Does 1 Corinthians 1 Teach Sexism and Devalue the Female Gender?

“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.” 1 Corinthians 11:3 seems sexist and devaluing to the female gender at first because Paul emphasizes that man is the head of woman just as Christ is the head of man. By studying Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, we find that this emphasis explains why the feminist liberation happening in the Corinthian church at that time found to be a problem. The direct issue came to the disobedience of the women of the church neglecting to cover their heads while praying and prophesying. The underlying concern was why they continued to do so and the drastic changes it was causing the gender roles of the church. Through experience and contact with different customs and through the inspiration for liberation, Paul felt the need to approach the Corinthian church about his distress with the women. From the Old Testament to the New Testament to today, customs and traditions have changed and developed. Today, we cannot read this passage and understand Paul’s point without theological interpretation. The issue is not whether man is superior to woman or vice versa. The problem lies with how women disobeyed and ultimately violated their role as a woman. This paper will conclude that through the analysis of customs in Paul’s day, we see that he was not being sexist, but emphasizing the need for men and women to perform their given roles in Christ.

It is important to look at this passage specifically in verse 5 when Paul writes, “every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.” Paul charges to the church to respond “only with the conduct of wo...

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...entary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960) 114.

J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1904) 50.

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960) 114.

Thomas Scott and Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1992) 452.

Ibid 452

J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1904) 51.

Ibid 49

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1960) 114.

Abetz, Katherine. 2010. "Identity for Women: A Proposal for the gendered imago Dei based on 1 Corinthians 11:1-16." Pacifica 23, no. 1: 23. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed May 1, 2014).

Thomas Scott and Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1992) 452.