On your program it says scripture reading. Maybe I should ask you what passage should we turn to this evening, given our topic is head coverings. Does anyone have an idea where you would turn in the Word of God? 1 Corinthians 11. Very good. We will turn to 1 Corinthians 11. 1 Corinthians 11. We will start reading at verse 1, and we will read through to verse 16. 1 Corinthians 11, starting at verse 1. Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as I deliver them to you. But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered, dishonoreth her head. For that is even all one, as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was a man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God. Judge in yourselves. Is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him, but if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her for a covering. But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God." As you have seen from the outline and also from the Announcement that went out. The topic this evening is head coverings in worship. Say, why do we study this topic of head coverings in worship? It's always so important that we understand why we do what we do. It's always a danger, isn't it? that we do things without understanding, without knowing, and if we do things without realizing why we do them, then we also fail to benefit from doing them. We fail to profit from it. We also, it becomes just an empty routine. And when something becomes just an empty routine, then it's also something that's easily just laid aside. And so, tonight it's about why do we do what we do? Another reason for this topic is that we have this passage in the Word of God which treats it, 1 Corinthians 11. You know how Paul writes to Timothy that all of scripture is profitable. is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for instruction in righteousness, reproof and correction. And also this passage is given to us for that purpose. And so we cannot ignore this passage, but we are to search it, we are to benefit from it. And that's actually our aim this evening, to study this passage of the Word of God and see what does this passage of the Word of God say to us today. And that's why our calling is to be students of this Word, to be ones who desire to be taught by this Word. And may that indeed be so this evening. without getting into the details yet, it's striking that we have this passage. It's 16 verses of this letter to the Corinthian church. You think of the church in Corinth, it was a church in which there were many problems. Other churches, we don't read of there being as many problems as in Corinth. There was a problem addressed in chapter one already of division within the congregation. Some saying I'm of Paul, another of Apollos and this conflict. There was also the problems of immorality, even incest was a case of it within the congregation. That immorality was within the congregation and they were also living in a city which was known for its immorality as a trade center. There were these issues of heathen idolatry and that people were going to heathen feasts and at the same time going to the table of the Lord. There were these what we would call major issues in the congregation. And yet it's to this congregation that Paul is inspired by the Holy Spirit to devote 16 verses of his letter dealing to deal with the head covering. We in our imagined wisdom might think he should only deal with those major problems in the congregation. And does he really need to spend all this time on that practice of head covering? And yet the Lord in his wisdom gave this passage to the Corinthians and through the Corinthians also to us today. You know, because we can also sometimes think, aren't there more important things to deal with in life when you look in the church and the problems in the church and the needs in the church? Aren't there more important things? And yet, the Lord in his wisdom has given this passage to us. And in this passage, again, just staying with the general principle here, it's showing that the outward matters. Dress is important. It's true you can be dressed to a tee, you can be very modest, very respectful, very feminine as a woman, you can be very formal as a man, and yet your heart may not be right. It's possible. But on the other hand, inward godliness in your heart will also desire to show itself on the outside. This passage here deals with something very outward, something of covering the head of a woman and not covering the head of a man. It's about how men and women dress because dress is also important. Scripture gives different principles concerning our dress, doesn't it? It gives a principle of modesty. When it speaks of how let woman be clothed with modesty, with modest apparel, clothing. To realize that our clothing is given to not reveal and not accentuate, but to cover our body. That's one principle, which is a general principle. Another principle is that we are made as male and female, and therefore, that is to show also in our appearance that there is a different way of dressing, to show that we are men and women. Again, that's a general principle. Here the specific issue with regard to dress is the covering and the uncovering of the head. The central point here is in verses four and five. Every woman praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered, dishonoreth her heads. The context here of this exhortation concerning covering and uncovering is that of worship. In this chapter, it's dealing with two main issues in worship. And notice he says in verse two, now I praise you. And then he says in verse 17, I praise you not. So those are two things which link the two parts of the chapter together. And in both of them, it's dealing with worship and what takes place there. That's brought out by the fact that it speaks there about praying, verse five, or prophesying. It's while praying and prophesying take place. And if you