In discussions about Apostolic Pentecostal standards, few topics generate as much curiosity—and controversy—as hair. Women in these churches typically wear their hair long and uncut, while men maintain short hair. To outsiders, these practices can seem arbitrary or legalistic. Why would God care about something as seemingly trivial as hair length? Yet Scripture addresses hair directly and repeatedly, indicating that God does indeed care about this aspect of our appearance. Understanding the biblical foundation for hair standards reveals they’re not arbitrary rules but expressions of obedience to clear scriptural teaching.
The Cornerstone Passage
First Corinthians 11:1-16 provides the most extensive biblical teaching on hair. Paul writes with unmistakable clarity about proper hair length for men and women, grounding his instruction in creation order, nature itself, and angelic observation. This passage isn’t a casual suggestion—it’s apostolic doctrine delivered to address specific issues in the Corinthian church.
Paul begins by establishing the headship principle: “The head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” (verse 3). He then connects hair length to this divine order. A man who prays or prophesies with covered head “dishonoureth his head,” while a woman who prays or prophesies with uncovered head “dishonoureth her head” (verses 4-5).
The passage clarifies that a woman’s long hair serves as her covering: “But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering” (verse 15). This isn’t merely cultural preference—Paul appeals to nature itself: “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?” (verse 14). The contrast is explicit: long hair brings glory to women but shame to men.
Why Hair Matters to God
God’s concern about hair reflects several important spiritual principles. First, it demonstrates that God cares about every aspect of our lives, not just “spiritual” matters. The God who numbers the hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7) certainly has opinions about how we style those hairs. Nothing is too small or insignificant to escape His loving attention.
Second, hair standards reveal whether we’ll submit to God’s Word even when we don’t fully understand the reasons. Many aspects of Christian obedience involve doing what Scripture commands simply because God said it. When God told Noah to build an ark, Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, or Naaman to dip in the Jordan River, these instructions likely seemed strange. Yet obedience brought blessing. Similarly, when Scripture provides clear teaching about hair, obedience doesn’t require complete understanding—it requires faith.
Third, hair represents visible, public testimony. Unlike many aspects of Christian living that remain private, hair is immediately visible to everyone we encounter. A woman with uncut hair or a man with short hair publicly declares commitment to biblical standards even before speaking. This visibility makes hair a powerful testimony to God’s transforming power.
Gender Distinction and Divine Order
The hair standards in 1 Corinthians 11 fundamentally concern maintaining clear distinction between men and women. God created humanity male and female, and He intends these distinctions to remain visible. In contemporary culture that increasingly blurs gender lines, Christians must stand firm on biblical manhood and womanhood.
Long hair on women and short hair on men provides one of the clearest markers of gender distinction. When women cut their hair short and men grow their hair long, they obscure the very distinctions God established at creation. Paul traces hair standards back to creation order, noting that woman was created from man and for man (verses 8-9). This isn’t about superiority or inferiority—both men and women are created in God’s image—but about different roles and expressions of those roles.
The passage also mentions angels: “For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels” (verse 10). While interpretations of this verse vary, it indicates that proper hair covering matters not only to humans but also to the spiritual realm. Angels observe how believers honor God’s order, and our hair becomes part of our witness to heavenly beings.
The Woman’s Glory
For women, uncut hair represents glory and beauty given by God. Verse 15 explicitly states that long hair is “a glory to her.” In an age obsessed with artificial beauty enhancements—cosmetics, jewelry, elaborate hairstyles—God offers women a natural, God-given glory: their long hair. When women cherish and maintain this gift, they demonstrate contentment with how God made them rather than conforming to worldly beauty standards.
This teaching contradicts modern culture’s message that women must constantly alter their appearance to be beautiful or valuable. The world tells women to cut, color, style, and transform their hair to match ever-changing fashion trends. Scripture offers a countercultural message: the hair God gave you is already glorious. Protect it, care for it, and wear it long as an act of worship.
Some women struggle with this standard, feeling that long hair is impractical, old-fashioned, or unattractive by contemporary standards. However, these objections reflect worldly thinking rather than biblical values. When women embrace long hair as an act of obedience and worship, they often discover a beauty and confidence that transcends cultural fashions.
Addressing Common Objections
Critics of hair standards frequently dismiss them as legalism or cultural artifacts irrelevant to modern believers. They argue that Paul’s instructions reflected first-century Corinthian culture where prostitutes wore short hair or uncovered heads. However, this interpretation fails on several grounds.
First, Paul doesn’t appeal to Corinthian culture to justify his teaching—he appeals to creation order, nature, and universal practice in the churches. Verse 16 states, “But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.” Paul presents his instruction as universal church practice, not local custom.
Second, Paul’s appeal to nature (verse 14) indicates this teaching transcends culture. Nature doesn’t change from culture to culture. The natural distinction between men and women that Paul references applies universally across all times and places.
Third, if we dismiss Paul’s hair teaching as cultural, we open the door to dismissing other teachings in the same letter as merely cultural—teachings on the Lord’s Supper, spiritual gifts, the resurrection, and love. We cannot selectively apply which apostolic instructions we’ll follow based on contemporary preferences.
Some argue that women’s long hair was only required when praying or prophesying (verses 4-5), not at all times. However, verse 15 gives the reason for the covering: “for her hair is given her for a covering.” Her hair itself is the covering, given by God permanently, not something she puts on and takes off for specific occasions.
The Cost of Obedience
Maintaining biblical hair standards requires sacrifice. Women must dedicate time to caring for long hair—washing, drying, and styling it appropriately. They must resist pressure from stylists, fashion magazines, and even family members who suggest cutting their hair would be more convenient or attractive. They must endure questions, criticism, and sometimes mockery from those who don’t understand.
Men face different but real challenges. In eras when long hair on men becomes fashionable, maintaining short hair might seem old-fashioned or uncool. Young men particularly may struggle with peer pressure to conform to worldly hairstyles.
Yet these sacrifices pale compared to what Jesus sacrificed for us. If He willingly endured the cross, can we not willingly maintain the hair length He prescribes? Romans 12:1 urges believers to present their bodies as “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,” which includes how we present our hair.
More Than Rules
Hair standards aren’t arbitrary rules imposed by legalistic churches. They’re responses to clear biblical teaching delivered by an apostle under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God does care about our hair because He cares about obedience, gender distinction, divine order, and our testimony to the world and angelic realm.
When outsiders ask why Apostolic Pentecostals maintain hair standards, the answer isn’t “because our church requires it” but “because Scripture teaches it.” First Corinthians 11 provides extended teaching on this subject, indicating its importance in God’s eyes. If fifteen verses of apostolic instruction seem excessive for something trivial, perhaps we’ve misjudged what God considers trivial.
Understanding that God cares about our hair shouldn’t burden believers but rather reassure them. The God who attends to details like hair length is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives. He doesn’t merely concern Himself with grand theological truths while ignoring practical daily living. He wants to be Lord of all—including what sits atop our heads.
For believers committed to following Scripture wherever it leads, the hair question becomes simple. God has spoken clearly through His apostle. The response isn’t to debate, rationalize, or modernize His teaching but to obey it joyfully, trusting that God’s ways are always best even when culture suggests otherwise. Hair length becomes one more area where believers demonstrate that God’s Word, not cultural trends or personal preferences, governs their lives. That’s a testimony worth maintaining—one hair at a time.
