1 Corinthians 11:3-15 NLT
3. But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
4. A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying.
5. But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head.
6. Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.
7. A man should not wear anything on his head when worshiping, for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. And woman reflects man’s glory.
8. For the first man didn’t come from woman, but the first woman came from man.
9. And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man.
10. For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority.
11. But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women.
12. For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God.
13. Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head?
14. Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair?
15. And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering.
I have taken the pains to copy and paste such a long passage here to have the liberty to explain each verse individually, as apostle Paul methodically does.
As stated in the preceding post, God himself stated clearly in Gen 3:16, the order of authority in the home. That is, (v3 above) the wife is under the authority of her husband, who in turn is under the authority of Christ (our redeemer who paid the price to purchase all mankind from sin), and the head of Christ is God.
Following from our previous post, once a couple disengages from their individual families, the Bible says they become one. One flesh. In other words, God only sees one person, when viewing a family unit. Therefore, in describing Christ as the head of the man, apostle Paul is saying the man is merely the spiritual representative of the family unit. This unit is under the authority of the man for administrative purposes (so that there is no dispute on this), but the family unit is one flesh.
Verse 4 above states that a man dishonors his head (Christ) if praying with his head covered. This is undoubtedly true. All over the world even today, it is viewed as a sign of disrespect (as a man) to speak to one's superiors with the head covered.
But verse 5 conversely says that a woman dishonors her head if she prays with her head uncovered. V6 goes on to equate the shame associated with a woman fully shaving her head to that of praying or prophesying with the head uncovered.
If we believe the Bible As God's word (which it is taken for granted that every Christian does) then we agree that in Genesis, God had already made the man from dust, and delegated authority to him, including the authority to name all animals, before putting him to sleep and creating the woman from him.
So, the the story of creation confirms that man was made directly from dust (reflecting God's glory), while woman was made from man (and named by him). The first thing Adam said when he saw his wife was "flesh of my flesh, and bone of my bone!" Adam recognized himself in his wife. And he named her woman, saying "Because she was made from man". Adam himself confirmed that his wife "reflected his glory".
Verses 8 & 9 confirm the above explanation.
Now, verse 10 has been seen as very confusing to many over the years. It justifies the covering of a woman's head, by giving a spiritual dimension to the issue. "Because the angels are watching". In other words, the spiritual symbolism of the act of covering or uncovering the head in prayer is exposed in the verse.
As said earlier, the family unit is seen as one person by God. Similarly other spiritual entities witness the same unity. Therefore, when offering up a spiritual act, it is important that the proper order is observed. A wife who covers her head is signifying spiritually that she is submitted to her husband, and that the husband is the arrowhead through which the family requests are channelled. In other words, the family is one.
There is nothing wrong in offering up individual prayers, but it is important that the woman is not trying to usurp the spiritual authority of her husband, anymore than she would try to usurp the physical and spiritual authority of her father had she not yet been married.
The repercussions of such an act recall what happened in the garden of eden. The serpent channelled his trickery through the woman, and succeeded in drawing mankind into the slavery of sin and death through her action, and the man's acquiescence.
In that case (as in many cases when the family unit is jeopardized) the proper order of authority was not followed. What apostle Paul was saying is that spiritual forces (both good and evil) are watching closely, and a deliberate covering of the head by the woman in prayer or prophecy signifies submission to authority. If a woman cannot submit herself to her husband (who she can see), then it will be extremely difficult for her to submit herself to God (who she cannot see). Therefore, non-submission is a sign of rebellion, to God.
Do we remember who also rejected authority (in heaven)? Do we recall what happened to him?
With the above spiritual reality in mind, is it any surprise that the family unit is in such a disarray as it is today? Divorces, abortions, adultery, depravity, homosexuality, and so many other reflections of the broken home?
It sounds fantastical to tie all these contemporary societal problems to non-submission by the woman, but we need to realize that physical problems are merely the manifestations of spiritual edicts.
The Greek translation of v10 refers to a woman's head covering as a symbol of authority, a crown. So the head covering serves 2 purposes; it tells spiritual forces that the woman is submitted to her husband (therefore emphasizing the unity of the family), and it signifies her status as the crown of her husband (proverbs 12:4).
Verses 11 & 12 then places emphasis on the equality of the man and his wife. They both came from each other! So none is inferior to the other, and none is a slave to the other.
1 Peter 3:7 NLT says,
"In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God's gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered"
In finality, apostle Paul closes the admonition by comparing the natural order (where shorter hair is more societally acceptable from men and longer hair is more societally acceptable from women) to show that hair is the pride of a woman, which should therefore be covered in submission to God.
We cannot conscientiously bare the symbol of our pride openly to the same God we are praying to, and expect our prayers to be answered do we? We must humble ourselves by keeping all symbols of pride hidden in God's presence, as a sign of reverence for our maker.
Concluded
No comments:
Post a Comment