Head Coverings

A place where culture does matter

Almost everyone who reads the Bible has had questions about the head coverings for women that are mentioned in 1 Corinthians Chapter 11. What in the world does the Apostle Paul mean when he seems to imply that women should have their heads covered when they pray? Is that really what he says? The Bible sure seems to sound like he says that. If he does say that women should have their heads covered when they pray, is that still binding on women today? These are serious questions for women today because in our culture women sure don’t wear head coverings in church. And yet, if the Apostle Paul required these women in Corinth to cover their heads, why would this example not be binding on the women of today? It’s these and other question that I would like to cover in this chapter.

And just so you will know where I am going with this chapter, I intend to show you with logic and proper exegesis of these Scriptures in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 that Paul did, indeed, require the women of his day to wear these head coverings because of the culture of the time and the great influence these symbols had on the people of that day. They were, however, culture. And these were instructions from Paul, driven and required because of the culture of the times. I intend to point out and show you through these Scriptures that the Apostle Paul, himself, considered them required because of the cultural climate of his time.

First off, let’s review what the Apostle Paul said about women covering their heads. Let’s start by reading 1 Corinthians 11:1.

1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.

Do you think verses 1 and 2 are binding on us today?

We don’t have any problem with these verses, do we? They are clear and precise and they don’t violate anything we want them to say. I think it is very clear to everyone that these commands are just as binding on us today as they were to the Christians in Corinth in Paul’s day. This is how Paul starts his discussion about head coverings to the Corinthian women.

And then he goes on;

Verse 3, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God”.

Everything Paul has to say about head coverings has as it’s purpose all that is said here in verse 3. Read these words again. Don’t miss the chain of authority he describes and don’t forget that just like verses 1 and 2 are still binding on us today, so is all that is said in verse 3.

So far, it is not hard to accept everything Paul has said in these first 3 verses. But here is where the situation changes drastically. Beginning in verse 4 Paul starts his discussion on head coverings and this is where men and women begin to question everything Paul has to say. It seems so clear that Paul is instructing the women in Corenth to wear head coverings and yet that is just not done by the women of America today. So what do we do? Do we really have to follow the “ordinances” delivered to us by Paul as he said in verse 1?

Before we start trying to decide if these head coverings apply to the women of America today, let’s first decide what Paul’s explanation for the coverings was to the Women of Corinth.

Verse 4, “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. 5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. 6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. 9  Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. 10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels”.

So the instructions to the church in Corinth were pretty clear and precise.

The men were not supposed to cover their heads when they prayed. If they did cover their head it would bring dishonor on their head. Verse 7 tells us that the reason he does not cover his head is because the man has a certain honor as being head over the woman and he is the image and glory of God. This verse alone tells us that head coverings are symbolic of the roll that a man and a woman have with each other and with God. It is clear here that head coverings are all about making a public statement about the positions that are held between a man, a woman and God. These verses tell us that the man is the image and glory of God and the woman is the glory of man. This symbol of the head coverings is a public statement from the Christian woman of Corinth that she understands her roll as a woman and she does not hold authority over a man. It is because of this fact that verse 10 tells us the woman “should have power on her head”. The word “power” could be substituted with the word “authority”. This is not talking about the authority of the woman. It is simply pointing out that a woman is under the authority of a man. All of this head covering is showing that the woman is under the authority of the men. Sometimes people get hung up with this phrase, “because of the angels”. I really don’t see that as so complicated at all. I think it simply shows that there is a divine interest in this arrangement that God continues to observe and to look into.

Verse 11 and 12 show us that there is a special relationship between a Christian man and a Christian woman, “in the Lord”.

11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. 12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

Verse 12 tells us that the relationship between a man and woman and the authority that a man has is from God. We are not left to forget that fact, even though the way a Christian man treats woman is very different and more respectful to her than the way men of the world might behave. A Christian man has a relationship with a Christian woman that gives her honor and dignity in her roll as a woman.

Now up to this point the real question we all want answered has not been addressed. The real question is this; are these head coverings that Paul instructed the women of Corinth to wear still required on the American women of today. There is no doubt that Paul was giving instruction to the Corinthian women that it was proper to wear head coverings. But what about today? Well, there is a clear answer to this question. We might as well jump to that answer right now and then we will come back to see why it was so important for the Corinthian women to cover their heads. Look at verse 16.

1 Corinthians 11: 16   

¹⁶ But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.”

The real question about these head coverings has been all along, are they required for women of all ages or was this required of the Corinthian women because of the customs of the day?  Here we have the answer. Paul actually uses the word “custom” here to describe the practice in the churches.

People usually find this choice of words in this phrase to be confusing. The Greek does not translate well into a common choice of words that we normally use together in a sentence. Notice that the words say, “But if any man seem to be contentious”. This is saying to those in Corinth who would like not to have to cover their head, (to paraphrase) We have no other such custom here nor in any of the churches of God. So Paul is telling the women of Corinth that this is the way it was done in Corinth and it was the way it was done in all the churches. There is no other “custom”.

            So the matter of covering the head for the women of Corinth was a way for the women to show respect for the roll of women in submitting to the authority of the man by using the customs of the day.

The same customs do not exist in our day and age in America and so to cover the head for women does not carry the same significance as it did then. There is, however, a head covering for men that does carry the same significance as it once did. Consider this example; suppose a man was asked to lead a public prayer at church. What would you think about this man if he refused to remove his hat as he led the prayer? Would you think he was being disrespectful and rebellious? I think most people would. Our customs of the day would require that a man remove his head covering if he led a prayer to God. The same thing was true in the days of Paul. And a woman who refused to wear a head covering was looked on with disrespect and considered to be rebellious and disrespectful to her roll as a woman. People looked at a woman such as that as a common prostitute.

            Look at Paul’s reasons why he wanted the Corinthian women to cover their heads. Look at verse 5. “But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.”

Why does Paul mention a woman with a shaved head? I think we all know the reason he said that. A shaved head was a sign of a rebellious prostitute. Paul did not want Christian women to be perceived like a rebellious prostitute. And just like a man today who would refuse to remove his hat when he prays, a woman in Paul’s day who refused to cover her head when she prayed would be looked on with disrespect. That same thing would not happen today to women of America. It could happen, however in other countries. If a woman went to Saudi Arabia on vacation and found herself among women who were under customs to cover their heads, she would be looked on with disrespect if she refused to do so.

It’s hard to say when the custom of head coverings in America got to where it is at today. It was a slow and gradual process and even today in some religious circles a remnant still exists.

But in Paul’s day, it was a custom that had existed for hundreds of years. It had been in existence so long that it was considered the normal and not the exception. Look at what he has to say about that starting in verse 13.

13 Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? 15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.

My, my, how things change. In my young days this statement would have still been the natural order of the way things were. Frankly. I like the old ways better. But customs change with the times. There are some traditions in Scripture where culture determines how they are carried out. But let me warn you and caution you in every way that I know how, this is always the exception and never the rule. Please, please don’t use culture as a way to avoid obedience to the Scriptures when you just don’t want to obey.

Carl O. Cooper