The Head Covering
signifies submission to Authority (the Head)
The Headship is
Responsible and Accountable
Those who submit are
covered (or protected) because they obeyed God by obeying the Head
Men should submit to
Christ
Not to do so is to
dishonor the Head - Christ
Women who do not
submit to their husband dishonor their husband
Every Man has a Head
: Christ
Not every woman has
a husband
The women (definite
article) refers to the wife of a Man
The head of the wife
is the husband
The man is the head
of the family
The man is
responsible for his wife
If the women comes
out of her covering, she will be held accountable like the man
Women who do not
have a man to cover them are accountable to Christ in the same way that the man
is
Women can choose not
to exercise this covering or protection
This passages shows
that women can pray and prophesy if they are Covered (if they are in submission
to Christ)
The garment is
merely an outward symbol; the inward is what counts
1Cor 11:1-16
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. I praise
you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just
as I passed them on to you. Now I want you to realize that the
head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man,
and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies
with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who
prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head--it is just
as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her
head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman
to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. A
man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but
the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman,
but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman
for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman
ought to have a sign of authority on her head. In the Lord,
however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything
comes from God. Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman
to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not the very nature
of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him,
but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given
to her as a covering. If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we
have no other practice--nor do the churches of God.