1Cor 11:13-14 | KingComments | STEP | . Man is “the image and glory of God”. The significance of this is far from small. It means as much as: man ought to be the visible representative of God on earth. God also expects from man that he shows, as it were, expresses, the features and attributes of His Being. Therefore he ought not to cover his head. Woman in her turn is the glory of man. She can show something of him by showing some of his characteristics in her action. These matters are the result of the way God created both of them. “For it was Adam who was first formed, [and] then Eve” ( ). When Adam was created, God took one of his ribs and made Eve from it ( ). . Besides the order of creation of man and woman, there is also the reason of the creation of woman. Woman was created for Adam’s sake and not Adam for Eve’s sake. Eve was given to Adam as a suitable helper for him. That doesn’t mean that a man doesn’t ever have to help his wife. On the contrary, man should help his wife as much as and whenever he can because he loves her. But that doesn’t change anything in the verses here. We must persistently adhere to what is written here because there are powers that are making every effort to reverse God’s creation order . In the world around you the movement of emancipation is gaining ground more and more. In this fight for emancipation people break with these verses. Feminism is promoting to let woman be the head of man. The fact that this is happening in the world is not something strange, but it also affects the believers. . That “the woman ought to have [a symbol of] authority on her head”, is more often experienced as a burden than a privilege. The head covering is here called “[a symbol of] authority” because it is a sign of the authority to which she is submitted. Man is after all her head. Surely, God always looks at the heart first and what the thoughts of the heart are. For it makes a difference whether a person does something only because ‘people’ say so, or he does it from a conscious obedience and love for Him. But God has also given us visible signs. By these signs angels are able to see whether a person does or does not consider the order that God has put in creation. The head covering at praying and prophesying is the visible proof that a woman by no means wants to take the place of man toward God or men. Here it is also written that it is “because of the angels”. That appears to be a strange reason for the head covering. Nevertheless it is rather significant that they are mentioned here. Angels are spectators. They were there when God laid the foundation of the earth ( ). They observe the world and are interested in how God deals with it. They saw man’s failings in the time which is written in the Old Testament. After that they saw the perfect life of the Lord Jesus: they were there when He was born, when He was tempted in the wilderness, when He was in agony in Gethsemane, when He rose from the grave and when He went back to heaven. You can read all this in the Gospels. The redemption work that the Lord Jesus accomplished, He did not accomplish for angels, but for guilty people ( ). Now the angels are observing whether the believing woman above all, through whom sin came into the world, is considering the order God has ordained. Therefore it is not about something that is culture specific. That is not what the angels are interested in. Their concern is God’s creation order, which remains to exist as long as this earth remains to exist. Believers have the privilege and the responsibility to show the order of God, while the world, led by the devil, takes a course that is right against it. Angels are also called spectators with regard to the church ( ). Now the question is asked whether the woman ought to cover her head when the church gathers. After all she is not allowed to pray or prophesy out loud there, as we shall see in chapter 14. Nevertheless the woman is to cover her head when the church gathers because she is a picture of the church ( ). When the church gathers there are men and women. During the gathering they do things out loud together, such as singing and saying amen. By covering their head they make it clear to the angels that they are aware of their position as woman. It is an impressive testimony to the invisible and intelligent world when they see that believers act according to God’s order in a world that totally rejects this order. . Here it is said that man and woman have their place together “in the Lord”. ‘In the Lord’ there is no distinction. ‘In the Lord’ means that they both stand before Him and they can serve Him together as their Lord in harmony. He is Lord for both man and woman. When they both are aware of that and consider that in all things, then the right balance in their relationship will not cause any problems. . This balance is also reflected in this verse. It is true that woman originates from the man, but after Adam the only way for a man to enter the world was through the woman. That is to the woman’s honor. Of course nothing will ever change the fact that God is the origin of every life. He is the Creator of each man and each woman. . Paul pointed out different reasons for the woman to be convinced that when she prays or prophesies, she ought to have her head covered. He pointed at the order of creation in . After that he brought in the angels as spectators ( ). In he gives another reason, which is the natural sense. He appeals to the discernment ability of the believers, for that is the meaning of “judge for yourselves”. They had to examine this matter spiritually and make a conclusion; then they finally had to make a decision. To be able to make a conclusion they needed a measure. For you cannot consider such a matter on your own initiative because then you will have a purely emotional conclusion. The only way to come to a right judgment or conclusion is to bow your knees before the Lord, asking Him for light and insight to explore the Scripture in this respect and to willingly subject yourself heartily to the outcome. . The question whether it is proper for a woman to pray to God without a head covering easily introduces the lesson of nature in connection with the hair of man and woman. Head covering and hair are closely connected to one another. In the Bible long hair is connected to subjection: to relinquish certain rights and be committed to another person. Because God has given man a position at the forefront, he is ought not to have long hair, while long hair is a glory for the woman. That’s the teaching of nature. It is unnatural when a man has long hair and a woman has short hair. Some people may disagree with that, but that doesn’t change the fact that nature does teach us this, for that is what God says in His Word here. So it might be that many people say that homosexuality is normal and natural, and yet nature teaches the opposite. In Romans 1 homosexual relations are called “unnatural” or ‘against nature’ ( ). . The long hair of a woman is given to her for a covering, whereby she shows her modesty and commitment toward the man. Of course her long hair is only useful when she reflects this modesty and commitment in her conduct. Then the glory, which is related to having long hair, will be fully her portion. I do not concern myself with the discussion of what the standard length of long hair should be. In Luke 7 and in John 12 you find an indication ( ; ). In the histories described there, we see that the hair of each of the women who came to the Lord was long enough to dry His feet with. Further on in Revelation 9 there is another indication. There you read about “hair like the hair of women” ( ). Since there is no difference in the substance of the hair, the indication “hair of women” must have to do with the length. Therefore a clear difference should be visible between the hair length of man and of woman. . Whoever wants to argue that is his business. Anyway, the apostle has no such practice, nor has any local church. All of this can be equally clear to all people. Too often it is made confusing, complex and difficult because we do not simply adhere anymore to what God’s Word says. Also in this respect the world has got a great influence on the mind of believers. This influence also comes out in the appearances. God says here: long hair is a glory to the woman. Which woman dares to take that glory without compromise? Please note that the point in these verses is the normal standard. There are women, who due to illness or other causes cannot help that they do not have long hair. Now read 1 Corinthians 11:7-16 again. Reflection: Why is this section so important for the practice of the Christian life?