study the rest of Corinthians, it's very clear that that term for prophesying is something that was the way of edifying the congregation. It was through, in the gathering of the congregation, there was the prophesying. There was the proclaiming of the message of God. And praying, in turn, is the address to God. It actually fits with our topic of two weeks ago, doesn't it? When we saw that the worship service is actually to be a meeting of God in the congregation, that God comes and speaks to the congregation, that's the prophesying, and the congregation in turn speaks to God, that's the praying. And so within this context of worship, there is this exhortation about covering and uncovering of the head. And that is what, where we go to next, the reasons for head coverings. Why? Why head coverings? And the first simple answer is, it's a tradition. Right? And if it's a tradition, then you're to do it, right? Sometimes we say, oh, it's just a tradition. And there are things that we do which are just traditions. If you have a peppermint at the beginning of the sermon, that's just a tradition. But this is a different type of tradition. This is what we read of in chapter, or I mean in verse 2. When it says, I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I deliver them to you. And that word for ordinances can also be translated traditions. A tradition is something that is passed on to the people. And now this is a tradition which is passed on to the congregation from Paul as an apostle of Jesus Christ. It's the same word is also used with regard to the Lord's Supper when he says, for I have, verse 23, received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. It's also that sense of passing on this instruction I have received. And so the Lord's Supper is a tradition. It's something that Christ has instructed the apostles in to pass on to the churches throughout the ages. And also this first part of the chapter is something that has been given to Paul to pass on to the churches again throughout the ages. That's why also elsewhere Paul exhorts, does any brethren stand fast and hold their traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word or our epistle? It'd be very strange, wouldn't it, if we would say, well, some apostolic traditions are valid and others aren't. No, if Christ has given it to the apostles to teach the churches, then it is something which lasts. So the first thing we see is that this is a tradition. And he commends them in verse one, doesn't it be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. It's rooted in Christ's teaching. Now what is the issue here? Then we see in verse three, this headship principle. He says there, I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. He speaks here about a fundamental difference of role between a man and a woman, that there is this pattern of headship because there's a different role, the head and the one that submits to the head. And he's saying here, there is this pattern already, the head of Christ is God. Christ as the mediator, the one who came from God and became man and was a servant of the Lord, as a servant of the Lord, he has had God as his head. And he submitted and served. And then it goes a step further and says, the head of every man is Christ. Christ is the one who is head over all of creation. He is head over the firstborn of every creature, it says. He is above them all. He is also, in a special way, head of the church. So Christ is head over the man. He is the authority. He's the one who rules. And he's the one who's to care for. And then in turn, the head of every woman, it says, is the man. And so there is this pattern of headship which God has ordained. And again, to be clear, the issue is not of worth or of men being more worth to God than women. They are equal before God, but God has ordained a different role for men and women. You see that in Ephesians 5. You see that in marriage, the man is the head of the woman. You see that generally also in 1 Corinthians 14 when it says that the woman is not to speak in the church but to be in subjection. There is that distinction in role also within the church between the man and the woman. This role is not just a cultural one which was for the early church there, but this is rooted in what it says In creation, God created Adam and he created Eve for Adam. And now this principle of man being the head and woman being in subjection is to be reflected in the man's head being uncovered and the woman's head being covered. That's what verse 4 and 5 is telling us. So that when men and women gather in the worship of God, their physical heads are to reflect their roles toward one another. The woman is to have her head covered to confess she recognizes she is under the headship of the man. And the man is to have his head uncovered to show that he recognizes his God-given responsibility to be head of the woman. And that's why it says to not confess objection to headship with a covered head is for a woman to dishonor her head, whether that be her husband, man in general, or ultimately Christ who is head and God who is head overall. And also not to confess that headship is for a man to dishonor his head, Christ who has given him that authority. So this principle that God has ordained in creation and which continues in the churches to be reflected in the church is to be shown, men uncovered, woman covered. Verses five and six bring in the analogy of hair in relation to the head covering. And in doing so, it appeals to the concept of shame. We'll come back to the hair later, but notice now that his argument is that not having their head covered is a shame to a woman. The issue isn't whether they feel shame, but whether God sees it as a shameful thing. Now we can not feel shame about a lot of things. Jeremiah warns about that. It can be so hard and in sin we don't even feel any shame. The issue isn't whether we feel shame, the issue is whether