1 Corinthians 11:1
JUST AS I IMITATE CHRIST. Christ alone is the perfect model. This ties in with 1 Corinthians 11:33 of chapter 10.... [ Continue Reading ]
JUST AS I IMITATE CHRIST. Christ alone is the perfect model. This ties in with 1 Corinthians 11:33 of chapter 10.... [ Continue Reading ]
I PRAISE YOU. Paul's praise for them is sincere and truthful. But there may be some irony in it, and he may be quoting something which they said in their letter to him. In the next verses, he scolds them strongly. [From the things Paul writes, it seems that some of the Corinthian women prayed and sp... [ Continue Reading ]
CHRIST IS SUPREME. He is the "one Lord" of created nature (1 Corinthians 8:6), therefore superior to every created thing, including the man (male). THE HUSBAND IS SUPREME. This is God's decree: _"And he will rule over you"_ (Genesis 3:16). However, notice that both are _one_ in Christ (Galatians 3:2... [ Continue Reading ]
SO A MAN. At Corinth, a man who prayed or spoke God's message with his head covered (with a face-veil) would disgrace Christ. Pagan priests covered their heads. [However, Jewish priests did too. See Exodus 28:40.] Both men and women ought to dress in such a way that they do not violate the customs a... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ANY WOMAN. Paul does not forbid their praying or speaking in public worship, but he does say they disgrace their husbands by doing it unveiled, when they live in Corinth. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. Eastern women were very proud of their long hair. It would be a disgrace to shave their head.... [ Continue Reading ]
IF THE WOMAN DOES NOT COVER HER HEAD. "If a woman prefers to have her head bare, she should remove her hair also. If doing that would disgrace her, then she should wear the face-veil." At Corinth, women wore TWO coverings on their heads: their hair (1 Corinthians 11:15) and a face-veil (1 Corinthian... [ Continue Reading ]
A MAN HAS NO NEED. At Corinth, the face-veil was symbolic of being lower in rank. In this whole section, we must remember Paul deals with Eastern ideas of the relationship of men and women. At Corinth it would be as wrong for a man to have his head veiled, as it would be for a woman to have hers unv... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT WOMAN FROM MAN; IN Creation, the male was first and the female was made from him, Paul also says this in 1 Timothy 2:13-14. [Yet BOTH are in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27).]... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT WOMAN WAS CREATED FOR MAN'S SAKE. _"And God the Eternal said: It is not good, that the man is alone: I will create to him a compainion-counterpart to him."_ (Zamenhof's version of Genesis 2:18) Compare also 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 and notes.... [ Continue Reading ]
ON ACCOUNT OF THE ANGELS. This phrase has puzzled scholars. It may mean: (1) Because Eve was seduced to sin by evil angels (1 Timothy 2:14). [_MacKnight._]_ (2)_ To show respect to the preacher/church leader - who is called _the angel_ in Revelation 1:20. (3) Because the good angels watch with inter... [ Continue Reading ]
IN OUR LIFE IN THE LORD. By God's decree, the one cannot exist without the other. Woman is subordinate, but not inferior. In the pagan world, woman was a slave, often not much better off than an animal. In Christ she is raised to her rightful place and stands with man as his _counterpart._ See note... [ Continue Reading ]
JUDGE FOR YOURSELVES. "You are sensible people. Think how this looks to others." IS IT PROPER? By your own standards of conduct and custom. [Note that Hannah prayed in the temple without a face-veil (1 Samuel 1:12-13).]... [ Continue Reading ]
WHY, NATURE ITSELF TEACHES YOU. PHUSIS - nature - is translated _own free will_ in Romans 2:14_. Thayer_ says it means here: _the native sense of propriety_ [decency]. _Short_ and _long_ are relative terms, but it is universal that men wear their hair shorter and women longer. [Some think the _homos... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT IS A WOMAN'S PRIDE. This is in contrast to what he says in 1 Corinthians 11:14. While long hair would disgrace a man, it is a source of pride to a woman. AS A COVERING. To identify her as a woman and to show her relationship to man. _C. R. Nichol_ writes: "Custom today calls for shorter hair tha... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT IF ANYONE WANTS TO ARGUE ABOUT IT. Paul says this to the false teacher and his party. They argued that Christian freedom allowed the women who prayed and spoke God's message in public worship to do this without wearing the face-veil. _John Wesley_ writes: "The several churches that were in the a... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS, HOWEVER. He cannot praise their attitude. ACTUALLY DO MORE HARM. One purpose of their church meetings was to unite them more closely to the Lord, and to each other. But their church meetings were disrupted by "feuding and fussing... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THE FIRST PLACE. First was "opposing groups in your church meetings;" second was misuse of spiritual gifts (_chapter 12)._ OPPOSING GROUPS. This is the key to what he says about the Lord's Supper. It also helps if we will remember that the church of the first few centuries ate the Lord's Supper ... [ Continue Reading ]
