God’s Design for Order: Headship, Gender, and the Glory of Christ

God’s Design for Order: Headship, Gender, and the Glory of Christ

“But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” (1 Corinthians 11:3)

God is a God of order, not chaos. In His divine wisdom, He has built institutions—government, the church, and the family—with structure, leadership, and submission for human flourishing. When we rebel against God’s design then things go awry. 

Within human relationships God has given us order as well. This verse from 1 Corinthians does not bode well in our feminist crazed world. However, if we are to flourish as God has designed then we must be obedient. The structure is clear let’s break it down.

1. The Head of Every Man Is Christ

Christ is the authority over every man. Men are not free to lead as they please. They are accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ. As men, our strength, authority, and leadership should be marked by humility, obedience, and service under Christ’s rule. 

2. The Head of a Wife Is Her Husband

This is perhaps the most controversial claim in today’s world, but it’s not new. Paul teaches that in the covenant of marriage, God has given the husband a role of loving, sacrificial headship, and the wife a role of respectful, willing submission. These roles are not about value—but about design. This is not oppression. This is not inequality. This is complementarity—a beautiful partnership where both are equal in worth, but distinct in role.

3. The Head of Christ Is God

Even within the Trinity, we see structure. God the Son submits to God the Father. Not because He is inferior (He is equally God!), but because there is order and design—even in the divine nature. If Jesus joyfully submits to the Father, then submission in marriage cannot be a matter of inferiority. It is a matter of purpose, beauty, and divine order.

Equal in Value, Distinct in Role

The Bible does not say men are more important than women. It says they have different roles.

Men and women are created equal in:

• Dignity

• Value

• Worth

• Image-bearing

But God has assigned them different functions in the home and in the church. That’s the essence of complementarianism—the belief that men and women complement one another, not just romantically or emotionally, but theologically and functionally.

To flatten these distinctions, as the feminist and egalitarian movements have done, is to tamper with God’s good design and blur the picture of the gospel that marriage and gender are meant to reflect.

God’s Good Design in Family, Church, and Society

Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 11 isn’t an isolated idea. It reflects a consistent biblical framework. From Genesis to Revelation, God calls men to lead lovingly, and women to flourish in their God-given role as co-laborers and co-heirs. When men abdicate their responsibility, and when women are told their design is outdated or oppressive, everyone suffers. But when we embrace God's design, we display the glory of Christ and the church.

It’s a structure not based on pride or power, but on love, sacrifice, and glory.

Stand on the Word, Not the World

As our culture increasingly rebels against God’s design, Christians must decide: Will I be discipled by the Word or by the world? We must choose the unchanging truth of Scripture over the shifting sands of culture.

Truth is not relative. Truth is a person—Jesus Christ. And when we submit to His Word, even when it’s hard, even when it’s unpopular, we glorify Him.