Head Covering. Is this required?

First lets read through the passage from 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 (KJV)

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.

Before getting to head covering, which happens to be the most debated bible topic ever, I would like to give a heads-up with one of my favorite scripture. 

2 Timothy 3:16 - All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

It is very clear from the above scripture that, "All Scriptures" are God breathed and it is not writtern by the influence of flesh. We can also see four main purposes for the Word from God; to prepare us towards walking in righteousness. Also the scripture says, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." - Deuteronomy 4:2. Given this situation, why would God include anythting that are not relavent to us in these times? There is nothing in the Scripture which is relavent or irrrelavent for a particular time period. All scriptures are pertinent from the begining to the end of times for the purposes it is intended for. As christians, we are to pattern our lives based on the teachings of scriptures; in other words just obey God's commands.

Now, getting back to the topic of christian head covering, many think the passage writtern by Paul, to church of Corinth is based on their local cultural practices and in direct context to that time. As we know now, these are misconceptions; scriptures are for all time span and hence we are not going to discuss that.

There is another myth that is very popular, which is; It is Paul who gave this command and not God. This myth attacks directly at the inspiration of Scripture. Let's be clear here; commands in the bible are not doctrines of men. It is God and not Paul who authored the books of Corinthians 1 & 2. Paul was only acting as the secretary to God. It is the God in us (Holy Spirit) who told Paul what to write. "If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 14:37)

There are many other myths about this very subject which are related to times of the epistle and taken as context; like, only prostitutes walked around with their heads uncovered and Paul did not want the christian women associated with prostitutes, the teaching of the headcovering was written only to the church at Corinth, Hair is the head covering, etc. As said, all these are MYTHS (a widely held but false belief or idea) and does not hold value even for argument sake. Repeated reading and meditation of the scriptures (1 Corinthians 11:1-16) will burry these myths.

In this teaching, let us focus on three reasons why Paul has to write about head covering. It is all about church headship and submission in reverence.

Reason 1: The first reason mentioned by God is found in 1 Corinthians 11:3 – "head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." God has clearly established an order of authority, the principle of male headship, both in the church (1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Timothy 2) and the home (Ephesians 5:23).

Reason 2: The second reason is found in 1 Corinthians 11:7 – "as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man," where the order of creation is explecitly mentioned again. In His wisdom, God created Adam first, and gave him responsibility over Eve. God was happy about the way he created everything. The fall of man did not alter the role of genders in church or at home, then and now. God has reminded us again through 1 Corinthians 11:7

Reason 3: The third and the most important reason is found in 1 Corinthians 11:10 – "because of the angels." God has established male headship in the church because of the presence of angels during worship. Why are angels present at any assembly of christian worship? They are given specific duties by God; they note and report any parting from reverence of His children. God has several scriptural passages to teach about eternal things regarding this;

1 Peter 1:12 – To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.

Ephesians 3:10-11 – to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 4:9 – For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

Most importantly, none of the above reasons depend on any culture or time or clan or to a specific community. God's principles are eternal.

Not only today's culture has rejected the idea of difference in role between men and women, but also rejects the idea of any difference between men and women. Sometimes we also say men and women are equal and in some culture men are more like women & women who are more like men – clothing, grooming, style statement and many more attributes are only confirming this thought.

Now we have somthing to ponder....

LET US SUMBIT TO GOD IN REVERENCE WITHOUT VIOLATING HIS ETERNAL ORDERS.