1: Be ye
followers of me even as I also am of Christ 2: Now I praise you brethren
that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I delivered them
to you 3: But I wish you to know that of every person the head the
Christ is and the head of woman is the man and the head of Christ is God[1] 4:
Every man praying or prophesying having his head covered dishonors his head [2] 5:
But every woman that prays or prophesies with her head unveiled dishonors her
head for that is even all one as if she were shaven 6: For if the woman
be not covered let her also be shorn but if it be a shame for a woman to be
shorn or shaved let her be covered[3] 7:
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head forasmuch as he is the image and
glory of God but the woman is the glory of man[4] 8:
For man is not from woman but woman from the man 9: Neither was the man
created on account of the woman but the woman on account of the man[5] 10:
For this cause ought women to possess G2192 translated as possessed in
Acts 8:7 liberty G1849 translated as liberty in 1 Corinthians 8:9 over their [own] persons on account of the
angels[6] 11:
Further neither is man apart from woman neither woman apart from man in the
Lord 12: For as the woman out of the man so also the man because of the
woman and all things from Ton Theon (The God)[7] 13:
Judge for yourselves It is [autos esti] fitting that a woman pray to God unveiled
14: Nor does nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair it is
a shame to him[8]
15: and if a woman have long hair it is a glory to her For hair is given
her anti-peribolaion [instead[9] of
a veil[10]] 16:
and if any seem to be contentious we have no such custom [of veiling] neither
the churches of God 17: Now in this that I declare to you I praise you
not that you come together not for the better but for the worse 18: For
first of all when you come together in the church I hear that there be
divisions among you and I believe some parts 19: For also factions need
to be among you so that the approved [ones] may be revealed among you 20:
When you come together therefore into one place this is not to eat the Lord’s
supper 21: For in eating everyone takes before another their own supper
and one is hungry and another is drunken 22: What? Have you no houses to
eat and to drink in Or despise ye the church of God and shame them that have
not[11]
What shall I say to you Shall I praise you in this I praise you not[12] 23:
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you that the
Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread 24: And
when he had given thanks he broke it and said Take eat
this is my body which is broken for you this do in remembrance of me 25:
After the same manner also he took the cup when he had supped saying This cup is
the new testament in my blood this do ye as often as you drink it in
remembrance of me 26: For as often as you eat this bread and drink this
cup you do show the Lord’s death till he come 27: Wherefore whoever
shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty
of the body and blood of the Lord 28: But let all examine themselves and
so let them eat of that bread and drink of that cup 29: For they that
eat and drink unworthily eat and drink damnation to themselves not discerning
the Lord’s body 30: For this cause many are weak and sickly among you
and many sleep [13]31:
For if we would judge ourselves we should not be judged 32: But when
we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with
the world [14]
33: Because of this my brethren when you come together to eat tarry one
for another 34: And if any hunger let them eat at home that you come not
together unto condemnation And the rest will I set in order when I come
[1] Verses 11-12, are the interpreters of 1
Corinthians 3:11. They confirm that the chronological interpretation of verse
three is the correct one (as opposed to the hierarchal interpretation). Despite
the clear explanation in verses 11 & 12, verse three remains a hotbed of
controversy, largely because it is considered an ironclad, bedrock, verse
subjecting women to men within the complementarian / male-headship movement. 1
Corinthians 1:11-12, however, refutes traditional-role-religionist and
complementarian male headship interpretations, clearly defining the verse as
being prepositional (chronological), rather than hierarchal. 1 Corinthians 11:3
is a divine flow-chart, showing source and chronological order of creation and
appearance. It reveals the prepositional (chronological flow of the)
relationship between:
·
1.) The Godhead and every person
(Elohiym—the Godhead—created the
heavens and the earth. He is creator/head/source
of all people not just males). In scripture usage, the Greek word, aner, cannot claim male exclusivity. In
numerous instances, it is used of crowds/groups composed of both women and men. There is no
hermeneutical reason it cannot be translated generically, as “people” or
“person,” when context calls for it.
·
2.) The direct creation, by God, of the
first man, who then
became the head of …
·
3.) …the first woman
[only], as he was the source from which God made her. The
first woman was just as much a direct creation of God as the man. The man
himself had nothing to do with the creation of woman. He was the source only in
the fact that God took one of his sides and used it to fashion the woman. The
fact that God fashioned the woman from an entire side of the man, in no way
diminished either him or her. He did not then become only half a person, nor
was she created a sub-[hu]man—doomed to subjugation to males for all eternity.
