14 Objections to the Head Covering Answered - Daniel Willis

[RandallvanOosten-lnwf]

I was raised in the 50s and 60s and saw the cultural change in the church. In the mid-50s it was normal for my mother and sister to wear a simple hat to church. This was in a Protestant context.

Years later I attended seminary thinking head coverings were a cultural relic of the past. However, I did a paper on 1Corinthians 11 and was shocked to realize that Paul's reasoning was not cultural at all. I presented this to my class. Needless to say, no one agreed with me, yet they could not dispute my reasoning nor Paul's reasoning.

Since that time, I literally thought I was the only Protestant Evangelical who believed head coverings are commanded in Scripture. I am now heartened to see there is a revival of interest in this.

[shloppyshmo]

I love that I can hear the cheers and squeals of children in the background! Keep em in the church and train them young!

[iKnowlestheTruth]

Thank you for this video! The Bible is replete with symbolism—the head covering is a lovely outward expression of the Creation Order. I’ve been covering for worship since 2015. The only one in my small reformed baptist church. ❤️ blessings from Virginia!

[lanakuhns]

It's a blessing to be encouraged to wear a head covering. I always find it a bit ironic that the subjects that people insist are not important enough to care about, are often the subjects that meet the most resistance when they are encouraged to be practiced or studied in a new way.

[thatgirlyanara]

Thank you so much for this video! I started asking YAH about head covering a year ago and I can say now that I was ignoring His signs but it’s something that kept me uncomfortable especially when people would compliment my hair, I then decided to head cover but only when praying and realized I pray a lot more than I thought and putting the cover and taking it off all the time started to seem wrong!Later on I realized that the reason I had delayed head covering was because of vanity cause I kept trying to find a “fashionable” way to head cover but still show off my hair instead of being focused on obeying and glorifying our Heavenly Father I then repent and realized my beauty is in my obedience! To solidify all of this one day I just didn’t cover at all and when I went to sleep I had a dream that I know for sure wasn’t from YAHUAH( I am a person who are constantly receiving dreams from YAHUAH) and I realized I was uncovered! Ever since head covering was clear to me and I stopped disobeying YAHUAH! Crazy thing is now that I head cover full time I feel so much more beautiful as before I felt that I need my hair to feel beautiful, my skin glows and I get so much more revelation and understanding! This is truly a way to align with YAHUAH’s will for us!

[Here-a-little-there-a-little]

Great explanation!! The church resists it. I wish I could find a church that embraces this beautiful truth!!

[cindylott]

You did such an excellent teaching. Thank you. I was studying this on my own, to not be swayed one way or the other. I wrote a list of questions, and you answered them. Thank you.

[JesusLightsYourPath]

So many people are against it that I feel scared to do it but I did it for 2 days so far. I was saved in February and I just became aware of 1st Corinthians 11 yesterday.

[CH-gnrf]

Been headcovering for about 13 years.... not mennonite or anything. But love YHWH ❤

[PowersFamily]

Amen brothers! 100% Biblical truth. The King of all Creation, who Created all things, speaks and we listen.

[christfollower]

THANK YOU FOR THE TRUTH!! ❤ May God continue to bless you with sharing the truth

[reflectionsinthebible]

It’s about being humble before God. Our hair is our glory so we are to cover our glory before God to give God all the glory. And even when we give an answer for our faith, that too is a form of worship or prophesy or teaching.

[Finny_finn_finn]

I have been a Christian my entire life...but I have never been taught modesty, long hair, or head coverings...and I have read the Bible cover to cover and it never triggered me to question why I wasn't taught those things.
I have recently, within the last year or so, began my modest dressing journey...learning as much as I can. I have found many old family photos where the women dress modestly and they have a covering, but I just took it as fashion statements.
What I would genuinely like to know now is, what is considered a head covering? When can you uncover your head, and what do I do in the privacy of my own home and when I go to bed?

[randihubbard]

Rewatching to take notes and explain my head-covering conviction. Thanks!!!

[peteryee]