‏ 1 Corinthians 11:13-14

Head Covering and Hair (II)

1Cor 11:7. Man is “the image and glory of God”. The significance of this is far from small. It means as much as: man ought to be the visible representative of God on earth. God also expects from man that he shows, as it were, expresses, the features and attributes of His Being. Therefore he ought not to cover his head. Woman in her turn is the glory of man. She can show something of him by showing some of his characteristics in her action. These matters are the result of the way God created both of them. “For it was Adam who was first formed, [and] then Eve” (1Tim 2:13). When Adam was created, God took one of his ribs and made Eve from it (Gen 2:21).

1Cor 11:8-9. Besides the order of creation of man and woman, there is also the reason of the creation of woman. Woman was created for Adam’s sake and not Adam for Eve’s sake. Eve was given to Adam as a suitable helper for him. That doesn’t mean that a man doesn’t ever have to help his wife. On the contrary, man should help his wife as much as and whenever he can because he loves her. But that doesn’t change anything in the verses here.

We must persistently adhere to what is written here because there are powers that are making every effort to reverse God’s creation order . In the world around you the movement of emancipation is gaining ground more and more. In this fight for emancipation people break with these verses. Feminism is promoting to let woman be the head of man. The fact that this is happening in the world is not something strange, but it also affects the believers.

1Cor 11:10. That “the woman ought to have [a symbol of] authority on her head”, is more often experienced as a burden than a privilege. The head covering is here called “[a symbol of] authority” because it is a sign of the authority to which she is submitted. Man is after all her head. Surely, God always looks at the heart first and what the thoughts of the heart are. For it makes a difference whether a person does something only because ‘people’ say so, or he does it from a conscious obedience and love for Him. But God has also given us visible signs. By these signs angels are able to see whether a person does or does not consider the order that God has put in creation.

The head covering at praying and prophesying is the visible proof that a woman by no means wants to take the place of man toward God or men. Here it is also written that it is “because of the angels”. That appears to be a strange reason for the head covering. Nevertheless it is rather significant that they are mentioned here.

Angels are spectators. They were there when God laid the foundation of the earth (Job 38:4 ; 7). They observe the world and are interested in how God deals with it. They saw man’s failings in the time which is written in the Old Testament. After that they saw the perfect life of the Lord Jesus: they were there when He was born, when He was tempted in the wilderness, when He was in agony in Gethsemane, when He rose from the grave and when He went back to heaven. You can read all this in the Gospels.

