Lessons #365 and 366
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Head Covering: Concept of Hierarchy (1 Cor 11:3-16)
… 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved. 6 If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. 7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. 11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God.
Recall the message of this section that is concerned with head covering we have be considering is that Men should not have their head covered during prayer and likewise women who wear their hair the way God has given it to them, but they should cover it if they either cut or shave it. To expound this message requires understanding of the knowledge the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul wanted the church in Corinth and so the church universal to have. There are three parts to this knowledge. The first part is concerned with the concept of hierarchy given in verses 3 to 10. The second part involves the relationship between men and women given in verses 11 and 12. The third part concerns lessons learned from nature given in verses 13 to 15. So far, we have been considering the first concept of hierarchy that we stated that the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul wants us to know that there is such a thing as the concept of hierarchy both in heaven and on earth although this concept is introduced using the literal word “head.” This concept of hierarchy is developed by focusing on three elements. The first element concerned three relationships that bear out the concept of hierarchy. The first relationship is that between Christ and man. The second is that between man and woman, specifically between husband and wife. The third is the relationship of Christ to God so we indicated that the clause and the head of Christ is God is to be understood to mean that within the unique divine being called God, there is a hierarchy under which Christ is known and functions. It is not that He as God is under the authority of the Father but that He functions under the umbrella of the authority that belongs to the unique divine being called God. The second element in the concept of hierarchy concerns the dishonoring of the head or hierarchy given in verses 4 and 5a. The third concerns the instructions related to the concept of head or hierarchy that are given in verses 5b to 10. We continue our study today with the second element that is concerned with the concept of dishonor.
Many Christians today have been influenced by the world that they fail to recognize that there is a difference in function between men and women since there is often the slogan where women are told they can do anything a man can. That, of course, is not true since there is limit to what a woman or a man can do. Let me take a physical function that helps us to understand what I mean. A man cannot give birth but then a woman cannot impregnate another woman regardless of the confusion of what it means to be married that exists today in this country and in many other countries. It is not only in the physical realm that we recognize that there is a difference in the function between men and women but also in spiritual function. Some Christians think that there is no difference in function between men and women in the spiritual realm because of what the Holy Spirit states through Apostle Paul in Galatians 3:28:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
This verse should be understood as stating that there is no difference in spiritual standing of believers in Christ irrespective of ethnicity, gender, and social standing. It is not concerned with function that each believer carries out in the spiritual life. It is because some misapply this passage that they reject the idea that women believers are not to be teachers in the church of Christ. This is not because women are inferior spiritually but because teaching is a function God in His infinite wisdom has assigned to certain men in the church as teaching the word of God requires authority. That the teaching of the word of God to a congregation of believers requires authority could be seen in the instructions given to two pastors in the Scripture. The first is the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:11–12:
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
You may say that the word “authority” is not used in this passage and you are correct but the concept of authority is given in the passage. The word “command” is a word that assumes authority for unless one has authority over others then the person could not issue a command to them. Thus, if the teaching Timothy is to carry out involves commanding believers, it must be because teaching involves authority. The instruction for Timothy not to allow anyone to look down on him is one that conveys the concept of authority. For when the epistle is read in the hearing of the congregation, the audience would recognize that Timothy has authority and so they would not look down on him and his teaching. The other pastor the apostle instructed that indicates teaching of God’s word involves authority is Titus as we read in Titus 2:15:
These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
The instruction given to Titus implies that he is to teach with authority. So, the point is that teaching of the word of God is a function that requires authority, that is, one of the major reasons the Lord had limited the function of teaching the word of God to certain gifted men despite the rebellious attitude of many women who style themselves pastors or teachers of believers. By the way, that some of these women have a large following is not an indication of success or of God’s approval. It may be that many of their followers are doing what is wrong by following others ignoring the instruction that we should not follow the crowd to do what is wrong as in the instruction of not perverting justice by following the crowd as we read in Exodus 23:2:
“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,
In any case, there is a difference between men and women when it comes to certain spiritual activities. This difference is conveyed in the contrast between men and women in 1 Corinthians 11:4 where both carry out certain spiritual activities, but their activities are interpreted differently depending on the conditions under which they carry out these. The two activities in view are praying and prophesying. We begin with the interpretation given regarding these two activities when carried out by a man in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.
The first activity mentioned in relation to a believing man is prayer. There is nothing in the context that enables us to be certain whether the prayer here is the case of a man leading prayer in a congregation of believers or in a private personal prayer. We know that the early church prayed as a congregation, as for example, in Acts 4:24–26:
24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.’
But we do not know how this prayer was conducted whether one person prayed, and others joined and repeated his words or that the person expressed the concern and convictions of others who shared in the person’s request. Regardless of how this was done, the fact is that all those present in the early church were described as participating in the prayer. The implication is that believers were regarded as having prayed. This being the case, it would seem that when the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:4 Every man who prays, he was concerned with the general principle involved in prayer whether a congregational prayer that a man leads, participates or a private prayer of the man. In either case, what is said about the head we will consider shortly will apply.
