BeFree Church: Barrington

Bible Interpretation Realities
-Scripture was not written to us, but it is written for us
-authorial intent is key
-historical-cultural-linguistic study is crucial
-danger always lurks that we will make the passage say what we like

The meaning of head/kephale is hotly debated:
-some see word designates hierarchy
-some see word means the source
-some see word speaks of prominence

How did this become a problem in Corinth?
We don’t know for certain. But a good speculation is context of the house church. At home women wore their hair down and uncovered. But some homes used for church gathered for worship. Perhaps women in their own homes had become comfortable not wearing a covering, as well as finding new status in Christ and His Church, maybe they decided to forgo wearing a head covering. Paul is telling them, put the covering on for the worship because it is not honoring to God to create a distraction and potential controversy at the gathered worship which is open to inviting non-believers as well as Christians of various backgrounds and mores.

Chapter 11 “How do we keep our gathered worship appropriate and honoring to God?”

So for us today the teaching is both men and women need to be considerate toward one another in our public worship gatherings. “Men and Women don’t need to look like they walked off the set of Pride and Prejudice, but they shouldn’t look like they just walked off the set of Love Island either.” Andrew Wilson, 1Corinthians for you