(NO DOUBT THERE MUST BE DIVISIONS.) Because of human nature, such things could not be avoided, but this did not make them right. However, by our reaction to such things, we demonstrate our faith and love for God and our fellow Christians to clearly see! Compare 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 and notes.... [ Continue Reading ]
AS A GROUP. In scripture, the _church_ is NEVER the building, but always the _group_ of people. YOU DO NOT COME. When they came together as a group, normally they would first eat their fellowship meal; then later they would eat the Lord's Supper (Holy Meal) as part of their worship (see note on 1 Co... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR AS YOU EAT. _Johnson_ says: "It was customary in Corinth to eat a meal together as did CHRIST and his disciples the night of the Lord's Supper. After this came the Lord's Supper. At this MEAL EACH party in Corinth sat apart and ate when it [the party] was ready. The result was that some began BE... [ Continue Reading ]
DON'T YOU HAVE YOUR OWN HOMES? It is plain from Jude 1:12 that Paul is not here condemning "eating in the church building." What he condemns is the fact that they split up into groups and so distort the very purpose of the fellowship meal _and the Lord's Supper._ DESPISE THE CHURCH OF GOD. This caus... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR FROM THE LORD. Paul repeats this account of the Lord's Supper (Holy Meal) to show that their competitive spirit (1 Corinthians 11:19) was out of harmony with the holy purpose of this rite. THAT I PASSED ON TO YOU. He had told them this while he was at Corinth. THAT THE LORD JESUS. He himself fou... [ Continue Reading ]
GAVE THANKS TO GOD. EUCHARISTESAS = gave thanks. _Eucharist_ is a good Bible word. It appears some fifty-five times in its various forms in the Greek Testament. Applied to the Lord's Supper, it paints a picture of "looking up to Christ in praise and thanksgiving for what He has done!" THIS IS MY BOD... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS CUP IS GOD'S NEW COVENANT. Jesus says this as he stands before them. Therefore we take these words as symbolic (see 1 Corinthians 11:26). SEALED WITH MY BLOOD. See Hebrews 9:15_. MacKnight_ says: "Our Lord did not mean, that the new covenant was made at the time he shed his blood; it was made i... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR UNTIL THE LORD COMES. Christians are to share in the Lord's Supper (Holy Meal) PERPETUALLY until Jesus comes and the dead are raised to life! YOU PROCLAIM HIS DEATH. _Christ on the cross_ is the center of Christianity (see note on 1 Corinthians 1:23). The bread symbolizes his body of flesh; the... [ Continue Reading ]
IT FOLLOWS, THEN. "Because this is a holy rite." IN A WAY THAT DISHONORS HIM. We can do this by: (1) eating it as a _common meal;_ (2) eating it as the _bond of a faction_ (party, schism); (3) eating it to promote some w_orldly purpose._ HE IS GUILTY OF SIN. To share in this rite with an _unholy fra... [ Continue Reading ]
EVERYONE SHOULD EXAMINE HIMSELF FIRST. To be certain that his frame of reference is holy. _MacKnight_ says: "First, whether he comes to this service [rite] to keep up the memory of Christ: Secondly, whether he is moved to do so by a grateful sense of Christ's love in dying for men: Thirdly, whether... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR IF HE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE. IF he is not aware of the true religious meaning of _Christ on the cross_ memorialized in the bread and wine. HE BRINGS JUDGMENT ON HIMSELF. Punishment. See 1 Corinthians 11:30.... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT IS WHY. The judgment mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11:29. MacKnight and others think that God was bringing physical punishments on them because of their unholy attitude (such as Acts 5:5)_. Lipscomb_ says: "Some commentators have applied the expression to physical disease and death; but spiritual... [ Continue Reading ]
IF WE WOULD EXAMINE OURSELVES FIRST. As sensible people we can each examine ourselves, using God's Word as the _yardstick._ In this way we can correct our own lives and avoid God's judgement.... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT WE ARE JUDGED AND PUNISHED. Because God does love us and wants us to succeed in the Christian life, he judges and punishes us in many ways. This certainly sounds like physical punishments (see note on 1 Corinthians 11:30), and we can find a parallel in Paul's own life (2 Corinthians 12:7). But b... [ Continue Reading ]
SO THEN, MY BROTHERS. _The Lord's meal_ includes both the fellowship meal and the Lord's Supper. Although they were separate and distinct from each other, both were holy. The _Expositor's Greek Testament_ says: "TO PHAGEIN embraces the entire Church Supper." WAIT FOR ONE ANOTHER. As soon as they ent... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IF ANYONE IS HUNGRY. The _Expositor's Greek Testament_ says: "The Church Supper is for good-fellowship, not for bodily need; to eat there like a famished man, absorbed in one's food - if nothing worse happens - is to exclude Christian and religious thoughts." AS FOR THE OTHER MATTERS. _MacKnight... [ Continue Reading ]