Head Coverings

God’s peace be ours today as we delve into a much misunderstood topic!

Paul has just addressed the order of creation and the blessing it is when we correctly understand it.  A man is to love his wife in the same way that God loves the man.  As the representative of God in the world, the man is to reveal to the world the love of God for all to see, and the focal point of a man’s love is to be the woman.
 
There is a security in the order of creation because it elevates both the man and the woman to be loved, cherished, protected, and provided for by the one who loves them.  It is only when the text is misunderstood that a woman is mistreated and made to be subordinate to a man.  This is a gross misuse and misunderstanding of the order of creation and the headship God has created.

As Paul turns to the worship life of the church in Corinth, the first issue addressed stems from this understanding of headship in the order of creation.  Just as God is the head of Christ, so Christ is the head of man. The man in turn is the head of the woman, (1 Corinthians 11:1-3).  Paul speaks of what it means to dishonor the one who is your head!

Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.  But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for it is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. 1 Corinthians 11:4-5

Note the order!  Paul begins with the man.  If a man prays or prophesies with his head covered it is a dishonor to his head!  Who is the head of man?  Christ is the head of man and thus, Christ is dishonored when a man is leading in worship with his head covered.

Paul then moves immediately to the woman.  If a woman is in worship and has her head uncovered and is praying or prophesying, then her head is dishonored. And who is the head of the woman? It is the man.

Now there are a couple of things we need to understand about what Paul is saying. The first thing you need to realize is that both men and women prayed and prophesied in the early church. It was not only the men but also women shared the Word of God as the spirit led them.  The word prophecy can mean to foretell the future, as the Old Testament prophets did on occasion. But as with the Old Testament prophets the majority of what they proclaimed was a clear Word of God applicable to the people of their day. To prophecy can mean to foretell the future, it can also mean to tell forth the Word of God. So, in a technical term, every sermon is a prophecy because it is proclaiming the Word of God.

What seemed to be the area of concern is the idea that if a woman is made to cover her head she is somehow being subjugated to a man. This is not Paul's intent. In the culture of the day both the Greco-Roman culture and the Jewish culture a woman in public had some kind of covering on her head. The exceptions to this were when a woman worshipped in a Pagan temple, where often her head was uncovered as she engaged in very perverse actions. Secondly women were seen in public without head coverings if they were prostitutes. It was viewed as a woman exposing herself in order to project the image that she was available to men.

Therefore, Paul is very concerned about the nature of the worship services and the image they projected to the unbelieving world. For whatever reason the women believe they could uncover their heads during worship.  For those present who were not Christians who saw the women with uncovered heads, it would be very easy to confuse them with Pagan worship or prostitutes. The end result is that the woman is dishonoring not only herself but the one who is her head.

When Paul makes this statement, for it is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved, it ties together the understanding of immoral actions. In the 1st century culture if a woman was found to have committed adultery against her husband, one of the common punishments was to have her head shaved which identified her as an immoral, unfaithful woman. Sadly, there was not a similar punishment for men. Paul is however using this understanding to speak of the nature and character of our Christian worship services.

Now we still have a difficulty with the understanding of a woman having a man as her head. But put it in a different context. Let's say a couple is out on a date and the man's wife begins to flirt with other men, kissing and dancing provocatively with them. Would you say that this woman is dishonoring her husband? Of course, you would. How much more so the perception given to others in the context of a worship service. Remember, for Paul everything is about how the unbelieving world sees us as God's children. He has even begun this chapter with Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. because he wants our Christian witness to be at the forefront of our thoughts and all that we do.

So how would we apply this to ourselves today? There are certain customs, traditions, and manners which have all but been forgotten. A man should remove his hat when he comes inside. When we come before God for a time of worship, we should seek to give God our very best. This is not a means by which we judge others. If a person's very best is a button up shirt shorts and sandals, then that is acceptable before God. A man can wear a suit and tie, or if a woman has a nice dress to wear, wonderful.  We would apply the same measure to the church offerings. The widow who gave two mites was honored by Jesus for the magnitude of her gift, when by worldly standards it was nothing. The issue was she gave the best she could.
Paul's point is that in all that we do we should seek to honor God and be respectful to those who are around us. This is part of our Christian witness to one another, and to the unbelieving world.  I truly believe if we spent more time focusing on our Christian witness and less time bickering among ourselves as Christians, we would have a greater impact upon the world for Jesus. May this be the case for all of us at Spirit and Truth.

In Christ,
Pastor Russ