Thank you for discussing these controversies which are on the minds of many Christians. The cultural setting is important, and Daniel Willis had highlighted the possibility of influence from Grecian pagan practices besides other cultural matters relating to the use of head coverings. There may, however, also be contentions coming from the Jewish converts in the church.
We see that Paul started in v.2 by praising the church for keeping “firmly to the traditions” he gave them, which would likely include the use of head coverings by men and women while ministering in church. We note that Paul was also dealing with a number of other issues pertaining to the order of worship. It could be that some had actually turned away from the proper use of head coverings to follow other practices, or that Paul was actually giving them a biblical basis for the tradition, because certain members were unhappy with his views (see v.16) and therefore wanted the practice stopped. If so, who could they be? Could it be the women? Well, the women would likely want to be covered, which offered protection and distinguished them from those others disallowed from veiling, like the prostitutes, etc. Could it be the men who wanted the women uncovered to expose their beauty? Well, we note that Paul also covered the incorrect practices of the men, and furthermore, only a handful of women were required to cover up, and only during the short duration of time when they engaged in the public ministry of prayer and prophecy. It is most likely, I believe, that it was the Jews (both men and women) that WANTED the use of head coverings reinstated congregation-wide and (for the women) at all times, since Paul had only expected their use only when ministering in the congregation.
This pushback is primarily because head coverings for the Jews provided them cover for their shame when meeting with God, and for the women, this covering of shame was even a greater than the idea of their general submission to ALL men. Paul’s teaching on head coverings here, is a New Testament teaching based on the principle of biblical headship, not that of the old Jewish practice of shame and subjection (for women), for biblical headship was never a part of the creation accounts in Genesis 1 -3 as assumed.
Paul taught in v.3, “But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.” Christ was not specifically mentioned in Genesis, much less the symbol of Him being the head of every man (plural), which came only as a result of man’s personal spiritual union with Him. Note also that the man is the head of A woman (singular) which is entirely different from the then Jewish understanding that women are generally in subjection to ALL men (through veiling). Here, the specific teaching is, one man is only the head of one woman (Gal 5.23 “For the husband is the head of the wife, ” not one man being the head of all woman, and a woman therefore is not expected to treat any or all other man (besides her husband) as her head. There are mutual obligations in marriage and consequently only married women need veiling to cover the head of her husband when performing public ministry.
A right understanding of biblical headship leads to v.7, “For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.” Christ, who is Himself the cover (e.g. for sins) must not be covered, and women, in upholding and honoring God through ministry cannot be honoring man (their husbands) at the same time and therefore their heads must be covered. It is therefore absolutely clear for the Jewish men to not use the Kippah (or skull cap) to cover their shame in worship, since they have already been redeemed to stand before the Throne of Grace.
The teaching is also clear for the women so far, but Paul then introduced a chiastic structure for v.7 to 13, with the middle verse (10) taking the prominent spot. It works like this: proceed from 7 to 8 to 9, like climbing up a Jacob’s Ladder and over the top and down, taking into consideration the matching verses, i.e., matching 7 with 13, then, moving up, matching 8 with 12, then, 9 with 11, and, reaching verse 10, taking the most prominent spot. So we have:
7. For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
8. For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;
9. for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake.
10. Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11. However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
12. For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.
13. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
Note: From v 11 onwards, we have "However, IN THE LORD." Based on this phrase, this new reality, every previous disadvantage for the woman from the fall has been reversed. As the woman moves in from verse 9 (and v11) towards verse 10, we have "therefore" (because of the reversals in the Lord), the woman ought to have authority ("a symbol of" is not in the original text, which was added by the Bible translators), i.e., the woman now has authority on HER own head (note, it is no longer the man's or her husband's head). As she steps down, she has the authority to decide what she wants to do with HER head. This new reality happens because in Church only Christ is the Head, and there are no intermediaries. So, He is the head both of men and women, not men and, through men to the woman. On this account, rather than saying “a woman ought not” as in verse 7, he issued a rhetorical question (expecting “no”) asking, “Judge for yourself …” And this question is directed both to the woman and the man confronted with this issue of woman head coverings in the new order of things. This is a choice for her to make based on conscience and her level of maturity like in what he taught in 1 Cor 10:23, “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.” Paul was gracious in not forcing the issues, since both the principle of biblical headship and the new realities in Christ are both “lawful.” This is one of the paradoxes (not contradictions) that Christians must accept. Should we then force the issue either way? Not without care, and therefore it requires leaders teaching the right things to encourage right conduct that truly pleases the Lord. I think this is an alternative view worth thinking about. Thank you.

[hannahdavia]

Thank you so much for this. I just love that you quote the Church Fathers 🙏

[reflectionsinthebible]

I will admit that thinking about going out and being different covering my head again does get to me a little. I think it’s that way for most of us actually on some level. I don’t mind being different once I’m out and about - just part of me does dread it a little thinking about how I’m going about looking different before I go out or thinking about it sometimes. You feel a little of the pressure in your mind of having to be different -meaning not one of the rest of the women. Also, knowing my oldest daughter really seems as if she will never cover when she’s older and that makes me feel that out of place feeling thinking about it.

[randihubbard]

Thank you so much!! I just started covering (I don’t know anyone else who does) and was so overjoyed to find this!!

[coralmclaughlin]

When I was a young girl, I’m now 64 years old. We were not allowed to go to church without our heads covered, I wore a hat. My gran would never go out the front door without having a scarf or a hat on. That was in the 60’s early 70’s. It might be because we’re country folk. I don’t know what it was like in the cities.

[loricalass]

When I was a young adult in the early 60s, I had rejected religion, and the Bible.

But sometimes I would drop into a local Roman Catholic Cathedral. Just because of its grandeur and beauty inside.

I would cover my head there. But then I was told that both protestants and Catholics no longer required for women’s heads to be covered before entering a church.

It was a strange thing to me that when I heard that the rules had been changed, I felt this conviction, strongly, that the change was wrong.

That was very odd since I really didn’t care one way or another.

Years later I did finally come to the Lord, eventually to Hebrew Roots.
Though I never met anyone personally, who ever even thought about head coverings, anywhere, including with Hebrew Roots, online I did see that some HR women were promoting head coverings.

This was an excellent analysis of the topic and helpful to my understanding. Most important to me, though, is that I know I need to follow that conviction given to me by the Almighty, even if it took me decades to catch on.