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1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 11 KJV WEB See previous page 1Cor 11,1-6 (73h) Authority >> Respect authority in the family >> Respect the institution of marriage -- These verses go with verse 10. This chapter is probably not many women's favorite in the Bible, since it is filled with instruction and viewpoints about men and women that are not very popular in our culture. That is not to say Paul was wrong or Scripture is wrong or obsolete concerning these issues; nor is it to say that we have progressed beyond them. Rather, it is more likely we don’t practice these things for the same reason we don’t practice other passages of Scripture, because of disobedience. We have really poor attitudes regarding men and women, and some say Paul had a near blasphemous attitude about women, in that he dared to say that women should submit to a man's authority, which is very difficult for them since our culture is steeped in rebellion. Maybe what Paul said about his culture was more his opinion, but as in other cases if we accepted his opinion, our culture would improve if we listened to him. For example, whether a woman has long hair or short hair or whether she wears a hat in church is unimportant compared to whether she remains submissive to authority. Now, if she remains submissive to her husbands authority, then he should treat her with utmost respect. Again, whether a woman remains quiet in church is not the point; the point is that she should remain submissive to authority, and for that reason the man should reward her submissive attitude with the utmost respect. If you notice, on both sides of the gender line the attribute conspicuously absent in our culture is respect. If we were to simply learn to respect one another, our culture would begin its healing process, but the damage to humanity has occurred over a course of millennia, so our problems are so deep that only the Holy Spirit can fix us now, but we must let Him. 1Cor 11,1-3 (43f) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Conform to me as I conform to Christ – Doctrines and traditions are good if they remain accurate to Scripture. Some say that doctrines are evil; that is impossible, for they could actually make a doctrine of their loathing of doctrines. That is, if they mandated that there should be no doctrines in their church, that itself would become a doctrine, and so we cannot avoid them, for they are the way we confirm the gospel and prove what we understand about the Scriptures. It is imperative that we put the gospel into our own words; this is not just important but essential. Doctrines summarize what we understand about God. Paul commanded the Corinthians and Timothy and Titus to maintain the doctrines they were taught, and we in the 21st century come to believe the Scriptures in part based on the doctrines and traditions that they handed down to us. Therefore doctrines and traditions are not intrinsically evil, but there are many churches that hold their doctrines and traditions above the Scriptures, and this is indeed evil. Doctrines are more easily altered than traditions, in that traditions are behaviors, whereas doctrines are ideas. For example, people like to change the previous generation’s doctrines, and for this reason there are fads, but they tend to maintain tradition, and for that reason the modeling world still uses runways to flaunt their stuff. The slower these things evolve, the harder they are to change, becoming rooted into our religion. Some denominations are very careful what they believe; however, this makes them harder to dissuade, and that is a good thing if they believe the truth; but if they have drifted into error, they become impervious to criticism. (72d) Authority >> Transferring authority >> Men delegate authority in their position – There is a hierarchy of authority in the Church, and this hierarchy will persist in heaven, though in eternity we will lose our gender. If there were a gender in heaven we would all be women, because Christ is the husband and the Church is wife of the Lamb. The hierarchy of authority will remain as Paul said: all thing originate from the Father; He gives all things to the Son, and the Son gives all things to the Church, and we delegate our authority throughout His creation. 1Cor 11-1 (11j) Servant >> Paul is our example of how to walk with God – How important was it to the Church in the first century that they had someone like Paul as an example of Christianity? The Church today is floundering because we don’t have good examples in leadership. The Bible teaches that in the last days the Church will conform to the will of God, suggesting we will again have great examples of how to live and behave as Christians. There are some good examples out there, but the Church as a whole unfortunately does not have many enough exemplar models of Christianity to make a difference, and we are not to wait for a televangelist to light the way, since the airwaves are controlled by spiritual forces of wickedness that would never allow someone like Paul on TV. Instead, we need look no further than our own pastor, who like Paul knows and is convinced to the core of his being what he believes, and will not only tell us the truth about God at any cost, but will also show us the way, and if we don't have a pastor like that, then it is time to search until we find one. (93j) Thy kingdom come >> Following Jesus through men >> Follow me as I follow Christ – Paul was not being arrogant when he said this, though some would disagree. He was just being honest, which is why we should follow his example. What petty arguments critics may pose against him, there must be a hundred faults of their own lying just below the surface of their unwieldy lives. Paul was possibly the most dedicated man to the gospel in recorded history, and he never met Jesus in the flesh as the other apostles did, indicating that it really wasn’t much of an advantage to have known Him that way. Paul had just as much an opportunity to walk in the flesh as others, only he determined in his heart to follow Christ instead. Paul also needed to be saved like the rest of us, not just because of His past life as a persecutor of the Church, but even as a born-again believer in Jesus he sinned. We are all sinners in need of a Savior, so when Paul said, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ,” he was speaking within the parameters of his faith. Paul often lacked patience, holding his fellow disciples to near impossible standards, expecting them to be just as committed to the Lord as himself. So when John Mark abandoned him, Paul never wanted to work with him again, but then later repented and brought Mark on other missionary journeys, indicating that he was quick to judge Mark. This is not something Jesus would have done, because Mark had a good heart, who went on to write the gospel of Mark. Other than that, Paul's reputation was flawless according to his enemies, who did everything in their power to prosecute him, but found nothing he did worthy of death or imprisonment. 