Introduction
A. Chapters 11-14 deals with disorder in the church.
1. Their meetings were disorderly and unscriptural.
2. Women took the lead over the men.
3. Various members competed for leadership and opportunities to speak.
4. This confusion was a poor testimony to the lost.
B. Chapter 11 deals with the disorder in the church.
C. Chapters 12-14 deals with public worship and the principles that govern the services.
Guidance Concerning Clothing, vv. 1-16
A. The Pattern, vv. 1-3
1. The Role Model: follow Paul’s example as he follow’s Christ’s example, vv. 1-2.
2. The Relationships, v. 3
a. The head of the woman is man.
b. The head of the man is Christ.
c. The head of Christ is the Father.
B. The Parties, vv. 4-16
1. Rules concerning the man, vv. 4, 7-9, 14
a. His head is to be uncovered, vv. 4, 7-9.
1) Demonstrating his relationship to his Savior, vv. 4, 7.
2) Demonstrating his relationship to his spouse, vv. 8-9.
b. His hair is to be cut, v. 14.
2. Rules concerning the woman, vv. 5-6, 10, 13, 15-16
a. Her head is to be covered, v. 5, 10, 13.
1) Demonstrating her submission to her Savior, v. 13.
2) Demonstrating her submission to her spouse, v. 5.
3) Demonstrating her submission to the angels, v. 10.
b. Her hair is not to be cut, vv. 6, 15-16. It should not be shorn or shaved.
Note: Keep in mind that Corinth was an immoral city, with temple “priestesses” who were prostitutes. One mark of a sinful woman was her short hair; such a woman often walked about the city without the usual veil for a covering. Even among the Jews, a shorn head was a mark of immorality (see Numbers 5:11-31, especially verse 18). So, Paul warns the women of the church not to lose their testimonies by worshiping in public without a veiled head. That veil (or covering) was a mark of subordination to the Lord and to their husbands and a recognition of the principle of headship.
Orthodox Jewish men today wear a prayer cap in their synagogue worship, but this is a practice Paul forbids in the local church. Christ is the Head of man; so, if a man wears a hat in worship, he dishonors his Lord. If a woman does not wear a covering, she dishonors her husband, because “woman [was created] for the man” (1Corinthians 11:9). Of course, the mere wearing (or not wearing) of a piece of cloth never changes the heart. Paul assumes that these Christian women obeyed the principle of headship from their hearts and were simply not complying outwardly.
3. Rules concerning both, vv. 11-12
a. The woman is not to be independent of the man, v. 11.
b. The man is not to be independent of the woman, v. 12.
Guidance Concerning Communion, vv. 17-34
A. The Perversion, vv. 17-22
1. They separate into their own cliques, vv. 17-20.
2. They share with no one else, vv. 21-22.
B. The Pattern, vv. 23-25
1. What the Savior did, vv. 23, 25
a. He held up the bread, v. 23.
b. He held up the cup, v. 25.
2. What the Savior said, vv. 24-25
a. “This is My body, which is given for you.”
b. “This is the New Covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of My blood.”
C. The Purpose, vv. 26, 28
1. It serves as a backward look to the cross, v. 26.
2. It serves as an inward look to the conscience, v. 28.
3. It serves as a forward look to the crown, v. 26b.
D. The Penalty, vv. 27, 29-30: To partake in an unworthy manner is guilty and risks punishment.
1. To eat and drink God’s judgment on oneself, vv. 27-29.
2. To be divinely judged with physical sickness, v. 30.
3. To be divinely judged with physical death, v. 30.
E. The Profit, vv. 31-34
1. It can be used for judging ourselves, vv. 31-32.
2. It can be used for giving ourselves, vv. 33-34.