1. “With her head uncovered...it is one and the same as she who is shaved. For if a woman is not covered, let her hair also be cut off; but if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, let her be covered” (1 Cor. 11:5-6).
Some say that if women grow long hair, their heads are covered. According to the Word, however, having long hair and covering one’s head are two different matters. The apostle says, “With her head uncovered...is one and the same as she who is shaved.” He does not say that not covering her head “is” shaving her head. He says that not covering her head is “one and the same as” shaving her head. A woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, even if she has long hair, is “one and the same as” a woman with her head shaved. From this we can see that not covering the head is different from shaving the head. Thus, covering the head cannot be the same thing as growing long hair.
The apostle then says, “If a woman is not covered, let her hair also be cut off; but if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, let her be covered.” This word shows even more clearly that the head covering spoken of by the apostle and the growing of long hair are not the same thing. If a woman does not cover her head, she should cut her hair, but if it is shameful for a woman to cut her hair, she should be covered. Long hair is a woman’s glory and if a woman wants to keep her hair long, she should cover her head. If she does not cover her head, she should cut her long hair. Paul’s word is not meant to suggest that growing long hair is the same as covering the head; rather, it means that if a woman wants to have long hair, she should cover her head. Having long hair is not the same as covering the head; long hair requires the head to be covered. Covering the head and having long hair are two different matters. Long hair cannot replace head covering.
1. “Her long hair has been given to her for a covering” (1 Cor. 11:15).
Long hair was created by God. God wants hair to cover a woman’s head. Thus, women should wear their hair long. Long hair is a woman’s glory and was given to women for a covering. This is God’s arrangement.
2. “If a woman is not covered, let her hair also be cut off; but if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaved, let her be covered” (1 Cor. 11:6).
Long hair was given to women as a covering for their heads; it is natural and according to God’s arrangement. However, God wants women under His ordination to take a further practical step to confess Him; He wants them to add a covering on top of the covering of hair that He gave them. The sisters’ covering of their heads is a confession of God’s ordination; it says Amen to His ordination. God ordained long hair to grow on a woman’s head for her covering, but a woman’s addition of a practical covering is a confession of this ordination and a silent expression of Amen to Him. If a woman is unwilling to accept God’s ordination in this matter and unwilling to say Amen, she should cut off the hair that God ordained to grow on her head. If a woman is not willing to add a head covering to the long hair that God ordained to grow on her head and is unwilling to take this practical step to express her acceptance and confession of His ordination, she should cut off the hair that He ordained and publicly express the fact that she does not accept His ordination in this matter. He does not want anyone to be neutral or lukewarm. If a woman is cold, He wants her to be cold, and if she is hot, He wants her to be hot. He wants her to clearly express her acceptance and confession of His ordination by adding a head covering to her hair or to clearly express her rejection of His ordination by cutting off her hair.
Since a head covering is something added on top of the hair, it has the hair as its base. Thus, a head covering should be large enough to cover the hair and take the area of the hair as its standard; it must cover the area covered by the hair, and it needs only to be that large. As for what it is made of, including color and style, it only needs be simple and appropriate.
1. “Rebekah lifted up her eyes; and when she saw Isaac...she took her veil and covered herself” (Gen. 24:64-65).
When Rebekah and Isaac were going to be married, she immediately covered herself when she saw Isaac; that is, she covered her head. This can be considered as a type of head covering. Rebekah covered her head as soon as she encountered Isaac because she was going to marry him, to receive him as her head, and to take him as her head; thus, she covered her head.
It is a wonderful matter that almost every woman covers her head when she is married, regardless of whether she is cultured or barbaric. Some use a very thick covering, and others use a very thin lace veil to cover the head. Many people in today’s society, however, do not understand the significance of this. We, however, understand it according to God’s Word. The Bible shows that a husband is head of the wife (Eph. 5:23). When a woman marries her husband, she receives him as her head; therefore, during the wedding, she should cover her head to signify that from this time onward she accepts the husband she is marrying as her head and that she is willing to take her husband as her head, to allow him to be the head. She acknowledges that she is not the head and that she should not be the head. Although she and her husband were once two, they are now one flesh, so there cannot be two heads; there can only be one head. This is the reason a woman covers her head and hides it at her wedding, leaving her husband as the one head. Every time we see a wedding, we only see one head; the other is hidden. Although two people are standing, only one head is exposed. From the time of the wedding, there is only one head for the two. If the two heads do not become one in a marriage, the result will not be very blessed. If a wedding does not cause a woman to take a man as her head, the spouses will sow bitter seeds and plant a root of disaster. If, however, a wedding causes the two to become one flesh, there will spontaneously be only one head. This is the meaning of head covering in a wedding ceremony. Although worldly people do not understand the significance of head covering and some even oppose its significance, the practice of head covering at weddings, which spans across most cultures throughout time, has been based on this significance.
1. “He placed the turban on his head”; “Bound high hats on them” (Lev. 8:9, 13).
In the Old Testament, when the high priest and the priests went in before God, they covered their heads. The high priest used a turban, and the priests used high hats. When they went in before God, they represented God’s people, so they had to cover their heads because God is the head of His people, and His people should take Him as their head. Whereas all the brothers and sisters should take God as their head and cover their heads before Him, the brothers, according to the portrait, represent Christ as the head and thus also represent God as the head; consequently, they should not cover their heads.
1. “Christ is the head”; “Discern the body” (1 Cor. 11:3, 29).
It is really marvelous that the apostle connects the matters of head covering and the breaking of bread. In the first half of 1 Corinthians 11 he teaches head covering, and in the second half he teaches the breaking of bread. When he teaches about head covering, he emphasizes the Head (Christ), and when he teaches about the breaking of bread, he emphasized the Body (the church). Thus, head covering and the breaking of bread are connected; they are the complete story of the Head and the Body. If we only emphasize the breaking of bread but neglect head covering, we emphasize the Body and neglect the Head. This is abnormal. But is this not the situation in today’s Christianity? Is there not emphasis on the breaking of bread, but the matter of head covering is neglected? We see people everywhere eating the Lord’s supper, breaking the bread, but we rarely see the covering of the head. This is not proper. We cannot live in the Body without submitting to the Head, and we cannot receive the life of the Body without submitting to the authority of the Head. This is the reason that the apostle emphasizes both matters. Moreover, he speaks of head covering before discussing the breaking of bread, because the Head comes before the Body.
1. “Submission to authority”; “Bread” (1 Cor. 11:10, 23).
When the apostle teaches about head covering, he speaks of the matter of authority, and when he teaches about the breaking of bread, he speaks of the matter of life, because in the Bible the head refers to authority, and bread refers to life. The Bible often connects the matters of authority and life. For example, the river of water of life (life) proceeds out from the throne (authority) of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1). Aaron’s rod (authority) budded (life) (Heb. 9:4). Authority causes people to receive life, and life gives people authority and causes them to submit to authority. These two are mutual causes and mutual results, so they should be connected.