seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
2 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. 3 But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man,[a] and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.
7 A man ought not to cover his head,[b] since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own[c] head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Corinthians 11:3 Or of the wife is her husband
b. 1 Corinthians 11:7 Or 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with long hair dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with no covering of hair dishonors her head—she is just like one of the “shorn women.” 6 If a woman has no covering, let her be for now with short hair; but since it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair shorn or shaved, she should grow it again. 7 A man ought not to have long hair
c. 1 Corinthians 11:10 Or have a sign of authority on her
Oh what fun today is going to be....... I remember these sermons from when I was a little girl. I'm using enduringword.com this morning.
I praise you brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions: Paul again speaks sarcastically to the Corinthian Christians. In fact, they did not remember Paul in all things; they disregarded him as they sought fit. Additionally, they did not keep the traditions as they should have.
Keep the traditions is a scary phrase to many Christians. It brings forth the idea that Christians are to be bound by ancient, outdated traditions in their conduct and worship. But the traditions Paul delivered to the Corinthian Christians were simply the teachings and practices of the apostles, received from Jesus. Paul was not talking about ceremonies and rituals, but about basic teaching and doctrine.
The head of every man is Christ, the head of every woman is man, and the head of Christ is God: With these words, Paul sets a foundation for his teaching in the rest of the chapter. Simply put, Paul makes it clear that God has established principles of order, authority, and accountability.
Head is an important word in this chapter. Some consider head to mean nothing more than source, in the sense that the head of a river is its source. Though this word can mean this, Paul is not simply saying, “Man came from Jesus, woman came from man, and Jesus came from God.” Though that simple understanding is true, it goes much deeper, because in Biblical thinking a source has inherent authority. If something comes from me, there is some appropriate authority I have over it.
In its full sense, head has the idea of headship and authority. It means to have the appropriate responsibility to lead, and the matching accountability. It is right and appropriate to submit to someone who is our head.
With this understanding, we see Paul describes three “headship” relationships: Jesus is head of every man; man is the head of woman, and God (the Father) is head of Christ. Because Paul connects the three relationships, the principles of headship are the same among them.
The head of every man is Christ, the head of every woman is man, and the head of Christ is God: Therefore, women in the Church have two options in their attitude towards their head: They imitate the kind of attitude men have towards Christ, showing a rebelliousness that must be won over; or women can imitate the kind of attitude Christ displayed towards God the Father, loving submission to Him as an equal.
His head covered… her head uncovered: The idea of a head covering was important in this (and many other) ancient cultures. To wear the head covering (or veil in some translations), was a public symbol of being under the authority and protection of another.
“It was a custom, both among the Greeks and Romans, and among the Jews an express law, that no woman should be seen abroad without a veil. This was, and is, a common custom through all the east, and none but public prostitutes go without veils.” (Clarke)
In some cultures today, wearing a hat or some other kind of head covering is a picture of humility and modesty. In the same way, the head covering had an important cultural meaning among the ancient Corinthians.
Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Here, Paul speaks to those Christians who come from a Jewish environment. In the Jewish community, even men covered their heads while praying. It was therefore inconceivable for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered. Their own experience taught them that women should observe the custom of the head covering when the church meets.
Does not even nature itself teach: In both Jewish and Greek cultures, short hair was common for men. Therefore it was a dishonor for a man to wear long hair, because it was considered feminine.
Her hair is given to her for a covering: Because women wear their hair longer than men do, Paul thinks of this longer hair as “nature’s veil.” If nature has given women long hair as a covering, that in itself points to the woman’s need to be covered (according to the ancient Corinthian custom).
If anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom: In this appeal to apostolic authority, Paul tells the Corinthian Christians to not be contentious, especially because the other churches of God have adopted their custom according to God’s truth.
There must also be factions: We usually think of factions and divisions among Christians as nothing but a problem. But Paul reveals a purpose God has in allowing factions: that those who are approved may be recognized among you. God allows factions so that, over time, those who really belong to God would be made evident.
Each one takes his own supper ahead of the others, and one is hungry and another is drunk: Sadly, the Corinthian Christians acted selfishly at their common meals. Their selfish conduct at the common meal disgraced their observance of the Lord’s Supper.
