1 Corinthians 11:3,8-12 (NKJV) But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God…. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.
Many people have a bad habit of trying to operate new equipment without reading the manual. However, if the equipment is not being operated correctly, it will not work at its full capacity, and its features may be underutilised. Similarly, the Bible is the Word of God that teaches us what Christian marriage should be like. Our marriage relationship can be greatly improved if we live out our marriage based on what the Bible advocates.
First and foremost, we should take note that based on the above passage, God has ordained this order: God, Christ, husband, and wife.
One issue in the church in Corinth was disorder during public meetings, where people disrespected the Holy Communion, misused spiritual gifts, and women assumed more freedom than they were entitled to. Consequently, the Apostle Paul needed to remind them of the roles of men and women.
This epistle was written amidst domestic chaos in Corinth, with immorality influencing the church towards a perversion of Christian liberty. Likewise, unless we renew our minds with the Word of God, the world’s values will seep into the church, causing us to live like the people of the world. Therefore, it is vital that we continually renew our minds with the Word of God and ensure that our lifestyles are in accordance with God’s teachings, so that we may be blessed holistically.
The Bible is like mankind’s operating manual and the standard by which we measure our lives. If we attempt to live lives without reading the Bible, we might miss many blessings or face unnecessary suffering in our relationships and marriage, just as equipment won’t function at its full potential because we haven’t read the manual!
God is a God of order, and there is a line of submission: God, Christ, man, woman. We need to understand God’s will concerning the husband-and-wife relationship, which is a great and perfect will for the family.
Sermon Series:The head of woman is man?
神对家庭的美好旨意
哥林多前书11:3,8-12 我愿意你们知道,基督是各人的头,男人是女人的头,神是基督的头。起初,男人不是由女人而出,女人乃是由男人而出;并且男人不是为女人造的,女人乃是为男人造的。因此,女人为天使的缘故,应当在头上有服权柄的记号。然而照主的安排,女也不是无男,男也不是无女; 因为女人原是由男人而出,男人也是由女人而出,但万有都是出乎神。
许多人都有个坏习惯:拿到新设备总不爱看说明书就急着操作。但若没有正确使用,设备就无法发挥全部功能,许多特性也会被浪费。同样,圣经作为神的话语,向我们启示了基督徒婚姻应有的样式。若我们按照圣经的教导来经营婚姻,夫妻关系必将更加美满。
首先我们要特别注意,这段经文确立了神的秩序:神、基督、丈夫、妻子。
哥林多教会所面临的一个问题,是在公共聚会中出现了混乱的情形。有人对圣餐不敬,有人滥用属灵恩赐,也有一些姐妹行使了超越她们本分的自由。因此,使徒保罗必须提醒信徒有关男女在教会中的角色与秩序。
这封书信是在哥林多教会内部混乱的背景下写成的,当时道德败坏的风气正在影响教会,导致基督徒对属灵自由产生了扭曲的理解。同样地,若我们不常常以神的话语更新我们的心思意念,世界的价值观就会悄然渗入教会,使我们活得和世人无异。因此,我们必须持续不断地用神的话语来更新自己,确保我们的生活方式与神的教导相符,才能得着全备的祝福。
圣经就像是人类的使用手册,是我们衡量生命的标准。如果我们在没有读圣经的情况下过生活,就可能错失许多神所预备的祝福,或在人际关系和婚姻中经历本可避免的苦楚,就像一台设备若没有参阅使用手册,就无法发挥其最大的效能一样!
神是一位有次序的神,在祂的安排中有一个顺服的次序:神、基督、男人、女人。我们需要明白神对夫妻关系的心意,这是祂为家庭所设立的美好而完全的旨意。
讲章系列:女人的头是男人吗?
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