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I. The teaching of head covering:
А. Handed down by the apostle Paul.
B. To the saints in every place.
II. The meaning of head covering:
А. A sign of submission to authority.
III. The basis for head covering:
А. Based on the fact that God is the Head.
B. Based on God’s arrangement for men and women.
C. Based on God’s order in creation.
D. Based on the problem with the angels.
E. Based on human nature.
IV The persons covering their heads:
А. Women praying or prophesying.
V. The time of head covering:
А. The time of prayer or prophesying.
VI. The object which covers the head:
А. Long hair not replacing an object which covers the head.
B. Long hair being God’s arrangement and head covering being man’s acceptance.
VII. The type of head covering:
А. Rebekah.
B. The high priest and the priests.
VIII. The relationship between head covering and the breaking of bread:
А. Head covering being related to the Head and the breaking of bread being related to the Body.
B. Head covering being a matter of authority and the breaking of bread being a matter of life.
The topic of head covering is ignored by many, but others pay much attention to it. Consequently, it is a subject of debate. Therefore, we must spend some time to see what God’s Word says about this topic.
1. “The things that I [the apostle Paul] have handed down...to you” (1 Cor. 11:2).
The teaching of head covering belongs to the New Testament and is taught by the apostle Paul. Since the New Testament emphasizes spiritual realities instead of outward rituals, we should not consider this teaching to be an outward ritual or something related to human thought. The apostle Paul preached according to the Lord’s revelation, not man’s thought (Gal. 1:11-12).
Some say that covering the head was an ordinance of the Jews. When the apostle Paul received a revelation from God, he set aside Judaism and all its ordinances; he absolutely did not preach Jewish ordinances to the church or ask the church to observe them. He did not even require the churches to keep the ordinance of circumcision, which was established by God in the Old Testament (5:11). Therefore, why would he preach any other Jewish ordinance? On the contrary, he does not want us to keep any human ordinance (Col. 2:20-23). Moreover, the way the high priest and the other priests approached God was absolutely the opposite of what Paul teaches concerning head covering. Paul says that when a man prays or prophesies, he should not cover his head (1 Cor. 11:4), but the Jewish high priest and the other priests (all of whom were men) had to cover their heads when they approached God. The high priest had to wear a turban and crown on his head, and the other priests had to wear high hats (Lev. 8:7-9, 13). Thus, the teaching of head covering handed down by Paul is absolutely not related to Jewish ordinances.
Others say that head covering was a custom in Corinth at that time. However, we have the assurance that Paul would not use Gentile customs as part of his preaching or connect a Gentile custom with the spiritual teachings concerning God and Christ that the church would then have to keep. He uses half a chapter of the Bible to speak of head covering, saying that this matter is related to God and Christ and that it influences the angels. When speaking of such a crucial matter, how could he use a Gentile custom as his background and base? Paul’s teaching of head covering absolutely is not related to a Gentile custom.
1. “To...all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place” (1 Cor. 1:2).
Some say that Paul’s teaching concerning head covering was only for the church in Corinth because there was some confusion among them. This, however, is not accurate because the Epistle to the Corinthians, which contains the teaching concerning head covering, was written not only to the Corinthians, but to “all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place.” Thus, the apostle’s teaching concerning head covering was not only for the saints in Corinth; it was for all those who believe in the Lord in every place.
2. “If anyone seems to be contentious, we do not have such a custom of being so, neither the churches of God” (1 Cor. 11:16).
According to the apostle, the early churches of God did not have contentions concerning the teaching of head covering. This proves that the teaching was for all the churches, not only for the church in Corinth. Since this teaching was for all the churches and because the early apostles and churches accepted it without contention, should we not also receive it without contention?
1. “A sign of submission to authority on her head” (1 Cor. 11:10).
