1 Corinthians 11:7, "glory of man"

1 Corinthians 11:7

7For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.

There is a sense that it is the duty of women to bring glory to men, not in the since as they do to Christ (although in Ephesians it does say to submit to your husband as to the Lord, but even this does not supersede obedience to the Lord), but in the sense of confirming and supporting manhood. In Proverbs 31, it says "Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land." This whole chapter is about the woman, not the man, and I believe this verse is about her as well. I believe it is saying this woman is the glory of this man. Her role is to bring glory to a man. Men need this from woman. Yet this verse is even deeper than this. In Proverbs 12:4 says, "A wife of noble character is her husband's crown". This is more than just supporting her husband. She is her husband’s glory. She is a man’s crown. The woman blesses other men. She calls them out to be men. She calls out their dignity and honor.

- At this point I am not ready to make a definitive statement about head coverings, although based on these verses and the context it does seem to be cultural. And I can give a good argument for that. But it is scripture and I don’t want to be quick to explain it away without really listening and hearing from the Lord. However, either way, there are some rich truths in these passages and rich insight into the dignity of the roles that God has for both women and men.

I know that saying that woman is the glory of man is a controversial statement in our culture. However, the biblical concept of what these means does not come near our cultural ideas of what that means. We have to be willing to give up our concepts and come to it as it says in Romans 12:1,2 and allow God to show us His heart and the culture of the Kingdom of God.