TEACHING NOTES Introduction In this session we begin the section of 1 Corinthians about the church gathering. In this section Paul is going to address and correct certain issues and practices that were going on in the gatherings of the Corinthian church. This section about church gatherings begins in chapter eleven and continues through chapter fourteen. This session will cover 11:2-16, which is one of the best examples of why we need to study and understand the cultural background of the Bible. ‌ Part 15: Head Coverings ‌ Most Christians in Corinth were former pagans. ‌ Pagans dress and behave very differently in worship than both Jews and Christians. ‌ So, the Corinthian church needed instructions on how to dress and behave at the church gathering. ‌ Warning: This session contains sexual language that is not appropriate for all ages. ‌ 1 Corinthians 11:2–3 2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. ‌ I commend you = While in much of this letter Paul is correcting the Corinthians in areas where they have been wrong, there are a few areas in which Paul “commends” (Grk. epaineo - praise) the church. However, Paul is doing what we would call “buttering them up” before he provides more correction. ‌ Maintain the traditions = Notice that Paul introduces the next section by referring to “the traditions.” While what follows seems odd to modern readers, we must remember that Paul is addressing traditions or cultural issues of the time. We also need to understand that Paul is talking about the church gathering in this passage, not about life outside the church gathering. ‌ The head = Grk. kephale - While this word commonly refers to the head of a human body, or a person of superior rank, it can also refer to the source of something. In the biblical world, the father was the “head” of the household. The Old Testament presents fatherhood as synonomous with priesthood. In others words, the father is the priest of the family. This is why we see that the father is always the one who offers sacrifices for his family in the Old Testament. ‌ Note: What Paul is about to say is less about ranks of authority and more about the role of priests in the family and the church. This is not about ranks, but about roles. ‌ The head of man is Christ = Christ is our High Priest who sits at the right hand of God the Father. Christ is also the source of our salvation and His Holy Spirit is the source of our sanctification. ‌ The head of a wife is her husband = In a biblical family, the husband should be the source of providing, protecting, and pastoring for his wife and children. That is not to say that the wife cannot do any of those things, but that the husband is the one who is held responsible by God for those things. ‌ The head of Christ is God = This phrase proves that Paul is not talking about rank when he uses the word “head.” It proves that “head” is not about rank because Paul says in Phil. 2:6 that Christ is equal with God. Paul must be talking about roles. The Father, Son, and Spirit are equal, but they fulfill different roles. In the same way, the husband and wife are equal but fulfill different roles. ‌ Before we move on… What Paul is about to say is in the context of the church gathering. ‌ 1 Corinthians 11:4–6 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But if it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. ‌ Cultural Background: We must understand that Paul is about to counter Christian worship with pagan worship. In pagan worship, male priests would cover their heads. They would even have elaborate (expensive) head coverings to show everyone their high status as a pagan priest. In temples where female goddesses were worshiped, female priests would not cover their heads, which set them apart from all other women who kept their heads covered. Both in Jewish and pagan societies, women covered their heads/hair as a sign of modesty and as a sign of reserving their beauty for their husband. ‌ Aphrodite worship in Corinth: In ancient Corinth, there was a famous temple to Aphrodite. Aphrodite was a female goddess of fertility and was thought to be accompanied by Eros, the god of lust and sexual desire. Greek myth stories say that Aphrodite was born from Zeus and the severed genitals of Uranus (god of the sky). Aphrodite was also believed to convince the gods to fall in love/lust with and mate with humans. She is depicted in ancient art and statues almost exclusively as naked with an elaborate head covering. One statue from 100 BC shows Aphrodite standing naked while the goat demon god Pan clings to her and Eros (depicted as a naked baby with wings) is over her shoulder. Worship of Aphrodite contributed greatly to Corinth’s reputation of one of the most sexualized cities in the ancient world. ‌ Ancient Greek Medical Texts: The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates—which is where we get our Hippocratic Oath—wrote and taught that