A more direct translation of this phrase is “to have authority on her head.” The head signifies authority. According to God’s ordination, a woman, even though she has her own head, should not be the head but should submit to authority. Thus, she should cover her head as a confession and declaration that even though she has her own head, she is not the head and does not act as the head. Head covering declares that she is under authority and confesses and receives another as her head, allowing him to be the head. Simply speaking, when the woman covers her head, it is a sign that she submits to authority.
1. “I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ. Every man praying or prophesying with his head covered disgraces his head. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered disgraces her head” (1 Cor. 11:3-5).
Some would say that the apostle taught head covering because it was an ordinance or custom of his time. They think the apostle’s teaching of head covering was based upon ancient ordinances and customs. This kind of thinking comes from human speculation; it is not according to scriptural revelation. In 1 Corinthians 11 the apostle clearly says that he taught head covering based on the fact that God is the Head. He based his teaching on the order of the universe in which God is the Head, and he wanted us to know that this was the basis for his teaching of head covering.
In the universe created by God, there is a head, an authority, and an order. The Head is God Himself. God is the Head of the universe, the authority of the universe, and He causes the universe to be orderly. The first level of this order is that God is the head of Christ. Even though Christ is equal with God (Phil. 2:6), He was willing to submit to God’s authority and allow God to be the Head for the sake of expressing God as the Head with authority and glory and so that God’s orderly arrangement in the universe would be beautifully manifested. On this level, the Lord always submits to God and respects God as the Head. During His life on earth, He did nothing from Himself as the Lord; rather, He allowed God to be His Head. He never once assumed the headship or failed to manifest God as His Head. He was the Lord, and He had authority, yet He always allowed God to be His Head and to cover His head in every matter. Oh, during His life on earth, there was such an expression with Him of God’s authority and glory in the headship! His submission beautifully manifested God’s orderly arrangement in the universe. He was not like this only while on earth, but even now He is like this in the heavens, and He will be like this for eternity. He submits to God eternally so that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28).
God is the Head of Christ, and Christ is the Head of every man. This is the second level of God’s orderly arrangement of the universe. On the one hand, God is the Head of Christ, and on the other hand, He established Christ as the Head of every one of us. On the one hand, Christ takes God as His Head, but on the other hand, He is the Head of every one of us. Just as God wants to receive Christ’s submission, He also wants Christ to receive our submission. We must submit to Christ in the same way that He submits to God. Just as Christ allows God to be the Head in all things and to cover His head, we also must allow Christ to be the Head in all things and to cover our heads. As Christ is to God, so we must be to Him. He expresses God’s authority and glory in God’s headship over Him, and we must express Christ’s authority and glory in His headship over us. He manifests the beauty of God’s orderly arrangement in the universe, and we should do likewise. Oh, what can manifest God’s authority and glorify God better than our submission to Him! What can manifest the beauty of God’s arrangement of the universe better than our submission to the Lord! What can satisfy God’s heart more than this submission! When we submit to the Lord and allow Him to be Head in all things, God is glorified greatly in us, and God’s heart is satisfied in us. Since God’s heart’s desire for us is that Christ would be glorified in us just as He is glorified in Christ, He works in us to cause us to submit to Christ just as Christ submits to Him. All of God’s work in us is to cause us to be unto the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5) and to confess and allow Christ to be the Head of every man.
God not only wants Christ to be our Head; He also wants the man to be the head of the woman. Thus, in His ordained arrangement, there is another level in which the man is the head of the woman. God established Christ as the Head of every person, and He wants every person to take Christ as the Head. However, He also established the man as the head of the woman, and He wants the woman to take the man as her head and to obey the man. Before Christ, none of us is male or female, so we should all take Him as our Head; however, before humans, we are male and female, so we should be according to God’s arrangement, and the man should be the head of the woman. The woman should take the man as her head and obey the man.
