1 BE ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.
3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.
16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.
21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

1Be yee followers of mee, euen as I also am of Christ.

2Now I prayse you, brethren, that you remember me in all things, and keepe the ordinances, as I deliuered them to you.

3But I would haue you knowe, that the head of euery man is Christ: and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.

4Euery man praying or prophecying, hauing his head couered, dishonoureth his head.

5But euery woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head vncouered, dishonoureth her head: for that is euen all one as if she were shauen.

6For if the woman be not couered, let her also bee shorne: but if it bee a shame for a woman to be shorne or shauen, let her be couered.

7For a man in deede ought not to couer his head, forasmuch as hee is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

8For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man.

9Neither was the man created for the woman: but the woman for the man.

10For this cause ought the woman to haue power on her head, because of the Angels.

11Neuerthelesse, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord.

12For as the woman is of the man: euen so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

13Iudge in your selues, is it comely that a woman pray vnto God vncouered?

14Doeth not euen nature it selfe teach you, that if a man haue long haire, it is a shame vnto him?

15But if a woman haue long haire, it is a glory to her: for her haire is giuen her for a couering.

16But if any man seeme to be contentious, we haue no such custome, neither the Churches of God.

17Now in this that I declare vnto you, I praise you not, that you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

18For first of all when yee come together in the Church, I heare that there be diuisions among you, and I partly beleeue it.

19For there must bee also heresies among you, that they which are approued may be made manifest among you.

20When yee come together therefore into one place, this is not to eate the Lords Supper.

21For in eating, euery one taketh before other, his owne supper: and one is hungry, and an other is drunken.

22What, haue ye not houses to eate and to drinke in? Or despise yee the Church of God, and shame them that haue not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I prayse you not.

23For I haue receiued of the Lord that which also I deliuered vnto you, that the Lord Iesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, tooke bread:

24And when he had giuen thanks, he brake it, and sayd, Take, eate, this is my body, which is broken for you: this doe in remembrance of mee.

25After the same manner also hee tooke the cup when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new Testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drinke it, in remembrance of me.

26For as often as ye eate this bread, and drinke this cup, yee doe shew the Lords death till he come.

27Wherefore, whosoeuer shall eate this bread, and drinke this cup of the Lord vnworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28But let a man examine himselfe, and so let him eate of that bread, and drinke of that cup.

29For hee that eateth and drinketh vnworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himselfe, not discerning the Lords body.

30For this cause many are weake and sickly among you, and many sleepe.

31For if we would iudge our selues, we should not be iudged.

32But when we are iudged, we are chastened of the Lord, that wee should not be condemned with the world.

33Wherefore my brethren, when ye come together to eate, tary one for another.

34And if any man hunger, let him eate at home, that ye come not together vnto condemnation. And the rest wil I set in order, when I come.

