Even though the positions of man and woman differ in God"s administrative order, this does not mean they can get along without each other. They are mutually dependent on each other, and they complement one another. They are interdependent, even as the Son and the Father are. Paul"s main point was that woman is not independent of man. This is further evidence that he was countering an illegitimate spirit of independence among some Corinthian women. [source][source][source]
In a family, companionship should replace isolation and loneliness. There must be oneness in marriage for a husband and a wife to complete one another. Self-centered individuality destroys unity in marriage. If you are married, you need your husband or wife. Your spouse is necessary for you to be a more well-rounded person. [source][source][source]
Context Summary
1 Corinthians 11:11-22 - Unity And Order In Public Assembly
The power on a woman's head in 1 Corinthians 11:10 probably refers to the veil or covering which the Grecian woman assumed at marriage as the sign that she was not free from the sacred ties and duties of wedlock. In Paul's thought of the matter, therefore, it was unseemly for the Christian matron to lay this aside. He conceded the absolute freedom and equality of male and female in Christ, and yet he stood for the observance of the best customs of the age, lest the gospel should be brought into disrepute. The women, therefore, must veil their heads in the Christian assemblies as the angels veil their faces in the presence of God.
The uncovered face of man is to the glory of God, but the covered face of woman recognizes that she finds her glory in her husband's love and care. Each is dependent on the other-the man on God, and the wife on her spouse. These precepts and reasons are somewhat foreign to modern thought, but at least we must notice that there was no subject too trivial-even the headdress-to be brought into subjection to Christ and related to the great principle of His supreme Headship and Lordship. [source]
Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 11
1He reproves them, because in holy assemblies, 4their men prayed with their heads covered, 6and women with their heads uncovered; 17and because generally their meetings were not for the better, but for the worse; 21as, namely, in profaning with their own feast the Lord's supper 25Lastly, he calls them to the first institution thereof
Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 11:11
Howbeit [πλην] This adversative clause limits the preceding statement. Each sex is incomplete without (χωρις chōris apart from, with the ablative case) the other. [source]
In the Lord [εν Κυριωι] In the sphere of the Lord, where Paul finds the solution of all problems. [source]
What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 11:11 mean?
Howeverneither [is]womanseparate frommannormanwomanin[the] Lord
Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 11:11
This adversative clause limits the preceding statement. Each sex is incomplete without (χωρις chōris apart from, with the ablative case) the other. [source]
In the sphere of the Lord, where Paul finds the solution of all problems. [source]