God says it's a shameful thing. That idea of shame and being uncovered and shaven comes, is already present in the Old Testament. For example, for a woman to have her head shaven was a sign of shame according to Deuteronomy 21, Numbers 5. And so it is still, they're saying there's a shame attached to not having your head covered in worship. Then in verses seven to nine, Paul is again directed to return to creation and the God-ordained difference between men and women. And this time he focuses on the image of God's. And it says, men are not to cover their head in as much as he is the image and glory of God's. But the woman is the glory of the man. You think of how in Genesis 1, God created man in the image his image and after his likeness. God gave Adam his image, and he was to reflect it in the holiness and righteousness and knowledge, but also in his ruling over all creatures. In Psalm 8, we sing of that, don't we? What is man that thou art mindful of him? For thou hast made him a little lower the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor, and made him have dominion over the works of thy hands, and put all things under his feet. as the image of God, as a reflection of the glory of the Creator. Adam was to be there in that creation as the ruler of creation under God's. So God, man was made in the image of God. And what Paul is saying here is that because man is the image and glory of God, He has not to cover his head, but it's to be uncovered because the glory of God is to be uncovered. And again, maybe these are things which are difficult for us to see, but this is what Paul is saying. And then it says, the woman is the glory of the man. Now this doesn't mean that Well, just to go back, the woman in a sense is the image of God, but she is so through the man. Adam was created and Eve was created for Adam. That's why verse eight says, for the man is not of the woman, but the woman is of the man. Eve came from Adam. God created Adam directly in his image, and he created the woman out of man. She was dependent on man for her existence. And she was the help meet for Adam. She is the one who, as it were, completed Adam. And in this way, she was the glory of the man. And as a glory of the man, We don't always think of that, do we? Of the woman as the glory of the man. But as the glory of the man, her head is to be covered. Because the glory of man is to be covered. And the glory of God is to be displayed. The fact that a woman wears a head covering as the glory of the man is nothing shows that Scripture does not put down man or put down the woman, but elevates the woman to a position of honor as a glory of the man, but then says that glory is to be covered. It's brought out in verses 11 and 12 as well, that men and women are both shown have a dignity and an honor. When it says, nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God. It's saying in those verses, men and women are dependent on each other in their different roles. Without the woman, there'd be no man. Without men, there'd be no woman. They're dependent on each other. And then it says that this is in the Lord. And then ultimately, if both belong to the Lord, then there's elsewhere it speaks of being joint heirs of the kingdom of God. So, be clear that it's not as if one is more valuable. There is this difference of role, and that difference of role is to show in the uncovered and the covered. So, why are women to wear head coverings? It expresses their submission to the headship of the man, and it covers the glory of man. You would think that would be enough. And yet Paul goes on, doesn't he, in verse 10? And he gives another reason. He says, for this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. It says the woman ought to have power on her head. What's that mean? Saying the woman is to have a sign of power on her head. where her power can also, has a sense of authority. A sign of authority on her head. A sign of submission to that God-ordained authority. That's what the head covering is. And then it adds, because of the angels. Maybe you wonder, what do the angels have to do with that? Do you think of that when you come in church and you see the heads covered? Do you think of the angels? Paul says you should. Because it's done because of the angels. Even if you don't understand what the connection is between the head covering and the angels, the fact that Paul says the reason for the head covering is the angels, It shows us again that this isn't something just for one congregation in Corinth years ago. Because the angels are the same today as they were in the time of the New Testament and there in Corinth. So, it shows again that this is an abiding reality. The angels. When you think of angels, then you have to think of those heavenly beings which are especially involved in the worship of God. Think of Psalm 103, right? Bless him ye angels who in his will delight. The angels are also especially related to worship here on earth. Remember the tabernacle, how many angels there were? worked into the embroidered in and with gold, and because those angels are especially connected with the worship of God. It even says that the angels desire to look into that mystery of the gospel being proclaimed and made known today. And it says the angels rejoice to see sinners repenting. The angels are connected to our gathering to worship. And therefore, when we come, there's a sense in which we come also in the presence of the angels when we gather in a worship service. And therefore, it says to have your head covered, I'm losing my verse there, because of the angels. Those angels, another aspect to them is that they delight in God's ordinances. They delight in their role of submission to their king, to their head. The devil, He wasn't content, was he? He wanted to rise up and he wanted to be like God. He wanted to, as it were, no longer have a head and to be one himself, and he fell. But the other angels