One takes his supper ahead of the others… one is hungry: Why would some be hungry at the church common meals? Because among the Corinthian Christians, some were more wealthy than others, and the poorer ones were being neglected (Or do you… shame those who have nothing?).
Whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord: Paul warns the Corinthian Christians to treat the Lord’s Supper with reverence, and to practice it in a spirit of self-examination. However, this is not written with the thought of excluding ourselves from the table, but of preparing us to receive with the right heart.
For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep: The judgment is significant. Evidently, among the Corinthian Christians, some experienced illness and some had even died as a result of God’s corrective discipline.
In writing eats and drinks judgment, Paul does not refer to eternal judgment, but to corrective judgment. There is no article “the” before judgment,” so it is not the judgment. This chastening is not a judge condemning a criminal; it is a father correcting disobedient children.
As mentioned in 1 John 5:16, there is sin leading to death, and Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5 seem to be examples of this. Apparently, a believer can sin to the point where God believes it is just best to bring them home, probably because they have in some way compromised their testimony so significantly that they should just come on home to God.
However, it is certainly presumptuous to think this about every case of an untimely death of a believer, or to use it as an enticement to suicide for the guilt-ridden Christian. Our lives are in God’s hands, and if He sees fit to bring one of His children home, that is fine.
Ugh.... hats and the Lord's Supper.... ok then...... Here I got... reading about still more laws..... quite frankly.... Jesus didn't care about if a woman wore a hat or not..... Jesus didn't care if a man wore his hair too long...... Jesus didn't really care if someone took a second helping at the pot luck.
One of the reasons the Pharisees and the Sadducees disliked Jesus was His opinion of their rules and regulations. First Paul says.... "the Gentiles do not have to be circumcised and the descendants of Jacob among the members of the Christian Church don't need to eat the meat sacrificed to pagan gods". Then Paul started giving rules and regulations about how women were to dress and what table manners Christians should employ. Come on Paul.....
Since the days when Paul would have dictated this chapter.... things have really changed. I remember hats in church.... as well as I remember the top of the cigarette pack that use to peak out of a man's shirt pocket when he took his jacket off. I remember when people sat in church according to the height of hat in front of them.
I think the wearing of hats in church must have started to change after World War I. Before that war.... women had the luxury of being mothers and home makers. Then... women had to enter the workforce when all the guys went off to war. That's when women started to get a "big head" [to quote my adoring hubby]. After World War II the women of the world were ready to take on the men in any role. Hats in church just didn't seem quite so important.
Jesus said there are really only two commandments..... Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul.... and Love one another. Simple as that.... I don't have to stand five feet behind my husband..... I don't have to wear a hat...... I don't have to sit in the back..... I don't have to cross my eyes three times before turning around..
HOWEVER.... I do have to conduct myself in a manner that doesn't reflect poorly on God. IMHO
There is a lot of talk today about what people think of Americans. Our leaders are an indication of what kind of people we are. If our leader constantly has a bandage on his head because he's a klutz [Gerald Ford].... then Americans could be considered klutzy. If our leader constantly helps the sick and poor of the less fortunate countries, then Americans would be considered caring. If our leader constantly bugs the bad guy.... then Americans could be considered as protecting. Get where this is going?Paul says.... in affect.... "you can do anything but don't step on their blue suede shoes." In other words.... don't rock the boat so much. Don't do things that will turn people off.
Consider what someone else might think or say about Jesus based on what they see in our lives. If I'm greedy, mean, and untrustworthy.... that reflects on those who consider me a member of their group. People will judge those around me based on what I do that offends them. That's what Paul is talking about.
I crochet.... it's a hobby.... but when I was a kid.... knowing how to crochet a fancy little square was a pretty nifty skill to have.... especially if there were lots of Catholic kids in the neighborhood.... because a nice little lacy granny square use to be an appropriate head covering.... I wonder how bad Paul would have gone off on those women who adorned such a simple "hat".
Of course.... back when everyone wore hats in church..... the Catholic Church was still doing all their masses in another language all together. Come to think of it.... the hat seems to have gone away about the same time prayer left the public schools. Interesting....
IMHO.... Paul is just saying.... in his typical long-winded, sarcastic way..... "behave yourself.... people are watching".