a woman’s hair aided in reproduction. As a result, women avoided cutting their hair because they believed that long hair actually helped with insemination. This was not merely a superstition, but was the teaching of the entire medical community at the time. Therefore, hair was associated with sexuality and fertility. So, a woman who went around with her hair on display was considered to be immodest or a prostitute. This is also why men with long hair were associate with male prostitution. If a woman cut her hair short or shaved her head, it was seen as promiscuous because she is trying to avoid getting pregnant. All of this is the background behind what Paul is saying in this passage. ‌ Every man who prays or prophesies = Paul is referring to praying or prophesying in the church gathering, not at home alone. Everything in this passage is about the context of a church gathering, not about everyday life. And Paul is contrasting how pagans worship with how Christians should worship. ‌ Dishonors his head = Pagan male priests wore head coverings to set themselves apart from common men (the Jewish high priest did the same). These head coverings were usually ornate and indicated high status. For Paul, Christian men should not cover their head or cause themselves to be elevated above others. ‌ Every wife who prays or prophesies = This indicates that women were praying and prophesying in church gatherings. There are two passages in Paul’s writings (1 Cor. 14:34-35; 1 Tim. 2:11-14) that have been misunderstood to mean that all women in all churches are not allowed to speak in church. However, Paul and other New Testament writers mention women speaking and prophesying in church on several occasions. This means that in 1 Cor. 14:34-35 and 1 Tim. 2:11-14 Paul must have been addressing situations that were specific to Corinth and Ephesus. This will be discussed in detail in this series when we get to 1 Cor. 14. The point here is that Paul assumes that women were praying out loud and prophesying out loud in the church gathering. If Paul thought this was wrong, he certainly would have said so in this passage. ‌ Dishonors her head = In Corinth, a woman without a head/hair covering was understood as a kind of sexual advertising. It was also understood that a woman without a head/hair covering was dishonoring her husband, who was understood as “the head of the wife.” Paul wants Christian women to display modesty in the church gathering. If a woman came to church without a head covering, it would have been a big problem for everyone. And people would have thought that the uncovered woman was intending to seduce the men or she was trying to elevate herself in the gathering as pagan female priests did. Therefore, Paul is teaching women to practice modesty. ‌ An uncovered head is the same as if her head were shaven = Both of these were seen as a sign of promiscuity for women in that culture. If a woman’s hair was on display, it was a sign of sexual advertising and if her head was shaved, it was a sign that the woman wants to be sexually active without getting pregnant. ‌ Disgraceful for a wife to cut or shave her hair = Paul says if a woman doesn’t want to cover her head she should cut her hair short. But since short hair or a shaved head on a woman was seen as promiscuous in that culture, the only solution for modesty is to wear a hair covering. ‌ 1 Corinthians 11:7–10 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. ‌ Man ought not to cover his head = In Corinth, only men who served in pagan temples would cover their heads. If a Christian man covered his head during church, he “dishonors his head.” Since “the head of every man is Christ” Paul means that the man covering his head is dishonoring Christ (his High Priest). He is dishonoring Christ because he is acting like a pagan priest. ‌ He is the image, glory of God = Humanity, both male and female, was created to image/reflect/imitate God’s character in the world. God created humanity to be the glory of God. In Gen. 2, Adam and Eve are described as priests of God’s dwelling on earth (the garden of Eden). ‌ Woman is the glory of man = Paul cannot mean that women are not the image and glory of God, because Paul knew that Genesis 1:27 declares that both male and female are created in the image of God. Paul is likely drawing this phrase from Proverbs 12:4 “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.” ‌ Symbol of authority = In the Greek text, “symbol of” is not present, only exousian is present. Ancient Jewish writings taught that a woman’s head covering warded off rebellious spirits from mating with humans. For Paul, women who display modesty told these demonic spirits that they were off limits. ‌ Because of the angels = Paul referring to the strange episode in Gen. 6:1-5 where angelic beings (the sons of God) came to earth to corrupt humanity—specifically to take human women as wives. Nearly all ancient literature