These people, men and women, will be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ and glorified (doxaō, the verb of doxa).Īnd we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. There is no mention of a distinction of gender. Romans 8:28-30, for instance, applies to people who love God and have been called. Paul uses the words “image” (eikōn) and “glory” (doxa) several times in his letters-in verses that apply equally to men and to women. Genesis 2 does not contradict this fundamental principle, and neither do Paul’s letters.
Men and women are to share the rule of God’s creation.
In Genesis 1:26-28, men and women have the exact same status as God’s image-bearers, and they have the exact same authorisation (i.e. In Genesis 1 there is nothing at all to indicate that women, intrinsically, have a lower status or less authority than men. Genesis 2, however, which is the creation account that states man was created first and woman second, says nothing about either “image” or “authority.” It would seem, then, that Genesis 1, which mentions both concepts, should be the chapter to inform our understanding of 1 Corinthians 11:7. So it is reasonable that the Genesis creation accounts be used to help explain some of Paul’s ideas here. These images represented “their power and rulership over far-reaching areas of their empires.” Accordingly, men and women, as God’s image-bearers, are representatives of God who is not physically present, and we are to act as his regents by exercising dominion on earth.ĭespite the explicit statements in Genesis 1:26-28 that both men and women are created in the image (LXX: eikōn) and likeness of God, many older commentaries on 1 Corinthian 11:7 gloss over these verses and do not mention the authority of women that comes with being God’s image-bearer.Ĭreation and origins are themes in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16: in verses 8-9 and 11-12, etc. In the culture of Old Testament times, rulers of vast empires erected images of themselves in areas where they were not physically present (e.g., Dan. In Genesis 1 we read that men and women were created in God’s image. The word “image” is typically understood by these commentators in terms of authority, and there is some warrant for this. The man is more perfectly and conspicuously the image and glory of God, on account of his more extensive dominion and authority.” Image and Authority in the Genesis Creation Accounts man was first originally and immediately the image and glory of God, the woman only secondarily and mediately through man. Writing in the eighteenth century, John Gill summarises the thinking of many of his contemporaries and predecessors: Moreover, it has been understood that these factors are displayed in the supposed superiority and authority of man in contrast to the inferior and subordinate status of woman.
Yet they have interpreted it in ways that ignore and contradict what the rest of the Bible says about men and women as the image and glory of God.Ī common understanding of 1 Corinthians 11:7 has been that, compared with woman, man is a more direct reflection of God and man has a more direct relationship with God. Despite the challenges, many commentators of past generations have seemingly interpreted this verse with confidence. 1 Corinthians 11:7 (NET)ġ Corinthians 11:7 is a difficult verse to understand and it is set in a difficult passage. Traditional Interpretations of 1 Corinthians 11:7įor a man should not have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God. 5 The Structure of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16.4 The Culture of Corinth and another Definition of Doxa.2 Image and Authority in the Genesis Creation Accounts.1 Traditional Interpretations of 1 Corinthians 11:7.
0 kommentar(er)
