There Are Certain Bible Classes that are necessary to explain our customs and rules of order as Christadelphians. This is because our ecclesias are sanctuaries and our conduct within them is based on God’s word. Unfortunately, each of us spends more time each week in a worldly environment than within the ecclesia. This fact shows us the sharp contrast between the practices of the world and those of the ecclesia. In most cases, it is left to the ecclesia to defend its actions vis-à-vis an accepted worldly precedent. Such is the case with head coverings.
I remember the Bible classes on this subject I heard when growing up. All of them had the same direction and theme. The classes were guided toward our sisters and explained a true and correct principle. The principle is laid out very directly by Paul in I Corinthians 11:7:
For a man ought not to wear anything on his head [in the ecclesia], for he is the image and [reflected] glory of God, but the woman is [the expression off man’s glory. —Amplified Version
In most Bible classes I attended on the subject, the emphasis was on the hierarchy. The man reflected God’s glory, which is Christ, because God made Adam in His image. Woman was made from man and is the reflection of man’s glory. God’s glory should be displayed in the ecclesia, however man’s glory should be covered in divine presence. Occasionally from here a Bible class would venture into Old Testament precedents and other relevant side topics. From this the directive came to our sisters to cover their heads.
Remember the principles
It is not enough for us to simply mandate that our sisters cover their heads. We must remember that we are executing Paul’s instruction because of a principle that applies equally to both brothers and sisters. There are powerful lessons for brothers when we examine our uncovered heads with the same vigor with which we examine the covered heads of our sisters. As much as our sisters must recognize that their hair represents the glory of man and should be covered, our brothers must appreciate that their uncovered heads represent the glory of Christ.
What does this mean? What do brothers see when their wives, sisters, and mothers have their heads covered? In a very real sense they should see themselves. In the divine hierarchy in which our brothers reflect Christ, our sisters reflect our brothers. Because the head of the woman is the man, the sisters must cover their heads. Thus brethren should have a sense of humility at the sight of a sister with a covered head. Brethren should recognize that just as a sister’s head is covered, all their own human glory should be covered.
Glory is to Christ
Our sisters represent the ecclesia as a whole in relation to Christ: humble, contrite, reverent, and soft-spoken. Together as an ecclesia of brothers and sisters we represent the bride of Christ as revealed in Revelation 19: 7-8:
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and the bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saint (NIV).
Because the bride must give glory to Christ, our sisters symbolically hide the glory of the man by covering their heads. Then our brethren can show forth Christ’s glory unimpeded. But Christ’s bride is made up of both sisters and brothers. In that sense our sisters must represent the hearts of their brethren.
The question for us as brethren is whether we are showing forth Christ’s glory. This is not only done through speaking roles, but primarily in our conduct toward one another.
Our role as brethren with our heads uncovered is not one to be taken with pride. There is no pride in representing Christ. There is no pride in realizing that our sisters cover our humanity as brothers. Instead, there is responsibility, love, and humility. There is a responsibility brothers have to our sisters, to lead them, care for them, and sacrifice for them. There is responsibility to reflect the glory of Christ in our character and behavior.
How Christ reflected God’s glory
If Jesus Christ is our example, we should look just briefly at the way he reflected a glory not his own, but God’s. Jesus prays to God in John 17:22:
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one.
Another place in that same chapter Jesus prays to God about what in particular he gave them, John 17:7-8:
Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them.
Jesus glorified God in his obedience to God’s word. The glory of God is the knowledge of God in His revealed word and the humble obedience of it to salvation. Jesus passes these words and this glory on to his disciples and they in turn have passed it along to us through the inspired Bible. It is the duty of brethren to display God’s glory with our heads uncovered and through teaching God’s word each Sunday. This teaching must then be made meaningful though our obedience to God’s words.
The words of God
It is because of the intricate link between the glory of God and the words of God that prophecy is specifically mentioned as an activity during which our sisters’ heads should be covered. Paul says in I Corinthians 11:5:
But every woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head (NKJV).
The ultimate point of this symbolism is the glory of God. As brethren we can demonstrate God’s glory through teaching His word (prophesying) and in our example of righteous behavior. This is the glory passed from Jesus to his disciples. It is God’s glory symbolically represented by uncovering our heads and manifested in a godly life.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One