Lessons #369 and 370
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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)
… 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 been 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. So, let me refresh your mind with what we said about expounding this message. We had stated that expounding this message involves understanding of three parts knowledge the Holy Spirit through the apostle wants us to have. The first part concerns the concept of hierarchy given in verses 3 to 10. The second involves the relationship between men and women given in verses 11 and 12. The third concerns lessons learned from nature given in verses 13 to 15. Our last three studies have focused on the first concept of hierarchy that we stated that the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul wants us to know which is 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 we stated previously is developed by focusing on three elements. The first element concerned three relationships of Christ to man, man to woman, specifically husband and wife, and Christ to God that bear out the concept of hierarchy. 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. Our last study focused on the two instructions given to men and women about head covering during prayer or prophesying. The first instruction was for women to cover their head and the second was to men not to cover their head. We considered the justification for the instruction to a man not to cover his head given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 11:7 he is the image and glory of God. We interpreted this reason to be that man is the more direct representation of God’s authority as the ruler of this world and reflects God in the world. Simply put, this reason is that man has preeminence in ruling over the earth. This reason is further explained by what the apostle says next, and it is with this we begin our study today.
The apostle gives further explanation of why the man should not have a head covering during prayer or prophesying by way of contrast between the man and woman as it relates to authority. The contrast is introduced with the word but that begins the last clause of 1 Corinthians 11:7. The apostle states that in contrast to man who is the first reflection of God’s ruling authority, the woman is the reflection of the man in that she shares in man’s authority that he reflects in his ruling capacity derived directly from God as we read in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 11:7 but the woman is the glory of man.
It is our interpretation that the clause of 1 Corinthians 11:7 but the woman is the glory of man means that the woman is the reflection of the man in that she shares or derives her authority of ruling from the man who is the first recipient of God’s authority to rule and who reflects God’s authority when he rules. We will justify this interpretation by considering four facts. A first fact to consider is that as we indicated in our last study that man and woman were created in the image of God as the Scripture states in Genesis 1:27:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
This image of God we interpreted to mean ruling of creation. Furthermore, the ruling of the earth is assigned to both man and woman as in Genesis 1:28:
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
But the second sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:7 he is the image and glory of God indicates that only man is described as God’s image. We interpreted this sentence to mean that man is the more direct representation of God’s authority as the ruler of this world and reflects God in the world. If man is the primary ruler, then for the woman to also be a ruler would imply that she shares or derives her authority of ruling through the man. Thus, it makes sense for the sentence the woman is the glory of man to be interpreted as we have stated, that is, the woman is the reflection of the man in that she shares or derives her authority of ruling from the man who is the first recipient of God’s authority to rule and who reflects God’s authority when he rules.
A second fact is that the Greek phrase translated the glory of man may be unpacked to read either the “glory that belongs to man” or “glory that is derived from the man.” While there may not be a significant difference in the two interpretations, it is probably the second that the Holy Spirit might have put in the mind of the apostle. This interpretation depends on how we understand the word “glory.”
The word “glory” is translated from a Greek word (doxa) that may mean “honor, prestige,” as the word is used by Apostle Paul to indicate that the representatives of the churches bring honor to Christ as we read in 2 Corinthians 8:23:
As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ.
The phrase an honor to Christ is literally glory of Christ. The word may refer to the state of being magnificent and so means “splendor, greatness” so the word is used to describe the greatness or splendor of the kingdom of the world that Satan offered to Jesus Christ during his temptation of Him in Luke 4:6:
And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.
The word may mean the condition of being bright or shining, hence means “brightness, splendor, radiance.” In a physical sense, it is used to describe the brightness of the light that blinded Apostle Paul when the Lord Jesus appeared to him on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, as indicated in Acts 22:11:
My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
Under this meaning of shining, we have the concept of reflection of something. The word may mean “praise” as it is used to describe what Apostle Paul says that he and his team were not seeking from humans as we read in 1 Thessalonians 2:6:
We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:7, the word has the meaning of “reflection.” Thus, when a woman is described as the man’s glory, it means that she is the reflection of the man as the man is the reflection of God. This makes sense if the woman reflects authority derived from the man as the man reflects God’s authority in ruling or that she shares in the man’s authority.
