1 Corinthians 11

1So you have to try to live the way I live, and do the same sorts of things that I do, just like I try to live the way that Jesus Christ lived.#1 Corinthians 4:16; Philippians 3:17

Men and women in Christian meetings

2There is another thing I want to talk to you about now. I know that you always remember me, and you do the things I taught you. That makes me very happy. 3But I also want you to know this. Jesus Christ is the leader of every man, like he is the head one. And men are the leaders of women, like they are the head ones. And God is the head one of Jesus Christ.

4So think about that when you meet together, and think about what other people might reckon when they see what you do. If a man prays, or if he tells a message from God in your meeting, he can’t cover his head. If he covers his head, other people will reckon that he isn’t following his leader, and that will shame his leader, Jesus. 5But for women it is different. If a woman prays in your meeting, or if she tells a message from God, that woman has to cover her head. If she doesn’t cover her head, other people will reckon she isn’t following her leader, her husband, and that will shame him. You know, if somebody cuts off all the hair from a woman’s head, that will shame her. And like that, if a woman doesn’t cover her head in your meetings, she shames her husband. 6If she will not cover her head, maybe she has to cut off all her hair, right? No. If she does that, then she will shame herself. She can’t do that. And she can’t shame her husband either. So she has to cover her head in your meetings.

7You see, God made the man like himself, to show everyone that God is great and good. So a man can’t cover his head. He has to show that he respects God. And a man looks after his wife, and she shows how good her husband is, so she has to cover her head to show that she respects him.#Genesis 1:26-27 8Remember that God made the man first, then he made the woman. He took a part of that first man to make the first woman. God didn’t take a part of that first woman to make the man. 9And God didn’t make the first man to help the woman, but he made the first woman to help the man.#Genesis 2:18-23 10So a woman has to cover her head to show that she respects her husband as her leader. And, you know, God’s angel messengers can see everything we do.

11You see, we all belong to our leader Jesus. And in his family the women need the men, and the men need the women. 12It’s like this, God made the first woman by taking a part of the first man, but after that, every man was born from a woman. But really, everything comes from God.

13So if a woman in your meeting doesn’t cover her head when she prays to God, do you reckon that’s all right? You work it out for yourselves. 14It is usually like this. If a man has long hair, people will rubbish him. 15But if a woman has long hair, it is beautiful, and people will say she looks good. God gave her long hair to cover her.

16I know some people might want to argue with me about all of this, but I’m telling you that we always do it that way. It is our custom. All of God’s churches do it that way when they meet together.

The food we eat to remember that Jesus died for us

17There is something else now that I have to talk to you about. I’m not happy about what happens at your meetings. They are not good, they are bad. 18You see, some people told me what happens at your church meetings. They say that there are different groups among you, and each group argues with the other groups when you meet together. And I believe that some of that is true. 19Look, I know some of you will split up into groups, but when you do, you have to let God show you who is right.

20And when you meet together, you reckon you eat food together to remember that Jesus died for us. But you don’t really do that. You don’t even share your food with each other at that dinner, so you are not respecting Jesus. 21You bring your own food and drink, but nobody shares their food with anybody else. And none of you waits for anyone else. So some of you go hungry, while others get drunk. 22Listen. Each of you have your own home where you can eat and drink. But there are poor people that haven’t got any food at your meetings, and if you don’t share your food with them, you shame them. That is bad. You are rubbishing God’s people, his church. I’m not happy with you when you do that. I can’t say anything good about you.

23Listen. Our leader Jesus gave me this message, and I taught it to you. It is this.

One night our leader, Jesus, had dinner with his special workers, and on that same night, one of those followers turned against him and went to help Jesus’s enemies grab him. At that dinner, Jesus picked up some flat damper 24and thanked God for it. Then he broke it into bits and said, “This damper is my body. You see, I will let bad people break my body. I will do that for you. So whenever you eat this special meal, remember what I did for you.”

25And Jesus did something like that at the end of the dinner too. He picked up a cup of wine and said, “Drink from this cup. God has agreed to save people, and I will die so he can do that. My blood will come out, and it is like I’m using my blood to sign God’s new agreement with people, to say that they are not guilty of the bad things they did. So every time you have this special dinner and drink from this cup, remember that my blood came out, and that I died for you.”#Exodus 24:6-8; Jeremiah 31:31-34 That’s what Jesus said that night.

