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THE HUSBAND AS PROPHET,
PRIEST, AND KING^1
Bob LepineR
Just 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