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An exposition
of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16
The Head Covering
Peter DitzelWhen
I think back to my boyhood and teenage years in the 1950s and 1960s, I recall
the effect of what seemed to be an unquestioned practice among women. Looking
forward from any pew (except the very front row), in any church (my parents
visited a number of churches); my view was that of ladies' hats, large and
small, and sometimes scarves. Women never entered the meeting without their
heads covered, just as men universally removed their hats. Was this merely a
social custom of the mid-twentieth century? Or does the Bible tell us that
women should cover their heads, and men uncover their heads, during meetings
of the church? My
purpose in writing this article is not to cause controversy and division in
the church. But I think it is a shame that so many of the best
churches—churches that center on Jesus Christ, the Cross, man’s
inability and God’s sovereignty in salvation—have missed the
opportunity to obey a New Testament command with, as we shall see, such
beautiful meaning. I hope to encourage the reintroduction of a practice that
is soundly Scriptural. This
topic is addressed in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. The method of this article will
be to expound these verses. In doing so, I do not intend to interrupt the
simple exposition I am going to give by quoting what so-and-so's opinion was
about head coverings. Nevertheless, before starting the exposition, I believe
it will be helpful to note that there are at least seven common viewpoints
promulgated concerning these verses. They are: Viewpoint 1: The head covering of 1 Corinthians 11:2-13 was a
covering in addition to the hair (addressed in verses 14-15), is still to be
worn today, and is to be worn all the time. This is the belief of Mennonites
and some other groups. Viewpoint 2: Paul, in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, was dealing with
a cultural issue that applied only to his time, and, perhaps, only to the
Corinthian church. Viewpoint 3: The head covering was a matter of modest dress.
Like the view above, what is at issue is a social custom. In Paul’s day,
it was immodest for a woman to have her head uncovered. Because such
standards change in time and place, western women do not need to wear a head
covering today because it is not an essential part of dressing modestly in
our society. Viewpoint 4: Paul is only addressing proper hair length. The
covering for women is long hair. Men are to have no covering (short hair). Viewpoint 5: As he explains in 1 Corinthians Viewpoint 6: These verses are really only the beginning of a
rebuke Paul is making about the conduct of women in the Corinthian church.
The remarks continue in chapter 14, verses 34 and 35. What Paul is really
saying, according to this theory, is something like this: Shame on you,
Corinthian church! You have let your women speak in public without covering
their heads. This shamed you in front of the surrounding community.
What’s more, you should not have let them speak in public in the first
place. Women are to be silent in church. According to this view, Paul spent
fifteen verses explaining the proper use of head coverings in chapter 11 only
to say in two verses in chapter 14 that it is all unnecessary because the
women are to remain silent anyway and, therefore, do not need head coverings. Viewpoint 7: The head covering of 1 Corinthians 11:2-13 was a
covering in addition to the hair (addressed in verses 14-15), is still to be
worn by Christian women today, and is to be worn during times of public
worship. Paul’s instructions for the covering of the woman’s head
and the uncovering of the man’s head during worship were not based on
the custom of the times but on the Scriptures. <Previous
Next> Copyright
© 2006 wordofhisgrace.org |
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