1 Corinthians 11: Hats?

The second half of the chapter seems easy enough to understand.  In verse 17, Paul writes that the meetings of the Corinthians 'do more harm than good'.  Tough criticism, to be sure, but Paul is clear that in their gatherings the Corinthians have divisions among them.  This is certainly not God's design for the church, as we are called to celebrate together, apparently particularly as it relates to celebrating the Lord's Supper.  And no doubt this is a serious charge, as Paul states that many in the Corinthian church have gotten sick and even died because they have taken the Lord's Supper in an unworthy, selfish manner.  'When you gather to eat, you should all eat together' (v. 33) seems to be the main point Paul makes.

The first half of the chapter is a little more difficult to figure.  Paul seems to be saying that at worship gatherings, women need to cover their heads and men must not do so.  Is this a cultural issue from long ago?  Are these clear commands to be followed even today?  Is it wrong for a man to pray while wearing a hat?  I needed to know more, so I did a little digging.  There's no shortage of explanations and guesses about the whole issue of hats, but probably the best I found comes from a sermon by Rick Stacy, as he writes about the symbolism of the head covering in those times, and how covering one's head indicated they were under the authority of another.  Rick writes:

What do we do about haircuts and hats?
For us, the answer may not be quite as obvious because our culture has changed. The principle has not changed and never will. 
Are we rebellious and arrogantly holding on to power and control. Do we demand our place of honor? Do we simply serve those in our lives?
Remember that what you do with your head often reveals what is in it.
Men, when you pray and prophesy, bow your heads –take off your caps. Let God and man know that you are under his covering and no one else’s. Don’t bring shame to your head.
Women, when you pray and prophesy, dress in a way that reserves your body for your husband. Don’t bring shame to your head.
When you pray and prophesy make sure you are under the authority of Christ, the chief shepherd and those he has given over the shepherding of the body to in his absence – the shepherds of the body.

1 Corinthians 10 - Good Advice

Wrapped into the framework of the ongoing discussion about idols, meat, Israel's history and more, this chapter is chock full of straight forward mandates like:

'Do not be idolaters' (v. 7)
'We should not commit sexual immorality' (v. 8)
'We should not test the Lord' (v. 9)
'do not grumble' (v. 10)
'be careful that you don't fall' (v. 12)
'flee from idolatry' (v. 14)
'Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience' (v. 25)
'eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience' (v. 27)
'whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God' (v. 31)
'Do not cause anyone to stumble' (v. 32)

How great life would be if every one of us did our best to live like this.

1 Corinthians 9 - "The Rights of an Apostle"

In this chapter we see Paul's passion for his purpose, "to win as many as possible" (v. 19).  He spends the first 14 verses in the chapter claiming his right to earn a living from his teaching and preaching.  He makes a compelling case, talking about oxen, soldiers and 'those who work in the temple'.  And then in verse 15, he turns this all around, saying that although he had this right, he didn't make use of it, to the point that he'd rather 'die than have anyone deprive him of this boast'.  So apparently Paul is pointing out to the Corinthians how he went above and beyond in his dealings with them, so that none of them would be put off by the Gospel.  Seems to tie in with the discussion in chapter 8 about avoiding practices that will cause others to stumble in their faith.

We know from other letters he wrote that Paul did receive gifts from churches and friends, that he did, at least at times, earn his living from the Gospel.  I think that's an important point.  The argument he makes here seems to be somewhat unique to his dealings with Corinth.

I want to emulate Paul, doing all I do for the sake of the Gospel, sharing in its blessings, making my body my slave, and not being disqualified for the prize.

1 Corinthians 8 - Compassion vs. Freedom

Thirteen short verses with a common theme, summarized well by verse 9.  We see in the first 8 verses that we have great freedom in Christ.  Idols are worthless, and the eating of food that's been sacrificed to these worthless idols makes us no less holy.  In 2012, although we rarely come across people struggling with those who eat meat sacrificed to idols, we do see Christians struggling to embrace other believers who drink alcohol. There are Christians convinced that we must not eat pork.  There are some who have a real problem with a believer watching an R-rated movie.  Bottom line:
"Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak." (v. 9).  Also, we see that Paul clearly puts his obligation to others ahead of his own personal freedom in Christ:
"if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall." (v. 13).  First and foremost, we are built for others, not ourselves.

