1 Corinthians 11:4-10

Scripture: 1 Cor. 11:4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head,

1 Cor. 11:5 but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.

1 Cor. 11:6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.

1 Cor. 11:7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.

1 Cor. 11:8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.

1 Cor. 11:9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

1 Cor. 11:10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

Teaching: Paul makes his first point on how to understand tradition in light of Christian liberty in these verses, using the illustration of head coverings. In verse 3, he asserted a known truth for Christians, that the husband is head of the family, submitted to Christ, and the wife is submitted to the husband, as was established by God in Creation. From this point, he launches into an exploration of head coverings as they relate to God’s created order. In verse 4, Paul uses the term “head” as sort of a double entendre, referring to both literally the man’s skull as well as the man’s head (as in authority), which is Christ. If he wore a covering on his head while serving the Lord - such as in praying or prophesying - the message being communicated was that the man was dishonoring Christ’s authority over him.

The question at hand is this: is the cultural practice itself important, or the message it communicates? Paul explains in these verses the meaning behind their cultural practices, of a man not covering his head and a woman covering hers. For the woman of Paul’s time, wearing a head covering declared that she was submitted to her husband; and growing her hair long (not  shaving it) declared that she was an honorable woman of one husband (as prostitutes cut their hair short in that day). In verses 7-10, Paul makes the connection of these cultural practices to their intended message — these practices communicated God’s created order. 

Takeaway: In our world today, culture changes. Following these traditions of Paul’s day do not communicate the same message as they did in Paul’s day. Now, these traditions themselves do not bring salvation, but honoring the Lord by our obedience is the expectation of a man or woman submitted to Christ in faith. However, in this endeavor, the message — not the tradition itself — is what we need to be focused on. In today’s world, head coverings are not a symbol of God’s created order nor of a man’s submission to Christ. But the principle of male headship, submitted to Christ, still retains importance in the structure of the family. A husband shirking his responsibility to lead his family in faith and authority dishonors the Lord just as much as a wife undermining her husband with rebelliousness and defiance. Whether one is wearing a hat or not, in today’s world, these things are often plain to see. Thus the message communicated by a tradition is the key here, not the tradition itself. In our Christian liberty, we are not bound to observe the ancient traditions of past cultures, but we are expected to honor Christ and live a life glorifying to Him.