WATCH YOUR HEAD!
1 Corinthians 11:2-16
Lots of people think they know how God wants everybody else to care for their head!
In 1 Cor. 11, Paul deals with the woman's head and what she should do about it.
In the process, he has some things to say about the man’s head.
Many people think they know how YOU are supposed to dress YOUR head!
We want to look carefully this morning at what Paul really says, and–more importantly–what GOD really says about how we should care for our head.
The church that had everything --EXCEPT LOVE
What happens when a church has everything except love?
When people are preoccupied with themselves, and what WE want?
Divisions–lawsuits-lack of concern for others–immorality–fights for OUR rights!
CONCERNING DIFFICULTIES IN THE CHURCH 7:1-14:40
Concerning marriage, purity, and how we ought to use our time 7:1-40
Concerning meat offered to idols and how we use our liberty 8:1-11:1
Concerning worship and how the body of Christ functions 11:2-14:40
The final area of disorder Paul presents concerns their worship.
Debates about how we ought to worship God properly didn’t begin in the 21st century!
This is another problem area they have written to him about.
COVERING FOR WOMEN 11:2-16
Paul instructs them concerning the necessity of covering the woman's head.
The underlying issue is women's rebellion against the authority of their husbands.
The veil is only a symptom of the true problem.
Many take the symptom and convert it into a legalistic problem (Cp. 3, 7-9, 10)
Practical legalistic problems arise from this passage:
Women's submission to their husband
Short hair for women
Long hair for men
Women's hats (veils)
Paul doesn't write to get us to devote ourselves to prolonged, legalistic discussions.
The Corinthian problem
In Christian marriage, the wife is to be subject to her husband, the head (3)
To understand the problem, we must go back into their culture, in the middle east.
We have a problem because for us today the hat, or even a veil, is an adornment, a fancy decoration–NOT a symbol of subjection to authority.
In the contemporary cultures of the middle east, married women wore a veil, which covered their whole head,
as a symbol of their subjection to the authority of their husbands.
Paul is NOT talking about a hat, an article of personal adornment,
which has no spiritual significance whatsoever.
Paul is talking about a veil, the symbol of submission.
When the gospel came, it liberated women from their state of slavery;
they’re no longer just a possession, property belonging to their husband (11-12).
Corinthian women understood this truth-they’re FREE from the slavery of the past.
Therefore, they want to take off the symbol of that slavery => the veil.
They’re putting on a public display of rebellion against the authority of their husbands.
Paul responds by reminding them of God’s plan from the beginning of creation:
BASIS IN DIVINE ORDER 11:2-6
A woman covers her head in recognition of the order God established.
God has established a chain of command: Each is the head of the next in line
God => Christ => Man => Woman
There is NO thought of inferiority in this sequence
–Christ is NOT inferior to the Father–nor is a woman inferior to a man!
It’s a “chain of command.”
Each is subject to and dependent on the previous level.
The veil is a symbol of submission to her head => her husband.
When a man speaks to God or for God, he does so as one who is subject directly to God, therefore no veil is in order (3-4, 7)
If the man were to cover his head, it would be dishonoring to his "head",
that is to Christ Himself (3-4).
Some confusion results from the fact that “head” is used both in a literal sense, and in the spiritual sense of headship, in the same passage.
The veil covers the physical head, as an evidence that a person is submitting their authority (headship) to the authority of another head.
When a woman speaks to or for God, she wears the veil as a testimony to the fact that, while ultimately subject to God's authority, she is subject to the authority of another, her husband.
The veil professes submission to him, and through him, to God.
If she rejects that authority, she rejects authority God established over her.
She wears a veil as evidence that she’s subject to her husband's authority.
The woman covers her head; she veils it from public view.
Moses veiled himself to keep Israel from seeing the diminishing glory of God.
Contrast Revelation ("the apocalypse") =>taking off the veil, uncover, reveal.
If the woman doesn't wear a covering on her head (that is, a veil),
she dishonors her head, (that is, her husband) (5, 7)
If she is going to refuse to display the symbol of her submission,
she might as well go all the way. (6)
Pop interpretation: “She should shave her head as a prostitute would.”
There’s no evidence prostitutes did this
-their hair seems to have been done up ornately as part of their attraction.
Taking off the veil is viewed as the epitomy of dishonoring the one who has been established as her head (i.e., her husband) 6.
It's compared to the cutting off of the hair (at a time of mourning)
Or as when a woman has her head shaved.
That's an embarrassing condition. IF you have it done for medical reasons, you will probably get a wig. It's an embarrassing condition.
