Introduction

It brought tears to my eyes when I finally realized that I had unwittingly been teaching contrary to Paul’s mandates in 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. It struck me like a ton of bricks that I had been honoring what Paul calls a “dishonor” (vv. 4-5,14) and had been quite comfortable with a practice which Paul calls “shameful” (v. 6). We must tremble when we approach God’s awesome Word remembering Scripture’s warning: “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment” (James 3:1). I had not realized the degree to which my feminist culture had affected me, or the degree to which the fear of man had influenced my interpretation until a faithful brother persevered in showing me some blind spots that I had. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Prov. 27:6).

I had previously held to the position that this chapter is binding, but that the only covering that Paul was talking about is the long hair of the woman. I taught that no fabric covering is mandated. What has amazed me since I came back to the historic interpretation¹ is how clear it all seems now. I had always thought that the passage was very difficult, but a large part of the difficulty lay in defending a position which I now regard as not Biblical. It takes a great deal of ingenuity to get around the central meaning of this passage on head coverings. It is difficult to get a meaning out of the text that will be appealing to twentieth century man, but Paul knew that his message was foolishness to his culture as well (1 Cor. 1:21). As he said in 1 Corinthians 1:25, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

I do not plan to give an extensive treatment of 1 Corinthians 11. (There are several papers written by others that you can study if you have that desire.) Instead, I want to give a brief synopsis of what the passage means and then spend the bulk of this booklet answering objections that people have raised. It is always hard to be objective and open to Biblical teaching when there are emotional ramifications, so I urge you to begin your study with prayer, asking God to open your understanding, to restrain your fleshly impulses, and to rejoice in God’s truth, wherever it may lead you.

In a nutshell, what is the teaching on coverings?

For men:

• Have short hair - “…if a man has long hair it is a dishonor to him” (v. 14).
• Don’t wear a hat, a veil or any kind of covering on your head during worship - “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head” (v. 4).
• This applies to all males, young or old, married or single — the word for “man” is literally male.

For women:

• Have long hair — “…if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her…” (v. 15).
• Wear a covering that comes down the head and covers both the head and the hair — “let her be covered” (v. 6); the word for “covering” that is applied to women in verses 5-6,13 is a word for a fabric covering that is draped over the head.
• This applies to all females, young or old, married or single — the word for woman without the article indicates females in general.

Are these teachings only for public worship? Yes.

While other Scriptures address the subject of what to wear during the week, this passage focuses exclusively on a proper dress code for men and women in the public assemblies of formal worship. Paul says that these clothing issues were relevant to “the churches of God” (v. 16). Rather than being an issue only having individual ramifications, this was something to “judge among yourselves” (v. 13) and which the “brethren” (v. 2) jointly were to enter into. Thus it is not by accident that Paul places his discussion of head coverings right in the middle of his extended treatment on the Lord’s Supper (10:1-33 and 11:17-34). 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 has no logical connection whatsoever to what Paul has been discussing² or is about to discuss unless it relates to public worship (of which the Lord’s Table was a weekly part). Likewise, the covering of all glory but the glory of God (see discussion under “Objections Answered”) does not make sense outside of worship. Other Scriptures indicate that the glory of man (the woman) and the glory of the woman (her hair) not only can, but must be visible in other contexts. Other papers have gone into great detail to show that the context and the subject material all argue for this section mandating dress codes for public worship, not for every day dress. (For more details, read the “Objections Answered” section of this booklet.)