1 Corinthians 11:1-16 – Men and Women In the Church

Part 11 in an audio-lecture series through 1 & 2 Corinthians, taught by Pastor David Guzik. Paul's corrective yet loving epistles to the church in Corinth stand as an incredibly important and instructive message for believers and the church as a whole to this very day.

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#biblestudy #newtestament #christian #apostlepaul #bible #theology

[deannaryle]

Bless you! Your courage to speak from the inspired word of GOD was so refreshing. So, many pastors "dance" around what the Bible so clearly says. Oh may, I so admire and respect. I am thankful my GOD led me to you. Thank you, so powerful message.

[abrahamphilip]

Thanks for making the book by books of Bible Commentary available for public. Also I heard that this available in different languages. God may bless you and your team what you doing for the blessings of many.

[juliareynolds]

Thank you so much Pastor David for such a helpful explanation. I thank the Lord for your ministry. May He watch over you and your family.

[concernedkid]

Thank you for this study. I appreciate your candidness even if some of what you had to explain is hard for some of us to digest... God's Word is true and this study is representative of this truth

[beaverinaneaglesnest]

The Lord convicted me to wear a head covering at church. I hear Pastor David saying this letter is not cultural and only applicable for a certain time but then says when it comes to head covering it is cultural. Wrong. Verse 10 reveals that a woman is to head cover in the church because of the angels. There were angels then, and there are angels now.

[aliciaenders]

Thank you Pastor. Lately, I have been learning from my Spanish Pastor who is an expert in Hebrew Language. He has explained that when in Genesis 1:27 mentions that God made them male and female they were one “Ejhad” in Hebrew a unit. It seems in the original Hebrew Bible the word rib does not appear at all . God mentions the word “Ezer” which has several meanings. Him and other expert teologans in Hebrew think that God in Genesis 2:21 being Adam asleep did a cut either on his side or back, and extracted Eve who was all along there.

In my humble opinion it is worth, and important to go to the original Hebrew. God bless you greatly 🙏

[IgnorantFishermen]

Rest message David!!

Maranatha 👍☝️✌️

[shereewright]

There is an order of authority. For me to submit to my husband, Jesus must be his head and he is living according to Jesus’s will and purpose. As my husband cannot represent me on judgement day, I have to give an account for myself. Total believe in submission but accountability takes priority. Paul lives according to Christ will do he encourage others to do likewise. In this dispensation, where men are lovers of themselves and money while serving idols and joining a cultic I pray for discernment against deception

[coleyesparza]

So, would you say that ideally, it would be pleasing to God for woman to wear some kind of head covering when married all the time or just while praying? I’ve been praying for clarity on this.

[gethsemane]

Verse 10 says that women should have a symbol of authority on her HEAD. Wouldn’t that imply that regardless of culture the symbol of authority should be some type of head covering?

[TheGuitaronfire]

don't forget that in the Greek, verse four literally translates "every man praying or prophesying having his head DOWN dishonors his head" i'm not sure why the translators put the word covered which is why today pastors don't let men in their congregations wear hats in church but the women can but this verse actually is saying that men should not bow their heads when they pray.

[IzabellGrace]

If we are supposed to live by the Bible then why are we not following the Bible by hair covering and woman being able to do ministry? Just like men staying home and allowing his wife to take head of households this confuses me. The head covering and hair cuts.The Bible says we are to live by the what is written no matter what. We are not living towards what the Bible says it’s half way and not the whole way? This is how this chapter makes it sound.

Very good reading thank you
God bless you all❤

[FA-God-s-Words-Matter]

If we follow those who subscribe to the doctrine of women wearing veils, then it can be argued that the most often cited verse is 1st Corinth. 11:5, which states:

“But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.”

According to many of those who believe women ought to wear veils this verse supposedly implies that a woman’s uncovered head is a woman who does not wear a veil. Such a woman is either dishonoring God, their own physical head or her husband for failing to wear it which implies that they are in disobedience. Some have gone so far as to say it is a sin. Another assumption is that the woman being referred to already has long hair and since they conclude that the covering is a veil then it must be referring to an “additional” covering otherwise it would clash with verse 15 stating that God gave women long hair for a covering. Another conclusion is that women ought to be covered ONLY when praying and prophesying which would make it seem as though it were something that can be placed on or taken off like a veil. You’ve probably noticed by now it takes several assumptions to reach the conclusion that women ought to wear a foreign object on their heads, despite the lack of evidence.

* Does the Bible really give a clear command that women should wear a veil?

