Why do we come together for worship? What is a church gathering all about? The key things can be summed up as:
- To give praise and glory to God
- To hear God speak to us together
- To encourage and build one another up
This will help us make sense of the next section of 1 Corinthians because this is where the focus is and these are things the Corinthians haven’t been too good at.
I’m aware that this section of 1 Corinthians can prove controversial and difficult so the important thing is that we show love, charity and humility as we get to grips with God’s Word together. It also requires me to be willing to allow God to speak to me means he will disagree with me.
The Big Issue (v 3-6)
The question is about what men and women are to do when speaking in church including praying and prophesying. Paul’s advice is that women were to cover their heads and men to uncover theirs. This related to a cultural norm at the time where men had short hair and women long hair but tied back neatly and often especially for married women it was covered in public.[1]
So the problem was either that women were seeing a church gathering in their home as just a private thing so that head covering didn’t matter. [2] This would be a bit like turning up in your pyjamas and slippers. Or alternatively they were seeking to assert freedom.[3] They were in effect saying, “I can do what I want”. This would be a bit like someone getting up and throwing away their wedding ring before speaking to the Church.
God’s Word disagrees with two approaches that we have historically been tempted to take.
- That women are subjected and so silent and invisible in church. The women speak here
- That we can do what we want – complete unshackled freedom, pursuing our own dreams and ideas at whatever expense. No, we are constrained by the authority of God’s Word.
The Reason
What God tells us about himself and his plan and purpose for us (v 7-12)
It’s to do with headship. This is not about status or value, men and women are equal (Gen 1) Christ is fully and equally God too but The Father is described as his head (v 3).
Men are made in God’s image to glorify him (v 7) . In Roman/Greek culture a head covering for men was a sign of mourning[4] and/or pagan worship.[5] Both associations dishonour Christ as man’s head.
In the creation order, the first woman, Eve was made for man, Adam (v 7-9) and so she was described as a helper to complement him/complete him in Genesis 2. Note again that according to v 11-12, this is not about hierarchy/inequality, men come from women too from mothers to sons! However, Paul does see something significant in what happened at Creation which he thinks should be reflected in Christian worship. The first marriage was meant to portray something of God’s relationship to his people, just as marriage today reflects Christ’s relationship to the Church (cf Eph 5). Our home life is meant to be a witness to what we know about Christ and the church. So we shouldn’t do things in church that undermine the home.
There’s probably a broader application here. What behaviour do we model for our children if we show that we rebel against order and authority in the church family, if we are pushy to get our way and expect life to revolve around us, if we won’t take advice, if we are selfish etc. What example will they follow at home? The converse is true humble, servant hearted, loving believers can modal this and gain the love and respect of their family too
Our witness to others
Angels (v10)
Worship is public and so it has an impact on others. First, Paul observes that even angelsobserve our worship.[6] There is a spiritual dynamic as both the enemies of God watch and witness how God has transformed our lives and God’s messengers are encouraged by this too.
Wider society and culture (v 14)
The NLT says “Isn’t it obvious”. The literal sense is that Paul’s instructions on hair and head coverings are to do with “The natural order”. However, this isn’t, in this context about creation order. Rather it’s about what people culturally knew to be right and proper.[7] This isn’t about conforming to the World’s practices but about living in obedience to Christ so that the World sees our love for him, each other and them.
The wider church (v16)
Remember the Corinthians were proud, puffed up with knowledge, thought they’d already “arrived” and wanted to rule over the church. This is part of the call to do the opposite. We are to be loving and humble, prioritising service by putting the needs of others and unity of the body first. This is at the heart of worship.
Conclusion
There are lots of potential discussions about how we apply Scripture to our context for marriage and church life from this. Check out some of our resources on Faithroots that cover this. However, this is about much more than church structures and outward symbols
The key question is: “Have we grasped the purpose of worship?”
- Do we use the church for our own ends, fulfilling our needs
- Do we come to serve or be served? Think about song choices, sermons, prayers, words etc
- Do we act as family or consumers?
[1] Garland,Kindle version, location 11951.
[2] Garland, Kindle version location 11654
[3] See Fee, 497.
[4] Fee, 506-7.
[5] Fee, 508.
[6] Garland, Location 12125.
[7] Fee, 526-529.
Faithroots 