The redemption work that the Lord Jesus accomplished, He did not accomplish for angels, but for guilty people (Heb 2:13-16). Now the angels are observing whether the believing woman above all, through whom sin came into the world, is considering the order God has ordained. Therefore it is not about something that is culture specific. That is not what the angels are interested in. Their concern is God’s creation order, which remains to exist as long as this earth remains to exist. Believers have the privilege and the responsibility to show the order of God, while the world, led by the devil, takes a course that is right against it.

Angels are also called spectators with regard to the church (Eph 3:10). Now the question is asked whether the woman ought to cover her head when the church gathers. After all she is not allowed to pray or prophesy out loud there, as we shall see in chapter 14. Nevertheless the woman is to cover her head when the church gathers because she is a picture of the church (Eph 5:22-24).

When the church gathers there are men and women. During the gathering they do things out loud together, such as singing and saying amen. By covering their head they make it clear to the angels that they are aware of their position as woman. It is an impressive testimony to the invisible and intelligent world when they see that believers act according to God’s order in a world that totally rejects this order.

1Cor 11:11. Here it is said that man and woman have their place together “in the Lord”. ‘In the Lord’ there is no distinction. ‘In the Lord’ means that they both stand before Him and they can serve Him together as their Lord in harmony. He is Lord for both man and woman. When they both are aware of that and consider that in all things, then the right balance in their relationship will not cause any problems.

1Cor 11:12. This balance is also reflected in this verse. It is true that woman originates from the man, but after Adam the only way for a man to enter the world was through the woman. That is to the woman’s honor. Of course nothing will ever change the fact that God is the origin of every life. He is the Creator of each man and each woman.

1Cor 11:13. Paul pointed out different reasons for the woman to be convinced that when she prays or prophesies, she ought to have her head covered. He pointed at the order of creation in 1Cor 11:3-9. After that he brought in the angels as spectators (1Cor 11:10). In 1Cor 11:13-14 he gives another reason, which is the natural sense. He appeals to the discernment ability of the believers, for that is the meaning of “judge for yourselves”.

They had to examine this matter spiritually and make a conclusion; then they finally had to make a decision. To be able to make a conclusion they needed a measure. For you cannot consider such a matter on your own initiative because then you will have a purely emotional conclusion. The only way to come to a right judgment or conclusion is to bow your knees before the Lord, asking Him for light and insight to explore the Scripture in this respect and to willingly subject yourself heartily to the outcome.

1Cor 11:14. The question whether it is proper for a woman to pray to God without a head covering easily introduces the lesson of nature in connection with the hair of man and woman. Head covering and hair are closely connected to one another. In the Bible long hair is connected to subjection: to relinquish certain rights and be committed to another person. Because God has given man a position at the forefront, he is ought not to have long hair, while long hair is a glory for the woman. That’s the teaching of nature.

It is unnatural when a man has long hair and a woman has short hair. Some people may disagree with that, but that doesn’t change the fact that nature does teach us this, for that is what God says in His Word here. So it might be that many people say that homosexuality is normal and natural, and yet nature teaches the opposite. In Romans 1 homosexual relations are called “unnatural” or ‘against nature’ (Rom 1:26).

1Cor 11:15. The long hair of a woman is given to her for a covering, whereby she shows her modesty and commitment toward the man. Of course her long hair is only useful when she reflects this modesty and commitment in her conduct. Then the glory, which is related to having long hair, will be fully her portion.

I do not concern myself with the discussion of what the standard length of long hair should be. In Luke 7 and in John 12 you find an indication (Lk 7:38 ; 44; Jn 12:3). In the histories described there, we see that the hair of each of the women who came to the Lord was long enough to dry His feet with. Further on in Revelation 9 there is another indication. There you read about “hair like the hair of women” (Rev 9:8). Since there is no difference in the substance of the hair, the indication “hair of women” must have to do with the length. Therefore a clear difference should be visible between the hair length of man and of woman.

1Cor 11:16. Whoever wants to argue that is his business. Anyway, the apostle has no such practice, nor has any local church. All of this can be equally clear to all people. Too often it is made confusing, complex and difficult because we do not simply adhere anymore to what God’s Word says. Also in this respect the world has got a great influence on the mind of believers. This influence also comes out in the appearances. God says here: long hair is a glory to the woman. Which woman dares to take that glory without compromise?

Please note that the point in these verses is the normal standard. There are women, who due to illness or other causes cannot help that they do not have long hair.

Now read 1 Corinthians 11:7-16 again.

Reflection: Why is this section so important for the practice of the Christian life?