A Study in I Corinthians Week 12

I Corinthians 11:1-34

If the subject of I Corinthians is unity in the Body of Christ (the Church), how do the principles laid out in chapter 11 relate to this unity?

Paul will deal with two main issues that affect unity: 1) Propriety in Worship and 2) The spiritual depth of communion (not “communion” as in the Lord’s Supper, but “communion” as in being one with and in Christ.

There are 16 verses that deal with the proper physical approach to worship and 18 that deal with our oneness in Christ.

The Verses

1-2 Verse one actually belongs to chapter 10 and is its logical conclusion. Verse 2 represents a bit of a change. Up to now, Paul has said, “…I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly…" (3:1). Now he praises them for seeking his wisdom and leadership.

3-10 Three things to recognize here: 1) There is an order to the universe: God/Christ/man/woman/everything else. 2) Women must have been allowed to pray and prophesy in public or Paul would not have even brought this up. 3) There are societal conventions that should be followed to avoid disunity.

11-16 Men and women are dependent upon one another (in marriage they become one flesh; in the church they form one body and in Christ they form one church. In verse 13, Paul gives the local church the right to establish norms (“Judge for yourselves…”): Should a woman pray uncovered? Is the length of hair important? Then in verse 16, Paul says “If you want to argue about this…don’t. We don’t have a set practice for this and neither do the other churches.”

17-22 Paul restates his observation that there is disunity at First Baptist Church of Corinth. You act impolitely, like pigs at a trough, rather than civilized people at a meal. Impoliteness in church is a rotten, despicable offense to God.

23-26 Now he deals directly with our attitudes during the Lord’s Supper, and our communion with Christ when we worship. We must remember whose we are, and how we got to be whose we are, every time we get together for worship. Our worship MUST be Christ crucified, buried and resurrected every time we gather, for we have no other message.

27-32 If we have had any part in bringing disunity in the church, we dare not participate in the Lord’s Supper, or in any worship experience until we have allowed the Holy Spirit to make our attitudes right before God.

This is NOT written about non-Christians participating in the Lord’s Supper, but about you and me participating in it. When you worship or take the Lord’s Supper you had BETTER recognize that you are a part of the Body of Christ and you had BETTER not be the source of pain to the body.

33-34 Do whatever it takes to bring unity rather than disunity to the Body of Christ, for this is a VERY SERIOUS matter.