Women's Head Coverings
First of all, aren't you guys glad that men don't have to be holy.
I want to share my perspective on the issue of the head covering matter found in I Corinthians 11. My point of view is heavily flavored by what I have experience in Mexico, good and bad. I feel that what I am about to share with you answers about 98% of the questions, but not all of them. It bothers me a little when the “table” will not sit down on all 4 legs perfectly. Nonetheless, 98% is pretty good. At least better than any other theory I have heard.
Many Bible teachers will take one verse or a phrase and run with it. In other words, they add a lot of their own words and build a complete doctrine out of it. That is about as good as we can do, as a young man or a new Christian. Jesus said that we live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matt 4:4). That takes some time walking with the Lord and His Word.
Paul had an 18 month ministry in the city of Corinth starting at the synagogue (Acts 18:1-17). He was a Jew and more than that. He was a super-Jew, if you will. He was very intelligent, surpassing his peers as zealous for Judaism. God chose him, saved him, and appointed him as the Apostle to the Gentiles. It is ironic that God chose a “mediocre” Jew, Peter, to be the Apostle to the Jews. God gave the super-Jew, Paul, to instruct the Gentiles. During the transitional period of the first century, God's wisdom set a genius (Paul) in Jewish law and custom to care for the pagan Gentiles who had no or little understanding of the law of Moses. The infant, mostly Gentile church needed some protection from the Judiazers. Paul was their champion, being an expert in the Law. This caused no shortage of debate, both in the first century and even today.
The new church at Corinth started with believing Jews and also began to have many Gentiles, saved out of a horrific lifestyle of paganism. The first century was a transition time from the law of Moses for the Jews to the Gospel of Jesus Christ for all people. The church at Corinth had a lot of issues, a lot of problems, and a lot of questions. This was especially true as there were two cultures combining, Jewish and pagan.
Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me... (I Cor 7:1)
Six times Paul uses this phrase, “Now concerning”, in his letter. The Corinthians wrote Paul a letter, asking a number of questions. As would be expected, these mainly came from the clash or merging of two very different cultures. We do not have that letter from the believers at Corinth. It would not be inspired Scripture, anyway. Paul answers this former correspondence in I Corinthians. We do not have the questions, just the answers. That makes things a little blind to us today.
All throughout Paul's letter we see a constant theme. The point is that in all things love would prevail, not some dead letters. He even includes an entire section on love, our chapter 13. Paul places this section between rebukes and corrections.
Immediately before the matter which is the main point of this essay, Paul addresses the question about meat offered to idols. This was a big thing. Apparently, if you could buy a roast from an animal that had been offered to an idol you could get a big discount in price, since all of the “vital life force” had been sucked out of it. People who had no respect for this pagan idea could get a great price for tonight's dinner. The Gentiles who had fear of the idol sacrifice could not purchase such things because of their old belief that this meat was somehow evil, being eaten by spirits. Added to this were the Jews in the church that had been raised for generations with strict dietary laws. Therefore, this idea of meat offered to idols was causing a huge debate in the new church. Hence, the letter with many questions sent to Paul.
Paul addresses this issue with tact and gentleness. Knowing that his letter will be read aloud in the church and that all kinds of people will hear it at the same time, he carefully explains that the old pagan idea of devils sucking the life force out of meat is not valid. However, there is an overarching principle, practical love and the consideration of others.
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: (ICor 10:32)
Paul says there are 3 groups of people. Do not deliberately antagonize others just because you may have a less superstitious attitude than someone else. Again, love must prevail.
Paul gets to the next question that seems to have been written to him. [In certain places, there is the custom of having men and women sit in separate areas, especially in a church meeting. This is true even today, in some places. Let us assume that the modern day idea of seating was in effect in Corinth.] A Jewish man is sitting in church with a head covering on, which was the custom among Jews. His wife is sitting next to him with her head uncovered. On the other side of the Jewish man is a Gentile woman from Corinth also wearing a head covering, somewhat like the Jewish man. On the other side of her is her husband without a head covering! What blasphemy! This was going on throughout the little congregation, the attempted blending of Jewish and pagan culture and custom. What a mess.
This issue definitely made the list of things they had to ask Paul about. What are we going to do about this head covering/uncovering situation? Paul operates with the gentleness of a nursing mother. He segues into his delicate subject with as few ripples as possible. Then he unpacks. Finally, he gets to the bottom line and it is a heavy shocker but it fits with all his arguments.
Paul, being a Jew himself, does not attack the Jewish custom of men covering their head. Instead, he actually shows how the pagan custom of covering the women is more in line with Creation, Human Nature, and the Divine Order. The Jewish custom is not in the Old Testament. It was invented by men. Remember, Judah thought his daughter-in-law Tamar was a temple prostitute because she covered her head/face (Gen 38:15). Paul appears to side with the pagans on this one. He rarely can.
When I worked in Mexico, we tried to prevent the new churches we planted from becoming North American Culture Clubs. We went to great pains to make sure they had a Mexican flavor to them, if at all possible. Paul seems to not be establishing Jewish Culture Clubs as he evangelized and allowed new churches to form. He definitely was not ashamed of the Old Testament but he was not going to allow Jewish fables to characterize the churches, either.
In Paul's conclusion on this item, I would paraphrase it by saying that
The Jews have an unbiblical custom,
The heathen have an opposite custom,
The churches of God have no such custom,
therefore, knock it off! All of you! If anyone remains contentious on this issue, he is not speaking for the Church of Jesus Christ! (ICor 11:16)
And he never touches the matter again. Then he goes on to The Lord's Supper and Spiritual Gifts. He maintains the same attitude throughout. The setting of all these things is love and care for one another.
I have never, ever one time seen this issue become a problem in the United States. There are pastors, women, and their husbands who hold to some position of the matter of head coverings but I have never seen it become a contention. It remains a matter of personal conviction. It remains a private thing between them and the Lord. However...
Head coverings in Mexico
This is like going to another planet. I personally know a missionary that planted a church in a somewhat prosperous area of a city. The work would draw in several visitors continually. If a woman should appear inside the front door of the church with a head covering, the missionary will meet her before she sits down and tell her. “Get that rag off your head in here or leave now!” That may seem unreasonably cruel. People from the U.S. that hear of this cannot believe anyone in the world could be so severe and unkind.
It will be impossible for me to explain. Let me try, anyway. As a pioneer worker in the parts of the world where the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world seems to be “thinner”, there is a constant battle against the forces of darkness. In the United States we play “church”. Many have no idea what is going on in the real world. I am very sorry to offend. That is not my intention. It is a different world outside of “Disneyland”. The United States is not prophetic Babylon, in my opinion, but it is an opium den where the real world does not exist.
Evil spirits have a constant battle plan to get into churches and control them. In Mexico, as an example, devils use the head covering card to be “welcomed” into churches and usurp the presiding elder or pastor. This is like toe fungus. It never leaves. I understand what the missionary referred to earlier is dealing with. Over time, with many errors and failures, one learns that ungodly things are continually looking for an entrance to a group of Christians. They come in like cancer and spread to every recess of the body. They neutralize the leaders and feel they are invited in unless they are met at the very first sign of their occupation and dealt with.
That is why I always stress that our daily walk with the Holy Spirit and the Sword of the Spirit are our only hope of survival. I do not want to be morbid. The battle would destroy us if the Holy Spirit of our Lord Jesus were not the Spirit of Joy. We need His strength and presence even for the routine things of life as well.
June 1, 2024