Intro
Welcome to Apostolic Life in the 21st Century, a podcast dedicated to helping modern day believers live out the teachings of the first century church. This podcast is part of the teaching ministry of Dr. David K. Bernard. Dr. Bernard has dedicated his life to studying the Bible and helping believers apply its message to their daily lives. In Apostolic Life in the 21st Century, Dr. Bernard answers your questions about what the Bible teaches and how those teachings apply to everyday life. Thank you for joining us for this broadcast.

Question
First time visitors to apostolic Pentecostal church services often have noted that Pentecostal women wear their hair long. The apostle Paul addresses the subject of Christians and hair in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. And he makes statements such as "Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it's a dishonor to him?" And likewise, he adds, "If a woman has long hair, it's a glory to her."

Does God really care about our hair? What did Paul say about here? And how do those teachings apply to life here in the 21st century?

Response
The short answer is yes, God actually does care about our hair. But that is just one symbol of a much bigger reality. So let's trace this throughout the Bible in Genesis 1:27, God created everyone male and female, that was God's plan for males and females to be distinct. And of course, in our day, that's under attack, just like God's plan for marriage is under attack. So now God's playing for male and female, this is under attack. In the book of Deuteronomy 22:5 there's a very clear teaching that a man should not look at, or dress like a woman, a woman should not look at her just like a man. So here's another example under the law of Moses, where God established a principle that goes beyond the law of Moses that starts from creation continues till now that there should be a distinction. And then in 1 Corinthians
chapter six, we have a warning against men being a feminine, which would be conduct and sexuality, but also it would even encompass appearance. And then now, what you refer to First Corinthians 11, there's very clear teaching, that a woman should let her hair grow long that a man should cut his hair short, then it's just it's interesting that to note in the book of Revelation, it's a symbolic, but when it's talking about some demonic forces, it says they had hair as the hair of women, well, what is hairs, the hair, women, there is no difference in, in the substance of a man's hair in a woman's hair, as far as its texture, or its appearance or color. The only difference is that men typically cut their hair short. So for for to say, hairs, the hair of women, it's an assumption that the author revelation makes and he thinks all his readers will immediately understand that would be long here. That's what he's talking about. And I think that's been true generally, throughout most cultures, as, as Paul said, in first screen that doesn't even nature teacher, its teach this. But I think goes beyond culture, there is even a biological point in what did policy doesn't even nature teach you. And I think he's mainly saying, there's an instinctive teaching of nature, that is, throughout human history and cultures, although, of course, culture can override that. So people don't have that natural teaching. But even so nature bears witness. And here's why: a man is 10 times more likely to grow bald than a woman. And that's because baldness is associated with the male gene, and can and is triggered by presence of male hormones. The point is, if you see a man who's bald, what do you think you don't really think anything that's just pretty common, natural normal for for being a man. So all the bald men can say amen. But if you see a woman that's bald, immediately your attention is drawn to that because in nature, it usually means she's had some disease, or some extraordinary stress or is undergoing some chemotherapy or some unnatural treatment. In other words, it's not natural for a woman not to have hair. So nature still does teach us that a man with no hair is considered very typical. A woman with no hair is considered quite unusual, abnormal, exceptional. So I do think nature still teaches us. Now the basic principle is gender distinction that God wants there to be a visible, obvious distinction in dress in here between a man and a woman. And as we see in our contemporary society, in ages past, we might have wonder what's the big deal is what difference does that make, but what we're seeing is when our culture systematically breaks down these distinctions just done with dress. And now and then with here, it actually starts changing the way people think. So children are raised in this environment where there's no clear distinction or no clear teaching, and it starts affecting identity. And so now we're dealing with bigger issues of homosexuality and lesbianism of transgenderism. So when you break the natural teaching, and the simple instruction that God has set up for human families and cultures, then you start losing the bigger issues of human sexuality, you start going contrary to God's will. So obviously, what seems to be a relatively minor issue in itself has major ramifications. And I liken this to, to the American flag, you know, the flag represents our nation and our national values. So if you see someone burning the flag, you could say, you know, they bought it with their own money, it belongs to them, they have a right to destroy it. It's just a piece of cloth. Why do I care? But most of us respond, no, that's wrong. Because when you burn the American flag, you're saying, I reject America, as a nation, I reject democracy, or I reject freedom or freedom of religion, you wonder what values are you denying. So the piece of cloth is relatively minor, but what it signifies is pretty significant. So for someone that doesn't know the Lord, if they don't follow this teaching, it's maybe pretty minor in the big scheme of things, compared to say more, more important moral choices. But for someone who does know God who is in church, this becomes a visible sign of your whole lifestyle of the values that you value God's plan for marriage, God's plan for male and female, that God's plan for sexual morality, you value God's instructions, you want to be obedience to God's word. So it is very important. Now, the actual teaching is quite clear. It's not ambiguous at all. It's just our culture that has made it somewhat ambiguous. But let me just read from First Corinthians 11. And I've got the New King James here at verse 13. Judge among yourselves, is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Now, if you just stop there, you might think is talking about your hat, but that's not what it's all about. Keep reading, does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him. So that's clearly God is saying, It's not my will for a man to have one year. But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given to her for a covering. So that's the carbon is talking about. Now somebody says, well, it doesn't say it's a sin. But we're not trying to be legalist. We're not trying to quibble. Is there a loophole here? Can I get out of this? Can I do what I want? The real issue for Christians? What is God's Will God, what does God want? And if God says it's dishonorable for a man to have long here, it's obvious what God wants. If God says, it's a glory for a woman to have long hair, even nature teaches you this. Well, it's obvious what God wants. So if you really want to serve God and follow Him, then you'll do what God wants, there will be no argument. In fact, the next verse, verse 16, but any, but if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God. So in saying, if you want to argue about this, we don't have any other custom. Some people say, Well, this is just a cultural teaching just a first century teaching, just teaching in Corinth. But Paul directly refutes that. First of all, he says, nature teaches you. Second of all, he says, God wants this. And then he says, all the churches agree. Well, in Paul's day, there were churches of different cultures, on different continents. You had Jewish churches, you had churches in Asia, you had churches in Europe. And he's saying, even though our culture's are different, we all agree on this point, that we should follow God's plan. And it's interesting to look at some of the other modern translations and even commentaries if you'd like. I've got three books that deal with this, my my two books on holiness in search of holiness, and my book, practical holiness, the second look, both of those, discuss First Corinthians 11, in detail. Also, if you'd like some of the contemporary research, and even from theologians across the spectrum, my book, the APA systolic church in the 21st century, has a book chapter on here, which discusses the latest contemporary translations, the latest scholarship, and it really says when people take an objective look, scholars take an objective look with no personal agenda. Some are very conservative, some are very liberal. Some believe the Bible is absolutely the Word of God. Some believe it's just a cultural relic, but they all understand what it's saying. And what it's saying is that in God's plan, he wants a clear distinction between men and women. One of the ways is women should let their hair grow long. Don't cut it, but let it grow to its natural length. And men should cut their hair not noticeably short so it's obvious they're different from the women in their culture. So that is actually an expression of God's intention from creation, Genesis one under the law, Deuteronomy 22, and even the expectation that you see in the book of Revelation, but it has particular expression for the New Testament Church in First Corinthians chapter 11. And of course, as Christians, we want to follow God's plan for the church.

Outro
Thank you for listening to this episode of Apostolic Life in the 21st Century. If you enjoy this podcast, please take a moment to give us a review on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. We also appreciate it when you share Apostolic Life in the 21st Century with a friend or family member. Finally, join us again next time as we look at how the Bible applies to everyday life.