Nor can it be found in scripture where the first man was designated as superior
over the first woman based on chronology (or where all men are given command over all
women based on order of appearance. The first man and the first woman were both direct creations of God (God was
the ultimate source of existence and life for both of them). And both
were commanded to dominate the earth equally.
Even role-religionists admit that no hint of hierarchy exists in the creation
account of Genesis chapter one. Neither does it exist in the Hebrew language
Genesis chapter two was translated from—except through gender biased translator
supplements.
·
4.) Messiah (who was later born of a woman)
·
5.) The Godhead, from which came Messiah. To interpret
this verse any other way, is to reduce God—as Messiah is God. Jesus claimed Jehovahistic identity. On one occasion, the Jews sought to stone him
when he said he was the great, I AM.
The chronological flow of 1 Corinthians 11:3, is in
absolute agreement with the entire volume of scripture concerning the creation,
making, and appearance of the first man, the first woman, and the birth of
Messiah. The verse begins with the Godhead (for all the fullness of the Godhead
dwells in Christ) and ends with the Godhead. It was Elohiym (the Godhead) who in the beginning created the heavens and
the earth. And Jesus made the exclusive claim to be Elohiym (YHWH) when he said, “If you do not believe that I AM (EGO EMI),
you will die in your sins.” The apostle wrote that the entirety of the Godhead
resides in Jesus in physical form. Jesus the Christ does not need a God. Jesus is God.
[2] There is nothing in the Torah about men
praying with their heads covered or women being veiled. Paul must be
referencing Jewish Tradition or extra-scriptural writings which are not
authoritative. He admits as much a few verses down, when he writes that if any
are contentious about coverings and veils, there is no such tradition within
the Christian Church.
[3] If we were to take this verse out of
its ancient context, and apply it to modern-day Christianity, then Christian women would be required to wear veils [hijabs] and burqa’s. No scholar suggests
this should be the case. Paul was obviously responding to letters he received
that included questions about these things.
[4] Is Paul saying that men are made more in the image of God than are women?
Of course not! There is no scriptural basis for such an idea. Nevertheless,
many buy in to this theory. Nor are women made differently in the image of God than are men. There is only one Image of God. And God’s entire human
creation is made in that same image. The interpretation applied to this verse
by role-religionists, is at odds with the clear statement in Genesis chapter
one, that God created audawm—not just
the man (iysh)—in his image. Audawm is the phonetic pronunciation of
the Hebrew word 'âdâm—the name Elohiym
bestowed on both his male and female creations Genesis 5:2.
1 Corinthians 11:7, according to context, cannot be about the superiority of
males over females concerning the Image of God, but rather a continuation of
his discourse about the source and chronology of humans.
[5] Again, referencing chronology.
[6] Within many congregations, the myth
persists that women should be veiled to hide their beauty from fallen angels.
This harks back to Genesis chapter six where the sons of God (fallen angels)
were attracted to the daughters of men and took them for wives, producing a
genetically mutated race of Nephilim (half human and half angel). The interpretation preposterous for a
couple of reasons: 1.) If that were the case, women would need to be completely
veiled 100% of the time—not just in public or in church—as the walls of a
private home would pose no obstacle to an angel who wanted to look upon an
unveiled woman 2.) Neither veiling nor human males could hide or protect women
from spirit beings as mighty as angels. So, the phrase, “because of the
angels,” must refer to something else.
The same Greek word translated as “possessed” in Acts 16:16,
is applied to women in 1 Corinthians 11:10, concerning possessing authority
over their own persons. Whereas the NASB supplements their translation [of 1 Corinthians 11:10] with
the words, “a symbol of…[authority],” The
NIV translates this verse correctly, showing that it is the woman herself who possesses authority over her
own person, but the clear sense [of both the Greek and the English] is
patently unacceptable, so they muddy the waters by adding an alternate
reading in the footnotes that says, “or having a sign of authority in other words a veil on her
head. If this is indeed the case, if women are required to wear symbols or
signs of male authority on their heads, i.e., veils, then where are the veils in today’s
churches?
[7] Verses 11-12 confirm the chronological,
as opposed to hierarchical, nature of verse three. It is also a clear biblical
statement of essential and functional equality of women and men.
