The Law Was Not Abolished

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T HE H USBAND AS P ROPHET , P RIEST , AND K ING 1

Bob Lepine R

J ust what does the Bible mean when it teaches in 1 Corinthians 11 that the man is the head of the woman? Sadly, throughout the history of the church, the concept of a man as head of his wife has been mis understood, misinterpreted, and misapplied by pastors and Bible teachers. As a consequence, many husbands have used this biblical idea as license for harsh treatment, a lack of love and compassion, and even abuse of their wives. They seem to have learned more about headship from the Pharaohs of Egypt than from the Lamb of God. Women have rightly rebelled against dictatorship in marriage. It is clear to them that whatever headship means, it doesn’t mean a harsh or unloving attitude but a spirit of kindness and compassion. It doesn’t mean selfishness, but self-sacrifice. It doesn’t mean control, but a will ingness to assume responsibility. The way in which the biblical concept of headship has been abused in the church does not mean, however, that the Bible can be ignored here. Certainly, biblical passages have been misunderstood and misapplied in a way that has devalued a woman’s role in the home and in the church. But those abuses are not grounds for ignoring or reinventing meanings for difficult biblical passages. Our goal should be to better understand the way in which Christ serves as head of His