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To
those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints with
all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord
(1st Corinthians 1:2) Introduction In order to acquire a better understanding of the above-mentioned chapters, it is imperative to consider the 1st Corinthian letter in its entirety. It can be seen as a letter of practical and corrective instruction, specifically to the Corinthians as well as to "all who call on our Lord's name." We shall find that, at times, a better understanding of the Greek New Testament can be helpful in our interpretation of the English New Testament, and this letter specifically. However, God makes no requirement of learning Greek as a prerequisite for understanding the New Testament. He has given his Holy Spirit to teach each child of God and to guide us into all truth (John 16:13). This is accomplished by serious study of the sacred scriptures, and prayer for understanding, and by the edification of faithful men who know and teach the truth. Also there can be great benefit from using some excellent word-study helps that are readily available in our day (I.e. The Greek and English concordances and dictionaries). With these things in mind, we present the following introductory remarks for your consideration. To
everyone
One of the temptations regarding this somewhat controversial worldwide letter is to use the history of that date to explain why the Holy Spirit is speaking to the Corinthians and therefore these things do Not apply to us today. This is not an acceptable or accurate way to interpret any Scripture. Secular ungodly history does not explain inspired Scripture - God breathed Scripture explains Scripture -always, always, always! Yes, we sometimes use history to better understand Scripture, but if there is any explaining to do, we must allow Scripture to explain history (Not the other way around). After all, God is the only one still living who was also alive when all historical events occurred. Hence, since it is evident that all Scripture is given for doctrine and reproof... (2 Tim. 3:16), to all Christians in all societies, secular history can sometimes help us gain insights, but secular history can never be the controlling or limiting factor to interpret God's mind. Verse 16 and 17 go on to reflect that all Scripture is given so that the man of God would be perfect/complete (artios- Strong's GR# 739) and thoroughly furnished (exartizo- Strong's GR # 1822) with a view to every good work. The scriptures are inspired, authoritative, and do not contradict themselves in their teaching on any subject. Since the canonization of the New Testament, there has been much discussion regarding the godly role of the sisters in the meetings of the New Testament assembly. There seems to be a tension produced when the scriptures teach both the essential equality of men and women, while at the same time presenting functional differences with women being subordinate to men in the home and the church. It is difficult for us to keep both equality (of essence) and subordination (of function) in balance. Our modern society is emphasizing equality to the point of denying the plain created differences between the sexes. However, both must be maintained without allowing one to swallow up the other. We see many far-reaching and important ministries for women in the New Testament -but we also notice some clear restrictions - see 1 Corinthians 14: 34-36 and 1 Timothy 2; 8-15. Umbrella
Statements and Exceptions
To be specific about the denial just mentioned, some groups of believers not only reject head covering for women in assembly meetings, but also reject water baptism and the Lord's supper. They believe the latter two were only for first century Christians. We shall attempt by God's help, to dispel such thoughts and prove beyond any reasonable doubt, their expected place in our day.
Chapter
11 :: Section 1 :: Headship
(1-3) Chapter
11 :: Section 2 :: Head
Covering (4-16) As
to the "cultural matter," please consider the following
for some help on this controversial issue.
When we consider man, we see that he is the image and glory of God (first Corinthians 11: 7) and therefore he should not cover his head. Why not? Because to do so would cover our Lord Jesus, symbolically, since Christ is our head. Our Lord is the true center of Scripturally gathered saints and has the Biblical right to have preeminence "in all things" (Col. 1:18), even in symbolism. Since man is the head of the woman, he should not stand out as central or preeminent. Therefore the woman's covered head in the assembly symbolically covers the man. The uncovered man allows Christ to have his rightful "glorified" place as center (in the midst). The woman's covered head covers her personal glory (her long hair). In this section, there are three Greek words for "cover". In verse 4 it is KATA. In verse 5,6,7, and 13 it is KATAKALUPTO, or its negative AKATAKALUPTOS, in verse 15 it is PERIBOLION. Also there are three objects of the woman's covered head - man in verse 7, angels in verse 10 and God in verse 13. Finally there are at least three reasons for the covering on the head of the woman. First, man must not stand out as preeminent in the assembly. Therefore since man is the head of the woman, her head, of necessity, must be covered to display our Lord in his glory, unrivaled. Man symbolically is covered by the woman's physical cover on her head. This allows our Lord to be viewed in unrivaled glory (see verse 7). A second reason is given in verse 10, the angelic host (see also Ephesians 3: 10). They are learning lessons from the gathered assembly. Thirdly, we see the woman's covered head, covering her personal glory, lest such should detract from our Lord's preeminent glory (see verse 15).
Chapter 11 :: Section
3 :: Head Remembering (17-34) Chapter 12 gives us spiritual gifts perhaps as no other portion of Scripture. Effort will be made to show the difference between gifts in individuals and individuals who are themselves gifts. We sometimes use the terms "men who are gifts" and "gifted men (or women)". The former is found in Ephesians 4 and the latter in Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and 1 Peter 4. This chapter abounds in triplets -- see TRIPLET outline in appendix for a helpful list. Three key words in the chapter are gifts, body and members. As Brother Harold McKay once stated "when you think of gifts, think of variety - when you think of a body, think of unity - when you think of members, think of multiplicity". There are nine gifts in verse 8,9 and 10 which are 3 threes. Of the nine, three of them will be used by the Spirit in chapter 13:8 to show the declining character of all the gifts, which are sign or supernatural in character. To better understand the characteristics of sign gifts, see Mark 16:17-18. Also noticed that verse 28 gives us "first Apostles", "second Prophets", and "third Teachers" - and no fourth is mentioned. Chapter 13 presents to us one of the greatest teachings on the character of love in God's word. It is also here that we see the things that will abide this age of grace and things that will not. The primary focus of this chapter seems to be on things and functions and how they affect the believers. In this chapter we have a declaration of something perfect and complete to come. This chapter does not tell us to "collect" the inspired writings into one volume, but we do believe that men were guided by the Holy Spirit to do so. When "that which is perfect" came, men collected those God breathed New Testament writings and added them to the already existing Old Testament scriptures. And since the writings that were added are so incredibly in harmony with God's mind as already disclosed in the Old Testament, it is not difficult to understand God's intention to complete and/or make perfect the Old Testament teachings. Indeed the giving of His perfect only begotten Son completes every possible aspect of the Old Testament teachings. If it were not for this chapter on the loving work of completing a perfect written word, we would indeed have no declaration whatsoever relating to the canonization of Scripture. And to this a warning is found in Revelation 22:18-19, not to add to or take away from these writings, which were accepted by the early church fathers, In this chapter we also have information that helps us understand the cessation of the "sign gifts" near the close of the first century. Therefore, the completed Revelation of God's word would be what was needed to replace this miraculous bit-by-bit revelation of God's mind that was occurring throughout the first century. Chapter 14 is unique in presenting rules or guidelines for the functions of saints ministering to saints within the local assembly. It is in this chapter that we hope to help the reader toward a better understanding of the doctrine of tongues (Languages). This portion deals with languages uttered within the assembly that are not supernatural in character. They were human languages, humanly acquired, and at times carnally uttered. The gift of languages (tongues) was still existing at that time but it was not the "gift" that the Holy Spirit was primarily dealing with in chapter 14. More will be said later to prove this point more clearly. Verse
by Verse - Chapters 11, 12,
13 and 14 DRW
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