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Today, children -- male and female -- come from the bodies of women at birth. That's what motherhood means. But in the biblical story of Creation, the first woman came from or was made from the rib of the body of the man. Woman was a derivative creation from man. The cultural practice regarding head coverings reflected and symbolized the biblical Creation story, the original order and authority structure in the world. The symbol is not about the subjugation of women or the superiority of men, but the universal submission to God's authority and the human responsibility that is necessary in order to live under God's authority. Both men and women were assigned various roles and responsibilities as a cultural reminder of God's authority, and of our responsibility. Hats (head coverings) have been practically universal throughout history as people lived outside in the elements (inclimate weather), unlike today when few Western people wear hats, and people live inside. Hats are a form of protection from the elements, warmth in the cold, shade in the sun, protection from the rain. Hats, then, symbolize care, protection and shielding. Men were to uncover their heads during worship, symbolizing their direct or unprotected and unshielded relationship with and responsibility to Jesus Christ. In contrast, Women were to cover their heads during worship, symbolizing their protection, their shielding from the harsh elements of reality by the power and authority of their husbands. Their head covering symbolized the fact that wives honored their husband's (or father's) protective authority and the fact that their husbands (or fathers) honored their own responsibility to Jesus Christ. Paul's head covering instructions were not just for women, but were for both men and women. The couple was treated as a unit. It was a kind of double symbolism, reflecting the double bind of the husband's authority under Christ and his service to his wife and family, his commitment to their care and protection, and his commitment of faithfulness to God. It was also a symbol of the covenant union between husband and wife, and also symbolically reflected the covenantal relationship between God and His people. All biblical government is representative government, and it always exists and operates through various hierarchies of authority and responsibility. Thus, the wearing of a head covering was for the wife a cultural expression of the representative authority of her husband who was a recognized member of Christ's kingdom (and who was also under authority). He had authority over her, but his primary responsibility was her well-being because of Christ's authority over him. When all authority is hierarchical, then every person has some other person to whom he or she is personally responsible. In the Christian scheme of things husbands are responsible to Jesus Christ through the various authorities Christ has established through the structures of church and state. Christian husbands are personally responsible to the elders of the churches to which they belong. And wives are directly responsible to their husbands. The personal relationship that wives have to Jesus Christ is a derivative relationship through their husbands. Why? Because the authority of Christ is real, and the derivative authorities He has established are equally real. In addition, the biblical structures of responsibility and authority reflect and symbolize the authority relationships within the Trinity. There is a hierarchy of authority in the Trinity, yet there is equality of being. An analogous thing is true in the Christian family. We must also remember that the positions of biblical leadership are positions of servanthood, not position or privilege. Husbands were charged with acquiring and maintaining family provisions -- food and shelter, protection from the elements (Ephesians 5:25-30). The husband's responsibility was to provide for the sustenance and protection for his wife and family, and her wearing of head coverings was a symbol of his protection and authority. It was also a symbol of devotion , of the wife's love and devotion to her husband and of the husband's love and devotion to Jesus Christ and to his (the husband's) wife (Colossians 3:18). Paul went on, "Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman" (1 Corinthians 11:11). Man and woman, husband and wife are not independent entities. The Greek word translated as independent means without. The woman (literally wife) is not without the man (literally husband). Man (the species) is composed of male and female. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27). Individuals are not independent units of humanity. Rather, one unit of humanity is a male and a female (Genesis 2:24). The unit is required for reproduction, for the sustainably of human life. While there is nothing wrong with being unmarried, the Bible teaches that it is better to marry (1 Timothy 3:2). Paul does teach that there are times when it is better not to marry (Matthew 19:10), but the context of that advice was the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This was not generic advice, but was intended for a specific time and circumstance. Paul also taught that it is "better to marry than to be aflame with passion" (1 Corinthians 7:9).
Article Source: http://www.christianarticledirectory.org
Phillip A. Ross has been a pastor for over 25 years and is the author of many Christian books. In 1998 he founded www.Pilgrim-Platform.org, which is loaded with information about historic Christianity. He published a exposition First Corinthians In 2008 that demonstrates the Apostle Paul's opposition to worldly Christianity. Ross's book, Arsy Varsy -- Reclaiming the Gospel in First Corinthians, shows how Paul turned the world upside down.
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