That Was Then,
This Is Now...

I am not going to give an exhaustive study here explaining why a woman should cover her head because that could become quite lengthy. I will give a brief outline of what I have learned, providing a place to begin studying for those who would like to search out the topic further in the Word.

While I don’t think we should look to man for wisdom, it is helpful to read and learn from what others have written about the Scriptures. At the end I have included some helpful articles written by others that cover the topic in depth. I do not claim to agree with everything written in the following articles but I do think they have beneficial information with regard to the head covering teaching if you are interested in studying the topic for yourself.

If you are a married woman, I suggest that you ask your husband to study the passage along with you and that you ask for his spiritual leadership on the matter. Pray for your husband to have wisdom and understanding from the Holy Spirit, and patiently wait for your husband’s approval regarding the covering. The Lord knows your heart and holds your husband responsible for his spiritual leadership.

Demonstration of God’s Order:

I Corinthians 11:2-16
Genesis 2:7
Genesis 2:18
Genesis 2:22

The word ‘head’ in I Corinthians 11 is defined as authority. The head cover demonstrates that a believer understands God’s order of authority. God is Christ’s head, Christ is man’s head, and man is the woman’s head. This does not make the woman inferior, after all God loves us equally. Women play a different role in God’s creation and order. By wearing the covering, the woman shows that she is submitted to the authority over her, which includes her husband, Christ, and God. Just as water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are visual, physical representations, so the head covering is a tangible representation of spiritual truths here on earth.

To Give Glory to God:

In the assembly and individually in this world the man represents the glory of God. The woman represents man’s glory. So, when we come to the Lord in the assembly, or anytime that we are praying and prophesying, we need to remember to seek the glory of God, not man. It reminds us not to give glory to ourselves but to our God and shows who we desire to glorify.

Because of the Angels

I Corinthians 11:10
“For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.”

Ephesians 3:8-10

We should cover because of the angels…

This is a difficult part to understand because we are limited in our understanding of the spiritual realm around us, but we are to represent a picture of God’s order and glory to the angels.

Even nature shows that God desires for women to have a covering, but the hair is not given for a covering as many may reason. If you do a detailed study of the Greek words used for covering used in v.6 and that used in v. 15 are two different words. It is clearly defining that we should wear a veil to cover our hair. If you assume that a woman’s covering is her natural hair rather than a veil over the hair then verse 6 makes no sense. For, it would say if a woman be not covered (with her natural hair), then let hair also be cut off…if she doesn’t have hair covering her head then how can she cut it off? You might think it means a woman shouldn’t have short hair and a man should not have long hair, but how many women were cutting their hair short in Paul’s day? Today many women cut their hair short but then I don’t believe a woman wearing short hair was common. And, what about the man? If the covering spoken of is the hair would that mean that he should shave his head bald?

In Regards to Prayer:

Luke 10:18-20

Ephesians 1:20-21

I believe that we need to recognize the power and authority we have available to us in prayer. When we recognize our position in the heavenlies as His children then we can pray with authority and claim victory over the enemy in the name and authority of the Lord. The head covering is important in recognizing, submitting to the headship of God our Father and our Lord Jesus which I believe is important for an effective prayer life (and it has to do with the spiritual realm which we don’t completely understand). I am not saying the Lord cannot or will not hear your prayers if you aren’t covered. I do not believe that to be true because I prayed for years uncovered and I know the Lord heard my prayers. And, if I have my covering off now I still believe the Lord hears our prayers. You may be more blessed if you cover out of true conviction of the heart.

Wendy

A few articles I found helpful to give me a clearer understanding:

This article gave me a clear understanding of the passage: the article link:  http://mysite.verizon.net/bosmi14/bat/covering.html available at  http://www.bodyandtruth.org

Renee Elison’s article: located under “free downloads,” article title: “The Biblical Headcovering.” http://www.homeschoolhowtos.com  

Daniel Botkin’s article, interesting thoughts: http://www.fernshomestead.com/headcovering2.html

Pictures of the history of head coverings: http://www.scrollpublishing.com/store/head-covering-history.html