What are your views on head coverings?

Answer Request:
I wanted to hear what your take is on 1 Cor 11 - (head covering when praying). This was a letter written to the church of Corinth by Paul in particular to those Christians - but the way Paul speaks about how the woman came after man, for man, and about dishonour for not covering your head - What is your view on this?

Although there are churches today that are practicing this 'rule', it is sad to say that they are not doing it because scripture commands it, but because they are stuck in a man-made system of tradition and/or denominational entrapment. However, for the majority of churches today, this practice is not adhered to and not enforced, and rightfully so. This is not a blatant rejection of scripture today, because when one digs deeper into the truth, one finds that this is more of a cultural issue in Paul's day than a direct command from the Lord that required women to cover their heads with a veil in the church. Another important factor to account for when answering this question is the fact that there was a dispensational transition in effect.

Let's look at these two concepts to fully understand why Paul wrote this passage to the Corinthians.

(1) What was the purpose of head covering for women?

In Paul's day, the overall issue regarding head coverings is identified as headship, or more accurately, the submission to headship and God's order of authority. The culture of the Jews in Paul's day, by tradition, required this as an outward sign of submission and respect to authority. Head covering denoted submission; likewise, the lack of a head covering symbolized dominance/leadership. For a Jewish man to put on the head covering was to dishonor God, because he was indicating he was not fulfilling his leadership role.

A Jewish woman, however, needed to have a head covering, a veil, in the local culture of the day. If she did not, she would bring reproach to Christ and her husband. An unveiled woman was equivalent to a woman with a shaved head, —the infamous pagan priestess prostitutes in Corinth had shaved heads! The overall idea was for women (Jewish or Gentile) not to resemble or behave like prostitutes, wild or unruly women, or authoritarian women who usurped male leadership, et cetera.

(2) Why must we account for a dispensational transition that was taking place?

When Paul wrote the Corinthian letters, they were in the middle of a dispensational transition, coming out of a dominant, but diminishing Jewish faith and moving steadily into a doctrine of grace towards the Gentiles. However, the Jew had not yet been cast aside, Rom.11:1-2. In Romans, (the last book of Paul's ACTS ministry, during which the transition was taking place, and written AFTER his Corinthian letters), Paul is still writing and preaching the following,

Rom.1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

So, the Jews were diminishing, but not yet cast away. In God's redemption plan, they were still first in line, and the Kingdom program was still possible if the Jews would believe. Paul's focus and desire was still to save his nation and brethren in the flesh, Rom.9:3-5, but he knew in his heart (and through progressive revelation from the Lord) that they were falling away through unbelief and that God was turning to the Gentiles with a new grace gospel of salvation.

(3) What does all this mean? How does cultural belief and dispensational transition answer our question?

Well, as stated, the early "Body of Christ" was a mix of Jew and Gentile; two very different cultures. Through the ACTS period, (pertaining to the epistles: 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, and Romans), this fledgling Body of Christ, was a mix of —saved (believing) Jews, still under the influence of their traditions and slowly unlearning the law and their deep-rooted traditions, and —saved Gentiles, who were less observant and didn't care too much about the Jewish laws, observances and traditions. (Just read 1 Corinthians 8 and Romans 14 to understand the cultural differences and the advice Paul gave [incl. Sabbath days, meat offered to idols, observances and holydays] to keep the peace between two very dissimilar people groups). Head covering was another one of these constant issues that needed resolving and Paul, during this transitional period, encouraged the Gentile believers to practice this to keep peace and not offend their Jewish brothers and sisters. (Interestingly, on the inverse side, Paul would tell the Jews in the Body of Christ that they were no longer under law and that if conscience allowed them, there was no need to be concerned about eating meat offered to idols). In other words, Paul was trying to get the Jew and Gentile to meet halfway with regards to their customs and practices; to forebear with each other and focus on Christ and not their traditions.

It is interesting to note that during Paul's prison ministry, which more or less signaled the end of the transition from Jew to Gentile and from Law to Grace, we find that his last 7 epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, Titus, and 1 & 2 Timothy) do not relay any information concerning Jewish observances and traditions. By this time, the Jew was cast away and God's salvation was by grace alone to ALL men and without the use of Israel. In Ephesians, Paul again writes about headship and the need to respect authority, BUT in this instance, there is NOTHING mentioned about head coverings. In fact, by not giving specific rules to practice, Paul leaves the interpretation of the practice of submission to authority entirely in the discretion of the Ephesians; the overall theme of discretion being to practice submission and respect through love, not through laws.

Eph.5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. 22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

(4) In Summary

Today, our dispensation of grace works differently to the ways of law and Jewish traditions. We fit into the category of the Ephesians, not the Corinthians, who were still subject to that period of transition where the Jew was still first. Today, we do not look at head coverings as a means of submission to headship as much as we adhere to the deeper spiritual truth underlying that transitional practice. What we need to be sure to do is recognize and apply the fundamental doctrine being communicated in the issue: the hierarchy of God's predeterminate line of headship; which is Christ over the church, then male headship in the local church, (1 Cor.14:34; 1 Tim.2:11-15) and in the home (Eph.5:21; Eph.6:4; Col.3:18-21).

Please do not misunderstand. All Christians, men and women, are equally blessed in Jesus Christ (Gal.3:28); we just have different God-given roles. As the head coverings in Corinth distinguished the roles of people in Paul's day, today the means of distinguishing this is by love. Head coverings are foreign to our culture and count for nothing today, but the actions of love, (husbands, love your wives, and wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands), is the 'spiritual head coverings' for today and are of equal and significant importance as the physical head coverings in Paul's day, to bring honour, respect, and commitment to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.