Spiritual Covering and Spiritual Authority

You may be the man in your house, but there is the man over your house. Dr. Tony Evans says in the family and all of life, we have to remember where our spiritual covering comes from. Every man is answerable to Jesus Christ.

Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is the alternative with Dr. Tony Evans. Father, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative. Connecting with the incredible power God has given us requires a clear understanding of who we are and who we aren't.

Dr. Evans discusses both as he takes us to 1 Corinthians 11 for a look at our spiritual covering. Satan is trying to keep stuff stirred up so that we can never progress to the place of order and peace and harmony and rulership that God has ordained for us when he created us. God said, let them rule.

That you and I were created to rule our world, not have our world rule us. Satan knows that if he's going to cancel our capacity to rule, he's got to disrupt order and create confusion, dissension, and division. He got Adam to move out of his lane, Eve to move out of her lane, they both moved out of God's lane, and they lost their ability to rule their world. Instead of them enjoying the blessing that God had promised, they were now living under a curse. All of this is tied to what the New Testament calls the mystery of lawlessness.

This mystery is the deception that Satan brings about when he can create disorder leading to loss of blessing and loss of spiritual authority. You and I were created to rule our worlds under God's hand. And Paul knew that what he was about to say was going to cause some controversy. He said, we have no other practice, this is the way it is, nor have the churches of God. Paul is saying, I'm not trying to mimic what they're doing out there in the world. I'm not trying to mimic what they're saying out there in the broader society.

If you would be contentious, there is no other rule but this one. He sets forth his thesis in verse three. But I want you to understand, in other words, pay attention because don't miss this, that Christ is the head of every man, the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.

I don't think I read it loud enough. I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. Just in case somebody was nodding, I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. And in that context, He lays out a theology that is critical to you ruling your world.

I call this spiritual covering and spiritual authority. Verse seven, For a man ought not to have his head covered, some are covering, which is headship, since he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. Please notice what he says. He says the man is the image and glory of God. He says the woman is the glory of the man. Notice, he didn't say that the woman loses her image.

When you get married, you don't lose your image. The image belongs to male and female, Genesis chapter 1. He says your glory changes. What's glory? Glory is to make something look good, advertise, or highlight something. It says the man is the glory of God. The job of the male is to demonstrate how magnificent a creature God can make from dirt, because Adam was made from dirt.

You were just thrown together. The woman is the glory of the man. What does she show?

How magnificent a creature God can make from a man. That's why she's prettier than you are, because you dirt, and she was fashioned. She got the hookup, okay? Your job is to display God. Her job is to display you. You're supposed to say, my Lord says, she's supposed to look at you and say, my Lord says. See, you're making him look good, she's making you look good, and everybody's making God look good, because everybody's in line.

That's what he says. So you women have the same image. You're no less an ontological being. You're no less endowed with God's presence, but you are to come underneath his authority, regardless of the fact you're making a lot more money than him, regardless of the fact you got a greater degree than him, regardless of the fact that you're smarter than he is. If an 18-wheeler pulls up to a yield sign, and a Volkswagen is coming down the highway, the 18-wheeler can't say, because I'm bigger, carrying more cargo, I'm just going to drive anyway.

They must give the right of way to the smaller vehicle, even though they're the bigger vehicle, because that's what the rules state. You may have, lady, more education, you may carry more cargo, you may have more to offer in terms of ability, but God has given him the right of way. Therefore, you must yield as long as he's not carrying you outside of the divine design.

And at least you can say, he moving. Paul says that there is an order. That order has limitations, though. If a man tells his wife to rob a bank, should she rob the bank? No, she shouldn't rob the bank, because that breaks a greater law. God's law, thou shalt not steal, and of course, the law of the land, that that's a crime, that breaks the law. In other words, if a man tells his wife to steal, he loses his authority. That's authority lost, because he's acting outside of his lane. He has no right to make that demand. So a man does not have absolute authority over a woman. He only has authority as it agrees with lordship, as it agrees with him coming on his Lord.

