The Head Covering: 1 Corinthians 11:2-16

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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Two Basic Views Of The Covering
Paul Was Establishing A Positive Divine Law To Be
Honored By All Christian Women, In All Places,
For All Times
Paul Commanded Christians To Avoid Any Conduct or
Actions That Would Violate The Peculiar Customs
Of Their Time And Place
OR
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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Three Possibilities Of The Positive Law View

• To Demand The Covering, But Say That The Only
  Covering In The Passage Is The Hair (v. 15).
  Problem Men Not To Be Covered!
• To Demand The Covering, But Only During The Age
  Of Spiritual Gifts (v. 5)
• To Demand That An External Covering Is Mandated
  For Women Of All Ages

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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Reasons For Viewing The Covering As A Custom

1. The shame of being shorn is compared to going
   without a veil (Where do the scriptures forbid
   the shaving of ones head?)
2. The veil was a symbol that woman was subject to
   man (This connection is not recognized in many of
   todays societies)
3. The lesson Paul taught could be learned from
   nature without the aid of revelation

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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Reasons For Viewing The Covering As A Custom

1. The wearing of the veil was called a custom in
   verse 16 (sunatheia established custom,
   habit)
2. The word prepo (proper, v. 13) refers to what is
   decent or proper in terms of the customs of man

Paul appealed to the Christian woman to wear the
veil because it was the prevailing custom, in
Corinth, through which women acknowledged their
subjection to man.
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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Problems With The Positive Divine Law View

1. It perverts the meaning of propheteuo to make it
   mean something in addition to inspired teaching
2. It makes praying and prophesying mean one thing
   when applied to the man, and another thing when
   applied to the woman

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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Problems With The Positive Divine Law View

1. Without any reason for doing so, this approach
   often allows any covering to be substituted for
   the veil

?
?
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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Problems With The Positive Divine Law View

1. The position will not allow the woman to do what
   Paul allowed the woman to do when veiled (i.e.,
   to publicly prophesy or pray in the assembly)
2. No clear definition has been given defining when
   a woman must wear the covering! During all public
   worship? During Bible classes worship? Public
   worship, but only during prayer and preaching?
   Group prayer and teaching?

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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Which Practice Has Greater Contextual Evidence
For Being A Custom?
If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed
your feet, you also ought to wash one anothers
feet (Jn. 1314). Greet one another with a holy
kiss (Rom. 1616). But every woman who prays or
prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her
head (1 Cor. 115).
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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Concerning Traditions (v.2) (paradosis)

• A thing that is handed down, or passed on
• Paul had received certain things from the Lord
  (1 Cor. 1123 1437 153)
• There are Authorized Traditions (2 Thess. 215
  36)
• Christ handed down that women should submit to
  men, respecting the cultural symbols and gestures
  indicative of such

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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
HEADSHIP 1 CORINTHIANS 113
By casting off the veil, Corinthian women had
cast off the sign of their subjection to man.
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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Praying Prophesying
covered (kalumma) having down the
head dishonor (kataischuno) disgrace, shame
Men NOT to be covered! (v. 4) Corinthian Women
MUST be covered! (v. 5)
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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
The Shaved Head vs. 5-6
If Unveiled
Early cultures associated a shaved head with
mourning, slavery, immorality, or mannishness.
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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
The Basis of the Rule vs. 7-12

1. The man is the glory of God (1 Cor. 117)
2. The woman is the glory of the man (1 Cor. 117)
3. The woman was made from the man (1 Cor. 118
   Gen. 222)
4. The woman was made for the man (1 Cor. 119 Gen.
   218)
5. The man was made before the woman (1 Tim. 213
   Gen. 27-22)
6. The woman sinned before the man (1 Tim. 214
   Gen. 36)

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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Because of the Angels vs. 10Two Basic Views
Concern should be had because of the fact that
angels watch what transpires on the earth (Lk.
1510 1 Cor. 49). They would recognize the
womans insubordinate demeanor.
Paul was reminding the Corinthian women of the
wicked angels who rebelled against God, refusing
to accept the place that God assigned them (Jud.
6 2 Pet. 24).
OR
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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
Hair As A Covering vs. 15

• Long hair was a shame to men and a glory to women
• Women have generally worn their hair longer than
  men
• The practice of men wearing long hair in specific
  societies for temporary periods of time are
  exceptions, not the rule
• Womans hair given as a covering (peribolaion
  article of clothing that wraps around a person)
• Since God provided a natural covering, the woman
  should see no shame in wearing the artificial
  covering

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The Head Covering 1 Corinthians 112-16
The Covering Custom vs. 16

• Some Corinthian women had cast off their
  coverings
• They contentiously maintained their right to be
  different from societal norms
• Paul said he and other churches had no such
  custom (of casting off the veil)
• Custom (sunetheia) is used in John 1839 to
  refer to an established practice of the Romans
  releasing a Jewish prisoner at Passover as a
  gesture of good will
• This is clear evidence that Paul considered the
  wearing of the external covering as custom of his
  day and time