“For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head
because of the angels.
Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.”
— 1st Corinthians 11:7-12
“...I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne,
high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings;
with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet,
and with twain he did fly.” — Isaiah 6: 1-2
The practice of head coverings has fallen on hard times in American churches. I was shocked the first time that I heard that it was the norm for women to wear head coverings in virtually all denominations throughout the country until about the 1960's. What do you think changed?
But rather than appeal to tradition let’s pray for the Holy Spirit’s illumination and study the scripture. After all, the Catholic church preached a false gospel of works for over one thousand years before the Reformation. People can be wrong for that long!
Giovanni Strazza- The Veiled Virgin
Much of the argument for and against head coverings revolved around cultural norms and customs. I say if the Bible is our standard for life and godliness then it alone should tell us whether a custom is good or bad. “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head….For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the image and glory of God (v4, 7)."
Haman the Agagite villain in the book of Esther covered his head when he was inflamed with grief and aggravation (Esther 6:12). Haman is not an Israelite at all but appears to conform to what Paul is saying about men wearing head coverings – it is a shame to them. There may be a time when that is appropriate, but the corporate worship of God isn’t it.
Head coverings for women communicate something else. When Rebekah approaches Isaac (who pictures Christ) for the first time in Genesis 24:65, she covers herself with a veil. The servant who escorted her from her father’s house to Isaac did not tell her to do that — it came from within herself. I think we can infer that this modesty and impulse to cover up did not spring from the corrupt nature of Adam and Eve when they scrambled for fig leaves when God came looking for them. Rather I think of it like the angels in Isaiah 6 who cover both the heads and feet in the presence of the glory of God. These angels have no sin and yet they cover themselves anyway. It is simply a reaction to the presence of God’s perfect holiness.
I wouldn’t bind anyone’s conscience on this issue, nor would it make or break my decision on which church to attend. We must worship in spirit and in truth1, according to knowledge.2I’ve struggled with this doctrine for a long time and the Spirit is only now beginning to give me understanding. While the remnant of churches that practice head coverings have their own theologically astute reasons for doing so, I’ve never heard a good explanation for why it says down in verse 16: we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.” Paul says elsewhere in the same epistle, “Let all things be done decently and in order [3].” The spirit behind the letter that is much easier to prove is that dress standards should appeal to common decency and gender roles. Matthew Henry’s commentary on verses 13 and 16 read;
It should be our concern, especially in Christian and religious assemblies, to make no breach upon the rules of natural decency… He sums up by referring those who were contentious to the usages and customs of the churches. Custom is in a great measure the rule of decency. And the common practice of the churches is what he would have them govern themselves by…. It was the common usage of the churches for women to appear in public assemblies and join in public worship veiled; and it was manifestly decent that they should do so. Those must be very contentious indeed who would quarrel with this or lay it aside.
If Paul is deferring to custom, and the customs of society have changed, then I think we are at liberty to practice this or not. By two or three witnesses should a matter be established, and there really aren’t any other specific instructions on head coverings. Whether you do it or not, be firmly persuaded in your own mind and thank God for the liberty we have in Christ.
Scriptures:
1John 4:24
2Rom 10:2
31st Cor 14:40
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