1 Corinthians 7 - Marriage Talk

1 Corinthians 7 is one of those chapters that can get someone in a lot of trouble if quoted recklessly and without context.  For example:

"It is good for a man not to marry"
"Those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this"
"Those who have wives should live as if they had none"
"Were you a slave when you were called?  Don't let it trouble you"
"He who marries does right, but he who does not marry does even better"

Any of these could be controversial if removed from the broader context of understanding to whom Paul is writing and why.  The church in Corinth was suffering from the sexually immoral behavior of some of its members, which Paul has already specifically addressed in earlier chapters.  Then at the end of chapter 6, we read even more about sexual immorality in more general terms.  All this paints for us the picture of a people who were constantly bombarded by sex-related issues.  Probably not too different from modern-day Western society.

Even more, we see this in verse 1 of chapter 7: "Now for the matters you wrote about".  The people in Corinth apparently had asked Paul some specific questions about marriage.  Questions like: is it OK for a Christian spouse to divorce an unbeliever?  Is it OK for a widow to remarry?  Is it even good to marry at all?  Paul answers these directly; even being careful to explain where he is applying the known Scriptures of the time, and where he is trusting his own judgment.  The funny part for us, of course, is that Paul's writing became part of Scripture. (An aside: do you ever wonder if the writers of what became the books of the Bible had any sense that they were being used to put the Word of God on paper?  I wonder about that all the time.)

Clearly, Paul has an understanding of basic biology and knows that apart from procreation, the believers in Corinth will die out after a single generation.  So is he really saying that they should do their best to stay unmarried if possible?  Is there a broader truth to apply here...namely that the heart turned toward God does well to remain as undivided as possible?  Sometimes reading and studying the Bible causes me to turn toward God and just ask Him, what does this mean?  What are you trying to tell me?

1 Corinthians 6 - Tough Teaching

On the heels of chapter 5's charge to expel the wicked man, in chapter 6 we have more tough talk directed at those followers of Jesus who sue each other, and those involved in sexual immorality.  At first glance these two topics don't seem to have much in common, but maybe a closer look shows us something different.

I honestly don't know how directly we would look to apply Paul's warning against Christians opposing other Christians in court these days.  I suppose there are a number of different factors that would need to be considered.  Regardless, the point Paul makes isn't tough to understand.  Instead of spending the majority of our time demanding our own rights and fighting for our own good, why not rather spend time and effort seeking the good of others?  Yielding and meekness need not be a sign of weakness or a lack of backbone.  Perhaps they are indicators of a life that is more interested in helping others than helping myself.

With respect to sexual immorality, we see in Matthew 5, in the Sermon on the Mount, that sexual sin is more pervasive in the life of most people than we can observe on the surface.  No doubt it's a body issue, but it's also a heart issue, and Jesus and Paul clearly teach that idea.  At the end of the day, it helps to ponder and adopt the attitude that Paul communicates in v. 19-20, chiefly 'You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.'

My life isn't supposed to be about me doing what seems right or feels good to me at the expense of other people.  God has created all of us to put each other's interests before our own, and it's tough to argue that there's a better way for the world to work.  What would a planet characterized by people who thought of others before themselves actually look like?  It's interesting to think about.  I thank God that I'll get to see it someday.

1 Corinthians 5 - Expel the Wicked?

This chapter is a tough read, no question about it.  There is talk of removing people from the fellowship of believers, judging, handing someone over to Satan, and not associating with sexually immoral people.  Thankfully, Paul clarifies in verse 10, "not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral....In that case you would have to leave this world" (hard to argue with that one).  But Paul is clearly condemning the behavior of those who claim Christ and boast (v. 6) or are proud of their sin (v. 2).  There is to be great tolerance toward sinful people, but no tolerance for sin itself.  The distinction can be murky sometimes, but it doesn't appear to be very murky in this case.  Paul concludes the chapter by quoting Deuteronomy, "expel the wicked man from among you."