Women Attempt Takeover of Church in Corinth
Another cultural position is that the women at the church in Corinth were trying to overthrow the authority of the men. The head covering requirement was to make sure the Corinthian women demonstrated their submission to male leadership in the church.
The suggestion is the head covering requirement for the women in Corinth was implemented because the women refused male leadership in the church.
Paraphrasing what one man writes; in the first century, the failure to wear a covering sent a signal to the congregation that a woman was rejecting the authority of male leadership. In short, he says that Paul was concerned about head coverings only because of the message they sent to people in that culture.
Now if this is accurate, then we should be able to turn to scripture where we are told that Paul’s concern was the message being sent to the culture.
Let’s read 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 and find where it says what the gentleman suggests.
I don’t find it anywhere. Paul did not hint anywhere in his letter that this was a cultural message for a specific place or time.
If the Holy Spirit had given us the explanation that women were taking over the church, then I would heartily agree with it. However, we find no such words in the text.
The takeover conclusion is purely conjecture. It is nothing more than raw speculation.
Paul offers no such reasoning.
Danger in Not Practicing What We Preach
The danger that comes from interpreting the Bible based on information, data, facts, or unfounded conclusions should create fear in any Bible student diligently seeking the truth.
Truth is not founded, based, or built upon error, lies, or inaccurate information.
Christians need to practice what we preach! If we teach the Bible is all we need for life and Godliness, then we should mean it.
That means we don’t explain the Bible based on facts about the existing culture that come from other sources.
If the facts we use for our conclusions are not found in Genesis to Revelation, then we have by our actions just determined the Bible is not sufficient for us.
The Apostle Peter Agreed With Paul’s Words
Interestingly, the apostle Peter was familiar with all of Paul’s letters.
“14Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15 and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” 2nd Peter 3:14-16, NKJV (Bold added)
Look at the words in 2 Peter 3:16, the NKJV reads “. . . as also in all his epistles . . . .”
Peter was familiar with Paul’s writings. Peter knew what Paul preached and taught. The apostles were all inspired by the same Holy Spirit.
In reviewing several translations other than the NKJV, the word “all” appears in the various versions. This strongly indicates “. . . as also in all his epistles. . . .” means what it says.
Even without the above scripture, it is a reasonable inference that Peter knew the things that Paul taught (and had seen his various letters to the other churches including 1st Corinthians Chapter 11). Accepting this proposition to be correct, I don’t find Peter giving any counter instructions to what Paul has written about head covering.
Peter Was Bold and Outspoken
One could presume based on Peter’s outspoken personality that if Paul’s letters contained errors Peter would have said so.
Peter recognized that Paul’s epistles contained things difficult to understand:
“. . . as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” 2nd Peter 3:15-16 NKJV (Bold added)
Since Peter does not challenge any of Paul’s doctrines, then it seems reasonable that Peter agreed with Paul’s instructions for proper head covering.
Nor does Peter state that some of what Paul writes concerns cultural matters for a specific congregation.
Consider Peter’s Warning
Peter warns all of us to be cautious.
“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2nd Peter 3:17-18 NKJV (Bold added)
We should take Peter’s warning to heart as we study God’s Word on every subject!