A third fact is that the apostle used a different Greek word to relate the woman to the man from the one he used to relate man to God in the sentence he is the image and glory of God. As we indicated that the word “is” used in the second sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:7 is from a Greek word (hyparchō) that although may mean “to be” but it is a word that originally means “to be the beginning, to begin.” The apostle in using this Greek word wants to convey that the man was the first to be the image of God being the first to be created. This means that man has preeminence in ruling over the earth. However, in the sentence the woman is the glory of man the word “is,” is translated from a more common Greek word (eimi) that means “to be.” It is true that the Greek word may mean “to be” but there are other possible meanings to the word. In our passage, we contend that the Greek word means either “to represent” or “to share.” These two meanings are indeed the meaning of our Greek word. The meaning “to share” for the second Greek word we mentioned is used, for example, when Apostle Paul expressed his desire for the Corinthians to share in his joy in 2 Corinthians 2:3:
I wrote as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy.
The clause that you would all share my joy is literally that my joy is of you all. The meaning “to represent” is used in describing the function of mediator in Galatians 3:20:
A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.
The sentence A mediator, however, does not represent just one party is more literally Now the mediator is not for one.
A fourth fact is that the apostle had already stated that the woman, specifically a wife, is under the authority of a man as we read in 1 Corinthians 11:3:
Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
Add to this, is the fact that a wife is required to submit to her husband’s authority as stated in Ephesians 5:24:
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
When the four facts we have presented are put together, we are led to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul want us to understand the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:7 the woman is the glory of man to mean that a woman is the reflection of the man in that she shares or represents the man’s authority as the first ruler of the earth. For this reason, a man should not have a head covering while praying or prophesying. For the same reason that the woman’s authority represents the man’s authority or that she shares in the man’s authority of ruling the earth, she should cover her head while praying or prophesying.
In any case, the apostle continued to provide explanations that are indeed reasons that a woman is the reflection of the man and by implication, the reason a man should not cover his head during prayers or while prophesying. We say that the apostle continued to provide explanation or reasons the woman is the reflection of the man as we have explained because of the word for that begins verse 8. The word “for” is translated from a Greek conjunction (gar) that generally indicates a causal relation between two statements, whereby the second statement gives a reason for or explains the first and so it is often translated “for” in our English version as it is done in majority of our English versions of the verse we are considering. The conjunction is used to provide explanation or further reasons a woman is the reflection of man that by implication are also reasons a man should not cover his head during prayer or while prophesying. Of course, the apostle provides two reasons a woman is man’s reflection.
A first reason goes back to the original creation where the first woman’s body was formed from that of the first man as in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man. The sentence man did not come from woman, but woman from man certainly refers to creation of the woman since as the apostle implies later and as we know that only women give birth today. The apostle had in mind when he wrote this sentence the creation of the woman as given in Genesis 2:21–22:
21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
You see, God created Adam’s body directly from the dust of the ground as we read in Genesis 2:7:
the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
But the woman was created from Adam’s rib so that she is in indeed a reflection of Adam. No wonder Adam responded by declaring that the woman is part of her as we read in Genesis 2:23:
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
The apostle not only indicates that the woman is from the man in the original creation, but he also implies the concept of order or preeminence in that the man existed before the woman came into existence. He made the same point when he was justifying the reason a woman should not exercise authority over a man by teaching spiritual truths to men as we read in 1 Timothy 2:13:
For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
That aside, the apostle’s reason for stating that the woman is a reflection of the man and so shares and derives her authority from his authority is that in the original creation, woman’s body was formed using man’s body part, his rib, in contrast to the man’s body that was directly formed from the dust of the earth. The implication is that in original creation man has priority in hierarchy over the woman. Hence, she is the reflection of the man.