The second activity is prophesying as in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:4 or prophesies. The word “prophesies” is translated from a Greek word (prophēteuō) that may mean “to prophesy.” Because the activity of prophesying is mentioned in our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:4, let us explore the subject of prophesying.
Originally, to prophesy was predominantly to be in a religious ecstasy that a person attains with or without music. It is this meaning that explains the assertion of prophesying by two of the seventy elders Moses appointed. They were said to prophesy without any form of music in Numbers 11:26-27:
26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the Tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."
It is difficult to understand what it means here to prophesy unless we recognize that prophesying originally meant to be in some form of ecstatic state. It happened to these two men without any form of music. It was produced by the Spirit directly. But on some other occasions, prophesying in terms of being in ecstatic state was affected by music as well. This was the case with Saul in company of group of prophets as recoded in 1 Samuel 10:5-6:
5 "After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. 6 The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.
Similarly, we find some six men described as being involved in prophesying using music in 1 Chronicles 25:3:
As for Jeduthun, from his sons: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah and Mattithiah, six in all, under the supervision of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied, using the harp in thanking and praising the LORD.
To understand prophesying as originally a reference to being in an ecstatic state helps us to comprehend how the prophets of Baal could be said to prophesy in 1 Kings 18:29:
Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
Interestingly, some of the English versions that are quite often literal in their translations did not use the literal meaning “prophesy” in this passage. The phrase their frantic prophesying of the NIV is rendered they raved in the NASB and the ESV. But the NET rendered it as they were in an ecstatic frenzy which captures what it means that the prophets of Baal were prophesying. They were in ecstatic state so that they ranted and raved for the period stated.
Prophesying understood as being in an ecstatic state can be produced by the Spirit of God, as we have already stated. An illustration of this is the case with the men Saul had sent to capture David, according to 1 Samuel 19:19-21:
19 Word came to Saul: "David is in Naioth at Ramah"; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied.
Evil spirit can also produce this ecstatic state described as prophesying as evident with King Saul in 1 Samuel 18:10:
The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand
The assertion He was prophesying in his house is translated he raved within his house in the NASB and the ESV.
The point is that originally, the predominant idea in prophesying was to be in an ecstatic state. But later, to prophesy had the dominant meaning of speaking under the influence of divine inspiration with or without reference to future events. By divine inspiration, we mean that divine power overcomes a human being and compels him/her to see, hear, or utter things which otherwise would be hidden from the individual. This was the case with Prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 3:15-16:
15 But now bring me a harpist." While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha 16 and he said, "This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches.
It is possible that a person will be under inspiration and not know it. This is illustrated with the high priest, Caiaphas, who uttered prophetic words about the type of death that Jesus would undergo without being aware of what he said as recorded in John 11:49-52:
49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish." 51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one.
The commentary the Holy Spirit provided us through John, in verse 51, indicates that Caiaphas did not know he was under inspiration, and so he did not know the implication of what he uttered.
In any event, it should be clear that prophesying as an activity that involves utterance under divine inspiration could be understood in at least three ways. It can refer to proclaiming an inspired revelation. The instructions recorded in the Scripture come under this meaning. This is implied in the assertion that the contents of the Scripture were result of the Holy Spirit carrying the prophets along as they uttered what are recorded in the Scripture, as we read in 2 Peter 1:20-21:
20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The speech of the high priest Caiaphas about the death of Jesus that we previously cited in John 11:49-51 falls under this meaning. The kind of prophesying Apostle Paul wrote about in his epistle to the Corinthians fits into this meaning since the purpose of the prophesying he had in view is for encouragement of believers, according to 1 Corinthians 14:3:
But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.
The activities of the two witnesses of Revelation fall into this meaning of proclaiming an inspired revelation for it is said of them in Revelation 11:3:
And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth."
Another meaning of prophesying is to foretell something that lies in the future. The predictions in the OT Scriptures about future events, especially those concerning the Messiah, fall under this meaning. The prediction of the manner of the death of Ahab by Prophet Elijah falls under this meaning for we read in 1 Kings 21:19:
Say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?' Then say to him, 'This is what the LORD says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth's blood, dogs will lick up your blood — yes, yours!'"
It is true the word “prophesy” is not used here but the words spoken by Elijah are to be reckoned as prophecy since they were fulfilled as he predicted, according to 1 Kings 22:37-38:
37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there. 38 They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed), and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the LORD had declared.