1Cor 11-2,3 (189b) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Holy sacrifice >> Holy offering 1Cor 11-2 (174b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Man’s religion >> Good traditions (Exception to bad religion) >> Good habits (232h) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >> Embrace (Jesus during the storm) >> Hold to the word of God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 11,3-16 (10b) Responsibility >> Bringing order to the Church >> Issues between men and women – This is the sequence in which Paul was speaking about the relationship between men and women: the creation happened first, and then the Lord’s salvation. This prompted him to say, “Man is the image and glory of God, but woman is the gory of man,” also to say that God is the head of Christ, Christ is the head of man, and man is the head of woman. This last statement connects the creation to the Lord’s salvation and defines the relationship between men and women, though later he said that in the Lord they are equal. Nevertheless, Paul says that men and women still must relate to each other in the way they were given at creation for the purpose of maintaining order. Adam had a higher position with God than Eve, and for this reason she should submit to his authority, and that the man should respect her angelic ministry. To incorporate these priorities would maintain order in the Church and in society, but to rebel against this order, well, we can see what people are making of the world. 1Cor 11,3-15 (3h) Responsibility >> To the Family >> God addresses both genders >> Instruction about women – These are tough verses for women, especially nowadays when women are seeking equal status among men. Women actually do have equal status with men according to the Bible, but not in the way they are pursuing it. In fact, women are equal in every way to men spiritually, but not in an earthly sense. They cannot have what men have, any more than men can have what women have. Women need to respect and appreciate what they have, and realize that their role is imperative to the preservation of culture and to future generations. Conversely, without women humanity would soon vanish, and before that, culture would fall apart in a single generation. Just look what has happened to the world in the last sixty years since women have refused to take their place in the home and stopped raising our nations children and instead stepped into the work force. Women trying to be like men is like a man trying to get pregnant. Man is made in the image and likeness of God, and women are clamoring for his position, but they don’t understand that women are already in a position of great authority if they only knew, being the glory of man and having the ministry of angles, coupled with the heart of servants (Eve was Adam’s helpmate). For women to not appreciate the position of a servant is proof they don't understand the heart of Christ, who came as the servant of all mankind. However, being like Christ and the angels is not good enough for today’s women; they want to abandon their post and pursue the likeness of God apart from men, but doing this correlates with Jude verse 6, "Angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day." They will only obtain the image of Satan's rebellion that way. On a spiritual level, women who are born of the Spirit have the same status as men having been created in the image and likeness of God. 1Cor 11,3-14 (3k) Responsibility >> To the Family >> God addresses both genders >> Good men 1Cor 11-3 (3d) Responsibility >> To the Family >> Marriage >> Advocating marriage – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are members of the trinity, and there is also Christ, man, and woman. The Holy Spirit is considered the servant of the godhead, as woman serves man. In this way Christ, when he lived in the flesh, depended on the Holy Spirit, acting as Christ’s lifeline to the Father, in the same way that woman is man's lifeline to the future. This is the biblical meaning of a servant: she serves those of higher rank, but holds a position of equal status; i.e., the woman is called to serve the man, yet she holds equal status with him. This is quite different from the world’s perception of a servant. (68b) Authority >> Doing God’s work under His authority >> Natural Ministry of helps (72i) Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> More Authority The More Responsibility >> Closer we get to Jesus the more power – After reading a verse like this, few would disagree that the Kingdom of Heaven is established on a hierarchy of authority. Its rigorous documentation makes it one of the few concepts undisputed in the Bible. The woman serves as a basis of humanity; the man is above her; Christ is above him, and the Father is above Christ. This doesn’t mean the woman has no authority; that is what the Woman’s Liberation Movement has misconstrued. Instead, Paul said in this chapter that women have the ministry of angels (v10), and angels have a ministry of service, and Jesus said that the least are greatest and the greatest are least (Mat 23-11). The one who best serves is equal to the one with the most authority. This bears-out with the trinity: Jesus is a greater servant and the Father has the most authority, and the two balance each other. The same is true with a man and his wife: she is a greater servant, which makes her equal with the man, who is the final authority in the home. If the man wants to be greater than his wife, he must become a better servant to his household and bless everyone under him, but if he just wants to exert his authority, then he is just a brute. The Father served us by giving His only Son, and the Son served the Father by giving His life a ransom for many, and the Church serves mankind in faithful obedience to Christ to convey the gospel in both word and deed. (253j) Trinity >> Relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is subject to the Father >> Jesus is under the authority of the Father >> Jesus obtained power through subjection to the Father KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 11,4-15 (113a) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Heaven’s clothes >> Protection >> Covering -- Paul fought long and hard to preserve our freedom in Christ, but in this passage he sounds legalistic. In most cases the Scriptures are timeless, but in this case he seems to have hit on something in the cultural realm. Paul begins talking about who should wear what on their head while praying or prophesying. Whether we have something on our head or not while praying doesn’t make a difference to God, and if God doesn’t care about the length of our hair or what we are wearing, then it must be cultural, and culture doesn’t recognize anything to be good or bad, yet Paul is very adamant about it. It is also possible that Paul had the attitude about women that they were supposed to remain submissive. According to Scripture, a woman's long hair (and or wearing a hat) symbolizes her submission to authority and her ministry with the angels. 1Cor 11,4-11 (246hh) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Demonstration of God’s kingdom >> God demonstrates His glory >> Materializing the inner man – Man, being the glory of God, should not have his head covered; that is, he should proudly display the glory of God. Jesus said in Mat 5-15,16, “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” However, since the woman is the glory of man, she should have her head covered, because she is not the glory of every man, but the glory of only one -- her husband. For this reason she wears long hair as a veil as a means of showing her femininity, dignity and modesty. 1Cor 11,4-7 (153h) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Walking in condemnation >> Walking in rebellion -- These verses go with verses 13-16 (203e) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Stepping out of position -- These verses go with verses 13-34 1Cor 11-4,5 (152j) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Prophets >> The Church holds the position of a prophet >> Church operates under a prophetic anointing >> Speaking a prophetic word from God 1Cor 11-5,6 (190g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Circumcision >> Undressing >> Naked before God -- These verses go with verse 13. Paul thought that women should wear hats when they go to church. The idea was that the woman has a covering, and her covering is the man, who stands over her and protects her. Paul thought there should be a symbol for this, and the symbol was the hat that acts as a covering for her head. When she goes to church, she is reminded of this and reminds everybody in attendance that her husband is her covering, and that he is head of the house. This carried-over from the Old Testament, having its origins with Adam and Eve, Paul saying elsewhere, “Adam wasn’t deceived, but the woman, being deceived, has fallen into disobedience” (1Tim 2-14). Since she is the one who caused the rebellion, she can now remain quiet in the Church and let the men speak, now it’s their turn. The woman spoke in the Garden of Eden and convinced her man to eat the forbidden fruit, and here we are in this mess. That was the mindset that Paul had, the reason for this teaching, that if she refuses to wear a hat, maybe its an indication that she also refuses her husband’s covering and rebels against his authority, and in that case exposes herself naked before God. Paul balances the teaching and says that she has the ministry of angels, but for many women today, that’s not good enough. They wanted to be like God, which was the problem from the beginning. God had already made Adam and Eve in His own image, but to eat the forbidden fruit symbolized wanting to depose God of His throne and sit in His place. The serpent told her that if she ate, she would become like God, and so she ate, and did she become more like God? In a way she did! In some ways the devil was lying to her; in other ways he wasn’t. The lie was to convince her to eat the fruit after God told her not to eat, but in eating the fruit she knew the difference between good and evil, just like God. This doesn’t mean she should have rebelled against God in order to become more like Him; that was the deception. If we want to be more like God, we must obey Him and let Him lead us into His godliness. See also: Adam wanted to be like God; Rev 11-18; 24g KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 11,7-12 (250g) Priorities >> God’s prerequisites >> Sequence of priorities >> Spiritual then the natural (anointing then miracles) 1Cor 11,7-10 (170e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Greed and lust are the glory of man >> Woman is the glory of man – Women have the ministry of angels, that is, the ministry of helps. She was made for Adam as his helpmate, yet having the ministry of angels does not seem good enough for her today. Instead, the woman has utter contempt for her place and ministry with the angels and instead covets Adam’s position of authority whose ministry resembled Christ, the Son of God. This sounds eerily similar to lusting after the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Nevertheless, since Christ has been sacrificed both men and women are equal in His eyes, yet while on earth they have unique ministries, but she is highly rebellious to the idea of submitting to a man. Even the word “submission” makes her cringe, because it signifies humility and we live in an arrogant society. The fact that the woman treats her own angelic ministry with distain and craves Adam’s authority suggests that Eve has not yet learned her lesson. When Paul says that the woman originated from the man, points to the Genesis account. After God created Adam he took one of His ribs and created woman from the dust of the ground. The woman was created for the man’s sake, yet man is born through the woman. Adam may have been created first, yet man is dependent on the woman for his existence, establishing equality between the genders, yet both cannot have equal authority. One must submit, and God is calling the woman and man to bestow honor on the woman for her angelic ministry. 