Zwagmeister

Gidday Cheryl

Can i pls ask you some qns and make a few observations for you to perhaps comment upon?

what do you make of the singular ‘a woman’ in verse 3 and the pluaral ‘every man’?

I think that paul’s statement in v 12 that EVERYTHING comes from God is crucial to the passage – especially if you hold to “head” as meaning ‘source’ or ‘origin’, v 12 is key. Can you clarify for me, are you actually claiming that the three ‘pairs’ of v 3 are referred back to in some way in v 12? or just that paul clariies the male-femle relationship one of interdependence with all originating from God?

what do you make of the phrase “in the Lord”?
i know some who use this phrase as a kind of ‘spiritual’ status in Christ, rather than applicable to ministry/ roles in the church body …just as some argue Gal 3:28 is ‘purely’ salvation ‘status’…

I also believe that verse 7, where Paul says ,man is the image and glory of God, and ,woman is the glory of man, is the key to unlocking the meaning of the passage…
Paul’s argument is about glory and shame. Not about authority and hierarchy.
(…but i am sure you will ‘unpack’ that for us shortly, right???!)

further regarding v 3: what is interesting to also note is that paul does not explicitly refer to the 3 ‘pairs’ again – only the ‘pair’ of man and woman is used. for example, if v 3 was the ‘basis’ for the entire passage, then surely Paul would have said that man is the glory of ‘Christ’ (not ‘God’) in v 7, to link back to v 3?

why does paul introduce a thought in verse 3 – that man is the head of a woman… then basically ‘reverse’ or revoke his argument in v.12?
What do you make of this? is this what he actually does in your opinnion?

what about Paul’s metaphorical use of ‘kephale’ (head) in Ephesians 1:10, 22; 4;15; 5:23 and Colossians 1:18; 2:10;19? can we assume that Paul is consistent or ‘repeating’ his use of ‘head’ in these other passages?

is paul always consistent / repetitive in his teaching to ‘different’ churches/ recipients? (i haven’t studied this at all, so just wondered what you think.)

i could ask a million more qns – but i am sure you have a full palte already!
i look forward to any comments you can make to my rambling thoughts.
your teaching is always thought provoking!
many thanks.

(-:
kerryn