I == 1st Cor 4:16

II == 1st Cor 4:17 ; 7:17 ; 2 Thess 2:15 ; 3:6

III == Gen 3:16 ; Eph 1:22 ; 4:15 ; 5:23 ; Col 1:8 ; 2:19 ; 1st Peter 3:1 , 5-6

IV ==1st Cor 12:10 , 28 ; 14:1

V == Deut 21:12 ; Acts 21:9 Lk 2:36 ; 1st Cor 14:34

VI == Num 5:18 ; Deut 22:5

VII == Gen 1:26-27 ; 5:1 ; 9:6

VIII == Gen 2:21-23

IX == Gen 2:18 , 21 , 23

X == Gen 24:65 ; Ecc 5:6

XI == Gal 3:28

XII == 2nd Cor 5:18 ; Rom 11:36

XVI Ist Cor 7:17 ; 14:33 ; 1st Tim 6:4

XVIII == Ist Cor 1:10-12 ; 3:3

XIX == Matt 18:7 ; Luke 2:35 ; 17:1 ; 1st Tim 4:1 ; 2nd Peter 2:1-2

XXI == 2nd Peter 2:13 ; Jude 1:12

XXII == 1st Cor 10:32 ; James 2:6

XXIII == Matt 26:26 ; Mark 14:22 ; Luke 22:19 ; 1st Cor 15:3

XXIII -- XXV == Mt 26:26-28 ; Mk 14:22-24 ; Lk 22:17-19 ; 1st Cor 10:16

XXV == 2nd Cor 3:6 ; Lk 22:20

XXVI John 14:3 ; 21:22 ; 1st Cor 4:5 ; Rev 1:7

XXVII == Num 9:10 , 13 ; John 13:27 ; 1st Cor 10:21

XXVIII == 2nd Cor 13:5 ; Gal 6:4

XXIX == Rom 13:2

XXXI == Ps 32:5

XXXII == 1st Cor 1:20 ; Heb 12:5-11;

XXXIV == 1st Cor 4:19 ; 7:17

 

1 Be followers of me, as I also am of Christ. 2 Now I praise you, brethren, that in all things you are mindful of me and keep my ordinances as I have delivered them to you. 3 But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ: and the head of the Woman is the man: and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man praying or prophesying with his head covered disgraces his head 5 But every woman praying or prophesying with her head not covered disgraces her head: for it is all one as if she were shaven. 6 For if a woman be not covered, let her be shorn. But if it be a shame to a woman to be shorn or made bald, let her cover her head. 7 The man indeed ought not to cover his head: because he is the image and glory of God. But the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman: of the man. 9 For the man was not created for the woman: but the woman for the man. 10 Therefore ought the woman to have a power over her head, because of the angels. 11 But yet neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord. 12 For as the woman is of the man, so also is the man by the woman: but all things of God. 13 You yourselves judge. Does it become a woman to pray unto God uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that a man indeed, if he nourish his hair, it is a shame unto him? 15 But if a woman nourish her hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor the Church of God. 17 Now this I ordain: not praising you, that you come together, not for the better, but for the worse. 18 For first of all I hear that when you come together in the church, there are schisms among you. And in part I believe it. 19 For there must be also heresies: that they also, who are approved may be made manifest among you. 20 When you come therefore together into one place, it is not now to eat the Lord's supper. 21 For every one takes before his own supper to eat. And one indeed is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What, have you no houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and put them to shame that have not? What shall I say to you? Do I praise you? In this I praise you not. 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and giving thanks, broke and said: Take and eat: This is my body, which shall be delivered for you. This do for the commemoration of me. 25 In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood. This do, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me. 26 For as often as you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come. 27 Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice. 29 For he that eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord. 30 Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you: and many sleep. 31 But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But whilst we are judged, we are chastised by the Lord, that we be not condemned with this world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If any man be hungry, let him eat at home; that you come not together unto judgment. And the rest I will set in order, when I come.

v1. Paul and ourselves are only fit examples as we follow Christ. 

v2. Two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the latter detailed in v 23-34.

v3.  The chain of authority is God, Christ, man, then woman.

v4-6.  Men of that culture were to pray in church with their physical head uncovered to honor their spiritual head, Christ. Women prayed with their heads covered to honor their head, their husband. This could be a veil, hat, portion of her cloak, or her longer hair as a covering. Without one of those coverings to show her subordinate place in worship, she had just as well be shaved. Then, a shorn head on a woman implied adultery or prostitution. Eliminating her covering was not an act of liberation, as she intended, but an act of degradation. [Prostitutes today in some places wear long hair, other places, medium. Know the custom where you travel]

v7-9.  Man is the image and glory of God, Gen. 1:27. Woman, by being created from man, showed his glory (and her subordination, not inferiority) by the covering of the head, but both are essential for each other. Man is God’s representative, and the covered woman shows she is allied with man in his responsibility. In ancient culture men only covered their heads to express shame or intense sorrow.

v10-13, even the angels covered their faces in the presence of God, so it was not unreasonable for the women to have a covering. Rebekah covered her face when she first met Isaac. In that culture it showed respect and reverence, just as Sarah called Abraham lord. Today the attitude is most important.