The first thing that everyone must understand when talking about this topic is that it DOES NOT say the word “veil “or any other physical headwear, as far as the KJV is concerned. It surely mentions that the woman’s head should be covered, and no one disputes this, but it does not say that it should be covered with a veil, a shawl, a bonnet, a cap, or any other specific headwear. The verses in question within 1st Corinthians 11 mention the words, cover, covered, uncovered, and covering, but that does not mean we can translate this to mean specifically a veil, a shawl, a bonnet, a cap, or anything else similar. In fact, it would seem more like an adverb rather than a noun. Nevertheless, the word “cover” is often unfortunately interpreted by head covering promoters to mean a veil above all other types of headwear, even if there is no evidence to prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt. To do so would mean that one is trying to read more into the verse than what is actually stated and is not truly seeking an exegesis of the Scriptures.

Some have claimed that they are referring to a physical synthetic head covering because the Scriptures seem to indicate that there are two exclusive conditions in order to wear one and that is when a woman is either praying and/or prophesying. But does this interpretation stand up to logic?

If we were to believe that under certain conditions a woman ought to wear a physical head covering, then it stands to reason that under OTHER conditions a woman should be able NOT to wear one. For example, if you are going to argue that a woman ought to wear a veil because the Bible claims there are two conditions, then it is logical to presume that any other condition would ALLOW them to be without one, like speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, healing the sick, casting out devils, etc.

Now if a head covering promoter should claim that there are MORE conditions, then they admit that there aren’t really “two” conditions thereby nullifying the two-condition argument.

The reasoning behind why the “two-condition” argument is important for veil promoters is because if these words were actual conditions, then it would seem as though the covering were something that can be placed on or taken off. So even though it does not literally or EXPLICITLY say anything about putting on or taking off a veil. Veil promotors form this belief based on what they believe to be IMPLIED and not by a direct statement. Many people like to believe this because they ASSUME that praying and prophesying are two conditions instead of seeing them as mere examples.

* Praying and prophesying were meant to be viewed as examples, not conditions…

Now I can understand how someone can mistakenly conclude praying and prophesying as conditions in verse 5, on the surface, but once you read the rest of the verses in context one cannot reach that conclusion. For example, if the strongest argument is because there were conditions for women to wear veils because of verse 5 then why don’t we hear the same thing spoken of about men in verse 4?

“Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.”

Normally we do not hear the argument that men ought not to have their heads covered exclusively under two conditions as we hear for women as to why they should. I think it is because that would imply that they CAN have their heads covered under other circumstances like the examples I mentioned before as in speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, healing the sick, casting out devils, etc. But I suspect a veil promoter would not go along with this. Then there is verse 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 the man.”

So, there seems to be ANOTHER reason for men not to cover. Therefore, if the reason for men not to cover their heads in this verse is because he is the “image and glory of God, ” then why even mention praying or prophesying in verse 4? Should a man not be covered under ANY condition since verse 7 overrides any supposed conditions? Shouldn’t that make you question that perhaps Paul was just giving a couple of examples? Verses 4 and 5 are basically the same except for whom they are directed yet when one hears the arguments by veil promoters it is typically about how verse 5 is conditional for women yet for men in verse 4 it is usually not spoken of. Again, isn’t it more likely that Paul was using the words praying and prophesying as examples in both verses?

We can also get a sense that Paul was referring to praying and prophesying as examples if we read verse 13 when it only mentions the word praying and NOT prophesying.

“Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?”

If there were only two exclusive conditions, then why would he leave out prophesying? We can’t say he got tired in his writing as he mentioned both words in verses 4 and 5. So, what can we say about this? Just that Paul was giving us a couple of examples of how doing something HOLY or GODLY does not give a pleasant appearance if the woman is uncovered, meaning not covered in long hair and the same goes for men when their heads are covered in long hair since that is exactly one is supposed to understand when reading verse 14.

[janeecejjf]

I always thought it was because of the fall too because of Genesis 3:16 but I never thought it was broken because of redemption.
Child birth travail certainly wasn’t broken. Lol

[shereewright]

There is an order of authority. 😮as if Christ is not the head of my husband as I wife I will not submit to anything out of the will or obedience of Christ as on the day of judgment my husband will not represent me, I will have to give an account for myself. My head must have a head which is Jesus Christ and if he

[janeecejjf]

What makes something culturally relevant though?

[aikozoe]

there is no difference between men and women in the church. they are both to be submitted one to another, serve one another, love and respect one another. men and women can both teach and preach. when you look at other people through their sex you live by the flesh and are carnal, fleshly minded.

[juliakampen]

another bellonie teaching. Paul teached the torah, but there is no command for women to cover their head, anywhere! But God commanded the priests to wear a head covering. And there was no such thing back then as uncovered women where prostitutes, please show the evidence.

[kornykorhorn]

Hey, that’s sexist! It implies men need a lot of help! ;-)

[jessyjonas]

No women Preacher no women on the board 😮