are delight to be under a head. And so, it's the delight of the angels to see that order which God has ordained of headship. reflected even in the appearance of men and women in the worship of God. Angels are an example of submission and present in worship with desire to see the same submission. Verses 13 through 15 give a final, or 14 and 15 give a final reason for the covering and uncovering. It says there, doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him, but if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her? It's saying, even nature. So the other, all these reasons we've seen so far are theological ones. They're about who God is and what God has done and what God has arranged. And now it's saying, even if you look in nature, whether they be Christians or heathens, you see this general pattern of shorter hair for men and longer hair for women. And it says, does not even nature itself teach you that Woman have this covering and men have short hair. Now that last statement raises the question, doesn't it? What is the nature of this head covering? It says there at the end, for her hair is given her for a covering. So she has a covering because she has hair, right? She does. Does that then mean that when it talks about the head covering in all the previous verses, it's they're actually referring to a woman's hair rather than something on top of her hair? Is there need for an additional head covering if it says her hair is given for a covering? Let me give you several reasons why That is so. I mean, why an additional head covering is needed. And the first is the word for covering. In verse 15, the word for covering is a different word in Greek than the word that is used in the previous verses. This word for covering in verse 15 is something that is thrown around or something that wraps around. It's what hair is, right? It wraps around at least part of your head. Paul uses a different word when he speaks of the covering earlier on. Now, the second reason is verse 15 tells us that her hair is her glory. And verse seven tells us that as the glory of the man, she is to be covered. Man's glory is to be covered. Human glory is to be covered. And therefore, if the glory of the woman is her hair, then that glory is to be covered. Her hair cannot be her glory and the covering of her glory at the same time. Only an extra covering can cover the glory, her glory as her hair. Another reason, is that if hair is a covering, then verses five through six do not make sense. It would then be saying that the woman with her head uncovered, without hair, dishonoreth her head. For that were even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, without hair, let her also be shorn. It's showing you can have your head uncovered without having your hair shorn. In other words, you can have hair and still have your head uncovered, so the covering must be more than hair. Fourth reason is that if hair was a covering, why would Paul spend all these verses dealing with the head covering? And why would he speak specifically of praying and prophesying and worship? After all, you have your hair all the time, not just when you're involved in prayer and prophecy. But verse 14 and 15 actually are, is an appeal from nature to bring home the point about head coverings in worship. Because the word for covering is different in verse 15 than elsewhere, because the woman's hair is her glory which is to be covered, because you can have hair and still be uncovered, and because he speaks specifically of worship, we have to understand this passage as speaking of a covering in addition to hair. There's also one other objection that can come up sometimes in that this is just a cultural thing for Corinth. Some have said in those days immoral woman would have their head uncovered and that's why Paul says wear a head covering. Or some have said it was a generally accepted thing that you had your head covered and so he was saying do it so you don't offend others. The problem with this type of argument is that if you read this text, you don't find Paul using those arguments. He uses other arguments which are as much enforced today as they were in the days in which he ministered. Is the difference of role between men and women something unique to then? If it isn't, then that reason is still a reason today for a head covering. Is it no longer true that Adam was first created and then Eve and that Adam was the image of God and that Eve was a glory of the man? If that is still true, then there's still a reason to wear a head covering. Are the angels still the same today as they were then? If they were, then there's still reason on account of them for head coverings. All the bases for wearing a head covering here are unchanging realities rooted in the very creation of man, and therefore we have no right to set aside this command. In fact, it's quite a conclusion that we have at the end of this whole discussion, don't we, in verse 16. If any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. He's saying, if people after I have explained this all still want to wiggle out of this and still want to quibble and argue and not agree, he says, we have no such custom. And then he says, not just us, but neither the churches of God. He's saying, this is the tradition that we have given to the churches of God in order to practice. It fits also with the very beginning of this letter of Corinthians that it's written to the church which is at Corinth and then it says, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. It's still today. So this passage shows us that men are to have their heads uncovered and women are to have their heads covered in the worship of God. So next Sunday you do that and you're set. Or not. We go all the way back to the beginning. The danger of simply doing things because we do them without realizing the meaning of them. When you see men's heads uncovered and women's heads covered, This