We should not bring the thought of the equality of men and women into this matter. This is not a question of whether men and women are equal; rather, it is a question of the function of men and women before God. God has an arrangement in which He wants two groups, men and women, to portray how He and Christ are the Head and how humans should obey. God wants men to take the role of Himself and Christ, and He wants women to take the role of the submitting humans; therefore, when both groups, men and women, portray this, we can say that we have become a spectacle (a show) to the world, both to angels and to men (1 Cor. 4:9). Our spectacle displays the reality in the universe that there is a Head and that there are those who obey. In this show men and women are only the roles that we play; men portray how God and Christ are the Head, and women portray how humans should obey. Since the functions in the roles that we play are different, it is not a matter of men and women being equal. Before the Lord men and women are both redeemed creatures without the slightest difference, but when we come before people, we must differentiate between men and women to portray the role of the Head and the role of those who submit. This is similar to actors who are ordinary people off the stage but who play very particular characters in different roles on stage. When they act on the stage, there is a sense that they are different in function, but there is no thought of inequality. We should be like this. We have to see that the difference between men and women is a difference only in function; there is no thought of inequality. Simply because our eyes are below the eyebrows and there is a difference in function between them, are they unequal? The brothers have been given the role of the head to portray. Other than acknowledging that this is a great honor, is there any basis for brothers to be proud or to set themselves over others? Although the sisters have been given the role of the submitting ones to portray, does this mean that sisters are in some way despicable and should not also see the honor in their role? If I have been given a role that helps to demonstrate and manifest the Lord’s authority and glory, even if the role is a lowly one, should I not feel that this is the greatest honor? If I take a man as my head and obey him and by so doing cause others to realize that God and Christ are the Head whom they should obey, I would be so happy and feel that this is such an honor. Oh, may God show the sisters that their submission can cause people to sense the authority and glory of God and Christ! In the universe the sisters have this function with respect to God and Christ; it is an extremely glorious matter. They can demonstrate the beauty of God’s orderly arrangement in the universe through their submission. This is a very sweet matter.
If the universe did not have a head, everything would be a mess. Since the universe has a Head, God, there is order in the universe. God wants men and women to acknowledge this order by having men not cover their head and by having women cover theirs. If men were to cover their heads, it would be a shame to their Head; that is, it would be a shame to Christ because Christ is the Head of each one. Moreover, to shame Christ is to shame God, because God is the Head of Christ. If a woman does not cover her head, it is a shame to her head and a direct shame to the man; it is also an indirect shame to Christ and to God because the man is the head of the woman, and Christ represents God as the Head of each one of us. Thus, a man should not cover his head, and a woman should cover hers as a practical action to represent our acknowledgment of God as the authority in the universe — He is Head in the universe. When the apostle Paul speaks about the teaching of head covering, he uses the headship of God as the first basis. Humans consider this a light matter, but God considers it a matter of great importance.
1. “A man ought not to have his head covered, since he is God’s image and glory; but the woman is the glory of the man” (1 Cor. 11:7).
Regardless of whether we are male or female, we are all out from God. He wants those who are male and those who are female to have distinctive functions. Therefore, He has a different arrangement for males and females. Under His arrangement He wants men to be His image and glory, and He wants women to be the glory of the man. For the sake of manifesting this arrangement, He uses the matter of head covering. Since the manifestation of men and women is different, He differentiates between men and women in the matter of head covering. Man is the image and glory of God; he is God’s representative. Consequently, he should not cover his head as a sign that he represents God as the head. The woman is the glory of the man; she is the representation of humanity. Consequently, she should cover her head as a sign that she represents human submission. The different representative functions of men and women do not come from human will or human teachings but from God’s will and God’s arrangement. This divine arrangement is the second basis for the apostle’s teaching concerning head covering.
1. “Man is not out of woman, but woman out of man; for also man was not created for the sake of the woman, but woman for the sake of the man. Therefore the woman ought to have a sign of submission to authority on her head for the sake of the angels...For just as the woman is out from the man, so also is the man through the woman” (1 Cor. 11:8-10, 12).