In other words, as long as he's not violating a divine mandate or the word of God. Yet he makes the point that men and women are not independent of each other, that they need one another, that they are mutually dependent upon one another. He says in verse 11, neither is the woman independent of the man, nor the man is dependent on the woman. The reason, remember, men, that God gave the woman was because the man needed help. And that's more than washing dishes, cooking, and cleaning, and wiping noses. That is using her gifts, her skills, her mind, her brain, to add what God left out in us.

Okay? Now you understand why he's talking about hair. Because hair is on the head. Men have shorter hair than women, and men cut their hair. Women have the glory of a woman. So basically, ladies, you can use this verse when you're going to want to go get your hair done. God said, my hair is my glory.

Cough it up, brother. I'm supposed to make you look good. I want to make you look good weekly. All right? That's why hair. He says, let the woman have the longer hair, let the man have the shorter hair, why, as an illustration that she is to add to what he lacks on the head. So it has to do with her long adding to his short. Okay? So we have limitations.

We need help. It's illustrated by the hair, which is on the head, where the brain is, and the thoughts and the decisions are made. All of those are to incorporate the contribution of the woman.

Why do this? I'm talking about spiritual covering and spiritual authority. Verse 10 tells you why. Therefore, the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels. So what we're talking about now has to do with your right to rule. Authority. Being able to exercise spiritual authority, being able to have God leave heaven and come down to earth and be invested in your career, in your job, in your finances, in your kids, in your decisions. God actually, when you have spiritual authority, leaves heaven, comes down to earth, and engages your right to rule your own garden.

He says, as long as headship is there and the visible recognition of headship, why? Because of the angels. So that means angels have something to do with this. The devil is an angel. His name was Lucifer. Guess what Lucifer did?

He broke the order. God created him to be the archangel. He says, I don't want to be underneath God anymore. I want to be equal to God. I want to be like the Most High. I don't want to have to answer to him. I want everybody to answer to me. I'm the man.

I want to run my own show. The mystery of lawlessness. Rebellion set in. He deceived himself.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of us all? Deceiving himself, he rebelled. When he rebelled from God, he was cursed. When that angel rebelled from God, he got cursed. And all the one-third of the angels that rebelled with him were cursed because they rebelled against the divine order.

They were placed on planet earth as a holding cell until it was time for their eternal destruction. God created man, but Adam broke the divine order. Then Eve broke the divine order, which allowed the angel called Lucifer, or now Satan, to come into the garden and turn their blessing into a curse. In other words, they got cursed because of an angel.

Satan, an angel, came in and he caused there to be pain in employment, pain in finance, pain in pregnancy, pain in the ground, pain in the career. Their whole world got cursed because an angel got involved in their lives. In other words, angels aren't up there doing nothing.

They're either supporting the divine order or replacing the divine order with another order. Ephesians chapter 3 verse 10 says that the angels are waiting to get their instruction and they look to how the church is operating. And when God's people are operating correctly, that is a signal to the angels to respond to what God wants done on earth. So every Christian in here is assigned a personal angel. He is assigned to you by God to look after your well-being, your protection, your provision, and your guidance.

He is on assignment to you. The church has an angel. It is on assignment to our church to look after our provision, our protection, and our guidance as long as we're operating in order. When we call on God, if God sees order, He okays the angel to operate on your behalf so that you can rule your world. So a lot of our angels are taking a break because they don't see the order that grants them the permission to enter your world so that you can rule it and the chaos go away.

If it's not in order, the angels won't move because that's what got the first group cast out of heaven, operating out of order. More from Dr. Evans on the advantages of keeping things in order when he continues this message from his special audio compilation, Tony Evans Top 40. It contains 40 of the most hard-hitting, life-changing lessons he's taught in his ministry's 40-year history, including messages on how to overcome emotional struggles, getting past the obstacles in your life, understanding the divine nature of Jesus, and much more. And right now, you can receive Volumes 3 and 4 of this four-volume collection as our gift when you come alongside Tony's ministry and help see us through this season with a generous contribution. Please visit tonyevans.org while the special offer is still available, make your donation, and let us send you all 20 lessons in Tony Evans Top 40 Volumes 3 and 4. Or if it's more convenient, you can give our resource center a call at 1-800-800-3222. And one of our friendly team members will assist with your request. I'll repeat our contact information a little later after Part 2 of today's lesson and this.