passage attaches a rich significance and meaning to that practice. It's not just, you must do so. And so you do so as a woman, even if in the summer it gets kind of warm and you'd rather not. This is something God has given. It's a confession. And I'm glad there's also men here. This isn't just a topic for women. It's as much for men as for women. Because when you see those women with their heads covered, and you realize your head is uncovered, and you come into the worship of God in that way, it's a reminder that God has created you in His image and you are to reflect the image of God. That's what it says here. And what a powerful message that is for you and me. When we also realize I have my head uncovered, but I deserve to have that head covered and I deserve to be filled with shame and never appear in the presence of God because of my sin and what I have done to the image of God. And what reason that is also to pray that the Lord would also give his grace and the Lord would cleanse you and the Lord would renew you into his image through Jesus Christ. And that for the sake of his firstborn, you would be able to appear before God. Again, you come into the worship of God with your head uncovered. And you see those other heads covered. And it's a reminder to you of the role that you have in relation to women. The place of headship that God has given you in church, in society, in home. Every week you're reminded of that. That you have the responsibility to lead and to govern and to do so in love. That you are to use all the authority you have received for the good of others and especially for the good of the woman. It's so easy to shirk our duty. It's so easy not to take our responsibility. But we have that reminder every time again. We have that responsibility and we cannot escape it. And we're to take it and not to put the burden of governing and leading on the shoulders of the woman. It's a calling, especially as husbands, isn't it? When you see the head covering on your wife, you may be reminded of that marriage form or however many years ago, you promised to fulfill that instruction given to you, that God has set you to be the head of your wife, that you, according to your ability, shall lead her with discretion, instructing, comforting, protecting her as the head rules the body. Yea, as Christ is the head, wisdom, consolation, and assistance of his church. and that you are to love your wife as your own body, as Christ hath loved his church, and to dwell with her with understanding, giving honor to the wife as a weaker vessel. You're reminded of that calling. When you see her as head covered, I am to fulfill that calling as head of my wife, of my family, and again, It's a confession to bring us to God for the grace to do so. Again, woman, you place that head covering on. It's not just to look in the mirror whether it looks nice. To think, why am I putting it on? You think of how it's to cover you as the glory of the man, it says. that you're confessing you desire human glory to be covered in the worship of God and God's glory to shine. Reminds you of the high position God has placed you, but also of that desire, and may that be your desire to indeed not be filled with pride, but to cover, to be humble. And what reason to pray, Lord, humble me, that it would be an expression of that humility, not unto us be the glory, but unto thee. And again, when you place that head covering on your head, it's a symbol of submission to male authority. Submission. And that's a very foreign word today, but it's a biblical word. And the word doesn't change. And therefore it's a reminder to you of the role that you have in relation to the leadership of the church, the men, but also to your own husband if you're married. You also heard that instruction at your wedding day. that you are to love your lawful wife, and to honor and fear him, as also to be obedient unto him in all lawful things as to your Lord, as the body is obedient to the head, and the church to Christ. You shall not exercise any dominion over your husband, but be silent, for Adam was first created, and then Eve, to be a help to Adam. And it says, you shall not resist this ordinance of God. When you place that head covering on your head, you're saying you desire to fulfill that role that God has given to you. It's a confession. In our day, when there's so much blurring of the lines between male and female, that this apostolic tradition is such a beautiful confession. Today, when there's a desire to push away all differences between men and women, and the difference of role between men and women, and that comes even into marriage, that it's men with men and women with women, and there's no difference of headship anymore. And when women today and men today are thought to have to be able to do all the same things and have all the same responsibilities and have all the same positions in society and church, and when all the talk of women's rights and everything else, the church is to be the place where that God-ordained order is seen. signified in the covering and the uncovering, but then also reflected in the lives and in the practice of the life of the church and in the home. And so, as churches, may we use this God-given gift to show a desire to be conformed, not to the world, but to the will of God. And it's faith that delights in this ordinance of God, of the difference of role between men and women, as a gift from that wise creator, and looks to that gracious redeemer for mercy to fulfill that role as man and as woman. And so, let uncovered and covered heads not just be an empty custom. but let it remind us of what God has made us as male and female, and that we are under the headship of one who is above us, and that between men and women there is that principle still. And let our desire be to fulfill that calling God has given us. Then we will consider these uncovered and covered not a must, but a privilege. Amen.