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| Chapter 11 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I have delivered them to you. 3 But 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. 4 Every man who prayeth or prophesieth, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head. 5 But every woman who prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head, for that is one and the same as if she were shaven. 6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, inasmuch as he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. 9 Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. 10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord. 12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things are of God. 13 Judge for yourselves: Is it comely that a woman should pray unto God uncovered? 14 Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? 15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her for a covering. 16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. 17 ¶ Now in this I declare unto you that I praise you not: that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it. 19 For there must be also heresies among you, that those who are approved may be made manifest among you. 20 When ye therefore come together into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, every one taketh his own supper ahead of another, and one is hungry and another is drunken. 22 What? Have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? Or despise ye the church of God, and shame those who have not? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not! 23 ¶ For I have received from the Lord that which also I delivered unto you: that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner also He took the cup when He had supped, saying, "This cup is the new testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death until He come. 27 Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and then let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Therefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home, that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come. |
Church Order. The Corinthian church had been blessed with spiritual gifts but they were not using them to the Glory of God. Public church meetings were in disorder. In those days the women were often considered more like slaves, in the Christian faith they were treated as equals, some of the women had taken their "freedom" without control. Sadly there had also been disorder in the Lord’s Supper. Paul starts off by praising the church members, they had respect for him and faithfully kept the teachings he had given them from the Word of God, avoiding the traditions of man Col 2:8. v1-16 Women and the church. The Christian faith brings freedom to all, it teaches that all people are equal before God, a persons social standing, sex and nationality (race) are not considered. Believers are all one in Jesus Gal 3:28. However God created an order of subjection as given in v3. Some of the Corinthian women were saying that they were now free from this order under the Gospel. They were praying or prophesying without their heads being covered .v4,5 ‘Prophesy,’ in this New Testament time, was having the gift to receive a message directly from God. Paul did not tell the women that they could not use this gift, but they were to cover their heads while bringing this message from God and when praying in the church. The teaching of the New Testament indicates that only men could become elders 1 Tim 3:1,2, but women, if they had this gift, were allowed to use it. However, they were not to take over from men. 1 Tim 2:11-15 or to be judges on the messages, 1 Cor 14:27-35. The people of this time were strict over their women, it was normal for women to have long hair and have a shawl over her head, only the temple prostitutes did not do it. For a Christian woman to not do this in church was therefore against God. In the Jewish law a woman found guilty of adultery had all her hair cut off. Num 5:11-31 Paul challenges them in v5,6, "why not go all the way?" v3-16 Paul tries to restore order by explaining in these verses that there is a difference between men and women, each having a proper place in God’s divine plan, Paul did not suggest that there was any inequality. v1-10 the position of Man in the church. The Father is the head of Christ, Christ the head of man and man the head of woman. Jesus was subject to the Father even though they were equal, so woman is subject to man, even though in Christ she is equal. Gal 3:28; Eph 5:21-33. v8-12 Both men and women are made in the image of God for His glory but woman was made from man Gen 2:18-25 so is the glory of man. v12 "so is the man also by the woman;" But man needs a woman to be born. v10 Why did Paul mention angels? 1 Peter 1:12 suggests that angels may be involved, share in public worship and therefore subject to God’s order of things. v13-15 Nowhere does the Bible tell us how long our hair should be, but even nature indicates that there should be a difference. v17-34 Behaviour at the Lord’s Supper In the early church is was often normal for the believers to have a meal together Act 2:46 and as part of this meal they observed the Lord’s Supper. Believers were of every social standing, from rich leaders and traders to slaves with nothing so the idea was for fellowship together, as one family. But in Corinth these so called fellowship meals were allowing serious problems to grow. v17-22 Problems Exposed. 1) v18 Instead of one fellowship together they were breaking up into groups or ‘cliques’, for example, traders eat with traders, slaves with slaves. This was also causing the groups to sometimes not only behave but think differently, heresies (wrong teaching) was creeping in v19. 2) v21,22 Selfishness, the rich brought large quantities of food for themselves but were not sharing it with the poorer members, some were even getting drunk. ( It was not safe to drink the water in those days so most people drank a low alcoholic wine) For some poorer people this meal was probably the best meal they got each week. Paul told them that they were actually despising God’s church. v22. Not a suitable attitude for remembering the Lord in the bread and wine, He died for all, rich and poor. v23-34 Problems Correction. The Corinthians were doing wrong things and going to the feast with the wrong attitude. God had punished them. "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep." Paul had not been at the original meal, but the Lord has somehow given him instructions and now Paul explains the actions and meanings of this feast. The Lord’s Supper is a very simple meal, a cup of wine and a loaf of bread. Jesus requested (asked), on the night he was betrayed, for His people to observe this meal as a reminder of what He had done for them. It gives us each a chance to grow spiritually and be blessed if we approach in the right way. It could be serious to come to Communion with a careless manner, v27, your heart should be prepared for the remembrance feast. v23-26 We should look back at what happened. The broken bread represents the broken body of Christ, the cup of wine reminds us of His blood shed for each one of us. 1 Cor 10:16,17 Jesus wants us to remember His death and how He died because everything a Christian believes starts at the cross. It is not His life, His miracles, His teachings which will save us, only His death as payment for our sins. 1 Peter 2:24. We must also remember how He died, in love, for each one of us, he willingly gave Himself to evil, greedy men. v26 We are also looking to the future, "until He come." Not only did He die, but He also came back to life, went back into heaven and will one day return to take us into His wonderful new kingdom, when we shall be like Him 1 John 3:2. v28-32 We should examine ourselves. When Jesus asked us to take part in the feast He knew that we would not be perfect, that will not happen until He returns, but if we take part in the feast with a wrong heart, with unconfessed sins, a wrong life then we are guilty of the body and blood of Christ. v31,32 It was sin which nailed Him to the cross, if we are unwilling to confess and judge our own wrongs then we must expect God to judge us until we turn away from the wrong. v30 The Corinthians were not doing this and God was moving on their wrong things. God’s chastening (making us free from faults by punishment) is God’s loving way of making us His sons and daughters, to make us more perfect. Heb 12:5-12. v33-34 The Church is the Body of Christ, 1 Cor 10:17 this feast is a family meal, as a family we should also examine ourselves, not by criticizing other believers but in love helping one another. How can we love the Lord yet not each other? 1 John 4:11. A non believer should not take part in this meal, neither should a believer come with a wrong attitude. It is a time of remembrance and thanks. |
Easy English Translation
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