26You see, every time you eat that damper and drink from that cup you are saying that Jesus died for you. And you will keep on doing that until he comes back again.

27You see, you want to remember that Jesus died for you, so you eat that damper and you drink from that cup together. But if you do it in a bad way that doesn’t respect Jesus, you are guilty. You are just as guilty as those people that hurt Jesus’s body and made his blood come out.

28So, when you eat this meal together, first of all, you each have to think very carefully about yourselves, and the way you live your lives. Then, after you do that, you can eat that damper and you can drink from that cup. 29You see, if you don’t respect the body of Jesus when you eat that damper and drink from that cup, you are doing wrong, and God will judge you and punish you. 30That is the reason why a lot of you are weak and sick now, and some of your mob have died. 31But if we think carefully about ourselves and how we live, and if we are sorry for the wrong things we did, God will not punish us. 32But if God does punish us, he does it to teach us to do good things. So later, when God judges everyone in the world and punishes all the bad people, he will not punish us too.

33So, my Christian friends, this is what I’m telling you. Whenever you meet together to eat, to remember that Jesus died for you, you have to wait for each other to be ready. 34And don’t come to that meeting hungry. If you are hungry, eat something at home before you come to the meeting, so when you meet together, you will not do something wrong, and God will not punish you.

That’s all I want to say about this matter right now. There are some other things that I want to talk to you about, but I will wait until I come and visit you, and then we can sort them out.

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1 Corinthians 11: PEV

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1 Corinthians 11

1Follow my example, just as I follow the example of Christ.

The Report About Head Coverings

2I commend you for remembering what I taught you and for staying true to exactly what I passed on to you. 3But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. 4Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head. It’s the same as having her head shaved. 6If a woman doesn’t cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off. But if it’s a disgrace for her to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.

7A man shouldn’t cover his head, since he’s the likeness and glory of God. But woman is the glory of man. 8Man didn’t come from woman, but woman came from man. 9Also, man wasn’t created for woman, but woman was created for man. 10That’s why a woman should have authority over her own head, because of the angels. 11But here’s how things are for those who belong to the Lord. Woman isn’t independent of man, and man isn’t independent of woman. 12Though woman first came from man, now man is born from woman. And everything comes from God.

13You be the judge. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God without covering her head? 14Doesn’t the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, that’s disgraceful to him, 15but that if a woman has long hair, that’s her glory? Long hair is given to her as a covering. 16If anyone wants to argue about this, let me simply say that we don’t have any other practice, and none of God’s churches do either.

The Report About Selfishness at the Lord’s Supper

17In the following matters, I don’t commend you, because your meetings are doing more harm than good. 18First, here’s what people are telling me. When you get together as a church, you split up into opposing groups. And in some ways, I believe that, 19because those of you who are genuine are bound to stand out as different! 20But when you come together, it’s not the Lord’s Supper that you’re eating. 21As you eat, some of you go ahead and eat your own private meals. Because of this, one person doesn’t get enough to eat, while another gets drunk. 22Don’t you have your own homes to eat and drink in? Or do you think so little of God’s church that you’re prepared to humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? Certainly not about this!

23I passed on to you what I received from the Lord. On the night the Lord Jesus was handed over to his enemies, he took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, given for you. Every time you eat it, do this in memory of me.” 25In the same way, he took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Every time you drink it, do this in memory of me.” 26Whenever you eat the bread and drink the cup, you’re announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

27So eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord in the right way. Don’t do it in a way that isn’t worthy of him. If you do, you’ll be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28Everyone should examine themselves carefully before they eat the bread and drink from the cup. 29Whoever eats and drinks must recognize the body of Christ. If they don’t, they’ll bring judgment upon themselves. 30That’s why many of you are weak and sick, and a number of you have died. 31We should think more carefully about what we’re doing. Then we wouldn’t be found guilty for this. 32Still, when the Lord judges us in this way, he’s correcting us so that we won’t be judged in the end along with the rest of the world.

33My brothers and sisters, when you meet for the Lord’s Supper, you should all eat together. 34Anyone who’s hungry should eat something at home first. That way, when you meet together, you won’t be judged.

When I come, I’ll give you more directions.

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