taught some form of that story. For pagans, it was a good thing for the gods to mate with humans. But in the Bible—and in other Jewish literature—this was seen as the worst thing that could have happened. And Genesis portrays this as the source of humanity’s corruption that led to the flood. So, Paul is saying that modesty is good for marriage, good for others, and protects us from demon manipulation. ‌ How can spiritual beings mate with humans? While this is not fully explained in the Bible, many ancient texts (both Jewish and pagan) tell us more about the process. Ancient Sumerian and Babylonian (Babel) tablets tell us that the kings would perform a ritual inviting the spirit of their god to inhabit or possess them. Then they would sleep with a human woman in hopes that the god would impregnate her and give birth to a possessed baby who would become the next demi-god king. This ritual would take place on a ritual bed on the top of the city’s ziggurat, which is exactly what the Tower of Babel was. So this weird mixing of demonic spirits and humans was not an accident, but was done by invitation to the spirits and was completely intentional. We should also remember that angels are always in human form in the Bible, and apparently they look very attractive to humans (Gen. 19; 2 Cor. 11:14). ‌ 1 Corinthians 11:11–13 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? ‌ Nevertheless, in the Lord = This phrase indicates that Paul is about to counter what he has just said previously. So, if verses 7-10 makes you uncomfortable Paul is about reveal that man and woman is equally dependent on each other and God. The phrase “in the Lord” indicates that Paul believed that to be in Christ provides a different way of viewing men and women. ‌ Man, woman are not independent = In both Jewish and pagan cultures, women were devalued and had no authority. The Jews valued women more—though not enough—than Romans and Greeks. The Greeks believed that women were merely deformed men. Christianity opposed both the Jewish and pagan views of women and elevated women to equal status. Paul taught that a husband is not independent from his wife, nor is a wife independent from her husband. Why? Because God intends them to be “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:5-6; 1 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 5:31). ‌ As woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman = While Adam was created without being born of a woman, every man after Adam needs a woman to be created. So, Eve was created from Adam but now every man needs a woman to be created. Even in Adam and Eve’s story, Adam needed Eve to fulfill His God-given mission to be fruitful and multiply. Paul’s point is that men and women are co-dependent. ‌ Judge for yourselves = Grk. krinate en hymin autois - Literally, “decided for yourselves.” In other words, Paul is saying “You Corinthian Christians understand what is modest in your culture, so practice modesty in church as well.” ‌ Is it proper = Grk. prepon - appropriate, fitting, seemly. Paul knows that the Corinthians know what is appropriate and what is not. So, Paul tells them to decide, which indicates that they had been arguing and dividing over this issue. ‌ 1 Corinthians 11:14–16 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God. ‌ Nature = Grk. physis - by birth, conditions or circumstances of one’s environment. The ESV translation “nature itself” is not the best translation. Paul is referring to the culture of Corinth. Paul is not teaching that God says something is shameful. ‌ A man’s long hair is a disgrace = Everyone in Corinth knew that a man with long hair was either a male prostitute or a servant in a pagan temple for a female goddess. Often in the temples of female goddesses, male servants or priests were castrated and made to dress like women. If a common man who is not a servant in one of those temples had long hair, it was considered shameful. ‌ A woman’s long hair is her glory = A woman with long hair was believed to be fertile and blessed by God. Because infertility was shameful, fertility was understood to be a blessing. So, in that culture long hair was a woman’s glory. ‌ If anyone is inclined to be contentious = Paul is saying that being contentious or divided over this issue is not how the church should handle this issue. Churches should simply make a biblical decision and not entertain endless arguments over personal preferences. ‌ Modern Application While this passage is embedded in ancient cultural issues, the principles Paul is teaching still applies to modern Christianity. The underlying principle of this passage is Christian modesty. ‌ Christians are called to be different and even look different than the world. ‌ Christians should not practice sexual advertising. ‌ ‌Christians should not dress to draw attention nor to be elevated above others. ‌ Christians should practice modesty in all things. ‌