1 Corinthians · chapter 11 of 16
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1 Corinthians 11 deals with two matters of worship in Corinth. First, how men and women prayed and prophesied, with Paul's teaching on headship and the symbols of the time. Second, abuses at the Lord's Supper, where the rich ate without waiting for the poor. Paul recalls the meaning of the Supper: proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes.
From this chapter through chapter 14, Paul deals with the church's worship. The Corinthians met together, but their gatherings showed the same divisions and pride that have already appeared in the letter. Paul begins by praising them for remembering him, but goes on to correct customs that do not honor God or build up the community.
Paul praises them because they remember him and hold to the teachings. He explains that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband and the head of Christ is God, and gives instructions on how men and women pray and prophesy, appealing to creation and custom. He also affirms that in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman, and that everything comes from God.
He then turns to something he cannot praise: when they come together, there are divisions. When they gather, it is not the Lord's Supper they eat, for each goes ahead with his own meal: one is hungry and another is drunk. Paul asks whether they have no houses in which to eat and drink, or whether they despise the church and shame those who have nothing.
Paul recalls what he received from the Lord: on the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and said it was his body for them. In the same way he took the cup, the new covenant in his blood. Whenever they eat the bread and drink the cup, they proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Whoever eats or drinks in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Each must examine himself, for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among them are weak and ill, and some have died. The Lord disciplines them so that they may not be condemned with the world. Paul asks them to wait for one another and for the hungry to eat at home.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Paul presents a chain of relationships: Christ is the head of every man, the husband the head of his wife and God the head of Christ. It is a much-debated passage, and it should be read with the rest of the chapter, which stresses that men and women are interdependent in the Lord.
Jesus said the bread is his body given for you and the cup the new covenant in his blood, and asked that it be done in remembrance of him. The Supper recalls his sacrifice and seals the new covenant.
Each time the bread is eaten and the cup is drunk, the Lord's death is proclaimed until he comes. The Supper looks back to the cross and forward to his return.
Each person must examine himself before eating and drinking, for doing so without discerning the body brings judgment. Here discerning the body relates to respecting the community and not despising fellow believers.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: God is the head of Christ. — 1 Corinthians 11:3
Answer: Each went ahead with his own meal: one was hungry and another was drunk. — 1 Corinthians 11:21
Answer: He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and said it was his body for them. — 1 Corinthians 11:23-24
Answer: The new covenant in Christ's blood. — 1 Corinthians 11:25
Answer: The Lord's death until he comes. — 1 Corinthians 11:26
Answer: That they wait for one another. — 1 Corinthians 11:33
1 Corinthians 11 reminds us that the Lord's Supper is neither an empty rite nor a private moment. It is a community remembering the cross and awaiting Christ's return. Before taking part, it helps to examine the heart and our relationships: is there someone we despise or are in conflict with?
The first part of the chapter calls for humility in reading. Christians have understood the instructions about head coverings in different ways: some apply them today, others see them as a custom of that time. What they share is that men and women pray and prophesy in the church, and that both must do so with order and with respect for God and for others.
1 Corinthians 11 ends with Paul's promise to set the rest in order when he comes. Chapter 12 turns to another matter of worship: spiritual gifts and the picture of the church as one body with many members.
In context, it means taking part without regard for fellow believers: the rich ate without waiting for the poor and the church was despised. Paul does not ask for moral perfection in order to take part, but for an honest examination and an attitude of respect for the body of Christ, which is the community.
Paul links the illness and death of some to how they treated the Supper. He presents it as the Lord's discipline so that they would not be condemned with the world. He does not say all illness is the result of sin, only that in Corinth that discipline had shown itself in this way.
Christians are divided. Some consider the passage to express a lasting principle and practice it; others see it as referring to a cultural custom of Corinth and apply the principle of honoring God and respecting the symbols of each era. All agree that men and women take part in prayer and prophecy.