Another reason a woman is a reflection of the man and so shares in his ruling authority is that she was created to be man’s assistant. It is this reason that is given in 1 Corinthians 11:9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. The Greek implies that this is an additional reason or explanation because the Greek of verse 9 begins with a phrase that is not translated implicitly in the NIV and majority of our English versions but literally reads for also. The word “for” is translated from the same Greek conjunction used in verse 8 to either introduce reason or provide explanation of how a woman is the reflection of man. While the word “also” is translated from a Greek conjunction (kai) that it is often translated “and” in the English versions but in the verse, we are considering, it is used as a marker to join and add in addition to what was previously stated in verse 8 and so means “also.” Hence, we are certain that verse 9 is an additional reason or explanation for the woman being a reflection of man and so shares in his ruling authority.
The apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. Literally, the Greek reads For also man not was created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man. The word “created” is translated from a Greek word (ktizō) that means “to bring something into existence,” that is, “to create” as Apostle Paul used it to describe a purpose of God in creating us in Christ Jesus in Ephesians 2:10:
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
It is in the sense of “to be brought into existence,” that is, “to create” that the word is used in our passage of 1 Corinthian 11:9.
The apostle, of course, was still thinking of original creation as he wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. But before we consider the OT Scripture that the apostle had in mind, let me comment on how rejection of the truth conveyed in this sentence has caused so much misery in marriages. Many wives, especially in this country, think that their husbands are created for them in the sense that they are there to serve them and so they want to control them and expect them to dance to their whims. When this does not happen, they become miserable. Every believing wife should recognize that she is a wife in the sense that the Lord created her to be of assistance to the husband and not for the husband to be her assistant. In other words, she becomes the one with the authority in the marriage and the husband submits. Such kind of marriage relationship is contrary to the Scripture that we are considering and no wonder many have broken marriages or are so miserable although married. We will say more when we consider the passage in the OT Scripture the apostle had in mind as he wrote the sentence we are considering.
Be that as it may, as we have stated, the apostle’s additional reason a woman is the reflection of the man is that God created her to be an assistant to the man in ruling the earth and much more. It is this reason or explanation that is given in the sentence we are considering in 1 Corinthians 11:9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man or literally For also man not was created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man. It is important that what the apostle has written should not be misunderstood by any man to imply he should be self-centered and so not be concerned about the wife’s wellbeing. A husband should understand that his wife is given to him to take care of and so he must do everything to take care of and protect her both physically and spiritually. I hear many husbands say of their being good providers for their wives materially, but such is incomplete if they also are not providing for their spiritual life. I am saying that a man should not limit his care and protection of the wife to the physical, he should be concerned about the spiritual. Nonetheless, our concern is that when the apostle wrote neither was man created for woman or literally also man not was created for the sake of the woman that a man should not use this as an excuse not to be caring for the wife and become self-centered thinking that the universe revolves around him.
To understand what the apostle meant by indicating that the woman was created for the sake of the man and not the other way round, we should consider the passage that was in the apostle’s mind when he wrote this clause neither was man created for woman, but woman for man or literally For also man not was created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man. His mind was on creation account of the woman as stated in Genesis 2:18:
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Because it is not good for man to exist in isolation, God said in Genesis 2:18 I will make a helper suitable for him. Since man was alone in the Garden of Eden, we should have expected that God would make for him one to keep him company instead God spoke of providing the man a helper. The word “helper” is translated from a Hebrew word (`ezer) that means “help, support, helper.” It is true the basic meaning of this word is assistance but here it is used in the concrete sense to mean an assistant. As we implied previously, many wives have never really understood that their primary role is to be assistants to their husbands. Instead, they want to be their husbands’ bosses or their leaders. That is wrong since it violates the order in creation and the fact that the wife is the reflection of the husband. What God conceives is for the wife to be an assistant. She is to be the one who helps and provides support to him. This support comes in various ways but in practice a woman should always ask herself the simply question: Is my activity or actions helping or hurting my husband? If the answer is “yes,” then she must desist from whatever it is because she is at that point not fulfilling God’s intended purpose for her. We should emphasize that a woman is an assistant in several ways, she is to help the man rule the world as we have already alluded and in case of family, she should assist in raising children. Often, a wife may not support the husband in the way he disciplines their children, that will be wrong. I realize that there is such thing as abuse of children, but it is found mostly in a family where the spiritual life is not what God intends. Although the woman is to help the man in ruling the world but perhaps the one thing that man cannot do without the woman is to populate the earth, may in fact be one of her most important assistances to the man.