Coming to theaters this November. We're at the Church of the Nativity here in Bethlehem where it is believed that the birth of Jesus Christ occurred. Travel with Dr. Tony Evans as he retraces the life and human journey of the greatest being to ever walk this earth. Well, we're here in Capernaum, a place where Jesus did most of His miracles, and it is in this place that He demonstrated He truly is the Son of God. You'll travel the streets, fields, and synagogues that Jesus walked and visit the locations where some of the most powerful events recorded in the Bible took place. It is highly likely that much of what we read about Jesus' ministry in Galilee happened right here. Journey with Jesus in theaters November 15th, 16th, and 17th with Dr. Tony Evans.

Visit tonyevans.org for locations, showtimes, and to learn more. What did Jesus tell Nathaniel in Chapter 1 of John? Nathaniel was under the tree. Jesus told him you were under the tree. Nathaniel believed in Jesus. Jesus told him, Nathaniel, because you believe, like your father Jacob, and I saw you sitting under the tree and you paid attention to my word, you were listening to me.

He said, here's what you're going to see, Nathaniel. You're going to see heaven open, and you're going to see a ladder come down from heaven, and you're going to see angels going up and down this ladder, bringing what God wants from heaven to benefit you on earth. You're going to see angels climbing up and down the ladder.

Jacob got to see the angels and got to see what God had in mind when he got back in line with God. See, angels got everything to do with it. And the reason why we're not getting our prayers answered is because the angels don't see the order necessary for them to respond.

They have to have alignment in order to respond. So you can get your rule back. You can get your power back. You can get answered prayers back.

You can get the blessing of Genesis 1, the right to rule your world back. Every time I talk to a couple, one thing will come through inextricably clear. One or both are out of their lanes.

She trying to be him, he's trying to be her, or they trying to be nobody. And they're out of their lanes. When you get in your lanes, God can overrule personalities, backgrounds, histories, and all the stuff that's bringing confusion to your world.

Let me show you how powerful this covering is, this operating underneath your head is. First Corinthians 7, 14 says that even an unbeliever, a non-Christian, who wants to stay with a Christian, Paul says, let them stay because them being in your house provides a covering. Because once they leave your house, they leave divine provision, protection, and guidance. And he says, and it blesses your children.

So could it be that your world is never shaping up because you're out of alignment? Lady, if you're dishonoring your husband illegitimately, in other words, you have no basis, you're just disrespecting him, what you just did was cancel God on your behalf. Men, are you not operating underneath God properly? You're canceling God, not only for you, but for the benefit of your family. Because once you name Jesus Christ Lord, he must call the shots.

You don't get to call him anymore, except as you reflect him in the shots you call. Now they had a particular problem in this church, I'll say this, related to the women speaking out. It was obviously an issue in chapter 14 when they had to tell the women to be silent. So they were exercising in an unauthorized manner.

They were taken over, in a sense. He tells them about praying and prophesying. They were doing this publicly. He's not talking about they were praying silently in the pew, because you can't prophesy silently, you're speaking forth the word. Now the good news here is that means, one, there was a gift of prophecy, and two, it was publicly used. Women were publicly used in the church, because he says that when they pray or prophesy. So they were praying or they were declaring something God wanted the church to hear.

Why? Because gifts are not gender-based. Certain offices are. A woman can't be a pastor, but she can have the gift of teaching. She can't be a pastor because she can't have the gift of prophecy. In other words, she can have gifts that the church uses, even though she doesn't occupy every office, likely only one office, the office of final authority or the elders, or the pastoral office of the church. So what they were doing was they were operating without being under authority.

