Today we come to one of those passages no preacher would ever in a million years choose to preach on. – But when we are committed to expository preaching, the text of Scriptures picks the topics for us, so here it is. Even the great Spurgeon, in his 66 fat volumes of thousands of sermons – yet NOT ONCE did he even touch on this passage. – Nor some other great preachers that I consulted this
week. –
Have you heard the saying, “There’s no problem too great that we cannot ignore it.”– That’s the usual approach to this passage & this issue.
Liberal scholars say that this chp. shouldn’t even be in 1 Cor, and that Paul must not have written it, but that someone else stuck it in later! – But there’s is no manuscript evidence of that whatsoever. –Rather, what Paul teaches here fits exactly with what he teaches on male & female
roles elsewhere, like in 1 Tim. 2 or Eph. 5. – And it harmonises perfectly with what the rest of the Bible teaches on God’s design for men & women.
One of the reasons 1 Cor. 11 is such a tempting passage to ignore is because it is so controversial today. – Just reading some of these verses in polite company will either make a room go hushed & quiet, or erupt into debate – and that’s just from reading the verses, without making any comment on them!
The last 50 years have seen titanic changes in our society’s view of gender roles. – Marrriage has never in human history been more under assault than it is now. – The battle of the sexes has never been more fierce. – YET if we know our arch-enemy who is behind all of this, and we know his tactics from Scripture, we shouldn’t be surprised. – As we’ll see tonight in Eccl. 1, there is “nothing
new under the sun”. – Ever since the Garden, Satan’s strategy has always been to confuse the God’s original design, to distort and reverse God’s created pattern for our unique roles as men & women (in marriage, etc.) That’s what makes this next stop on our journey through 1 Cor. so crucial.