[8] “Verse 14 purports to be a question asking, "Doth not
nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair it is a shame?" Now
every candid person must answer this question with a "No." It is not
nature, but the barber who keeps man’s hair short. In China, millions of men
wear long hair, and nature has never taught them that it is a shame.
Furthermore, the last time the Corinthians saw the apostle Paul before he wrote
this Epistle, he himself had long hair (Acts 18:18); and to the Jew, accustomed
to religious vows (Numbers 6:1-21), long hair, religiously speaking, was more
of a "glory" than a "shame." Additionally to this, the
native Corinthian's would have thought this a strange question to submit to
them, for they would boast that they were descendants of the “long-haired
Achaeans," celebrated as such on almost every page of that most famous and
most ancient Greek poem, Homer's Iliad. Therefore we do not believe that St
Paul asked a question, here. His simple statement of fact, "Nor doth
nature teach you," has been changed into a question by the uninspired men
who put in the punctuation marks centuries later than St. Paul wrote these
words. As a question, this is a Tremendous Misfit. It contradicts a fact of
nature; it makes St. Paul inconsistent in his practice with his teaching; it is
an entirely unsuitable question to submit to Achaeans. –God’s Word to Women,
1908, Katherine Bushnell
[9] G473 anti can mean: in support of or opposed to; opposite to or instead of…We see that applied to the
commonly held definition of anti-Christ
(opposed to or instead of Christ).
[10] G4018 paribolaion can even refer to a full-body covering such as a burqa,
which would not have been uncommon among even the Jews in Paul’s day.
[11] The Greek culture, Rome emulated and
the church at Corinth was a part of, was a class-driven culture, nearly to the
point where class divisions could be considered caste. The Jews were just as
guilty of this as the Greeks. Paul had his job cut out for him in encouraging
new Christians to abandon limitations and prejudices of the old in favor of the
glorious freedom of becoming new creations in Christ, where no class or caste
divisions exist—neither Jew nor Greek slave nor free male nor female.
[12] Not only were the Christians at Corinth
being respecters of persons, but they were callously eating in front of sisters
and brothers in Christ who had no food! The class divisions among them rendered
them immune to the needs and feelings of others. Humans exhibit a sinful
readiness to grasp any bit of power/status they can, be it gender, social,
class, caste, or political. Among brethren, at least, these things ought not be
so.
[13] Verses 28-30 state a relationship
between sickness, death, and taking the Lord’s Supper hypocritically, or even
blindly (so accustomed to sin in one’s own life one cannot see it). We should
take that verse literally and very seriously. The scriptures warn of the
blindness of humanity to our own sin, our tendency to sin, and the inability to
know our own hearts without God’s help Psalm 139:23, 1 John 1:10, Jeremiah
10:23
[14] Verses 31 and 32 do not refer to the
Judgement seat of Christ or to the White Throne Judgement—both of which take
place after the death of a person—but rather to a judgement (of adversity,
sickness, or death) that could take place during a person’s earthly lifetime,
due to personal choices of sinful attitudes and behavior. Peter affirmed this,
when he wrote that judgement would begin at the house of God—that means
personal judgements (according to this passage of adversity, sickness, or
death) among believers. Verse :32 speaks of being chastened/disciplined by the
Lord. The psalmist wrote that blessed are those who are chastened by the Lord,
for if we heed that chastening (acknowledge the discipline, be sorry for our
sins, and turn from them), we will obtain relief
from the days of adversity. Who doesn’t want that? The scriptures are clear
that some adversity is brought on ourselves, and can be avoided. The apostle,
in this passage, was not concerned with political correctness. He did not
shrink from including sickness and death in the list of self-inflicted
judgements and troubles. We cannot avoid all trouble. Jesus said that in this
world, we would have trials. But trials come from different sources, and God is
not the one who brings all trials. Neither are all trials judgements for sin.
The enemy of our souls works tirelessly to undermine and even destroy
Christians during our lifetimes. He does this through various trials. When this
happens, we must seek God to bring us through the trial. He promises to not
only bring us through victoriously, but that we will be the better for them—but
God forbid, that we should bring trials and judgements on ourselves through
sinful choices of words, thoughts, and deeds.
Additional commentary pending for this
chapter… Questions and comments are welcome
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