 Should a woman's head be covered? The answer is yes and no. There's a bit of a controversy that comes or a little bit of a question that results from this passage that is written in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 where Paul is speaking about headship and in this he mentions this topic or this statement about a woman having her head covered or uncovered, the same thing with the mantle. Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Let's start in verse three. He says, but I want you to know or to understand that Christ is the head of every man and the man is the head of a woman and God is the head of Christ. Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying, disgraces his head. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying, disgraces her head. For she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. Now his point is that there are these women, there are these women who would have their head shaved and they would do so kind of in defiance. Or as for another reason, for other, either religious purposes or for mourning. We'll look at that in a second, but his point is that woman that has her head uncovered, he says it's the same as the woman who disgraces herself by having her head unshaved. Let's continue, he says. So verse six, for if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off. So you can see where he's kind of equating the two and then he goes on to say, but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head. For a man ought not to have his head covered since he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of man. Paul is making a statement and what he's referring to, remember how he starts us off. He starts us off by speaking about kind of this headship, order of things. He says that God is the head of Christ and Christ is the head of the church, just as man is the head of woman. And to get an understanding of this, the woman would not disgrace herself by planning herself in some sort of authoritative role or to say that she is going against authority and so there has to be this covering for her and she symbolizes this by her head being covered, physically being covered, but also her hair as well. There are those who again would shave their head for various reasons and in doing so, stating that they are really going against the authority. And so what does he say, verse eight, for man does not originate from woman, but woman from man. So he says for man does not originate from woman, but woman from man. Again, he's placing an emphasis on the order of male and female, also as it relates with God, Christ, the church, man and so forth. He's making that point clear as it relates to men and women and their roles. Verse 10, therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angel. Two things. One, it's clear he's speaking about, not necessarily the physical image that's portrayed by the scarf or the headdress or what have you. That's not the main thing. The main thing is the symbol of authority, the authority over her. And so this scarf, this headdress, this wrapping would represent to everyone that would see her that she's under authority of someone. Now, in this culture, and I think probably it still should be best if we had it this way today. Imagine if it were the same way where the woman was either under the authority of either her husband, if she was unmarried, well then under the authority of her father. Today, we have this notion that it's best to put our children out as soon as they turn 18 or 19, send them off to college. It's best to get them off on their own, which obviously when we look at the way the landscape of the world is, especially here in America, that's not the best way. That doesn't seem to be the best way. It doesn't seem to always work that way because you put people who were just a week ago struggling to keep their room clean. Now you put them out and give them keys to a car and tell them good luck. That didn't really work. And so it is best, at least it was then to have the woman to make sure that everyone knew that she was under someone's authority. The father was always responsible for her until he gave her away. And then her responsibility was the man that husband was responsible for taking care of her. Now to address something else where he says because of the angels. What we ought to understand is that in the Bible, the angels are watching. So this whole point about because of the angels, we can look at a couple of passages, we won't look at them now. But if we were to go and look, you would see this whole point about because of the angels, you would see this brought up in 1 Corinthians 4 in Ephesians 3-10, as well as you would see this also in 1 Timothy 5-21. So because the angels who are watching, remember that there's an order that the angels themselves also watch. They're not omniscient. They don't know everything. They may know some of the plans of God, but they have not been to the end. They don't know what's happening. So these things are unfolding before them. They understand how they are in subject under the authority of God. And so they watch us. Remember they're also ministering spirits to us. And so angels want to make sure because they are ministering to us on behalf of God that things go according to the way God has dictated those things. And so the angels are also watching. Verse 10, therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because the angels, verse 11, however in the Lord neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. I think that probably is self-explanatory. We do coexist together, although there is some sort of headship, some sort of order to our relationships. For as the woman originates from man, again, his point, he keeps reiterating this. So also the man has his birth through the woman and all things originate from God. Judge for yourselves, is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? Now, obviously, I