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The New Testament contains two letters to the church at Corinth, a group of believers who seemed to experience a lot of serious problems and issues. Paul is writing to a church that he knows the people very well.
Paul previously lived in Corinth for about 18 months. Acts 18:1-11
While there, he worked with the brethren to develop these men and women into mature Christians. As such, we should read 1 Corinthians in the context that Paul knew these people and that they knew his teachings and manner of life.
The epistle attempts to correct numerous problems that came up after he left Corinth and provides us with information that we need to know today.
Without making an exhaustive list of the issues addressed with the brethren in Corinth, 1st Corinthians deals with:
-divisions in the church,
-sexual immorality in the church,
-marriage, divorce, and remarriage,
-use and misuse of spiritual gifts,
-worship practices,
-the resurrection of Christ,
-not suing brethren in the church,
-idols and eating meat offered to idols, and of course, the matter at hand,
-the instructions for head covering for men and women.
Significantly, Paul never so much as hints that any of these matters are trivial, unimportant, or superficial.
Using human wisdom, man has determined that some of these things deserve less attention and consideration than others.
Female head covering has been discounted as insignificant and immaterial by the majority of professed Christians in the United States.
Those who oppose female head covering sometimes point out that none of the other letters in the New Testament address any expectation for a woman to wear a covering – this is true.
The only place in the New Testament that provides any discussion of the proper headdress for Christians is 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 (excluding the scriptures about braided hair and modesty not part of this study 1 Peter 3:3-4; 1 Timothy 2:9).
However, we should note that 1 Corinthians also addresses other subjects not found in Paul’s writings to the other churches (or discussed by other writers in the Bible). For example, where the brethren were identifying with specific ministries by name. “I am of Paul” or “I am of Cephas”. 1 Corinthians 1:12-13
Not filing a lawsuit against your brother was condemned in 1 Corinthians 6:1- 8 with Paul’s chiding was there not someone wise enough among them to decide a squabble? No other epistle suggests that it is sinful to sue your brothers or sisters in the civil courts.
The specific abuses of the Lord’s Supper identified later in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 are only mentioned in the first epistle to the Corinthians.
It is incomprehensible that Paul included 16 verses about a cultural issue in the middle of these serious issues, particularly when the brethren are already divided and splintered into factions.
“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” 1st Corinthians 1:10-13 NKJV (Bold added)
The notion that Paul brings up an insignificant issue of head covering in 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 in a church already quarreling and fighting over issues would seem to be counterproductive. He was encouraging unity among them on every issue.
Injecting yet one more thing for the brethren to argue about doesn’t fit the tone and flavor that Paul sets in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13.
Paul confronted the church in Corinth over multiple issues that seemingly were not present in the other churches.
We are left to sort out whether these concerns and warnings apply to us (or just to those in Corinth at the time the letter was written).
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