1 Corinthians 11
11
1Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ. 2Now I praise you that ye remember me in all things, and hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you. 3But 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. 4Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. 5But every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonoureth her head: for it is one and the same thing as if she were shaven. 6For if a woman is not veiled, let her also be shorn: but if it is a shame to a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be veiled. 7For a man indeed ought not to have his head veiled, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. 8For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man: 9for neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man: 10for this cause ought the woman to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11Howbeit neither is the woman without the man, nor the man without the woman, in the Lord. 12For as the woman is of the man, so is the man also by the woman; but all things are of God. 13Judge ye in yourselves: is it seemly that a woman pray unto God unveiled? 14Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a dishonour to him? 15But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. 16But if any man seemeth to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
17But in giving you this charge, I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better but for the worse. 18For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and I partly believe it. 19For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 20When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord's supper: 21for in your eating each one taketh before other his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and put them to shame that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
23For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, how that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; 24and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death till he come. 27Wherefore whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. 29For he that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh judgement unto himself, if he discern not the body. 30For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep. 31But if we discerned ourselves, we should not be judged. 32But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 33Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, wait one for another. 34If any man is hungry, let him eat at home; that your coming together be not unto judgement. And the rest will I set in order whensoever I come.
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historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Corinthians 11
11
To Honor God
1-2It pleases me that you continue to remember and honor me by keeping up the traditions of the faith I taught you. All actual authority stems from Christ.
3-9In a marriage relationship, there is authority from Christ to husband, and from husband to wife. The authority of Christ is the authority of God. Any man who speaks with God or about God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of Christ, dishonors Christ. In the same way, a wife who speaks with God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of her husband, dishonors her husband. Worse, she dishonors herself—an ugly sight, like a woman with her head shaved. This is basically the origin of these customs we have of women wearing head coverings in worship, while men take their hats off. By these symbolic acts, men and women, who far too often butt heads with each other, submit their “heads” to the Head: God.
10-12Don’t, by the way, read too much into the differences here between men and women. Neither man nor woman can go it alone or claim priority. Man was created first, as a beautiful shining reflection of God—that is true. But the head on a woman’s body clearly outshines in beauty the head of her “head,” her husband. The first woman came from man, true—but ever since then, every man comes from a woman! And since virtually everything comes from God anyway, let’s quit going through these “who’s first” routines.
13-16Don’t you agree there is something naturally powerful in the symbolism—a woman, her beautiful hair reminiscent of angels, praying in adoration; a man, his head bared in reverence, praying in submission? I hope you’re not going to be argumentative about this. All God’s churches see it this way; I don’t want you standing out as an exception.
17-19Regarding this next item, I’m not at all pleased. I am getting the picture that when you meet together it brings out your worst side instead of your best! First, I get this report on your divisiveness, competing with and criticizing each other. I’m reluctant to believe it, but there it is. The best that can be said for it is that the testing process will bring truth into the open and confirm it.
20-22And then I find that you bring your divisions to worship—you come together, and instead of eating the Lord’s Supper, you bring in a lot of food from the outside and make pigs of yourselves. Some are left out, and go home hungry. Others have to be carried out, too drunk to walk. I can’t believe it! Don’t you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Why would you stoop to desecrating God’s church? Why would you actually shame God’s poor? I never would have believed you would stoop to this. And I’m not going to stand by and say nothing.
23-26Let me go over with you again exactly what goes on in the Lord’s Supper and why it is so centrally important. I received my instructions from the Master himself and passed them on to you. The Master, Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, took bread. Having given thanks, he broke it and said,
This is my body, broken for you.
Do this to remember me.
After supper, he did the same thing with the cup:
This cup is my blood, my new covenant with you.
Each time you drink this cup, remember me.
What you must solemnly realize is that every time you eat this bread and every time you drink this cup, you reenact in your words and actions the death of the Master. You will be drawn back to this meal again and again until the Master returns. You must never let familiarity breed contempt.
27-28Anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Master irreverently is like part of the crowd that jeered and spit on him at his death. Is that the kind of “remembrance” you want to be part of? Examine your motives, test your heart, come to this meal in holy awe.
29-32If you give no thought (or worse, don’t care) about the broken body of the Master when you eat and drink, you’re running the risk of serious consequences. That’s why so many of you even now are listless and sick, and others have gone to an early grave. If we get this straight now, we won’t have to be straightened out later on. Better to be confronted by the Master now than to face a fiery confrontation later.
33-34So, my friends, when you come together to the Lord’s Table, be reverent and courteous with one another. If you’re so hungry that you can’t wait to be served, go home and get a sandwich. But by no means risk turning this Meal into an eating and drinking binge or a family squabble. It is a spiritual meal—a love feast.
The other things you asked about, I’ll respond to in person when I make my next visit.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.