1Cor 11-10 (15h) Servant >> Angels have authority >> They have the power to decree an order – This is a comparison between women and angels to show that they hold similar offices—they are both servants. Paul said that women are like the angels in that they should be greatly honored, because they are servants, holding to the principles of angels. That is, women who maintain their position as servants of men should be greatly honored, but men who lord themselves over women don’t understand God. Women who happily submit in their position as servants and are honored for it are the happiest women of all, but those who revile their position as servants and even want to reign over men are acting like Lucifer and are least happy of all women. (73h) Authority >> Respect authority in the family >> Respect the institution of marriage -- This verse goes with verses 1-6 1Cor 11-11,12 (1g) Responsibility >> Become all things to all men >> Blending together – To think that one gender is superior to another is absurd by evidence of this passage that indicates male and female are dependent on each other for their lives, and both owe their very existence to God. This leaves little room for boasting, arrogance or lording one's self over the other. We are both equal in various ways, and are in a better position to blend together than make distinctions. (131g) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Interdependence >> Serving one another (136c) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Similarity in the body >> No distinction between male and female (212c) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> He is the creator >> The creation glorifies God >> All things originated from God KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 11,13-34 (203e) Denying Christ >> Dishonor God >> Stepping out of position -- These verses go with verses 4-7. The military is concerned about the length of hair on soldiers, and as Christians we are soldiers in God’s army. Since it appears that long hair constitutes rebellion, the military wants to communicate the message that they are not killing people from rebellion, but they are only trying to protect their own nation, the welfare of other nations and enforce global policy; in short they are trying to do what is right. That is what short hair represents, but whether the military is actually doing the right thing is a subject for someone else. Paul wanted short hair on Christian men to convey that the Church’s intensions were good and that we are not a lot of rabble-rousers in rebellion against society; rather, society is in rebellion against God and the Church. 1Cor 11,13-17 (1d) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God and people >> Maintain a good reputation – A lot of people say that this was just Paul’s opinion, but that is not what he said. He was always careful to address certain issues as his opinion when he wasn’t speaking for the Lord. All the leaders of the Church were in agreement, meaning that this wasn’t just Paul’s idea. He was always conscious of his own reputation in the world and the overall reputation of the Church. He spent large sums of time and effort creating an image about himself, and he didn’t want anyone getting the wrong idea about his purpose or the goal of the Church. He would go to any length to avoid offending people and doing whatever it took to see people get saved, and if more people were saved and became members of the Church because men cut their hair, then he wanted it cut. (153h) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Walking in condemnation >> Walking in rebellion -- These verses go with verses 4-7. The Corinthians came together not for the better but for the worse, meaning there was rebellion among them, and long hair on men symbolized that rebellion. It is probably universal that the symbolism of long hair on men has always represented rebellion. Paul didn’t want to walk into an assembly and find a lot of longhaired hippies running the Church or even in the congregation. We know that rebellion was the prime motivator of the sixties movement, and men wore long hair. When we come to Christ, our rebellious days are over, so there is no need for long hair on men, and the Church has no other instruction. 1Cor 11,13-15 (13e) Servant >> Serve the body >> Promoting its health >> Serve as a covering for others – The woman’s hair acts as a covering for her, and her covering is the man; he is her umbrella of protection. Short hair on a man does that much more to distinguish him from his wife, broadening the contrast between male and female, which is what God wants. Women are mysterious to men and men are mysterious to women, and that is how it should remain, for the mystery of the genders attracts them, so the heterosexual relationship may continue, exposing the homosexual relationship to be unnatural, perverted and depraved. 1Cor 11-13 (69g) Authority >> Righteous judgment >> Meditate on discernment >> Judging what is right (190g) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Circumcision >> Undressing >> Naked before God -- This verse goes with verses 5&6 1Cor 11-14 (240g) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Natural disadvantage >> Natural disadvantage of the flesh >> The sinful flesh – It would seem almost unimaginable to hear Jesus complain about long hair on men, yet this verse indicates that Jesus Himself had short hair, and another passage in the book of Acts said that Paul cut his hair to keep a vow (Act 18-18), so did Paul allow his hair to grow long before he cut it, or was it short and he cut is shorter? Based on this verse, it is likely that Jesus had short hair, though He is depicted as a longhaired hippy. It would seem that Jesus was in rebellion against the world, where in fact it was just the opposite; the world was in rebellion against Him. Either way, He contradicted the world in almost every way, even with His short hair. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 11,16-22 (21f) Sin >> Disobedience opposes unity in the Church -- These verses go with verses 33&34. Along with being contentious and always striving to be first, the Corinthian's attitudes created a divisive environment. Division means what it says; the Church was divided because of doctrinal differences. One person believed this and another believed that, making people angry and contentious. "Faction" also means division with one exception: there is a leader involved. Typically, in every division not a single side is right, but a faction is worse in that there is no possibility of reconciliation so long as the factious man remains leader; therefore the man leading the faction should be physically removed from the Church. To have a pot bless is a good thing, but some of the Church members actually got drunk on the communion wine, the wine that was supposed to represent the blood of Christ! ‘The more we drink, the more spiritual we become,’ might be what they were saying to each other. (166n) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind cannot discern between good and evil >> The carnal mind lacks integrity (178h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for disunity -- These verses go with verses 27-34. Paul’s complaint about the Corinthians was that instead of benefiting from each other, they went home from church more deflated than they came. If we go to church and come home feeling all the more discouraged, we should probably find another church. Church is about edifying the body of Christ and building-up people in the faith. Every Sunday when we go to church, we should treat it as a special occasion; that is why we dress-up. We are going to meet the people of God in the presence of God. It is unfathomably important to meet with the brethren, for there is synergy between us, meaning the unit is greater than the sum of its parts. When we come together, we are stronger as a unit than we are as individuals. If we did the math, without synergy we would add up the people like this (2x/2), but if we integrated synergy into the formula, we would get this: (2x/2). If only five people attended our church, their value as individuals would be 5, but united their value would be 16, more than three times greater than individuals, for synergy’s input is exponential! See also: Biblical format of church services; Jn 10-1,2; 229f (181a) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Rebellion >> Rebelling against God >> Rebelling against the authority of God -- These verses go with verses 27-34 (204a) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Practicing sin >> Dying in sin -- These verses go with verses 27-34. Paul was obviously frustrated that they did not come together to celebrate this sacrifice in a spirit of gratitude, saying that communion should be a blessing, but they were condemning themselves from a lack of reverence for God, some even dying as a result of taking communion in a wrong spirit. They lived in such a way that if allowed to continue, their faith would have eroded to a point of mere mental ascent, which never saved anyone, so God took them before they lost their salvation. 1Cor 11,16-19 (158g) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and conquer >> Division (Cliques) >> Special interest groups 1Cor 11-16 (10a) Rules of the Church (Key verse) 1Cor 11,17-22 (10d) Responsibility >> Keeping order in the Church – Paul had seen the negative side of the Corinthians, and so in part he believed there were divisions among them. If anyone wanted to argue with Paul, he would tell him there was no other practice. Maybe in the first century people had enough reverence for God to stop contending with the presbytery, but in today’s church the contentious man stops at nothing when maligning and condemning God and His people. There were divisions among the Corinthians, though Paul gave them some benefit of the doubt. This is how much Paul believed in God for them, after they showed him almost no reason to trust them. He trusted them anyway, because Christ was able to make them stand. (69e) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Righteous anger >> Church is angry at sin (153j) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Walking in condemnation >> Attacking the body of Christ -- These verses go with verses 27-34 1Cor 11,17-19 (169i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Loving the approval of men rather than the approval of God >> Coveting the favor of men KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 11-18,19 (223c) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Conceit >> Imposing your opinion of self on others >> Cliques make people seek your acceptance – There is a difference between divisions and factions: divisions come by way of contentious people squabbling over issues, whereas factions come through certain individuals with evil motives, "speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them" (Act 20-30). So, when division occurs, we should look for the person orchestrating it. These people have ulterior motives with the appearance of righteousness, who do their work under cloak of darkness. It is not always easy to discern a factious person, but one evidence is when everyone wants to serve the Lord, except that divisions keep surfacing and they won’t go away. Like fruit inspectors, we inspect people’s produce; or like an electrician looking for a faulty circuit, causing the system to work improperly or not at all. It is a matter of keeping our eyes open, identifying trends and tracing origins. When we find the offending member, we should do what Paul did, ripped into him, and in some cases expelled him from the Church, depending on his type of offense. If it had to do with immorality, they were immediately extricated, but in other cases, they would probably be reprimanded first and told that if it continues, they will no longer be welcome at church, until they repent. 1Cor 11-19 (198e) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained by man >> Men place themselves in positions of authority >> Men raising up men (240e) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Natural disadvantage >> Beware when all men speak well of you >> Natural disadvantage of seeking popularity 1Cor 11,20-34 (76n) Thy kingdom come >> Desires >> Word is food >> Bread of life is the word of God 1Cor 11,20-30 (130a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Unity >> Being in one accord >> Communion – Paul did not acknowledge the Corinthians taking communion, but came together for a banquet to get drunk. That has nothing to do with the Lord’s Supper. If going to church is a special occasion that people dress-up for it every week, how much more special is communion? It should be taken with all the more reverence, but if we must manufacture this reverence, it signifies a lack of holiness and commitment toward Christ. 