1 Corinthians 11:11 Commentary and Bible Study

The apostle does not want the men to get heady, and so he says, ‘Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.’ God has brought you together as husbands and wives because, as a man, you have inadequacies, and you need your wife. You are a partnership, and you need each other. So don't let this leadership matter go to your head. However, then he goes on to our humble the man. Yes, the man came first in the garden of Eden, and the woman was formed from part of his body. But this is a sobering thought, says the apostle: every man comes into the world via a woman. So don't take the matter too far, as these patriarchal people do in their groups of churches. God has made the two sexes dependant on each other, so let not the man think too highly of himself.He is inadequate without the woman. He may be the head of the marriage, but you view him without his wife, he is much less of a person. She brings honour and glory into the marriage, and all her own gifts and powers and sensitivities – many of which he does not have. That is the mystery of God’s creation of us. ‘But all things of God.’ This, ultimately, is far more important than the relative division of responsibilities between husband and wife, and the headship of the husband in the marriage. Every created being comes from God and should therefore look to him, and submit to him. He is Lord over husband and wife and over the unit they form together.