Yes—the biblical basis is God's creation order: Adam was created first and the woman was taken out of him, a pattern Paul compares to Christ and the church.
In Genesis, Adam was formed first, and Eve was 'taken out of Man.' Paul builds on this in Ephesians 5 when he says the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church. Les Feldick emphasizes that this headship is an ordained order from creation, not a license for the husband to be a slave master.
Ephesians 5:23 — Paul's explicit statement that the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church.
Genesis 2:23 — The creation account where Adam says the woman is bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh because she was taken out of man.
The Bible grounds the husband's headship in the original creation order. In Genesis 2:22-24, God made the woman from Adam's rib and brought her to him. Adam responded, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' The passage then says a man leaves his father and mother, cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. In Ephesians 5:22-23, Paul connects this creation pattern to Christ and the church: 'Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.' Scripture itself, therefore, establishes the husband's headship as a divinely designed order rooted in how God created man and woman.
Les Feldick repeatedly teaches that the husband's headship does not mean domination or exploitation. He says the Bible never gives the husband authority to 'downtrod' his wife; she is never to be his slave, servant, gopher, or slave girl. Instead, because God created the woman out of and as part of the man, God has ordained the man to be the head of the home. Les emphasizes the analogy Paul draws: the husband is head of the wife even as Christ is head of the church. Just as being in the body of Christ under Christ's headship is not miserable, so the husband is to live totally to the benefit of his wife. The wife, in turn, is a responder—God has put within her the ability to respond when the husband loves her. The creation basis, Les says, is that Adam was first created and actually contained the woman; she was taken out of man, making them one flesh. That is why God's order places the husband as head.
No. Les Feldick is emphatic that the husband is never given authority to 'downtrod' his wife or treat her as a gopher, slave girl, or taskmaster. He says the head of the home simply means God's ordained place of authority. The pattern is Christ and the church—a relationship of love and benefit, not misery.
The creation account matters because Adam was created first and the woman was taken out of him. Les points back to Genesis to show that Adam, as first created, contained the woman now known as Eve. She was not created separately; she came out of man, which is why the Hebrew words ish and ishah are used—because she was taken out of man. This one-flesh relationship is the biblical ground for the husband's headship.
Paul says wives are to submit to their own husbands as unto the Lord, and the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church. Les Feldick stresses that this is not a harsh authority. Just as Christ has pure love and gives life more abundantly to the church, so the husband should live totally to the benefit of his wife. When the husband loves, God has put within the wife the ability to respond, and the two come together as one.
Why Paul Said Women Should Cover Their Heads — 1 Corinthians 11
in the schoolhouse. Well that was discipline. And the same way I think even today, very, very few men would walk into a church sanctuary with their hat on. We just don't do those things. Well you see back here, it again goes back to custom, and so Paul says, it's just common knowledge that a man does not come into an attitude of prayer or worship with his hat on. He removes it. Verse 5.
Husband and Wife Are One
Les says the Bible never gives the husband authority to downtrod his wife; she is a part of him and they are one.
God Ordained the Man as Head
Les says 'wives, submit' does not mean slavery; God has ordained that the man is the head of the home.
Wife's Response to Husband's Love
Les teaches that God has put within the woman the ability to respond to her husband's love, making the marriage work.
Headship Patterned After Christ
Les says headship is not uncomfortable or miserable because it is patterned after Christ's headship of the church; the husband should live for his wife's benefit.
Not a Gopher or Slave Girl
Les says the wife is not to be a gopher or slave girl; the relationship is to be equated with Christ and the church.
Adam Contained the Woman
Les shows that Adam, as first created, actually contained the woman who would later be called Eve, giving the basis for headship.
Woman Taken Out of Man
Les reads Genesis 2 and notes the Hebrew ish/ishah shows the woman was taken out of man, which underlies the husband-wife relationship.
Genesis 2:23: And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
This verse establishes that the woman came from man, which is the creation order behind the husband's headship.
Genesis 2:24: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
This shows the intended union between husband and wife as one flesh, connected to the woman being taken out of man.
Ephesians 5:22: Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Paul directly addresses wives in the context of subjection to their husbands as to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:23: For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
This is the clearest biblical statement that the husband is head of the wife, with Christ as the pattern.
No. Les Feldick says the Bible never gives the husband authority to 'downtrod' his wife. She is never to be his slave, gopher, or slave girl. The headship is God's ordained order, patterned after Christ's loving headship of the church.
Because Adam was created first and the woman was taken out of him, making them one flesh. Les Feldick points to Genesis to show that this creation process is what God used to establish the husband as head of the home.
The husband should live totally to the benefit of his wife, just as Christ loves and gives life to the church. When the husband loves his wife, God has created the wife to respond, and the marriage works as it should.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul Said Women Should Cover Their Heads — 1 Corinthians 11