Matt. 22:1-14 ?..."The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son...But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'..."?
In the above words, spoken by Jesus, it is clear that there is a regulation for God's people to wear wedding clothes when they enter the heavenly wedding banquet. It is a promise we make with God.
Likewise, when we worship God, there are certain regulations. Worship services should be held according to the teachings of God. Firstly, we should have a godly mind when worshiping God, and, secondly, women should wear veils.
By wearing veils, they can worship God with a godly mind. Men do not cover their heads during worship services.
God gave us this veil regulation as a sign representing God's authority. Even though this regulation seems minor, it cannot be neglected. None of God's commands were instituted meaninglessly. All of the regulations were given to God's people because they are necessary for our salvation and allow us to enter the kingdom of God.
Hos. 8:12 ?"I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something alien."?
If we regard God's regulations as trivial, God will regard us as trivial.
Christ commanded that during worship service men should not cover their heads, but women ought to cover their heads.
1 Cor. 11:1-6 ?Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ....?
The Apostle Paul emphasized that his teachings were from Christ, not from his own personal opinions.
1 Cor. 11:4-5 ?Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved.?
Through Christ's teaching, we discover that men ought not to cover their heads, but that women should cover their heads while worshiping God.
During the time of Moses, the head of a woman stood for the man. Thus, it was regarded as very shameful if a woman uncovered her head in front of a man or even loosened her hair. In fact, when a Jewish man chose to marry a Gentile captive, he would shave the woman's head to wash away the shame of her prior ignorance of God.
The words, "It is just as though her head were shaved," refer to this very shameful occurrence.
Even through the Creation, we can see that men ought not to cover their heads, but that women should cover their heads while in the presence of God.
1 Cor. 11:7-9 ?A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man....?
God created Eve as Adam's helper. In the work of preaching the new covenant, too, man is the head and woman is the helper; however, men must not arrogantly ignore their female counterparts. As it is written:
1 Cor. 11:11-12 ?In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.?
Could the gospel work be completed by only men? Or, if only women worked for the gospel, could it be fulfilled? Men and women should help each other in the gospel work. Both should remain devoted to their missions and faithful to the titles and positions given to them by God.
Our intrinsic nature, given to us by God, teaches us that men should not cover their heads, but that women should.
1 Cor. 11:13-15 ?Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?...?
This verse implies that it is not proper for a woman to worship God with her head uncovered. We unconsciously know that if a man has long hair he looks ugly, and it can even become his disgrace. God gave men "the nature" not to cover their heads.
"But that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering."Contrary to man, if a woman has short hair, she is not seen as beautiful. When a woman has long hair that covers her head, she looks beautiful, and it becomes her glory. This is only because God gave women the "nature" to feel beautiful when their heads are covered with long hair.
Through the "nature of things," God taught us that a man should not cover his head, but that a woman should cover her head. Verse 15—"long hair is given to her as a covering"—means that God uses a woman's long hair to subconsciously teach her that it is proper for her to cover her head.
As the Apostles preached the gospel, Christ's teachings spread to various Mediterranean regions. Initially, the veil regulation was obeyed without rejection. As people began to advocate gender equality, however, a question was raised: "Is there any reason for women to wear veils when men do not?" In the region of Corinth, women became repulsed at the thought of the veil regulation. In an effort to change their incorrect thinking, the Apostle Paul emphasized that women ought to cover their heads, explaining the deeper significance of this regulation.
Some versions of the Bible have section titles which summarize the contents of the chapter which follows. Let's look at some of the section titles used for 1 Corinthians chapter 11.
ESV (English Standard Version) - Head Coverings
TEV (Today's English Version) - Covering the Head in Worship
These section titles display the Apostle Paul's true purpose in writing this chapter. 1 Corinthians 11 lists all of the reasons why women have to cover their heads during worship. No commandment of God is trivial. All of the commandments are given to us for our salvation and heavenly blessings. Women should cover their heads when they worship or pray so that they may give glory to God.
The Bible says,"Arrogance is like the evil of idolatry."
In some churches, the male priests cover their heads; however, this teaching is not from the Bible. A long time ago, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments, the Israelites could not look directly at Moses' face because he was so radiant after meeting God. The people were afraid to come near him, so he put a veil over his face. When he went to speak with God, however, he took it off (Ex. 34:29-35). From then on, the Israelites covered their faces with shrouds when they read the Old Testament.
Just as Moses took off the shroud when he came before God, we are to meet God [Christ] without a shroud. In this instance, the shroud does not imply veils that cover the "heads" of women, but it signifies the shroud that covered the people's "faces" when they read the Old Testament.
Through 1 Corinthians chapter 11, we can understand that women ought to cover their heads during times of worship and that men ought not to cover their heads. Through 2 Corinthians chapter 3, we can understand that now, regardless of gender, we need to take away the shroud which has covered our faces and has not allowed our eyes to clearly see the truth of the Bible. God bless you all.
