Are women required to wear head coverings in church? That is an issue that has come up here lately, with some questions being asked about it. I want to talk about it this week on the podcast. I’ll just explain to you very quickly that I think the answer to that is yes. Are women required to wear head coverings in church? My answer to that is yes. It is a command that shows up in the book of 1 Corinthians, and because it is apparently to some such an obscure issue. And because my answer might make it sound even more strange, I want to be clear that everyone knows there are some things in the Bible, some commands that the Bible makes, that we are not required to obey. That might even sound strange, but it is true. There are some things the Bible commands that we are no longer required to obey. One obvious example of that would be animal sacrifices. If you read through the Bible and you get to the book of Leviticus, you’re going to find a whole lot of instructions about animal sacrifices. When you finish your readings in Leviticus, you are probably not then going to go get a goat or a lamb and execute it. And so you would be, in a sense, in disobedience to some of those commands in Leviticus, except there is a very good reason why you don’t do it. It’s because you know, and you understand that that command was in the Bible to be obeyed for some people but not for everyone. And so because Hebrews 10:4 says, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Because of that passage in the Bible, we know that that is not something that is required of us today. In fact, in the larger teaching of Hebrews, we find out that it would be completely inappropriate to sacrifice a bull and a goat because Jesus has become the once for all sacrifice to take away all sin for anyone who would believe. And so we don’t obey the commands in the Bible to sacrifice animals because as we keep reading the Bible, as we understand those commands in their biblical context, we understand that those commands were for a certain period of time for a certain group of people, but not for everyone and not for Christians today.

What Does 1 Corinthians 11 Teach?

The issue is we need to know when a command in the Bible is for us to obey today or was limited to a certain context, and the only way to answer that question is by investigating Scripture. There’s no authority from outside of Scripture that can come in and say, do this or don’t do that. We, as human beings, are not allowed to read the Bible and say, I like that command, so I’ll do it. I don’t like that command, so I won’t do it. The only way to judge whether a command is for us today is by continuing to study and understand Scripture and understand that command in the overall teaching of the Bible. The question that we’re talking about this week on the podcast is whether that is true for the biblical command for women to wear head coverings. The Bible does indeed teach that women are supposed to wear head coverings. This is pretty clear. Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians 11 that in church, in worship, women are supposed to wear head coverings. This is what the Bible says in f1 Corinthians 11:4-5, “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. But every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head since it is the same as if her head were shaven.” So it is dishonoring the Apostle Paul says for a wife for a woman. It’s dishonoring for her in worship not to have her head covered.

Does this Apply to Christians Today?

Now, the question is, does this command apply to Christians today? Or did it only apply to Christians in the days that 1 Corinthians was written? In other words, when Paul commands women to wear head coverings in the book of 1 Corinthians, is there some limited cultural issue that made it necessary for women to wear head coverings then, and since that cultural issue is not a problem for us today, women don’t have to wear head coverings anymore. Well, actually, we know that this is not a temporary command. We know it is not a temporary command grounded in a cultural issue because the Apostle Paul explains why the command is in place after he gives the command to wear the head coverings and worship for women. In 1 Corinthians 11:4-5, he goes on to explain why you need to wear the head covering if you’re a woman. He says in verses 7-10, “for a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God. But woman is the glory of man, for man was not made from woman but woman from man.” He’s saying that there is there’s an order of creation, not an order of creation about who’s best, but an order of creation in terms of who came first and who came second. He’s saying, in the context of these passages, that because man was formed first and woman was formed second, there is something in the creation order here. There is something bound up with our glory as individuals, with our glory as men and our glory as women, that indicate whether we should have a sign on our head. He goes on to say, in verses 8-9, “Man was not made for a woman, but woman for a man neither was man created for a woman, but woman for man. That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head.”

What the Apostle Paul is doing is he is grounding the command for a woman to have a symbol of authority on her head in the principle of creation. He’s saying that because woman was created for man, as a helper for man, this goes all the way back to Genesis 1,2 and 3 in the creation narrative. Because that is true, it is right for a woman to acknowledge the authority of her husband by coming to worship with her head covered. So this is a command that’s not grounded in cultural reality. He says, here’s what’s going on in Corinth. It’s a little weird out there. And there are some nasty people, there are some nasty, uncouth women, and they walk around with their heads uncovered. And so because you’re Christians, and you’re different from that, you need to show it, you need to prove it, you need to cover up your head. That’s not what he says. He says you need to have your head covered, women, when you go to worship, and here’s why. It’s because you are the glory of man. You were created to be a helper for your husband. And so you need to have a sign of authority on your head. He goes all the way back to creation; he does something even a little more honestly strange than that. He says that is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head. And because verse 10 of the angels, he says, you do this not just because of creation, but because of the angels; I have to be honest with you. I do not understand what that means. I don’t know what it is about the angels that require a woman to have a symbol of authority on her head when she is in worship. But I know it’s not cultural. So because of angelic reasons. And because of creation reasons. Women are supposed to wear a symbol of authority on their heads. He also is clear all the way down in verse 16 that we don’t fight about this. He says in verse 16, “If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor to the churches of God.” He’s saying don’t fight about this. Women are supposed to have a symbol of authority on their heads, you need to have your head covered when you come to worship, and you should not fight about it. That is amazing instruction from the Apostle Paul.

What is the Covering?

Now, what does this mean? Women have to have their heads covered for creation and angelic reasons, and you’re not allowed to fight about it. Here is another really important question. What is the covering? What is the covering that women are supposed to put on their head to acknowledge that they’re under authority in a way that is grounded in creation and honors the angels? Well, the covering in 1 Corinthians 11 is hair. It’s your hair. If you look at 1 Corinthians 11:13-15, this is what the Bible says, “Judge for yourselves. Is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered, does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is a disgrace for him? But if a woman has long hair, it is her glory. For her hair is given to her for a covering.” That’s when he says we don’t fight about this. What is the covering that the woman is supposed to wear? The apostle Paul says it’s your hair. Head covering in 1 Corinthians 11 is language that the apostle Paul uses to talk about a woman’s longer hair. The absence of a head covering is language that the apostle Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 11 to talk about the man’s shorter hair. This teaching is that it is in the nature of things for men to look like men and women to look like women. Men’s hair is, in general, shorter. He’s not prescribing a length. He’s not saying here’s how it’s not talking about a buzz cut or anything like that. But he’s just saying in general, men’s hair is shorter. And if you’re a man, you should wear your hair to look like a man. And women’s hair is, in general, longer. And if you’re a woman, you should wear your hair to look like a woman. In the Bible, men are men, and women are women, and they need to look like it. What he’s saying is, when you come into worship, men, you need to look like men and women; you need to look like women. He says that in his language of 1 Corinthians 11. He says, men, you need to be a man and come into worship with your head uncovered the shorter hair, and women, you need to look like women and come into worship with your hair longer. This is a rule of creation. It’s grounded in the way things are. It’s actually a teaching against transgenderism. It’s a teaching against women wearing their hair in such a way that they look a little manly. It’s a teaching against men wearing their hair in a way that makes them look effeminate. This is a rule that Christians in church, men need to look like men, and women need to look like women. The apostle Paul says men don’t cover your head have shorter hair, and women do cover your head and have longer hair. This is a rule of creation. It’s grounded in the way things are. And so, yes, women must wear head coverings in church.