1 CORINTHIANS LESSON 17
 

     We will begin this lesson in I Corinthians 11:1 "Be ye followers
of me, even as I also [am] of Christ."

     Paul is saying, he tried to live a life before them that they
could follow. We know we have discussed, over and over, that the best
sermon a person can preach is the life they live. I believe that is
what Paul is saying here. He had tried to be a Christian example that
they could follow. Paul is really saying, follow the pattern that I
have given you, because my walk is full of Christ.

     I Corinthians 11:2 "Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember
me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered [them] to
you."

     "Ordinances", here, means traditions. There are miles and miles
of difference in traditions and ordinances. Traditions are of men.
Ordinances are of God. Paul is answering the letter they had written
them, and says that they need to remember the traditions he had set up
for them. In all of this, these are traditions of men.

     I Corinthians 11:3 "But I would have you know, that the head of
every man is Christ; and the head of the woman [is] the man; and the
head of Christ [is] God."

     This is speaking of the body. This is in the realm of the family.
Paul had just mentioned in the verse above that these things are
traditions of men. The husband is the head of the wife in the family.
This is an earthly ordinance, and is speaking of the flesh of man.
This is not a law of God, because there is no male or female with God.
Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond
nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus."  Actually the head of the entire body of Christ is
Jesus Christ. Men and women make up the body of Christ. We must see
this for what it is. It is not mentioned in anything in the Bible
printed in red {which Jesus spoke}. This does not mean that it is not
true, but that it, perhaps, is for a certain group. The entire Bible
is true. We, also, know that everything in the Bible that is to be
taken for the law of God, has to be established by two witnesses.
Paul is the only one anywhere in the Bible who speaks of women in this
manner.  Without the second witness, we would have to say that this is
what Paul perceives to be tradition, and not God's law. In the Lord
Jesus Christ the distinction between the sexes was done away with. If
this were not true, then Christ is just for the women, because He was
not descended from the man, but the woman. There is an order in the
home that should be observed. The husband is the head of the house. In
this sense, he rules over the woman. This is in the flesh realm, and
not in the spirit.  Ephesians 5:23 "For the husband is the head of the
wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour
of the body." The family on earth is a replica of the family in
heaven.  Father God is over all.  All believers in Christ are the
bride of Christ. We are all sons of God by adoption. Male and female
genders are in the flesh for the earth, and have nothing to do with
the spirit of mankind. The family on earth should still observe the
man being the head of his family. The law of the land at the time that
Paul wrote this was the basis for part of this tradition. The problem
is that many do not differentiate between the spirit and the flesh.
Paul is trying to teach them a way to live peaceably upon the earth.
In many of the countries in the world today, this tradition is still
the law of the land.

    I Corinthians 11:4 "Every man praying or prophesying, having [his]
head covered, dishonoureth his head."

     This is just saying that a man should not pray in public with his
hat on.  We read that the head of man was Christ. When he is praying
or prophesying, it should be very obvious that Christ is his head.

     I Corinthians 11:5 "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."

     The idea here is not that the woman is praying or prophesing.
There is nothing wrong with the woman prophesing or praying. The thing
is that she must have her covering on her head. I Corinthians 11:15
"But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for [her] hair
is given her for a covering."  This is saying that a woman with
extremely short hair, or a bald-headed woman should not pray or
prophesy. Her husband surely would be embarrassed, if she was bald-
headed, or had her hair cut like a man's. This is speaking of public
worship.

     I Corinthians 11:6 "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 shaven, let
her be covered."

     This is the Scripture many use to say that a woman should wear a
scarf or a hat in church. I do not believe this is what is intended at
all. I believe this is speaking of a woman who dresses and behaves in
such a way as to embarrass her husband. Shaving the head of a woman
was done in the case of an adulteress. Women should not wear their
hair, or dress in such a way as to embarrass their husbands.

     I Corinthians 11:7 "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."

     This is really speaking of husband and wife. A good wife is a
reflection of her husband. They two are one flesh. They should be one.
They should walk together side by side. They should be in agreement as
far as is possible. What Paul is probably referring to here is the
fact that God made man from the dust of the earth. He made him in His
own image. Woman was taken from the rib of man next to his heart.
There is a special bond between husband and wife that is impossible to
explain. A good wife is a blessing to her husband. Men and women are
made in the image of God, as we will see in another verse.
     I Corinthians 11:8 "For the man is not of the woman; but the
woman of the man."  I Corinthians 11:9 "Neither was the man created
for the woman; but the woman for the man."

     We covered this in the verse above. The woman was made from the
rib of man. She was not made from his heel bone, for him to walk on
her, neither was she made from his head bone to rule over him. She was
to walk with him side by side as his helpmeet. The word "woman" means
taken from man. They two shall be one flesh. The man and his wife are
one in the flesh. Man was lonesome, and God made him a mate. Genesis
1:27 "So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God
created he him; male and female created he them."  The word man, in
this verse, means a human being, or mankind. Later on another word is
translated man which means a male person. Genesis 2:23 "And Adam said,
This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be
called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."  Even though the
woman came from the rib of man, she was also made in the image of God.
God created man {mankind} in his own image from verse 27 of chapter 1
of Genesis above.

     I Corinthians 11:10 "For this cause ought the woman to have power
on [her] head because of the angels."

