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An exposition
of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16
The Head Covering part 4
Peter DitzelVerse 6: For if the woman be not covered, let her
also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let
her be covered. The Greek word for “shorn” is keiro,
and it means to have one’s hair cut short or bobbed. The Greek word
translated “shaven” is xurao. It means
“shaved.” Some think that Paul means the woman’s hair when
he refers to a covering. They say that Paul only means that a woman should
have long hair, and that having her head uncovered only refers to cutting her
hair. Let’s read verses 5 and 6 as if that were true, by substituting
cut hair for having an uncovered head and long hair for having a covered
head: But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her hair cut
dishonoreth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if
the woman has her hair cut [shorn], let her also be shorn [cut her
hair]: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her have
long hair. Obviously, Paul would not say that a woman having
her hair cut is the same as having her hair cut, and that if a woman has her
hair cut, let her also cut her hair! Clearly, Paul has a covering in addition
to hair in mind when he gives these instructions. What verse 6 is saying is that if the woman, during
worship, is not wearing a covering on her head in addition to her hair, then
she should cut her hair short. But if it is a shame for a woman to have her
hair cut short (which this verse implies it is) or to be shaven (short hair
and a shaven head are equally a shame to the inspired Paul), she should be
wearing a covering. The notion that Paul is writing only of hair, and
not of a covering in addition to hair, does not stand up to close
examination. Verse 7: For a man indeed ought not to cover his
head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the
glory of the man. This is the reason the Holy Spirit says that
women in worship are to wear a head covering and men are not to wear a head
covering. It has nothing to do with fashion. It has nothing to do with modest
dress. It has nothing to do with cultural norms. It has everything to do with
glorifying God and Jesus Christ, His beloved Son. The man is the glory of
God. When we worship, God’s glory is to appear and not be covered. The
woman is the glory of man. When we worship, man’s glory (the woman)
should be covered so as not to detract from God’s glory. Verse 8: For the man is not of the woman; but the
woman of the man. Paul bases his argument on the creation order and
the purpose for woman’s creation (verse 9). Cultural norms have nothing
to do with it. Verse 9: Neither was the man created for the
woman; but the woman for the man. God created the man first. He created the woman
second, as a gift to the man, to be his helper (Genesis Verse 10: For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head
because of the angels. This
verse has caused all kinds of conjecture. It is best to take it as naturally
as possible. The Greek word translated “power” in this verse is exousian. Its sense is that of
authority. For example, in Mark 2:10-11, Jesus said, “But that ye may
know that the Son of man hath power [exousian]
on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto
thee, Arise, and take up they bed, and go thy way into thine house.”
Jesus had the authority to forgive sins. And, in John Why
because of the angels? Again, we should let the Bible interpret this as best
we can. That the angels are witnesses of what the church is doing is shown in
such verses as 1 Corinthians 4:9, Ephesians Hence,
it is not the culture that the head covering is supposed to speak to. It has
meaning to the angels who are present in our public worship. Because the
relationship of the man to the woman shows the relationship of Christ to the
church, the head covering shows the subjection of the church to Christ. The
angels, who are under a similar subjection, and show it by covering their
faces when in God’s presence at His throne, are witnesses of whether
the women in a church are following this order. Verse 11: Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither
the woman without the man, in the Lord. Paul does not want to be misunderstood as
teaching female inferiority. So he explains that, even though the woman is under
the authority of the man because of their creation order, men and women are
dependent on each other. Verse 12: For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by
the woman; but all things of God. Eve was made from and for Adam, and men are born
of women, but all things come from God and are for His glory. Verse 13: Judge in
yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? This is the verse relied upon by those who say
that the woman’s head covering is merely a cultural issue. Isolated
from its context, this verse can sound like Paul is saying that his readers
should easily be able to judge this issue because a woman praying with her
head uncovered is so obviously socially unacceptable. But the verses that
follow explain that Paul is teaching the Corinthians a relationship between a
woman’s long hair and the extra covering she should wear while in
public worship. It is this relationship from nature that they should use to
judge the matter. Verse 14: Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have
long hair, it is a shame unto him? How does nature teach that it is a shame for a
man to have long hair? Many commentators misunderstand what Paul means by
nature because they forget to let the Bible interpret itself. In verses 7-12,
Paul has just explained the creation order of men and women. This is the
nature that Paul is talking about. “Nature” is translated from
the Greek phusis, which can mean (a) the natural constitution of, (b)
the origin of, (c) the regular order of. The Creation account describes the
origins and regular order of men and women. Nature, the Creation, tells us
that man should not have long hair because man was made first and is,
therefore, God’s glory, and God’s glory must not be covered. In
everyday life, long hair on a man covers God’s glory (and in public
worship, a head covering on a man would cover God’s glory). Verse 15: But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for
her hair is given her for a covering. Woman was made from man. She is man’s
glory, and her long hair is her glory. It is given to her for an everyday
covering, and she is not to cut it short. But, as we have already seen, she
is to cover her hair when in public worship so that only the glory of
God—the man—is uncovered. Of course, these things are types. Paul is not
implying female inferiority. The male/female relationship is a type of the
relationship between Christ and the church. When we worship, we are not to
glorify ourselves, the church, but Jesus Christ. This attitude is pictured by
the women in the church wearing head coverings. The head covering is a
picture of the submission of the church to Jesus Christ. Verse 16: But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such
custom, neither the churches of God. Some
people say that Paul is saying, after having explained about head coverings,
that, if anyone challenges the matter, then we are to give in because the
church does not really have such a custom. This is a completely unnatural
reading of the text. It would make no sense for Paul to so thoroughly explain
the head coving and then say we do not have to follow the teaching because we
have no such custom. Another
misunderstanding of the verse is to say that Paul means that we have no such
custom as contentiousness. True, the church has no such custom as
contentiousness, but why should Paul say something so obvious? Would anyone
seriously think that the church has a custom of contentiousness? The
simplest and best understanding of the verse is that Paul is saying that if
anyone is contentious, that is, takes an opposing view, “we” and
“the churches of God” do not have a custom that supports the
opposing view. The custom to follow is what has just been stated in the
preceding verses. Who
is “we”? I think it refers to Paul and Sosthenes (see 1:1). I
think we tend to forget that Paul did not always write alone. Paul says that
the churches of God (plural) do not have a custom that opposes what he has
just explained concerning the head covering. Paul knew the churches well, and
he knew that none of them were acting contrary to his teaching in this
regard. Copyright
© 2006 wordofhisgrace.org |
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