v14,15 How long is long? Ezekiel 44:20 gives the length in the millennial priesthood, which is comfortable for me today. Not shaved [as today’s “skin heads”] or long locks. [A young friend loved football but quit because of his school rule that players could not have long hair. He admitted to me that he was wearing long hair as a sign of rebellion.] Long hair does not mean a sissy, depending on the culture. Absalom was caught up in a tree by his long hair, 2 Sam. 18:9, but for women it is beauty and covering [Oriental women took great pride in their hair].

v16. The issue caused some contention but there was no custom for women in the church to be uncovered. Pagan women were considered inferior, Christians not so, but to be uncovered, these women were flaunting Christian liberty. But the real issue was that she have a quiet, modest, worshipful attitude.  The matter of women speaking in public is taken up farther in 14:34,35 and 1 Tim. 2:11,12.

v17-22.  Instead of fellowship before the Lord’s Table there was division. Some probably stemmed from the previously mentioned division as to their leaders. Some from the matter of the feast in which the poor were left hungry, to their embarrassment, and the rich became gluttons. This is in contrast to my up bringing, and probably contrary to how it originated with all things being in common. We had a basket dinner in which all food was pooled, and the poor ate as freely as those more affluent. After the shared meal, we had the “Covenant Meeting”, at which the church covenant was read and our responsibilities to the Lord, the Church and each other was, at least theoretically, recognized. Then we partook of the Lord’s Table.

The Agape  or love feast came first and took the place time wise of the Passover feast. The Lords Table comes from the word Eucharist  or thanksgiving.
(See the end of this lesson for the events at the last supper.)

v23-26.  The Passover looked back to the deliverance from Egypt and forward to Christ, the Paschal lamb. The Lord’s Table looks back to Christ’s death on the cross and forward to His coming again. The Lord’s Table followed the so called love feast, and is a replica of the Lord’s Supper instituted by Jesus at the close of the Passover Supper. It is a new testament or covenant in His blood, and the old covenant Passover Supper is no longer needed. They would have used unleavened bread, because they could have no other in the house at this time. Likewise the wine had to be free of leaven, and was a wine of reconstituted grape syrup. Catholics say the bread and juice by transubstantiation  were actually Christ’s body and blood. Thus by withholding the wafer, the priest could actually withhold salvation. Both thoughts are totally unacceptable. Lutherans claim that the bread and juice contain Christ mystically, and we take Him into our lives mystically. We dogmatically believe that they merely represent the body and blood of Christ. We are not told how often to observe the Lord’s Table, only that as often as we do it, it is to be in affectionate remembrance of Him. “Remembering” Him, is a deterrent to sin and a stimulus to holiness.

v27-32.  The wealthy drunken Corinthian or the bitter poor one would have been partaking in an unworthy manner. The same would be true of any believers who are living in unconfessed sin. Some err to not partake, knowing they have unconfessed sins or are not perfect. We would not want an erring child to sulk and not eat, but to repent and join the family at the table. To this end we are to examine ourselves, confess our sin to God (and to others if it is timely and appropriate), then partake. Failure to do so invites the judgment of God. If we don’t judge ourselves He will judge, and it may result in sickness or death. I think I may have witnessed such a situation, a young person who met a violent death after definite, persistent rebellion against God. However, I would be very careful not to judge someone else, leave that entirely up to the Lord. Remember that not all sickness and hardship is the result of sin. The believer is chastened, not condemned to eternal death. God chastens only his children, He condemns the children of the devil, and they may or may not prosper in this life.v33,34.  This goes back to the discussion of verses 17-22, the impropriety of the way they were handling the feast before the Lord’s Table. The meal was not so much to satisfy the appetites as to provide a social unity among the believers. It would be better to eat at home rather than the way they were doing. No clue is given as to what other things that Paul would set in order when he came, but they were probably other questions concerning the Lord’s Table which did not need Divine inspiration for the Church in general.