     The word that was translated "power" here, {exousia}, means power
and authority. The word can, also, mean ability, privilege, force,
capacity, competency, freedom, or magistrate. It can, also, mean
superhuman, token of control, jurisdiction, right, and strength.
We have just read above, that in this world in the realm of the flesh,
the husband is the head of the woman. Angels are ministering spirits.
The word that was translated "angels", here, means messenger, or the
implied meaning is pastor.  The word that "cause" was translated from
means channel. "Ought" in the verse above means under obligation,
Some believe by this Scripture, that women should be veiled to show
that their husbands are over them. I do not believe this to be what
this is saying. It is very important for the woman to recognize her
husband as her head in the home. He is her head in the family realm.
I, also, believe that a husband and wife are one in the flesh. Their
roles are different in the home, and each should be proud of what they
are. These last few verses have been about women praying and
prophesying in the church. I believe the Scripture, here, is showing
that her husband {head} should be in agreement with her ministering.
If he is not, she would be an embarrassment to him. The angels
{messengers in this particular instance} are bringing messages from
God. The wife who ministers should be called of God Himself, and her
husband should agree with the fact that God sent the messenger to call
her. Her husband would be sure of her call to minister, and the
authority that she has would be with full approval of her husband.

     I Corinthians 11:11 "Nevertheless neither is the man without the
woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord."

     Now we see that Paul is saying something entirely different.
Surely enough one could not be without the other. Woman could not be
without man, but man could not be without a woman to birth him either.
We are one in the Lord, as we have said so many times. In God's view,
there is no difference. God looks on the spirit and not on the flesh.
Male and female genders here on this earth are so that they together
with God can procreate a civilization to worship God. The whole thing
of trying to separate them is foolish in God's sight. Again, I say,
God does not look at the flesh of mankind, He looks at the spirit.

     I Corinthians 11:12 "For as the woman [is] of the man, even so
[is] the man also by the woman; but all things of God."

     This is just what we have been saying above. We know that God is
Creator of all mankind. It is not really any of our business how He
goes about it. God had all of this figured out from the foundation of
the world. This is all part of the plan God had for mankind. Long
before the temptation in the Garden of Eden, God told man to populate
the earth. There is no sin in the creative act, if it is done in the
way God planned from the beginning. The sin in the garden was not the
fact that this husband and wife slept together, but in the fact they
disobeyed God.

     I Corinthians 11:13 "Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a
woman pray unto God uncovered?"

     We must remember back, that this is speaking of the covering of
her hair. Her hair must cover her head. The only time she would not
have this covering would be in the case of an adulteress, when her
head had been shaved in punishment.

     I Corinthians 11:14 "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that,
if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?"

     If a man had long hair, it would be as if he is saying, he is
ashamed of Christ who is his head. "Nature" in the verse above, means
something within you. Your own good sense tells you long hair on a man
is a shame. I believe the reason that Paul has brought the thing about
the hair up is, he is trying to explain that women should not wear
their clothes and cut their hair to appear to be a man. The men should
not wear long hair and appear to be a woman. He is really speaking out
against homosexuality and lesbianism.  If you are a woman, be proud
that you are a woman, do not try to be a man. The same goes for the
man. Be proud that you are a man. Do not try to be a woman. God did
not make any mistakes, when He made you. In the Old Testament, there
was an occasion for a man to grow his hair long, when he took the
Nazarite vow. He was humbling himself before God for a period of time.
At the end of the vow, he would cut his hair and sacrifice it. This
was very much like the fast Christians enter in today, when praying
for some specific thing.  The long hair, here, was short lived.

     1 Corinthians 11:15 "But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory
to her: for [her] hair is given her for a covering."

     This is covered in verse 13 above. A woman who prays in church to
God must have hair on her head. {This does not include women who have
illness and have lost their hair from treatments} The bald head of a
woman in this time element meant that she was an adulteress.  Then an
adulteress should not pray in the church, or at special functions.

     I Corinthians 11:16 "But if any man seem to be contentious, we
have no such custom, neither the churches of God."

     "Contentious", in the verse above, means quarrelsome or
disputing.  Paul is explaining that all of the things he has said
before about the women ministering and about the hair of men and
women, is custom and is not doctrine of the church. He says, I am
trying to make it easier for you to minister in peace. This is custom,
not doctrine.

                             Notes








































                      1 Corinthians 17 Questions


1.  Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of _________.
2.  What is the best sermon a person can give to others?
3.  What had Paul tried to be before him?
4.  What does "ordinances", in verse 2, mean?
5.  Traditions are of ___.
6.  Ordinances are of ____.
7.  Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 3.
8.  The ______ in the head of the wife in the family.
9.  Quote Galations chapter 3 verse 28.
10. The head of the entire body of Christ is _______.
11. Who makes up the body of Christ?
12. For a thing to be established as law, there must be how many
    witnesses?
13. In the Lord Jesus Christ, the distinction of the sexes was ______
    _____ _____.
14. What part of the Bible is true?
15. Who was Christ actually descended from the man or the woman?
16. Quote Ephesians chapter 5 verse 23.
17. What is the family on earth a replica of?
18. Who make up the bride of Christ?
19. What does verse 4 mean about the man not having his head covered?
20. Is there anything wrong with a woman praying or prophesying?
21. What is the woman's covering?
22. Why did they shave a woman's head?
23. A good wife is a _________ of her husband.
24. God made man from the _______ of the _________.
25. Woman was made from _____ ____.
26. In Genesis chapter 1 verse 27 man means what?
27. What does woman mean?
28. What does the word power, from verse 10, mean?
29. What are angels?
30. Why are there male and female genders on the earth?
31. Does not nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair,
    it is a ________ unto him?
32. What does "contentious" in verse 16, mean?