Please leave any feedback to the Bible Teaching on Hair in the Comment box below. After moderation, a reply, if necessary, will appear on this same page. Thank you. (Most recent feedback is at the bottom of the page.) Note: the Bible Resource can be found at the following link: http://www.christianhospitality.org/resources/hair.pdf.
I have followed your teaching on this topic and I find it interesting. I made up my mind not to wear trousers but I had like to know if not covering my hair all the time is a sin because I only cover my hair when am praying. I also want to know if wearing of jewelries is wrong and Makeup/Make over.
I truthfully dont want to offend God. I have tried studying but I need more light. I pray the Spirit of God guides you into all truths.
Thankyou my sister for your humble obedience to the Word of God and your love for Jesus which you have shown by accepting the Bible teaching on this as the great Apostle Paul gave it. Yes, the Bible teaching on hair is of massive importance as hair represents a female’s position under divine authority of the male. In a few words, the Bible teaching is that the GOD-GIVEN COVERING OF THE FEMALE IS HER UNCUT HAIR. There is no Bible authority for a woman to wear a material covering on her head at all, in or out of worship, but a woman must be covered at all times with her God-given uncut hair, which is called by God her “glory”. People have misquoted the Word of God to give the impression that God is telling females to wear a material covering only when they are praying or prophesying, but actually the Bible says a woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered DISHONORS HER HEAD, her head being the man, and that is saying AT ANY TIME she dishonors her head if she does so. Since we are all commanded to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), then if the cover God was talking about was a material covering, then a woman would have to wear a material covering AT ALL TIMES WITHOUT CEASING. In fact, of course, when we read the Scripture we find that the Apostle Paul says directly God has given the woman the covering he is talking about, and that covering is her hair, which, as a Christian believer, she should not cut. All the Scriptures relating to this important teaching is given in the following little tract which you can read online by left-clicking this link or you can download by right-clicking here and Save … As: http://www.christianhospitality.org/resources/hair.pdf If you have any questions at all after reading this tract please post here again and I will try to answer your questions. God bless you.
The main Bible Scripture relating to hair is 1 Corinthians 11:3-16:
3 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.
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6 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.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
On the jewelry: please see 1 Peter 3:3 relating to women’s clothing:
3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves
Notice in this Scripture it does not say a woman is wrong to have items of gold or jewelry on them, but a woman is wrong to “adorn themselves” in gold etc. as well as garments, and Peter constantly repeats “adorn”, “adorning” etc. The Greek word for “adorning” is kosmos or kosmeo, and this is the same word as kosmos, “the pattern and display of the world”. So this is condemning “worldly fashion” and “wordly display” by jewelry, clothing etc. The Scripture tells a woman to be of a higher heavenly worldly fashion and look, of meekness and humility and faith. So it is any items of jewelry and clothing which are this-worldly in the way the Bible condemns as this-worldly, that is, for example, excessive, rich, sumptuous, designed to attract the wrong kind of male attention etc. etc., which the Word of God condemns. No Christian female should wear those type of things. Again there are bound to be questions, so if you want to get more details please post again with any questions.
The same relates to make up/make over etc. It is the way it is done that makes it right or wrong. The only woman in the Bible who painted her face was Jezebel, and God fed her to the dogs, so if a woman wants to be dog’s meat too she should follow Jezebel. Of course no Christian woman has anything in common with the witchy worldly woman Jezebel. Her intention in painting her face was to go out and meet a man, and that’s usually the real reason today. That is this-wordly (kosmos), so Christians don’t do it. Anything put on as an “adorning” (kosmos, this-worldly addition) of the natural look is wrong as the Bible says God made us the way He wants us, including our natural look. Any substance which merely brings out our natural God-given look is fine with God, but anything which adds to that look like red lipstick etc. is out. So for example a person might want to make the natural color of their lips come out stronger with clear substance put on the lips, there’s nothing wrong with looking the best you can in that natural God-given way, but red, scarlet, purple added color is a this-worldly addition to the natural God-given look. I am merely giving some examples here of what is the difference between “adorning” in the Scriptural sense of this-worldly and looking your best as God gave you your features.
Concerning the case of hair, i.e women covering their head with material. If you read verses 5 & 6 very well, you will understand that the covering verse 15 is talking is different from the covering in verses 5 & 6. Just look at the matter like this: if verse 15 is the conclusion then verse six said if she would not cover that covering, let it be shaved but since it is a shame for a woman to be shaven let her be covered.