If she shaves it off, it takes away her “glory.”
Her glory should be under authority.
A second reason for wearing a covering is based on creation:
BASIS IN CREATION 11:7-12
Man is made in the image and glory of GOD.
Man is the glory of God.
God receives glory through man.
Similarly, woman is made in the image of MAN and for him.
Woman is the glory of man.
Man receives honor through the woman God has given him.
The hair is the source of a woman's glory 11:15
Therefore, a woman covers her head
when she comes before the Lord in public worship.
So as not to attract attention to herself.
This obedience serves as an object lesson for angels.
They are learning about submission, by our example
(11:10; Eph. 3:10; 1 Cor. 4:9; 1 Tim. 5:21).
They watch and learn from us.
A woman should have a symbol of authority on her head
as evidence of submission.
BASIS IN PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 11:13-16
Paul turns from supernatural revelation to natural revelation
We observe this by just looking around.
The final reason a woman covers her head is based on the physical characteristics of men and women.
Man => Long hair does nothing to attract one's attention to a man
–at least not in the sense of glorifying him.
A man’s hair is NOT the source of his glory.
It doesn't add great beauty to a man, as it does to a woman.
Their men DID have long hair-but then, as now,
it doesn't particularly add to a man's beauty.
There is no absolute length for men's hairstyles.
Godly men in the Old Testament intentionally left their hair long.
Priests and Nazirites had to leave their hair long!
By God's orders!
It’s a mark of commitment to God–long hair was a symbol of godliness!
In contrast to pagan Romans, who presented themselves as gods,
Jews left their hair long.
Tertullian comments on how God’s people stood out in North Africa
because they left their hair long.
This is not an attack on long hair!
It just says that long hair on men is NOT especially beautiful.
This isn’t an absolute law of God, it’s an observation from normal life.
Men’s hairdos don't normally do the same thing for them that a woman's does.
Same expression used: Rom. 9:21; 2 Tim. 2:20; 2 Cor. 6:8
Woman => The woman's hair, on the other hand, is her glory.
Fancy hair is a woman's glory–it makes a woman look fancy! 11:15
It functions for her like a fancy robe or a cloak.
She uses it to draw attention to herself–to make herself look good!
A beautiful garment that you wrap around you. NOT AS A VEIL!
It's "a wrap around", NOT "a cover up"!
Therefore, To avoid drawing attention to herself,
she ought to cover her head in public worship–when praying or prophesying.
A fancy hat or a fancy hairdo draws attention to her!
Paul's reasons are not based on culture.
He doesn't deal with culture, custom or tradition within the argument itself
-only at the end, and as an introduction.
His reasons are theological! GOD established it this way!
11:16-"We have no such custom
=> our churches don’t approve of removing the covering.
HOW DO WE APPLY THIS LESSON IN THE 21ST CENTURY?
Will a veil or a hat do?
Description of the veil -> it covers the whole head, not just the hair.
Significance of the veil -> Represents submission
Whatever we may believe the veil looked like, the importance is in its significance.
What is there in our culture today that will achieve this?
Nothing has comparable significance in our culture.
What about wearing a veil today?
Nothing could be done today that would equal the practice of those women.
A veil doesn’t have the same significance. (much less a doily!)
The significance is to demonstrate their submission to their husband
-that’s the key issue, whatever you place on your head.
How do we apply this principle to daily living today?
BASIC PRINCIPLE: Women ought to recognize the authority God has placed in their husband and submit to that authority, as an evidence of their submission to God.
Taking off the veil was a statement of protest.
“He’s not going to tell ME what to do!”
“I’m not HIS slave!”
Submission to her husband’s authority
demonstrates submission to God.
The veil was just a symbol of that submission–but it spoke clearly!
How we act is more important than how we dress!
Are we willing to give up our rights, to pursue what pleases God?
How does a godly wife demonstrate love for her husband?
This passage doesn’t speak specifically to the issue, but how does a godly husband, who wants to please God, demonstrate love for his wife?
What if she protests?
What if she “takes off the veil” to make a statement of independent rebellion?
The answer isn’t the response of the Taliban, or of the Jihadists!
Paul has no inclination in that direction!
How about the attitude of godly young people toward youth of opposite sex?
How should they demonstrate a desire to please God
and genuine love for each other in the way they treat one another?
While we may not be able to duplicate the significance of the veil,
we CAN demonstrate the godly attitudes that are behind it.
Each of us ought to ask ourselves how WE can please God and show genuine love for one another.