READING 1 CORNINTHIANS, CHAPTER 11

  Friday, February 16, 2024

 INTRODUCING 1 CORINTHIANS, CHAPTER 11 (NLT)

  After concluding his teaching on meat offered to idols, Paul turns to two issues the church in Corinth was getting wrong. The first was head coverings when praying or prophesying in their meetings. Differences between men and women in that regard are because of both spiritual and social reasons. Paul also corrects the disastrous way in which they were practicing the observance of the Lord's Supper. They were dishonoring Christ's sacrifice for sin as well as the poor in the body of Christ, the church. Despite having more to say on communion, Paul will move on to the topic of spiritual gifts in chapter 12. (https://www.bibleref.com/1-Corinthians/11/1-Corinthians-chapter-11.html) 

1. Concerning the Head in Worship, Verses 1-16, Destiny

¹ And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. ² I am so glad that you always keep me in your thoughts, and that you are following the teachings I passed on to you. ³ But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.^[a] 4 A man dishonors his head^[b] if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. ⁵ But a woman dishonors her head^[c] if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. ⁶ Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering. ⁷ A man should not wear anything on his head when worshiping, for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. And woman reflects man’s glory. ⁸ For the first man didn’t come from woman, but the first woman came from man. ⁹ And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. ¹⁰ For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority.¹¹ But among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. ¹² For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God. ¹³ Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head? ¹⁴ Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair? ¹⁵ And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering. ¹⁶ But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches.

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What was Paul's issue with head covering in worship? (V.4-5)

2. Why shouldn't man cover his head? (V.7)

3. Who was the woman created for? (V.9)

4. Where do men and women come? (V.12)

5. What is a woman's cover? (V.15)

2. Correcting an Abuse of The Lord's Supper, Part 1, Verses 17-25, TBD

 ¹⁷ But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. ¹⁸ First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent, I believe it. ¹⁹ But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized! ²⁰ When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. ²¹ For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. ²² What? Don’t you have your own home for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this! ²³ For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread ²⁴ and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you.^[f] Do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What did Paul say was wrong with the church of Corinth? (V.18)

2. What was the problem with the church concerning The Lord's Supper? (V. 19-22)

3. What did Christ say to do whenever we meet for The Lord's Supper? (V.25)

3. Correcting an Abuse of The Lord's Supper, Part 2, Verses 26-34, Mrs. Elnora

²⁶ For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. ²⁷ So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against^[g] the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. ²⁹ For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ,^[h] you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. ³⁰ That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. ³¹ But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. ³² Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world. ³³ So, my dear brothers and sisters,^[i] when you gather for the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other. ³⁴ If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won’t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I’ll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive.

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What do we proclaim when we eat the bread and drink this cup? (V.26)

2. What happens if we take communion unworthly? (V.27)

3. What should we do before we participate in The Lord's Supper? Why? (V. 28-30)

When a church celebrates the Lord's Supper, a Christian should look in 6 directions: 

1. We should examine whether our relationships with fellow church members are broken. 

2. We should remember Jesus' death and resurrection, and know what He accomplished on the cross. 

3. We should celebrate our union with Christ and participate in Jesus' death by fellowshipping with Him. 

4. We should celebrate our union with each other as one body and celebrate our blood-bought unity with All believers in our church, not just some of them. 

5. We should proclaim the Gospel to all unbelievers who are present. Presenting the Gospel in this way evangelizes non-Christians by emphasizing that they need to be converted and by depicting how. 

6. We should anticipate that Jesus is coming back. The church should long for Christ to be fully present in the new heaven and new earth. (Source: NLV, The Grace Truth Bible)

Prayer Confession for 1Corinthians, Chapter 11:

 Heavenly Father, thank You for the institution of the Lord's Supper. Thank You that we are called to remember the high price that Jesus paid for our sins and for our communal remembrance at the communion table. May I never become complacent about the enormous price that was paid for my sin. Help me to honor Your holy name when I meet together with my brothers and sisters in Christ. May I continue to remember the Lord Jesus' death in this way, until He comes again. Heavenly Father, thank You that You love me so much that Your punishment is not designed to harm me but to return me into precious fellowship with Yourself. Help me to keep a short rein on my sin and confess it quickly to You. I pray that I will be teachable and learn every lesson that You would give me, through Your chastening program. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN. (Source: https://prayer.knowing-jesus.com/1-Corinthians/11)