It is to be noted that God did not just have in mind any kind of assistant since many people have assistants who are not proper or do not meet their needs. Instead, the type of assistant God conceived is described in the phrase of Genesis 2:18 suitable for him. The word “suitable” is translated from the Hebrew word (neged) which as a preposition has the meaning of “before.” But when used as a substantive, as in our verse, it means “what is conspicuous, what is in front of.” But it has a Hebrew preposition (ke-) that means “like, as” attached to it. However, this preposition is used quantitatively to express exact or approximate equality and qualitatively to express resemblance in respect of some attribute, action, character, appearance. When this preposition is combined with the first preposition (neged) the meaning becomes “corresponding to.” Hence, God’s conception is a helper or an assistant corresponding to man, that is, equal and adequate for man. The point is that a woman is neither inferior nor superior to the man. She is his equal in that which defines a man, that is, in the essential nature. But being a helper means that she is subordinate to the man. Being subordinate to a person deals only with authority not equality of essence or nature. It should be clear that the assistant or helper is simply that, one who assists and supports the man. Anyway, the apostle’s second reason or explanation for stating that the woman is a reflection of man and so shares his authority to rule is that woman was created to be man’s assistant. This again indicates that the woman, specifically a wife, shares in the authority of the husband and derives her authority to be a ruler of the world from him.
Apostle Paul having given reasons or explanations why a woman is the reflection of the man so that she shares in his ruling authority over the earth and by implication the reason a man should not cover his head while praying or prophesying, returns to the reason a woman should have a head covering while praying or prophesying. It is this reason that the apostle introduced in verse 10 of 1 Corinthians 11. By the way, before we get to verse 10, I have you to know that it is considered one of the most difficult verses in the New Testament to interpret. The difficulty in interpreting verse 10 is reflected in the comments of the fathers such as Irenaeus and Tertullian who used a Greek word that means “veil” in place of the word “authority” used in the Greek text that we have of the verse we are about to consider. The RSV followed this approach that instead of the word “authority” we find the word “veil” used.
Verse 10 begins with the phrase For this reason. There is a problem of how to interpret this phrase since there are two possible ways to interpret it. The phrase for this reason could be understood as looking backwards to the reasons the apostle gave in the preceding verses 7 to 9 or that he is looking forward to the phrase because of the angels that is the last phrase in the Greek of verse 10. It is probably the case that the apostle was both looking backwards and forwards since the reason given in verse 10 is still related to the reasons a woman is a reflection of the man’s authority and the reason a man should not have a head covering. Nonetheless, the first interpretation, specifically, the fact that the woman is a reflection of the man stated in the last part of verse 7 was foremost in the apostle’s mind when he wrote the phrase for this reason. You see, the reasons or explanations given in verses 8 and 9 could be considered parenthetical since they provide reasons or explanation for the woman being the reflection of the man. With the interpretation that the apostle was thinking primarily of the woman being the reflection of the man, he had given his first reason for instructing a woman to have a head covering while praying or prophesying in congregational worship but there is a second reason.