Prophesying may mean “singing of God’s messages” as that is the way the word is used to describe prophesying ministry associated with Asaph and his sons in 1 Chronicles 25:1:
David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals. Here is the list of the men who performed this service:
The ministry of prophesying here is accompanied by musical instruments. Thus, prophesying here has the sense of singing of “inspired hymns” or proclaiming the “praise of God.” Still, another meaning of prophesying is to tell about something that is hidden from view. It is in this sense that the word is used by the soldiers who mocked and mistreated Jesus during His trial to disclose the person who struck him as He was blindfolded in Luke 22:64:
They blindfolded him and demanded, "Prophesy! Who hit you?"
We have noted the various meanings associated with the word “prophesy” but there are several facts stated in the Scripture in connection with the word that we should become aware. First, the activity of prophesying is under the control of either the person prophesying or someone else. That the control of the activity of prophesying is under another person is stated in 1 Chronicle 25:2:
From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Asarelah. The sons of Asaph were under the supervision of Asaph, who prophesied under the king's supervision.
Here the prophesying of sons of Asaph was under his supervision while his was under the supervision of King David. As we have previously stated, the one who prophesies also can control his activity, as stated in 1 Corinthians 14:29-33a:
29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33 For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.
Second, prophesying is an activity that may involve dreams, according to Jeremiah 23:32:
Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," declares the LORD. "They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least," declares the LORD.
That false prophecy involves false dreams implies that true prophecy can also involve dream as was the case of the dreams given to Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar. It is not only dreams that can lead to false prophesying, but it can also come from wrong imaginations of someone, as stated in Ezekiel 13:17:
"Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them
Third, it is possible to prophesy and not be a believer in Christ, as implied in the teaching of Jesus on the Sermon on Mount in Matthew 7:22-23:
22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
Fourth, the promise of prophesying is one of the activities of the last days. Apostle Peter during his sermon on the day of Pentecost made a reference to this by quoting Prophet Joel, as we read in Acts 2:16-18:
16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 "'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
Fifth, because of the benefit of prophesying, believers are encouraged to desire the spiritual gift associated with it, according to 1 Corinthians 14:1-6, 39:
1Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit. 3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may be edified. 6 Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?
39 Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
Sixth, prophesying is primarily an activity carried out for the benefit of believers, according to 1 Corinthians 14:22-25:
22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 24 But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, 25 and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"
It is because prophesying benefits believers that the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul encourages those with the gift to use it in accordance with their faith in Romans 12:6:
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
Seventh, prophesying is one of the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit to the church of Christ, as stated in 1 Corinthians 12:10-11:
10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
We considered in detail the concept of prophesying because of the instruction of the passage we are studying, that is, 1 Corinthians 11:4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. Prophesying here involves proclaiming God’s message or an inspired revelation to believers in a local church. Such an activity can be performed by either a male or a female believer in Christ in the local church. It is important that we recognize that this proclamation of God’s message or an inspired revelation from God is something that is not rehearsed but what the Holy Spirit produces at an instant. Thus, we should be careful to recognize that it is not the teaching of what is already in the Scripture that is meant. We say this because some argue that because men and women could prophesy that that means that a woman could also teach the word of God to other believers. Some of those who use the activity of prophesying to support the notion of women teachers in the church quite often refer to the Prophetess Deborah. She was certainly a leader in the sense that she was a judge as stated in Judges 4:4–5:
4 Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5 She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided.
So, she was a prophetess-judge but not a teacher. In fact, there are three other prophetesses referenced by name in the OT Scripture. The first was Miriam as stated in Exodus 15:20:
Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.
Her recorded activity was singing song of praise for God’s deliverance and leading women in dancing in celebration of God’s power as we read in Exodus 15:21:
Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.”
Another prophetess was Huldah mentioned in 2 Kings 22:14:
Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.
She was consulted by the Priest Hilkiah under the order of King Josiah regarding the book of the law that was discovered in the temple as we read in 2 Kings 22:15–16:
15 She said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 ‘This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read.
The last prophetess mentioned in the OT was Noadiah in Nehemiah 6:14:
Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me.
Nothing is known about her in the OT Scripture other than she and some other prophets were part of a group that was opposed to the work and plans of Nehemiah. None of these prophetesses was involved in any teaching activity in the sense of teaching what is already revealed in the word of God. The Lord was clear to Aaron and so to subsequent priests that the teaching of God’s law is a priestly duty as we read in Leviticus 10:10–11:
10 You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the LORD has given them through Moses.”
The unacceptable spiritual condition of Israel was characterized by lack of teaching by priests as we read in 2 Chronicles 15:3:
For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law.
The point is that only priests were to teach the Law and not prophets. There was a case where prophets are described as teaching falsehood in Isaiah 9:15:
the elders and prominent men are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
Their false teaching refers to their misrepresenting God or the situation of things in Judah and so this was not the regular teaching of the law that belongs to the priests. Hence, we should be clear that a prophet or prophetess does not teach God’s written word to others. The implication is that the prophesying that Apostle Paul was concerned in the passage we are studying involves the declaration of direct revelation or message from God and not that of expounding what is already in the Scripture. Those who claim to prophesy today in the sense of repeating what is already given in the Scripture could not be recognized as prophesying in the same sense Paul used it in the passage we are considering, that is, 1 Corinthians 11:4.
