Slices
Prepare
Call to mind something to thank God for from church yesterday, or recently.
Bible passage
On covering the head in worship
2 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you. 3 But I want you to realise that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head – it is the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.
7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.
13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice – nor do the churches of God.
Explore
Presumably they understood this passage in Corinth, but it remains quite a mystery for us. Opinions differ widely, even among Bible-believing Christians, over how to understand Paul’s teaching here, and even on the meaning of certain words: eg ‘head’ (v 3), ‘covered’ (vs 4,5), and ‘angels’ (v 10).
Verse 2 is fairly clear. Paul commends his readers for their praying and for staying faithful to the fundamentals of the faith that he passed on to them, eg the death and resurrection of Christ (see 15:3). Another clear point, headgear aside, is that Paul expected women to take part as men did in ‘praying’ and ‘prophesying’ (speaking for God?) in the church’s worship together (vs 4,5).
Here is a further, very tentative, suggestion on the passage. Unlike Jewish men at prayer, Christian men prayed with their heads uncovered, to mark their freedom through Christ to enter God’s presence. Maybe Christian women in Corinth wanted to mark their own equality and freedom in Christ in the same way, and were removing some kind of covering from their hair. While absolutely affirming women’s equal freedom, Paul was perhaps saying that women who uncovered their hair were giving a quite different and undesirable impression in that social context. So perhaps he was urging them not to offend unnecessarily against the social proprieties of the day.
Respond
How good are you at living with question marks, while holding to the fundamentals of the faith?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 1 Samuel 16,17; Psalm 48
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for freelance editor Sally Nelson who is currently editing Encounter with God notes for the April–June 2025 issue, asking that she will have wisdom in decision-making and good relationships with writers.
Could you volunteer on a Scripture Union Holiday?
Volunteering with Scripture Union could be the most fun and rewarding thing you ever do!
That's a very bold statement but one that's echoed by so many of those who've joined one of our teams. Not only is volunteering on a Scripture Union holiday lots of fun, but it's a great way to build relationships, develop your skills and get real life experience of working with children and young people.