The arrangement of God’s will for men and women is different. In the order of God’s creation, there is a difference between men and women. First, He created the man, and then He created the woman. Furthermore, the woman is out of the man and for the man; the man is not out of the woman or for the woman. Although men are born through women, they are only “through” the woman, not “out from” the woman as the woman is “out from” the man. God’s creation of men and women is different, and God’s purpose for men and women is also different. According to His creation, the woman is out from the man, but the man is not out from the woman; according to His purpose, the woman is for the man, but the man is not for the woman. “Therefore the woman ought to have a sign of submission to authority on her head” (v. 10). She should have something covering her head.
God’s creation and purpose for men and women are completely different. Man is man and woman is woman, just as bronze is bronze and iron is iron. No matter how much people argue, they cannot make women into men, and no matter how the fashion changes, they cannot make men into women. Since God’s creation and purpose for men and women are different, the nature and function of men and women are also different. No one can deny this or overthrow this fact. This fact is the third basis for the apostle’s teaching on head covering.
1. “The woman ought to have a sign of submission to authority on her head for the sake of the angels” (1 Cor. 11:10).
The apostle does not want a woman to cover her head because of an ancient custom, as some suggest; rather, it is for the sake of the angels, as revealed by the Holy Spirit through the apostle. If he wanted women to cover their head because of an ancient custom, his teaching would not be worth considering, nor would it be related to people today. It could change with the age and be annulled by differing customs. Instead, he speaks of women covering their heads for the sake of the angels. This means we should be very impressed with this matter. Since this teaching is for the sake of the angels, it cannot change with the age or customs. It cannot go out of date or be inappropriate for today. “For the sake of the angels” crosses time and customs. Regardless of the age or the custom, women should cover their heads for the sake of the angels.
What is the meaning of “for the sake of the angels”? This is deep and broad, and it requires many passages of the Bible for its interpretation. Briefly stated, this is the situation: When God first created the heavens and the earth, He appointed an archangel, a cherub, to govern the universe. This archangel lifted himself up because of his pride, and he rebelled against God, becoming Satan. When he rebelled, other angels followed him in his rebellion. All of this occurred before the creation of man. From that point forward, Satan and the rebellious angels who followed him did not submit to God’s authority, and they tried to overthrow God’s authoritative position. Therefore, God created man with the desire that man would submit to His authority and express His glory. Realizing this, Satan came to tempt man and to cause man to rebel against God and to follow him. He captured man. Through the Lord Jesus, however, God rescued us from Satan’s hand and made us the church. As people saved by God, the church should confess God’s authority and allow God to be the Head. God wants us to have head covering to manifest this matter. We should practice head covering for the sake of the angels, showing them that created and redeemed men submit to God’s authority, confess God as the Head, and allow God to be the Head, even though they do not. We confess that God is the Head, allow Him to be the Head, and submit to His authority. This is the fourth basis for the apostle’s teaching of head covering.
Our practice of head covering glorifies God and, at the same time, shames Satan and the angels who followed him. Through head covering we confess that God is the Head, and we shame them. This is one reason that God desires sisters to cover their heads. This is also the very reason that Satan causes people in the church to despise, neglect, and even oppose the matter of head covering. He knows that if the sisters cover their heads, it will be a shame to him.
Therefore, we should not consider head covering to be a small matter, and the sisters should not think that it does not matter whether or not they cover their heads, that is, whether or not they have a sign of submission to authority on their heads. If the citizens of a country fly their flag while their country is under enemy invasion, they are maintaining their country’s authority and defying the enemy’s invasion. Therefore, their flying of the flag is not a small thing. Head covering is the same because it displays a symbol of submission to God’s authority in a place that has been taken over by God’s enemy; it demonstrates our confession of God’s authority and rejects Satan’s illegal occupation. If we see the significance of this aspect of head covering, we will not have any dissension nor will we continue to allow Satan to have this as a basis for his continuing rebellion against God. We must allow God to thoroughly clean out Satan’s rebellious thoughts and life from within us so that our thoughts and ideas would be completely recovered from his deceit and usurpation and so that we would inwardly submit to God’s authority without the slightest dissension through our confession that God is the Head. We should portray this kind of head covering before the entire creation, especially before the fallen angels (4:9), by confessing God as the Head and allowing Him to be the Head.