A second reason is related to angels as in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:10 because of the angels. This is a very difficult phrase to interpret but before we consider its interpretation, we should examine the word “angels” or to review what we have studied in the past about angels with additional information that will aid in our interpretation of the phrase.
The word “angel” is translated from a Greek word (angelos) that basically means “messenger.” It can refer to a human messenger serving as an envoy hence “an envoy, one who is sent or messenger” as it is used to describe those the Lord Jesus sent ahead of Him to Samaria as He was on His way to Jerusalem for the final time as reported in Luke 9:52:
And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him.
The messenger may be a supernatural being who is sent by God to carry out specific mission or task, hence means “angel, messenger” as the being sent to rescue the apostles from jail, as recorded in Acts 5:19:
But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.
The word can refer to fallen angels as in 2 Peter 2:4:
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:10, although some take the word to mean “human messengers” but it is used to describe all angelic beings – the elect and the fallen. Because of the use of the words “elect” and “fallen” we should comment briefly on our use of “elect” and “fallen” angels.
The word “elect” that we used is one Apostle Paul used to describe angels in 1 Timothy 5:21:
I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
The use of the adjective “elect” would suggest that there were some angels that were not chosen by God to be in final association with Him and we will say more about them later but for the moment, our concern is with the elect angels. These are angels who are indeed obedient messengers of God as implied by the psalmist in Psalm 103:20:
Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.
Thus, they are used of God to declare His will and purpose. Consequently, they functioned as mediators regarding the Law as we may gather from Acts 7:53:
you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”
Elect angles serve believers, as indicated in Hebrews 1:14:
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Although they serve us, but they fully do not understand our salvation, as indicated by their curiosity referenced in 1 Peter 1:10–12:
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
As messengers of God, the elect angels carry out several functions related to the plan and work of God. They may be dispatched to reveal God’s will as in the announcement of the birth of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 1:20:
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Elect angels could be used to provide deliverance as well as to deliver God’s message as in the time of the release of the apostles from jail in a previous passage, we cited partially, that is, Acts 5:19–20:
19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
An elect angel was dispatched to give Philip, the evangelist, instruction regarding the Ethiopian eunuch he needed to present the gospel, according to Acts 8:26:
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
An elect angel was dispatched to provide encouragement to Paul as he and the passengers in the ship taking him to Rome faced shipwreck, as given in Acts 27:23–24:
23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’
It is true that elect angels are used in ways that are quite beneficial to the elect of God who are humans, but they also are used of God for judgment as in the two angels that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, as they testified in Genesis 19:13:
because we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”
Anyway, the Scripture describes some of the activities of the elect angels as it relates to them being God’s messengers, but we do not have much information about their existence in heaven other than they are many and two of the angels are mentioned in our Scripture. The archangel Gabriel is mentioned in Luke 1:19:
The angel answered, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
The archangel Michael is mentioned in Jude 9:
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
Hence, we should recognize that elect angels are real spirit beings God created.
The fallen angels are created spirit beings who sinned against God as implied by the fact that God charged them of sin or error in Job 4:18:
If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error.
The fallen angels are led by Satan and so they are described as his angels in Matthew 25:41:
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
These fallen angels although not explicitly stated in the Scripture are the beings described as “demons” or “evil spirits”, as for example, in Mark 7:26:
The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
These fallen angels are those who are in constant spiritual warfare with the elect of God, as conveyed in Ephesians 6:10–13:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Many of these fallen angels are for the moment free to roam the universe but others are being held in a temporary prison, as implied in Jude 6:
And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
These fallen angels would eventually be thrown into the lake of fire with all the other fallen angels as implied by throwing of Satan into the lake of fire, as stated in Revelation 20:10:
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
It is true the term “evil spirits” or “demons” is not used in this passage in Revelation, but it is implied that the demons or evil spirits would also be thrown into the lake of fire based on the previous passage we cited, that is, Matthew 25:41 where we are informed that Satan and his angels would be in the lake of fire. That aside, it is our interpretation that the angels mentioned in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:10 because of the angels should be understood as referring to both the elect and fallen, probably with emphasis on the elect angels. This, of course, does not solve the problem of the interpretation of the phrase because of the angels.