They were just doing it because they were gifted to do it, but they were not doing it in order. He says there ought to be a visible recognition that you are doing what you do under authority. That visible recognition must happen in one of two ways. It must happen with a veil, therefore, if you were called up to lead the congregation in prayer, there would be something covering you that indicated I am underneath a head. I have gotten my head's permission to do this or to give this prophecy, or because your actual head was there. You don't need a symbol when the actual thing is there. It's like Jesus is going to do with the Lord's Supper. He says we're to take the symbols till he comes. When he comes, we don't take the symbol anymore because you don't need the symbol when you have the whole thing. So the times when we have ladies reading the Bible publicly, we either ask their husbands or one of the leaders from the church to come up with them, declaring they're doing it under authority. They don't need a symbol. If there is no one there, then they need a symbol. God wants it publicly declared that you are operating underneath God's authority.

It is to be a visual demonstration. This is not independently. I'm doing this in line. This is no small thing, folks, because it has to do with whether God authorizes you to rule your world. All things must be done decently and in order. The end of chapter 14 says if you're out of order, God is not participating, and I don't care whether you opened it up in prayer. Opening it up in prayer doesn't do anything if you're out of order. But now every husband should go home today and say, you know, I have been out of order.

Even if you haven't been out of order, say it, because that'll help the conversation along. I've been out of order because I have not listened to Christ for running my home. I've listened to what my boys say, my parents say, the TV say. I have not listened to Christ.

Nor have I paid attention to you as my helpmate, and I want to get back in line. What I need you to do is come in line under me as I come in line under Christ. Follow me as I follow Christ. When you get that thing aligned, all of a sudden, heavens open up and say, what you want, boy?

What can I do for you? Because you done got that thing lined up, and now God has something to respond to. Out of alignment means God can't help you.

Out of alignment means God can't work for you. You know, when we know a storm's coming, we carry out our umbrellas, don't we? You know what an umbrella is? They cover you.

They cover it. Umbrella doesn't stop the storm. It just changes how the storm affects you. Umbrella doesn't stop it from raining. I'm not here telling you, come to Jesus and operate under His order, and there'll be no rain.

I'm just saying, you'll control the rain's effect on you. Because you'll be operating underneath the covering. You'll be covering your career. You'll be covering your finances. You'll be covering your family. You'll be covering your kids. You will be operating underneath the covering.

And when you operate underneath the covering, the world may be wet around you, but you're walking through the rain dry because you're operating underneath the authorized covering. May God allow us, individually, as families and as a church, to come underneath His covering so that we can rule our world His way. Dr. Tony Evans, talking about the changes we can experience in life when we acknowledge the fact that God has us covered. And that means turning the knowledge of what God can do into a relationship with Him. Once we do that, we can experience what the Bible calls the peace that passes understanding. Let Tony explain how you can find that peace today. Visit tonyevans.org, follow the link that says Jesus, check out his video, and download the free follow-up resources. Those few moments can change your life.

We'll be back right after this. God has an amazing plan for your child's life, and there's no greater joy than helping them discover it. Dr. Tony Evans' Kids Guide series can help, instilling kingdom principles in your child by teaching them how to build others up with their words, understand God's attributes through His names, and engage in spiritual warfare against the enemy. Written for kids ages 8 through 12, these easy-to-read books are filled with biblical truth aimed at guiding young readers into a deeper love for God and confidence in His faithfulness. And because you can read them as a family, these guides are sure to encourage everyone in your home.

Bless your child by helping them discover God's amazing plan for them, so they can unlock their potential for a lifetime of following Jesus. You can find out more about the complete line of kids' books at tonyevans.org. And don't forget, that's also where you can get a full-length copy of today's lesson exploring the truths behind God's spiritual covering and spiritual authority. As mentioned earlier, today's message is part of our four-volume audio compilation, Tony Evans Top 40.

And for a limited time, Volumes 3 and 4 of this new collection are yours as our thank-you gift when you help support Tony's work with your contribution. Get the details before time runs out at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org. Or call our 24-hour resource center at 1-800-800-3222, where team members are standing by to help with your request. That's 1-800-800-3222. Well, tomorrow we'll go deep into the archives to dust off a life-changing sermon Dr. Evans preached nearly three decades ago. And we'll discover that it's still as powerful and relevant today as it was back then. I hope you'll join us. The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative and is celebrating 40 years of faithfulness thanks to the generous contributions of listeners like you.