1Cor 11,20-22 (23h) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Shaming the poor 1Cor 11-21 (159i) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit anointing >> Drunkenness >> Having a party spirit – The Corinthians, when they came together for church would eat like barbarians and get drunk, but notice that Paul did not condemn them for either one; he condemned them for doing it at church, suggesting that feasting at home is perfectly fine, so long as we don't become gluttons, and drinking alcohol in moderation is fine, so long as we don't get drunk. Paul made no negative comments about them imbibing alcohol, except that they did it at church under pretense of the Lord’s Supper. Drinking a little alcohol can be beneficial to the health, calming the nerves when taken in sensible portions, but if it bothers our conscience or offends others, we shouldn’t touch the stuff. Conscience is where we draw the line; in fact, we do all things for conscience’ sake. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 11,23-34 (184k) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Dragging God’s Grace Through The Mud >> Dishonoring the grace of God – These words are spoken every Sunday in various churches throughout the world (Vs 23-26), but for those who believe that the body and blood of Christ is literally present in communion, Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” The fact that people believe this, having taught these things for thousands of years starting in the Catholic Church, which was started by the pagans of Rome and at least partially survived the reformation, in which the Lutherans and some others still believe the theory of Transubstantiation, need to understand that if they are wrong about this, they are actually practicing witchcraft. Witchcraft is like performing an incantation, defined as: 'Effecting the physical realm through the spiritual.’ All witchcraft is based on superstition, and superstition is based on ignorance. If they were confident in this theory of the body and blood of Christ being present in the Eucharist, they would teach it every week, but they don’t because it is controversial, and they know if someone challenged their ideas, they wouldn’t be able to defend them using the Scriptures. Instead, the Scriptures speak against it, such as this passage that they quote every week, telling them to take communion in remembrance of Him. Communion is taken every week, and they claim that Jesus is present in the bread and the wine, yet the people leave the sanctuary no different than they entered. Christ is present in those who obey Him, so if they want the presence of God, they should try obeying the Lord, which would spiritually change them, but people don’t want the change to happen to them; they want it to happen to the bread and the wine. See also: Catholicism (Transubstantiation); 1Cor 11,27-30; 173c / Works-based salvation; Jm 2,14-20; 5n (230a) Kingdom of God >> God’s kingdom is a living organism >> Partaking of Jesus >> Partaking of communion – The Corinthian church was the most carnal of all the Churches to whom Paul wrote, and based on this passage it couldn’t be more evident. Looking at the way they took communion, treating the ceremony as if it were a feast, they appeared barbaric by comparison to our contemporary manner of taking communion. Maybe they didn’t understand the significance of it, so Paul taught them, and what he wrote are the words we often quote in our own communion ceremonies to this day. When Paul finished teaching them, they knew the significance of communion, explaining that the ceremony is a solemn event, practiced in quietness of heart and reverence for the gift that God has given us in His Son Jesus Christ, who gave His body and blood for the life of the Church. 1Cor 11,23-30 (38b) Judgment >> Blood of Jesus >> God judged man through the blood of His son (136g) Temple >> Your spirit is the temple of God >> The body of Christ >> Jesus’ spiritual body 1Cor 11,23-26 (209jb) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus paid the price for us >> Jesus is the lamb of God >> We remember His sacrifice at communion – The purpose of communion is to proclaim the Lord’s death without reference to the resurrection, remembering what the Lord has done for us, not to forget the cross and the suffering Jesus endured for us. He did it in hope of creating a Church and establishing a people for the glory of the Father and for His own namesake, that His people might live with Him forever as His brothers and sisters and collectively the bride of Christ, that they might share His seat on His Father's throne and that we might learn the power and authority of God through personal experience. To speak of Christ’s death is to speak of His glory, who willingly died for His people whom God preordained to become His children, His own possession who are zealous for good works. 1Cor 11-23 (110k) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit of revelation >> Effect of the spirit on the word – The Holy Spirit through the Scriptures is how God reveals Himself. What Paul received was not a revelation but the written word of God from the disciples, who heard Jesus speak these words, and the apostles conveyed them to him. When Paul heard and read these words, it was revealed to him through the Spirit that he was reading the truth. So, when we read the Scriptures, it is just as important that God reveal His word to us. It should be every person’s goal when reading the Bible that he understand the Scriptures by revelation, which comes through prayer. As we read His word and feel His Spirit, we listen for His voice applied to the words on the page, so we can understand them the way God does. 1Cor 11-25,26 (174a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Man’s religion >> Good traditions (Exception to bad religion) >> Good customs 1Cor 11-25 (205f) Salvation >> Salvation is based on God’s promises >> New covenant >> The new covenant in His blood KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 11,27-34 (2o) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Get out of His way >> Quit sinning (27b) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Curse >> Deeds that return to the doer >> Blood of Jesus (153j) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Walking in condemnation >> Attacking the body of Christ -- These verses go with verses 17-22 (178h) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for disunity -- These verses go with verses 16-22 (181a) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Rebelling against God >> Rebelling against the authority of God -- These verses go with verses 16-22 (190db) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Separation from the old man >> Masochism (Self-made martyr) >> Literal suicide (204a) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Practicing sin >> Dying in sin -- These verses go with verses 16-22 1Cor 11,27-32 (64k) Paradox >> Anomalies >> God helps Satan >> God’s judgments accomplish the devil’s will 1Cor 11,27-30 (45i) Judgment >> Of believer’s sin >> God will judge us for trampling on His son – Remorse is one thing; repentance is another. If a person lives outside of repentance, he is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. However, in the case of the one who is in bondage to sin, who truly is remorseful, is living under heavy conviction of the Holy Spirit, seeking repentance from God, we should keep the communion table open to him, giving time and room for God to work and not to judge him. In contrast, the one who is not remorseful, who has no intension of repenting, we don’t want his attitudes bringing unrest and ruination to the people of faith. The Church is a haven for the faithful, not a hideout for spiritual fugitives. Allowing them to remain in the Church who have no sense of repentance is tantamount to sharing in their sins. The Lord Himself will descend upon the congregation and judge His people if they do not rightly judge themselves. The person who is in remorse over his bondage is already being judged; it is the one who has no intension of repentance whom God will personally judge, and if the Church continues to harbor such people, God will judge the saints along with the sinners. See also: Bondage to sin; 51c (51c) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> Warning of Wrath >> God warns the Church – “Taking communion in an unworthy manner” refers to sinning apart from an attitude of repentance. If a person is living in sin and takes communion, he shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. This does not refer to the person who sins in a state of repentance; we all do that; it is for this that we take communion, to remind us of God’s forgiveness. It is the person who figures God condones his sinful lifestyle through the blood of Christ who has spiritual problems. Paul wrote extensively about Christians in bondage to sin in the book of Romans, meaning Christians occasionally become enslaved to sin and struggle to become free, sometimes for years, finding it very difficult to repent; such Christians still are entitled to communion. It is the unrepentant person who lives in sin without remorse, whose intent is to abuse the grace of God that the Church should withhold communion. Jesus came to set us free from sin, though not every Christian is free. None of us have authority to declare a person saved or unsaved. Some are born-again and in love with God but battling sin and in deep remorse over it, while others call themselves Christians and live in sin with no sense of remorse; Scripture condemns the latter as unbelievers. See also: Addiction (Bondage to sin); 45i / Heb 3,6-19; 87b (64d) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Limits of God >> God cannot help but judge sin (173c) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the Catholic faith >> Catholic doctrine versus the Bible – Paul chastised the Corinthian Church for the divisions that existed among them. They had become very disorganized and irreverent, treating the Lord’s Supper as it were a feast. Instead of coming together for communion, they came together to fill their bellies, and actually got drunk at the communion table! Jesus didn’t teach communion this way. He gave everyone a single piece of bread and had them dip it in the wine. How did the Corinthians ring the dinner bell from His example? Paul humiliated them, complaining that they were shaming those who had nothing. It seems whenever waywardness is allowed to run rampant, it always comes to the same erroneous conclusions, essentially making transubstantiation inevitable, thus making the Catholic Church inevitable. Therefore, it is important to judge ourselves rightly before taking communion to avoid being judged, for there are some who eat and drink judgment to themselves. We should be rightly judging ourselves, but most people are not very introspective because they don’t really want to know what’s in their hearts. When God judges us, He disciplines us, so we will not be condemned along with the world. See also: Transubstantiation; 1Cor 11,23-34; 184k 1Cor 11,27-32 (191i) Die to self (Process of substitution) >> Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >> Set apart from sin KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 11,28-32 (104a) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Purified by circumstances >> Purified through judgment 1Cor 11-28 (69l) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Judging yourself correctly -- This verse goes with verse 31 1Cor 11,31-34 (4m) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Disciples are chastened by the Lord (45g) Judgment >> Believer’s sin >> God will judge us with the world if we live like them – A person who doesn’t have a sense of conviction in his heart about what is good and right is highly questionable that he is a child of God. Allowing Him to judge us is like the earth that has a way of judging its inhabitants. When man acts foolishly and unwilling to correct it himself, nature will make the corrections for him, and when it does, many people perish in the process. Therefore, when God judges us, it is always more severe than when we judge ourselves, because we have allowed the problems to reach critical mass. Unbelievers too often never repent, and they never see the error of their ways and consequently plod headlong into ruin and destruction. Even so-called Christians who don't judge themselves or allow the Holy Spirit to judge them will in time completely lose touch with God, and if they continue in this way, their faith will wear to a nub and eventually disappear altogether. At that point they will have lost their salvation, and God will in fact condemn him along with the world, assigning him a place with the unbelievers. See also: earth judges man; 1Cor 11-31; 69l 1Cor 11-31,32 (8p) Responsibility >> Prevent God’s judgment on your life – After God convicts us, if we don’t repent, He will judge us, sometimes intervening by various circumstances, and sometimes those circumstances can be adverse, until we come to our senses like the prodigal son and realize the error of our ways and repent. The Christian is supposed to be reachable and willing to listen and follow the Holy Spirit, but unfortunately that is not always the case. Sometimes the