1 Corinthians 11:8-16

1 Corinthians 11:8-16

For man is not out of woman, but woman out of man.  For man was not being created for the sake of woman but woman for the sake of man.  For this sake a woman is under an obligation to have a symbol of authority upon the head: for the sake of angels.  Nevertheless, neither is woman apart from man nor man apart from woman in the Lord.  For just as woman is out of man, in the same way also man is through woman.  And all things are out of God.  Judge for yourselves this same thing.  Is it right for a woman to pray to God uncovered?  Does not nature teach you all that if a man should wear long hair dishonor is to him?  But if a woman should wear long hair glory is to her?  It is because the hair has been given to her as clothing that covers her.  And if someone is disposed to be contentious, we do not have such a custom.  Neither do the churches of God.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought

As we look at the argument of Paul, we can further deduce that Paul is not making a universal theological point by looking at 1 Corinthians 11:10.  Paul says that women should cover their heads for the sake of the angels.  We aren’t completely sure what exactly Paul means here, but it is likely a reference to an obscure passage in Genesis 6:1-4 regarding the Nephilim.  In that passage we hear that the Sons of God – usually understood to be the angels – fell victim to the charms of human women and created a race of renown mighty people.  What is the point Paul is making?  Women are beautiful people.  Men – and apparently angels – are highly susceptible to temptation from physical attraction.  Paul is making a relational argument here, not a theological one.  Paul isn’t blaming women for being beautiful to men, but he is calling attention to the fact that it is nonetheless a reality.

Have you ever considered that how you appear in worship could be distracting for others and unintentionally take the focus off of God?  Do you think this is an argument to which there is value in listening?

Second Thought:

Furthermore, if we move past the comment on angels and do actually listen to the theology that Paul talks about in these verses we find that Paul is making a rather interesting point.  While he does use the account from Genesis 2 to demonstrate that women were created out of man, he also makes a point to bring up the fact that from Eve on forward it is actually men who are born from women.  His point is not that one is superior to another.  Rather, his point is that we need one another.  He says as much by saying that neither man nor woman are apart from each other in the Lord.  In fact, he follows up this point by emphasizing a greater point: all things come from God.  That is a great theological point to find in the midst of the cultural and sociological point Paul is making about women and their appearance in public.

Why is it important to make sure our focus is on God?  Why do we tend to allow our focus to shift off of God and onto less important things?  Do you agree with Paul that in the Lord men and women need each other?

Third Thought:

Paul gives us a great sentence to end this section, and it goes back to a point that I made yesterday about Paul’s intent in this passage.  Paul says that they do not practice dissention and neither do the churches of God.  Now, don’t get Paul wrong.  There was dissention in his life.  After all, he and Barnabas got into a fight over John Mark!  But Paul is giving us a broad overarching point.  Dissention does not come from God.  People who are genuinely following God and putting themselves aside in order to follow God will not be dissenting.  Remember what I said yesterday?  Paul was talking about this issue largely because the Corinthian church was a church being held back because of dissention.  Paul isn’t concerned with making sure women behave a certain way as much as he is concerned with doing what it takes to stop dissention from happening in the first palce.

Do you agree that dissention is Paul’s bigger concern?  In general, what do you think is the bigger danger to God’s work: the way people dress or dissention among people?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Corinthians 11:17-22