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.
1 Corinthians 11
11
1Follow my example, just as I follow the example of Christ.
Being Under Authority
2I praise you because you remember me in all things. You follow closely the teachings I gave you. 3But I want you to understand this: The head of every man is Christ. And the head of a woman is the man.#11:3 the man This could also mean “her husband.” And the head of Christ is God.
4Every man who prophesies or prays with his head covered brings shame to his head. 5But every woman who prays or prophesies should have her head covered. If her head is not covered, she brings shame to her head. Then she is the same as a woman who has her head shaved. 6If a woman does not cover her head, it is the same as cutting off all her hair. But it is shameful for a woman to cut off her hair or to shave her head. So she should cover her head.
7But a man should not cover his head, because he is made like God and is God’s glory. But woman is man’s glory. 8Man did not come from woman. Woman came from man. 9And man was not made for woman. Woman was made for man. 10So that is why a woman should have her head covered with something that shows she is under authority.#11:10 have her head … authority Literally, “have authority on her head.” This could also be translated, “keep control of her head,” meaning “do what will keep people from misunderstanding her uncovered head.” Also, she should do this because of the angels.
11But in the Lord the woman needs the man, and the man needs the woman. 12This is true because woman came from man, but also man is born from woman. Really, everything comes from God.
13Decide this for yourselves: Is it right for a woman to pray to God without something on her head? 14Even nature itself teaches you that wearing long hair is shameful for a man. 15But wearing long hair is a woman’s honor. Long hair is given to the woman to cover her head. 16Some people may still want to argue about this. But we and the churches of God don’t accept what those people are doing.
The Lord’s Supper
17In the things I tell you now I don’t praise you. Your meetings hurt you more than they help you. 18First, I hear that when you meet together as a church you are divided. And this is not hard to believe 19because of your idea that you must have separate groups to show who the real believers are!
20When you all come together, it is not really the Lord’s Supper#11:20 Lord’s Supper The special meal Jesus told his followers to eat to remember him. See Lk. 22:14-20. you are eating. 21I say this because when you eat, each one eats without waiting for the others. Some people don’t get enough to eat or drink, while others have too much.#11:21 have too much Literally, “get drunk.” 22You can eat and drink in your own homes. It seems that you think God’s church is not important. You embarrass those who are poor. What can I say? Should I praise you? No, I cannot praise you for this.
23The teaching I gave you is the same that I received from the Lord: On the night when the Lord Jesus was handed over to be killed, he took bread 24and gave thanks for it. Then he divided the bread and said, “This is my body; it is for you. Eat this to remember me.” 25In the same way, after they ate, Jesus took the cup of wine. He said, “This cup represents the new agreement from God, which begins with my blood sacrifice. When you drink this, do it to remember me.” 26This means that every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are telling others about the Lord’s death until he comes again.
27So if you eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in a way that does not fit its meaning, you are sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. 28Before you eat the bread and drink the cup, you should examine your own attitude. 29If you eat and drink without paying attention to those who are the Lord’s body, your eating and drinking will cause you to be judged guilty. 30That is why many in your group are sick and weak, and many have died. 31But if we judged ourselves in the right way, then God would not judge us. 32But when the Lord judges us, he punishes us to show us the right way. He does this so that we will not be condemned with the world.
33So, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34If some are too hungry to wait, they should eat at home. Do this so that your meeting together will not bring God’s judgment on you. I will tell you what to do about the other things when I come.
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