What does 1 Corinthians 11:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

In Paul"s culture it was not proper for a woman to act as a spokesman for people with God by praying publicly with her head uncovered. To do so would be tantamount to claiming the position of a man in God"s order. The apostle did not think it wise for Christian women to exercise their liberty in a way that would go against socially accepted behavior even though they were personally submissive. Today what is socially accepted is different, but her attitude is still crucial. Notice the similarity of what Paul advocated here with what he advocated in 1 Corinthians 8:1 to 1 Corinthians 11:1, namely, doing what is generally perceived as appropriate (as well as what is morally correct). [source][source]

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Context Summary

The power on a woman's head in 1 Corinthians 11:10 probably refers to the veil or covering which the Grecian woman assumed at marriage as the sign that she was not free from the sacred ties and duties of wedlock. In Paul's thought of the matter, therefore, it was unseemly for the Christian matron to lay this aside. He conceded the absolute freedom and equality of male and female in Christ, and yet he stood for the observance of the best customs of the age, lest the gospel should be brought into disrepute. The women, therefore, must veil their heads in the Christian assemblies as the angels veil their faces in the presence of God.

The uncovered face of man is to the glory of God, but the covered face of woman recognizes that she finds her glory in her husband's love and care. Each is dependent on the other-the man on God, and the wife on her spouse. These precepts and reasons are somewhat foreign to modern thought, but at least we must notice that there was no subject too trivial-even the headdress-to be brought into subjection to Christ and related to the great principle of His supreme Headship and Lordship. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 11

¹  He reproves them, because in holy assemblies,
⁴  their men prayed with their heads covered,
⁶  and women with their heads uncovered;
¹⁷  and because generally their meetings were not for the better, but for the worse;
²¹  as, namely, in profaning with their own feast the Lord's supper
²⁵  Lastly, he calls them to the first institution thereof