I was recently surprised to see that a Reformed pastor has taken the time to produce a carefully written 3-part series about his disapproval of The Head Covering Movement.
Of course, a number of Christians (mostly in the last century) have written commentaries, studies, and sermons that disagree with the modern day practice of head covering. But this is the first time I’ve seen someone write against the Movement. He even picked a creative title: “Uncovering the Head Covering Movement.”
After the initial feeling of surprise, my next response was gratitude. The Head Covering Movement must be making a splash that’s big enough to be noticed by those who haven’t yet embraced the practice. Whether that splash is happening due to the “Movement” itself or due to God’s overall work in returning His people to 1 Corinthians 11, praise the Lord!Read more
“Covering While Praying or Prophesying: So, Exactly When Is That?”
You may view/download a PDF version of this article here.
INTRODUCTION
In the eleventh chapter of First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul explained the Christian practice of head covering. The first article in our 3-part series considered the context for when that head covering practice was to occur. It found that Paul taught Christian women to use a covering while praying or prophesying (in other words, while communicating to God or from God). Christian men were to uncover their heads during the same activities.
The article pointed out that Paul did not mention the Sunday morning church service during his instructions about head covering, nor state that the local church gathering was the only location where coverings were to be worn. Instead, he gave clear indications that head coverings were also intended for use beyond the congregational church assembly. Further, Paul’s specific reasons for covering did not exclusively relate to church gatherings. Instead, his reasons for covering applied wherever prayer and prophecy occur.
The article concluded that the Bible provides an open door for the use of coverings beyond the Sunday morning assembly. After all, Christian women often pray outside of church services! However, there is more to this discussion that’s worth examining. Those who advocate for “church-only” covering often base their position on four main arguments. The previous article in this series did not consider or respond to those arguments. It’s only proper that we carefully consider other perspectives, and that’s what this article is all about.Read more
“Covering While Praying or Prophesying: So, Exactly When Is That?”
You may view/download a PDF version of this article here.
HUMAN QUESTIONS & BIBLICAL ANSWERS1)The main goal of this article is not to outline the full range of situations where a head covering is biblically required. Instead, this article simply argues that the Scripturally intended range of situations includes more than the local church assembly. A future article in this series will further discuss the exact contexts that the Apostle Paul had in mind. The purpose of this article is only to see that although Paul’s instructions about covering are certainly applicable to the Sunday church service, they are not limited to it.
Both the Apostle Paul and the First Century churches promoted the standard use of head coverings by Christian women (1 Corinthians 11:16). However, in our modern era, a follow-up set of practical questions is often asked: “During what times and in what situations does God intend for a head covering to be worn?”2) And similarly: “When and where does God want Christian men to take off their hats?”
I believe that there are two primary reasons why these questions often prompt curiosity and confusion. Read more
References
1.
↑The main goal of this article is not to outline the full range of situations where a head covering is biblically required. Instead, this article simply argues that the Scripturally intended range of situations includes more than the local church assembly. A future article in this series will further discuss the exact contexts that the Apostle Paul had in mind. The purpose of this article is only to see that although Paul’s instructions about covering are certainly applicable to the Sunday church service, they are not limited to it.
2.
↑ And similarly: “When and where does God want Christian men to take off their hats?”
For the last 2,000 years, the Christian practice of head covering has been rooted in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the local church in the city of Corinth. Paul taught, corrected, and exhorted the believers there to live godly lives before the Lord – including the command for women to wear a covering on their heads while praying, and for men to remove any covering (1 Cor 11:2-16).
In his letter, Paul often dealt with both universal and local issues. So, which of those two categories does head covering fall into? The answer often depends on who you ask. But whether the person answers universal or local, both answers often have something in common: they are based on the person’s understanding of head covering in the context of the Corinthian church. In Corinth, was the Christian practice of head covering cultural, or counter-cultural? Let’s take a look at the city of Corinth to learn more about this particular church’s context.Read more
The Head Covering Movement does not support “Hebrew Roots” or “Torah-observant” theology. Since we view Christian head covering as based firmly in biblical theology, our response to the Hebrew Roots Movement is described in detail below.Read more
According to one worldly stereotype, the modern man is lazy, selfish, and disengaged. His wife may even feel that she needs to act like his mother in order to make him more responsible.
The maturing Christian man pushes back against this stereotype, both in his own life and in his influence with other men. “Authentic Manhood” is an excellent video series about biblical masculinity, with a frequent call to “reject passivity, accept responsibility, lead courageously, and invest eternally.”Read more
Objection: Cloth head coverings are not biblically required. In Scripture, the Apostle Paul spoke only of a “spiritual covering.” Specifically, he taught that a woman’s husband is her “covering.” The woman’s responsibility is not to put a piece of cloth on her physical head; rather, she simply is to live under the spiritual covering provided by her husband (her spiritual head).
SYMBOLISM & LITERALISM
In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul provides instructions for two important symbolic practices within Christianity. The most well-known is the Lord’s Supper, also called “Communion” or “the Eucharist.”
The Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.1) 1 Cor. 11:23b-26, NASB.
The death of Jesus — the powerful event behind our salvation — is symbolically portrayed here in the Lord’s Supper. And just as Jesus commanded, this personal and meaningful tradition has been regularly practiced by the Church for the last 2000 years.
Unfortunately, though, some Christians have mistakenly understood this passage to mean that during the Lord’s Supper, the bread literally becomes Jesus’ body, and the drink literally becomes Jesus’ blood. This belief is called “transubstantiation” and is often associated with the Catholic Church. In effect, transubstantiation substitutes the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus (Heb. 10:10) with a recurring sacrifice of His “real” body & blood during the Eucharist portion of each Catholic Mass.2) “The Eucharist performs at once two functions: that of a sacrament and that of a sacrifice… the sacrament is intended privately for the sanctification of the soul, whereas the sacrifice serves primarily to glorify God by adoration, thanksgiving, prayer, and expiation [atonement for sin]. The recipient of the one is God, who receives the sacrifice of His only-begotten Son; of the other, man, who receives the sacrament for his own good. Furthermore, the unbloody Sacrifice of the Eucharistic Christ is in its nature a transient action, while the Sacrament of the Altar continues as something permanent after the sacrifice.” Pohle, Joseph. “Sacrifice of the Mass.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 24 Mar. 2019 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10006a.htm>.
In addition to the statement, “This is my body,” Jesus made a variety of other comments that were also intended figuratively. For example, He said, “I am the door” (John 10:7), “I am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35), and “I am the true vine” (John 15:1). These words were obviously not meant to be understood literally, but rather as figures of speech. However, an opposite type of confusion can also occur: Christians sometimes disregard the plain (and literal) statements in Scripture, as they seek to discover “deeper” figurative or symbolic meanings behind those statements.Read more
↑ “The Eucharist performs at once two functions: that of a sacrament and that of a sacrifice… the sacrament is intended privately for the sanctification of the soul, whereas the sacrifice serves primarily to glorify God by adoration, thanksgiving, prayer, and expiation [atonement for sin]. The recipient of the one is God, who receives the sacrifice of His only-begotten Son; of the other, man, who receives the sacrament for his own good. Furthermore, the unbloody Sacrifice of the Eucharistic Christ is in its nature a transient action, while the Sacrament of the Altar continues as something permanent after the sacrifice.” Pohle, Joseph. “Sacrifice of the Mass.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 24 Mar. 2019 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10006a.htm>.