Why does Paul tell women to cover their heads when praying or prophesying?

Paul links a woman’s head covering in worship to honoring the order God set. In that culture, an uncovered head or shorn hair for a woman was seen as shameful. So, when a woman prays or speaks in the gathering, a covering shows she accepts God’s pattern of authority and respects her head, that is, the man. Paul says if it is a shame to be shaven, then she should be covered. The outward sign points to an inward respect for God’s arrangement in worship.

What does “because of the angels” mean in the head covering passage?

When Paul says a woman ought to have authority on her head “because of the angels,” he reminds them that worship is not just a human event. God’s messengers are present and watching. The wording here has been read in more than one way, but the main idea is that heavenly beings observe the church’s worship, so believers should act with reverence. The head covering shows she is honoring God’s order, not acting carelessly, knowing that both heaven and earth witness what happens in the assembly.

How can man be the glory of God and woman the glory of man?

Paul explains this by going back to creation. He says man is the image and glory of God, and woman is the glory of man. Man was created first and directly from the dust, and woman was made from the man and for him as a helper. So in this sense, she reflects honor on him. But Paul quickly adds that neither is independent of the other in the Lord. Woman originally came from man, but now every man is born from a woman, and both come from God. So there is order, but also deep mutual dependence.

What was going wrong with the Lord’s Supper in Corinth?

When the church came together, they were not truly sharing the Lord’s Supper. Instead, each person was eating their own meal first. Some had plenty and even got drunk, while others were left hungry and shamed. This turned a holy remembrance of Jesus’ death into a selfish feast. Paul says this behavior despised the church of God and dishonored those who had little. Because of this, he could not praise them. Their meetings, which should have helped them, were actually doing harm.

What does it mean to eat and drink the Lord’s Supper unworthily?

To eat and drink unworthily is not about being sinless, but about coming to the Lord’s Table in a careless, disrespectful way. In Corinth, people were ignoring others, causing divisions, and not thinking about the Lord’s body and blood. Paul says anyone who treats the bread and cup as common or uses the meal selfishly is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. They are acting as if his death does not matter. This is why he warns that such behavior brings judgment on themselves.

How should a believer examine themselves before taking communion?

Paul says, “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat.” This means a person should stop and think about their heart and behavior before taking the bread and cup. They should ask if they are honoring Christ’s death, loving their brothers and sisters, and recognizing the church as his body. If they find they are holding on to pride, division, or contempt for others, they should repent and seek to make things right. Self-examination is meant to lead to humble, thankful participation, not to staying away forever.

Why does Paul say some are weak, sick, and sleep because of the Lord’s Supper?

Paul explains that some in the church were experiencing weakness, sickness, and even death because they treated the Lord’s Supper in a careless and sinful way. He sees this as the Lord’s discipline, not random suffering. When believers will not judge their own behavior and repent, God may chasten them so they will not be condemned with the world. This is serious, but also merciful. God corrects his people now so that they turn back to him and remember the meaning of Christ’s death.

What does this passage teach about the relationship between men and women in the Lord?

Paul shows both difference and partnership. He speaks of man as head of woman and ties this to creation, where woman came from man and was made for him. At the same time, he is clear that in the Lord neither is without the other. Men now come into the world through women, and both depend on God for life. So, while he upholds an order in roles within worship, he also guards against pride. The passage calls men and women to honor each other while respecting God’s design.

How does this teaching on head coverings and the Lord’s Supper apply to churches today?

The outward details, like the exact style of covering or local customs about hair, can vary, but the main points still matter. In worship, men and women should show, in visible ways, that they accept God’s order and are not trying to erase the difference between them. In the Lord’s Supper, churches must remember that it is about Christ’s body and blood, not about private meals or social status. Believers should come with love, humility, and care for one another, so that the gathering is truly for the better.

1Cor.11.1

1 Corinthians 11:1

Q: What does Paul mean that the head of every man is Christ and the head of the woman is the man?

Paul lays out an order in how God set things up. He says the head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. He is not saying that one is worth more than the other, but that there is a pattern of leadership and care. Christ leads and covers the man, and the man has a leadership role toward the woman, much like Christ cares for his people. This is about roles in God’s order, not about value or salvation.

KJV

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Roles in Worship

1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.

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.

Sharing in the Lord’s Supper

17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.

18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.

21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.

34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.