don't have a problem with that particular passage because of the hair issue, but in all seriousness, it's always been, except for more recently, that long hair would tend to symbolize rebellion. Does that mean that a man with long hair is rebellious? No. Does that mean that that person is going against authority? No. But he states that even in nature, isn't it so that typically a woman has longer hair than a man now? How long is long? The Bible doesn't say how short is short? The Bible doesn't say, but in comparison, men are typically going to have shorter hair than women. And guess what? Most women like it that way as well. And so he says, does not even nature itself teach you that a man has long hair? It is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory to her for her hair is given to her for a covering. But if one is inclined to be contentious, notice this point, if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice nor have the churches of God. So Paul's point here is rebelliousness, contentiousness, order, that's the whole point. And so ever since the fall, remember in the garden, God has stated that to the woman that your desire shall be to him, but he shall rule over you because of the fall. That was just the punishment, the pronouncement for their disobedience for woman and for men. Now it's not that the man gets off scot-free, either there are certain things that go with him as well because of the fall, but for the woman in terms of roles, in terms of order, in terms of position, the man does have a role over the woman, but it's not as though that he gets off scot-free. Again, his role is to care for her, to protect her, to provide for her. She is not inferior to him as he just said that we are both dependent on each other. And the both of us, when man and woman come together, they form one body, one flesh cohesive body for the benefit of ultimately God's body. Now something else I need to bring up as well is that in this custom, especially for Jews, but really in the custom as well, going back to Deuteronomy, we would see that women would shave their head for one, for mourning. So notice in Deuteronomy 21, let's start in verse 10, he says, when you go to battle against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands and you take them away captives and see among the captives a beautiful woman and have a desire for her and would take her as a wife for yourself, then you shall bring her home to your house and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. Look what it says, she shall also remove her clothes of her captivity and shall remain in your house and mourn her father and mother for a full month. And after that, you may go into her and be her husband and she should be your wife. So her shaving is because she's in mourning and because of her loss. And so that would represent her being in mourning. It doesn't mean that her head is completely shaved. It doesn't say so again, we don't know the length but her hair is cut because of that. And so for the sake of mourning or for the sake of rebellion, a woman would have her head shaven. Again, how short the Bible doesn't say. How long is long, the Bible doesn't say how short is short, the Bible doesn't say but this is the example of why a woman would have her head shaved. Now remember, the Lord is not after women presenting themselves in a way to where they bring attention to themselves. And so this was something that was happening then but it's also happening now. Paul makes a statement, he says likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing. Look what he says, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair or gold pearls or costly garments. Now this is not saying that if you wear braids today cause even braids then at that point in time was not a symbol of sin. It was the decorative way they were doing so to bring attention to themselves. God does not want women out there showing themselves, offlining themselves, doing so from the head to toe to make people look at them. We see that today, we see that now. And so certainly today we see an issue with modesty. And those women today and even then who had an issue with modesty tend to be the same that had an issue with authority. In other words, not make sure that they would be under authority of a man, either their father or their husband. And so the whole point that Paul is bringing up here in 1 Corinthians 11 is that women, there is an order to our existence, just like men have to submit themselves under the authority of the Lord. So do women have to submit themselves under the authority of the man. And that a woman who does so, who moves about without having submitted to authority, she is a dishonor or she brings about dishonor. So now is the Bible saying that she needs to have a physical covering over her head. I would probably say no. However, if a woman wanted to, because remember it wasn't that long ago where women had a covering over their head, they would wear a scarf, be a thin scarf. It might be a thicker scarf. It might be some sort of wrap. Women would have their head covered to show that they are one being modest. However, if a woman goes about with her head uncovered throughout society, does that mean, is that wrong? No, because even then in that society, women would go with their head uncovered just not all of the time, especially when they're in the house of the Lord, when they're gathered together, they would make sure that people knew that they were submitted to authority. So in that regard, they should have a covering, a male covering, primarily the father or the husband. Does it mean also they ought to have a physical head covering? I don't think so. Just a covering in terms of making sure that they are submitted under the covering of a male. And so that's what Paul meant, and that's what Paul was getting at in terms of a covering. Amen.