Be that as it may, the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul is concerned to convey that a man who prays or prophesies with a covering on his head dishonors the concept of hierarchy or authority as that is what is meant in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. The word “head” used twice here is subject to two possible interpretations: literally or figuratively. In the first mention of the word “head,” it is used literally as part of the body. This is because of phrase with his head covered. Literally, the Greek reads having down to his head. The Greek does not contain a Greek verb (katakalyptō) that means “to cover” that the apostle used in 1 Corinthians 11:6. Instead he used a Greek verb (echō) that means “to have” in the sense of “to possess or own something.” The word may mean “to have on, wear” of clothes as it is used in the Lord Jesus’ parable of Wedding Banquet to describe a person who came without wearing the wedding dress as we read in Matthew 22:12:
‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:4, it has the sense of “to wear” or “have on.” This notwithstanding, there is debate among scholars as to how the literal Greek reading having down to his head should be understood. In fact, there are two interpretations that have been given. One interpretation is that the verbal phrase should be understood to convey the wearing of long hair by a man since long hair would then be hanging down from a man’s head. This interpretation is supported by its proponents by the fact that Apostle Paul spoke of how unnatural it is for a man to wear long hair in 1 Corinthians 11:14. Some of those who advance this interpretation indicate that the apostle was concerned with those who were homosexuals that wore their hair long to appear effeminate. A problem with this first interpretation is that if the apostle was concerned with hairstyle of men, he would have made it clear in verse 4 as he did in verse 14. A second interpretation known as the traditional interpretation is that the literal Greek refers to a man having his head covered. This traditional view is one that we believe to be correct because of the difficulties associated with the first interpretation. Regardless of which interpretation one adopts, the idea of having something on the head, that is, a veil or wearing of long hair implies that the head is used in a literal sense in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:4 with his head covered.
The second use of the word “head” in the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:4 dishonors his head is subject to two possible interpretations as it relates to the word “dishonor.” By the way, the word “dishonors” is translated from a Greek verb (kataischynō) that may mean “to put to shame” as it is used in Apostle Paul’s quotation of OT Scripture in support of the state of the person who believes in Christ in Romans 10:11:
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
The word may mean “to disappoint” as it is used by Apostle Paul to describe what hope never produces in Romans 5:5:
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:4, the word is used in the sense of “to dishonor” or “to bring shame or dishonor upon or fail to respect.”
Anyway, back to the verbal phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:4 dishonors his head that we indicated is subject to two possible interpretations depending on how the second use of the word “head” is understood. A first interpretation is to take the word “head” in a literal sense. This interpretation means that verbal phrase dishonors his head should be understood to mean that the man dishonors his head which is tantamount to the man dishonoring himself or devaluing himself as a man. In other words, the man does not maintain “self-respect” as a believing man since he would be acting like Romans who have their heads covered when offering sacrifices to their gods as a sign of their devotion. There is the sense that for a man to cover his head in this kind of situation signifies that he is inferior to someone else. The believer who covers his head would perhaps convey that like the Romans he is subject to their gods or inferior when that is not the case since the person is in Christ. A second interpretation is to take the word “head” in a figurative sense, so that “head” refers to the authority of Christ that the man represents. Which of these interpretations does the apostle have in mind when he penned the verbal phrase dishonors his head? There are those who take the position that the apostle meant both interpretations so that the man who has his head covered during prayer or while prophesying dishonors Christ and his own head. While this is possible, it is unlikely that the apostle was concerned with a human being’s honor as he was with the glory of Christ. Consequently, we believe the apostle was thinking of head this second time in a figurative sense that refers to Christ. This is because the apostle had stated in verse 3 that Christ is the head of every man. Therefore, when he indicates that a man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, he meant Christ who the apostle had already stated is the head of every man.
What does the apostle mean by dishonoring the man’s head that we have indicated is Christ? To dishonor the man’s head or Christ means to disrespect the concept of authority or hierarchy that Christ has established over a man. We say this because to dishonor authority could mean to reject it as implied in Jude 8:
In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings.
Rejecting authority in this particular passage refers to rejecting or denying that Christ is the Master of believers. That aside, it is easier to see that dishonoring the head would mean rejecting authority. It is for this reason that we believe that when the apostle wrote the sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, he meant that a man who covers his head during prayer or as he prophesies rejects the concept of authority or hierarchy which he is under. In effect, he rejects the concept of hierarchy that God has set. We will continue with this point of rejecting the concept of hierarchy that God has set in our next study.