Oh, may we see that God wants the brothers to bare their heads and the sisters to cover theirs in order to obtain a practical portrayal in the universe — especially toward the angels — that we confess God’s authority for His glorification and deny Satan’s usurpation to his shame. If the brothers do not portray the head and instead say, “Why should we act as the head?” and if the sisters do not cover their head and instead say, “Why should we cover our heads? Why should we submit?” we would be invisibly overthrowing God’s arrangement for us, denying His authority, and making Satan with his angels happy. This must be something that the lovers of the Lord would never wish to do. If we truly love the Lord and see this matter, we should willingly submit to God’s arrangement, stand in our proper position, and portray the role that God has given us.
1. “Judge this in your own selves: Is it fitting for a woman to pray uncovered to God? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, because her long hair has been given to her for a covering” (1 Cor. 11:13-15).
The preceding four points of the apostle’s teaching concerning head covering are extremely important, but they are based on matters outside of us. However, he also provides a fifth basis for this teaching, which is the human nature inside of us. Our inward human nature tells us that males and females are different; males should bare their heads, and females should hide theirs. I believe that within each one of us there is the feeling that men should be more exposed and women should be more hidden. Therefore, if we are willing to judge according to our inward feeling, our nature will instruct us that it is proper for men to bare their heads and for women to cover theirs.
Our nature was created by God. God’s creation is according to His arrangement. His arrangement is for men to be the head and for women to cover their heads. Thus, He created men and women with different natures. These natures cause men to bare their heads, to be the head, and women to cover their heads in submission. This is not a matter of men and women being unequal; rather, it is a matter of men and women having different natures. Since their natures are different, their functions are also different; since their functions are different, their positions are also different. We should not bring in the thought of inequality simply because there are different positions. The stones and wood used in building a house have different natures and thus have different functions and different positions in the building. We should not say that simply because wood is on top of the stones, the two materials are unequal. May we see that our nature causes us to have a different function and position and that we must remain in our own position to exercise our own function for the sake of expressing God’s authority and glory.
The points upon which the apostle bases his teaching of head covering are both weighty and deep. These points are not comparable to human ordinances or the customs of a certain time period. God being the Head is an honorable and glorious matter. God’s arrangement for men and women and His order in creation are holy and eternal. For the sake of the angels, it is important. The instruction from human nature is deep and intrinsic. These are the bases for the apostle’s teaching of head covering and for our practice of head covering.
1. “Every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered disgraces her head” (1 Cor. 11:5).
Women who are praying or prophesying need to practice head covering because a woman represents submission to authority on the one hand and touches a spiritual matter by praying or prophesying on the other hand. Thus, in the spiritual realm she needs to portray her role in our confession that God is the Head and in our submission to His authority.
1. “Every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered disgraces her head” (1 Cor. 11:5).
Because head covering is for the sake of the angels and influences the spiritual realm, it should be practiced when touching spiritual matters. Praying and prophesying are matters that touch the spiritual realm, so when the sisters pray or prophesy, they should cover their heads. According to this principle, even when the sisters are prophesying or fellowshipping with each other, they should have their heads covered because these matters touch the spiritual realm.
The more the sisters touch spiritual things, the more they will feel the need to cover their heads. The more they pray, or the more thoroughly they pray, the more they will feel that they need to cover their heads. When sisters truly pray, their inward parts beg them to cover their head. Especially in the matter of casting out demons, sisters will inwardly feel the need for head covering because they are touching a spiritual realm. When sisters follow their inward feeling and enter into genuine prayer, they will come to a point at which they must cover their heads. When their prayer touches the spiritual realm, it will cause them to cover their heads. Every woman who prays or prophesies — touching the spiritual realm — should cover her head; this shows that the matter of head covering is not so much before humans and for the sake of humans but before God and the angels and for the sake of the spiritual realm.
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 to 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 emphasizes 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.
