Throughout 1 Cor 11:2–16, Paul makes a complex argument for why women should wear head coverings while praying and prophesying in the assembly of believers, building his case from theological order (verse 3), from the Genesis creation accounts (verses 7–12), from conventions of honor and shame (verses 4–6, 13–15), from the practice in other churches (verse 16), and from the (potential) presence of angels (verse 10). His argument seems to affirm not just gender distinction but some sort of male pre-eminence or priority in the created natural-social order as the basis for gender-differentiated head-coverings in Christian worship. At the same time, Paul makes a critical concession in verses 11–12: “in the Lord” there is mutual interdependence between men and women. While this does not derail or disprove Paul’s overall case, it circumscribes the sphere of his argument, showing that there is a different sphere, perhaps even a primary sphere, in which an alternative ordering of male and female takes place.
However, a close look at these two verses reveals a complex argument even here: this mutual interdependence is “in the Lord” (verse 11), a phrase which elsewhere in Paul means “in the sight of the risen Christ” (Fitzmyer 2008, 420). But the grounds for this are the mundane facts of human procreation (verse 12), which should be obvious and visible to everyone. As such, in order to understand how these two verses circumscribe Paul’s overall argument in this section, it is necessary first to understand how these verses themselves are rooted in both creation and New Creation, both cosmology and christology.
Several scholars have suggested a promising point of comparison: 1 Cor 8:6, where Jesus is identified as the “one Lord” and where he plays an active role in creation alongside God the Father (Delobel 1986, 383–84; Garland 2003, 529–30). This may help us to understand how Paul can claim to be grounding this alternative perspective “in the Lord” while also grounding it in creation.
But this suggestion has remained undeveloped and has not been pursued by subsequent scholars. I propose, therefore, to analyze Paul’s argument in 1 Cor 11:11–12 in comparison with 1 Cor 8:6, utilizing primarily discourse and theological analysis. How does Paul understand creation “in the Lord” in 1 Cor 11:11–12 and in 1 Cor 8:6? In light of that, then, how does the distinct perspective “in the Lord” view the creational distinction of male and female? Finally, in light of that, how does 11:11–12 circumscribe or inform Paul’s overall argument about male and female head-coverings in worship throughout this passage? While not solving all or even most of the challenges for interpreters of this passage, I hope to offer some clarity about how verses 11–12 relate to the rest of Paul’s argument.