There are two facts we should focus concerning angels to help us understand what the apostle meant in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:10 because of the angels. A first fact is that angels watch humans and their activities. This we know from what the Lord Jesus stated about the rejoicing of angels over the salvation of an unbeliever as we read in Luke 15:10:
In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
It is true that this verse suggests that angels join God in rejoicing over the salvation of a human being but the fact the angels joined God to rejoice implies that they are certainly aware of human activities. This is further confirmed by the fact that Satan goes to heaven to accuse believers because of their sins as implied in Revelation 12:10:
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
Satan is said to accuse believers continuously before God as that is implied in the fact he accuses believers, day and night. To accuse believers continuously requires that Satan and the fallen angels observe what believers do, to note when we fail to warrant accusing us before God. Hence, there should be no doubt that angels watch human activities including believers’ worship of God and the way we carry it out. Angels worship God in heaven and so they watch us to see how we worship and probably compare our worship to their worship in heaven. If we fail to measure to the way God is worshipped in heaven, that will certainly trigger Satan to accuse us. A second fact about angels that is pertinent to the phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:10 because of the angels is that there is such thing as hierarchy among the angels whereby angels submit to those of higher rank. This we can deduce by what is stated about angels in Daniel 10:13:
But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
The word “prince” is translated from a Hebrew word (śǎr) that also may mean “commander” or “leader” but here it refers to an uncertain kind of supernatural being, perhaps referring to a type of angel or demon. Thus, the prince of Persian kingdom is not a human being but an angel that rules Persia. This angel that is described as the prince of Persian kingdom must be of a higher rank to resist or oppose the angel God sent to answer Daniel’s prayer since Daniel was informed of this in the preceding verse, that is, Daniel 10:12:
Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
It is our contention that the angel God sent to answer Daniel’s prayer must be of a lower rank than the angel that is the ruler of Persia. This is because he could not go pass the angel over Persia since the verbal phrase of Daniel 10:13 resisted me is literally stood to the front of me. Consequently, he had to appeal to Michael who was certainly of a higher rank than both, since he is described in the phrase one of the chief princes. The word “chief” is translated from a Hebrew word (riʾšôn) that means “first” or “former” but here it is used in the sense of standing above others in quality and position. Thus, Michael was higher in position than the dueling angels so that he pulled rank over them. This Michael is described as “archangel” as we cited previously in Jude 9:
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
The word “archangel” is translated from a Greek word (archangelos) that refers to a member of the higher ranks in the celestial hierarchy hence “chief angel, archangel.” Thus, it is clear angels observe hierarchy among them.
The two facts we have presented about angels and the context of the passage that is concerned with hierarchy enable us to understand what Apostle Paul wrote in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 11:10 because of the angels. The difficulty of this phrase has led to various interpretations. An interesting interpretation put forth by some is that the phrase is to be understood as because of bishops of the churches, taking the Greek word translated “angels” to refer to the bishop of the churches of the type mentioned in Revelation 2:1:
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:
Another interpretation is that the phrase refers to “inquisitive human messengers” sent as spies by Roman authorities fearful lest the cultic assemblies of Corinthian Christians might have seditious intent, to whom an unveiled woman in such an assembly might seem like a promiscuous Roman wife. Although these two interpretations sound interesting, they ignore the context of the phrase which is the concept of hierarchy. That aside, when the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:10 because of the angels he meant that a woman should cover her head while worshipping because angels are watching to see how believers conform to the concept of hierarchy, they themselves observe. This interpretation is further supported by what the apostle says next in our verse of study. But we are out of time, so we will pick it up in our next study.
12/03//21 [End of Lessons #369 and 370]