-
1 Corinthians 11:4-6 – The Woman’s Head and Hair.
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. if you are a man wearing something on your head while praying or prophesying you dishonour your metaphorical head. On the other hand, if you are a woman not wearing something on your head while praying…
-
1 Corinthians 11:4-5a – Praying and Prophesying.
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… In these verses Paul explicitly says that covering or uncovering your head is important when praying and prophesying. But what does Paul mean by “prays and prophesies”? Is he specifically talking about those two activities, or is he using a phrase to encompass the activities of a weekly church meeting? The most likely answer is that Paul is using the phrase, “prays or prophesies” to refer to the activities of a weekly meeting for the following reasons: Paul has begun a new section of the letter…
-
1 Corinthians 11:4-5a – Heads, heads and hair.
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. Verses 4 to 5a are pretty straight forward. It’s rare that the first-time reader misses Paul’s meaning here. That happens when they read it the second or third time. It is dishonouring to Christ for a…
-
1 Corinthians 11:3 – The Issue.
Bless you! No, not atishoo! The issue! What is the issue? “What do you mean, what is the issue?” you ask. Well, Paul would not be writing about the head covering tradition if there was not a problem to address. That is the way 1 Corinthians works: Paul writes about problems in the Corinthian Church he has heard about (1 Corinthians 11:18) or read about (1 Corinthians 7:1). If there had been no problem around head covering, we wouldn’t have heard about it at all (though God would not have permitted that!). How can you criticise people for something you just praised them for? 1 Corinthians 11:3 seems a little…
-
1 Corinthians 11:3 – Heads.
3 But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. There’s something Paul wants the Corinthians to know, and it’s this: the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. And the questions begin. What does “head” mean? For centuries “head” in this verse has been read as “authority”, but about 30 years ago there was a big dust up when some people suggested it meant “source”. And since then, “prominence” has become a third major player in the “head…
-
1 Corinthians 11:2 – Let’s Get Traditional, Traditional.
Let’s get traditional, traditional, I wanna get traditional, Let’s get traditional, Let me hear your symbols talk, your symbols talk, Let me hear your symbols talk. Olivia Newton-John, Let’s Get Physical, (Lyrics approximate only). When you read 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 you immediately see that Paul considers head covering to be part of a tradition. It’s very clear. But to some people it’s not, so let me quickly run through the reasons we can know that Paul is talking about a tradition here. A tradition among traditions… 1 Corinthians 11 is talking about two traditions: head covering and the Lord’s Supper. At the beginning of the chapter, Paul starts on this…
-
A simple starter for 1 Corinthians 11:2-16
The passage we’re looking at here can be found at the following link. The NIV 2011 was chosen, not because I think it represents the best translation, but because it is the Bible my church is using. 1 Corinthians 11:h2-16 (NIV 2011) First Corinthians 11:2-16 is a pretty easy passage to understand, but it is a difficult one to accept – at least in our day and age. It speaks of biblical truths that rub our culture completely the wrong way. It is so far outside our comfort zone that even when people determine to accept it, they don’t know how to apply it and feel normal. All they can…