Christian will ignore heavy conviction, and if he resists too long, eventually he will grow numb to His voice, and then he is in real trouble. It benefits every aspect of our lives to obey the Lord. Every time we respond appropriately to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we are veering away from ill fate. God is patient and willing to work with us sometimes for years until we finally surrender to Him. This has happened to many a Christian, until they finally realize that it is useless to fight against God, because in their hearts they love Him. His Spirit continually cries from our inner most being, making obedience easier than striving against God. (51g) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> No partiality between saved and unsaved – If we judge ourselves rightly, we will not be judged or be condemned along with the world. We are to judge our daily walk with God and our motives, instead of merely assuming we are serving the Lord. People tend to make a lot of assumptions about themselves when it comes to their own darkness, but they are quick to judge others. We are willing to forgive sins in ourselves but are unwilling to forgive others, and this in itself is a sin, and a great evil. It is proof that we are not doing everything in our power to repent and be a blessing to God and those around us. We are unwilling to be an example of Christianity, which is what the Church desperately needs in these evil times. Many people have protected themselves by dreaming up doctrines of eternal security, claiming that losing one’s salvation is impossible, but Scripture simply doesn’t teach this. For example, if we are condemned along with the world, how do we expect to see heaven? We should be more critical of ourselves than we are of anyone else. When someone sins against us, we are to go to them with a spirit of gentleness, or if they are negatively affecting the Church, we are to put a stop to it, but when we go to them and command them to repent, we must first command ourselves to repent, so we are not walking in any sins that can be named over us to excuse their sin. God is gracious, but in this lackadaisical age people are ready to abuse the grace of God by willfully sinning and expecting God to forgive them without any intensions of repentance. This is licentiousness, and it is a very common problem in the Church today. They make sure to look good among their fellow Christians when they go to church, but their lifestyle otherwise is abysmal. We are to be honest without showing any partiality to ourselves, because God intends to judge us without partiality. 1Cor 11-31 (45b) Judgment >> God judges us for not judging ourselves >> Believer's Judgment >> Judged According to our deeds – Many people don’t believe judgment exists for Christians because our sins have been forgiven. Why then did Paul write about the believer’s judgment in 2Cor 5-10? While it is true that Christians will never see hell, yet we will be judged prior to entering heaven by the loss of rewards. Some balk at this, preferring to live this life for all they can get, rather than living for supposed rewards of the afterlife, but this will not be their sentiments when they meet Christ, for their loss of reward could mean they are empty-handed without an offering they could have presented to Him on that day, which will prove to be their most embarrassing moment. God intends to append our rewards to our resurrected bodies, which will determine the radiance of our future glory in heaven, so that everybody will know we refused to live for Christ in the flesh. We don’t want to look like a dud, and when choosing people to perform important tasks, we will be last picked for the job, and the consequences will ripple throughout all eternity, for the first are last and the last first in the Kingdom of Heaven. (60b) Paradox >> Two implied meanings >> See ourselves through the reflection of God’s word / Purge sin from your life (69l) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Judging yourself correctly -- This verse goes with verse 28. The book of Proverbs is a favorite of many Christians; it gives credence to the idea that the earth has power in itself to pass judgment on those who sinned against God. There is a natural process that exists in creation that requires justice. It happens automatically, but it is not a perfect system, because this creation is under a curse. There are people who have committed heinous crimes and have gotten away with them. This is why God stands at the end of the road once we breathe our last, waiting for us with a tally sheet of all the things we have said and done. He will look in our heart to see if His Son is there, and if He isn’t, He will charge us with everything on the list, but if the Holy Spirit lives in our heart, He will remove all the sins we have ever committed, also subtracting our rewards regarding our unwillingness to serve Him. We will deeply regret our complacency, wishing we had a full reward, though now we say we don’t care about that. It will be a sad day for Christians who have nothing to offer the Lord after He has done so much for us. See also: earth judges man; 1Cor 11,31-34; 45g (120a) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Curse of God is broken >> Curse of God’s Judgment is broken – As born-again Christians the curse of God’s judgment is broken from our lives in terms of eternal damnation in hell, but Paul is saying that since we are born-again, we should judge ourselves rightly if we don't want God to judge us. If we do evil, there are repercussions. If we think God allows us to live any way we want in this life without any repercussions, that would be like His blood sacrifice enabling us to sin. He suffered to take away our sins, enabling us to repent of our evil desires and give us power to overcome temptation through the Holy Spirit, which is the grace of the new covenant. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 1Cor 11-32 (48b) Judgment >> God judges the world >> Eternal judgment (168d) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Do not conform to the world >> Do not conform to the world and meet God’s judgment 1Cor 11-33,34 (21f) Sin >> Disobedience opposes unity in the Church -- These verses go with verses 16-22 1Cor 11-33 (126l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> Be patient with your brother (235f) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Giving (your inner self) >> Giving preference to one another See next page