Thank you friend for your continued interest in this very important Biblical teaching, as Paul notes any so-called church which does not have its women covered with their God-given long-hair covering is NOT A CHURCH OF GOD (verse 16 below).
The passage in the Bible you are talking about is:
1 Corinthians 11: verse 5 and following verses. They are as follows: “5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. 6 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. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. 9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. 10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. 12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. 13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? 14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? 15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. 16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.”
You make at least two mistakes here: first verses 5 and 6 are talking about the HEAD and the necessity for it to be covered, not the HAIR. So yes the woman’s head should be covered, and verse 15 tells us that God gave the woman’s long hair as her covering, not some silly hat or cloth. So the woman’s HEAD must be covered by her LONG HAIR. Also verse 6 is saying it must be LONG hair as stated in verse 14, not short hair, so if she is not properly COVERED (meaning with her long-hair God-given covering, verse 14), say if she has cut her hair, let her go further and be completely shorn or shaven (bald). The woman’s hair is called in Hebrew nezer, which is the same word as in Nazirite. The Christian woman’s hair is a Nazirite vow, which must be let to grow long or must be shaven off completely as the Nazirite did, when he fulfilled his vow. So the Christian woman’s vow must be fulfilled and only in case of necessity, say for medical reasons, if her hair needs to be cut, it must be shorn off completely and allowed to regrow. As Paul says here “if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn.” Also verse 15 says the long hair is given to the woman INSTEAD OF (Greek anti) a material covering (peribolaion, a shawl, wrap or material covering). Greek anti does not mean “for use as” (a covering) but “instead of” (a material covering).
You can get all the details on this from the tract on this site at the following link: https://www.christianhospitality.org/resources/hair.pdf, especially on your specific question here paragraphs 19 onwards and paragraph 40 of that tract.
That is not the interpretation of that verse my brother.
Now, look at it this way. If that verse means woman’s hair is her covering in worship, why would Paul be writing extensively about another covering? Would he not be contradicting himself?
Paul only made reference to the long hair of the woman to prove his point that headcovering is obligatory for the woman.
If you go to the beginning of that chapter, you will see that Paul was building an argument and he started by explaining why the bare head of a woman should not be visible in worship. The spiritual explanation is that the head of the woman, being that it belongs to the man, should be covered so that the glory of the man will not compete with the glory of God. Conversely, the head of the man is Christ, hence his head must not be covered in worship. Men who cover their heads in worship (e.g. bishops and some others based on church traditions) are in error because they have covered the glory of Christ, which is a sin. They are as guilty as women who leave their head uncovered.
Just read this again, verse six said if she would not cover that covering, let it be shaved but since it is a shame for a woman to be shaven let her be covered.
Thank you my friend for your further points.
You ask: “If that verse means woman’s hair is her covering in worship, why would Paul be writing extensively about another covering? Would he not be contradicting himself?”
Paul would be contradicting himself IF he was talking about ANOTHER covering. But he is not. He talks all the way about the single covering — that is the covering of the woman’s HEAD by her LONG HAIR. Period.
You say: “Paul only made reference to the long hair of the woman to prove his point that headcovering is obligatory for the woman.”
But that is your idea not Paul’s. Paul never says he is talking about a material covering, but about woman’s God-given covering, her long hair.
Your explanation of the spiritual meaning of the covering is incorrect. Paul is pointing out: 1) God covers Christ with His glory, and 2) the man covers the woman, and she therefore has a covering, the glory of her hair. It is that simple. The error of your interpretation is proved by the fact that God Himself ordained the priests in His Temple to be covered with a material covering, a turban, when they ministered to Him.
You say: “Just read this again, verse six said if she would not cover that covering, let it be shaved but since it is a shame for a woman to be shaven let her be covered”
But your statement is plain WRONG. Verse 6 says: “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.” It does not say “if the woman does not COVER THAT COVERING” as you claim. Your idea is ridiculous. It tells you what the meaning is in the preceding verse 5: “every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with HER HEAD UNCOVERED dishonoureth her head.” SO THE NEXT VERSE IS TALKING ABOUT THE “COVERING OF THE WOMAN’S HEAD” (by her hair, as Paul goes on, verse 15 to say).
Now don’t be “contentious” as verse 16 says, just accept the Bible text as written.