they, too, as a dear spouse have “a majesty concealed within.”
In every way husbands are to relate to their wives as fellow
Christians who have received eternal life through God’s undeserved
favor revealed in Jesus their Savior. This means that each man must
be kind and considerate toward his wife. In an age when women are
often exploited and abused under the strength of men, both physically, mentally, and spiritually, Christian husbands are called to
bear witness in word and action to the redeeming and restorative
power of Jesus Christ. As they bestow both love and honor on their
“fellow heir of the grace of life,” God’s tapestry is unfurled for
display.

Reflecting God’s Design in the Church
1 Corinthians 11
When St. Paul heard of a series of problems in the congregation
that he founded in Corinth (cf. 1 Cor 1:11), he wrote the Christian
men and women there a letter to help them understand and reflect
God’s design for their life together in Christ. He loved them dearly
(2 Cor 2:4) and for this reason was concerned about unsettling
trends there. One such development was revealed in their gatherings for worship: a discrepancy between God’s created design for
men and women in marriage and the way they related to each other
in public worship. Paul expresses his concern like this:
But I want you to understand that the head of every
man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband,
and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays
or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his
head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with
her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the
same as if her head were shaven. For if a wife will
not cover her head, then she should cut her hair
short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut
off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her
head. For a man ought not to cover his head, since
he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the
glory of man. For man was not made from woman,
but woman from man. Neither was man created
for woman, but woman for man. That is why a
wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her
head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, in the
Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of
woman; for as woman was made from man, so man

is now born of woman. And all things are from God
(1 Cor 11:3–12).
In a context of commendation (see 1 Cor 11:2), Paul expresses
his desire that the Corinthians understand this: that even in the sacred time of worship when Christians engage in activities enlivened
and empowered by the Holy Spirit, they are to honor the created
distinction between husband and wife.
The individual strands of Paul’s good counsel above fit into a
general pattern given to us by God: “… the head of every man is
Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is
God.” At a first glance, we may think that Paul is lining up some
kind of power structure, an organizational chart with God at the
top, woman at the bottom, and man as Christ’s co-mediator in the
middle. This hierarchical understanding of “headship”—a superior
over an inferior—will not mesh with God’s design, for even Christ
has a head. Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Son, willingly submitted
Himself to God His Father for the sake of His body the church.
As Martin Franzmann explained, “Christ is ‘subordinated’ as the
freely obeying, loving Son who seeks the glory of His Father. …”38
The relationship between God the Father and Christ demonstrates
that submission to a head must not be seen as something servile or
degrading but as a calling to willing and joyful service (Heb. 12:2;
1 Cor 15:28). It also reveals that the position of headship does not
justify treating a person in a demeaning or oppressive manner.
What prompted Paul’s discussion was a very practical issue.
Like men, women in worship were being led by the Spirit to pray
and prophesy.39 Some in the congregation evidently reached the
conclusion that in worship it was no longer important for them
to reflect the Creator’s original design that the husband serve as
head of his wife, and that she serve in respectful submission to her
husband. It is possible that some women were trying to make a
statement by deliberately removing their veil when praying and
prophesying (see the reference to “contentiousness” in 1 Cor
11:16).
In ancient cultures, as in varying degrees also today, customs
of dress and public conduct were powerful indicators of inner attitudes and convictions (note the term “custom” in 1 Cor 11:16).
Manners mattered. Recent studies have shown that the veiling of
women in Greco-Roman culture signified marital status, modesty,
and chastity.40 Today this practice has no such meaning in most
western societies. Paul’s response to behavior in Corinthian worship assemblies indicates that manners do indeed matter, but not
merely for propriety’s sake. In the context of the time-bound custom of headcoverings reflecting marital status and chastity, Paul
articulates the timeless truth that a Christian wife is to show respect for the authority of her husband.41 Here Paul’s counsel rests
on God’s design in creation for the relationship of husbands and
wives, not on human custom and practice of the day. God desires
that Christian behavior in worship would uphold the created design
rather than subvert it. The Creator’s design, presented in Genesis 1
and 2, is reiterated by Paul:
For a man ought not to cover his head, since he
is the image and glory of God, but woman is the
glory of man. For man was not made from woman,
but woman from man. Neither was man created for
woman, but woman for man. That is why a wife
ought to have a symbol of authority on her head. …
(1 Cor 11:7–10)
Paul seeks to raise the sights of both husbands and wives to
God’s tapestry designed for their good and His praise. Redeemed
by Christ, Christian men and women share equally in the hope
of glory (Rom 5:2; 2 Thess 2:14). Created by God, they are distinguished from one another. Created as “the image and glory of

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