So far in our journey through 1 Corinthians, we\u2019ve looked at a lot of the external issues in the church. They were dealing with division over leadership, sexual ethics, and food. For the first time studying this letter, we\u2019ll peek into the Corinthians\u2019 actual worship service and see some internal problems that were also causing division.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same self-centered attitude that caused the Corinthians to rally behind Apollos or Paul shows up in this chapter. Paul wants the church to know that selfless living isn\u2019t just something we do outside of Sunday morning. It\u2019s an all-day, everyday attitude. That means all Christians should choose to err on the side of serving other Christians, especially when it comes to how we act during corporate worship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This chapter is one of the stickiest in 1 Corinthians. It talks about the roles of men and women\u2014a topic widely debated in the church today. Instead of getting caught up in the debate, we\u2019ll take a step back to see Paul\u2019s big point in this chapter: How we behave in corporate worship should be others-centered, not self-centered. Keep that big idea in mind as we navigate the tough parts of 1 Corinthians 11<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Christian circles, we often say the church isn\u2019t the building\u2014it\u2019s the people. Yes, that\u2019s true. But it doesn\u2019t mean we neglect to address how we conduct ourselves when we all meet together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take a moment to think about your local church service here at RP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Write down everything that happens from the moment you walk in until when you leave.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What are some aspects of the service that help it flow well? How do people treat each other?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The big idea Paul hits on in 1 Corinthians 11 is this: Members of the local church should act in an orderly, selfless way as they meet for corporate worship<\/em>. As seen so far, we can make a big deal about gray-area issues\u2014like hymnals or choir robes or altar calls\u2014and cause division. But as we\u2019ll learn in this chapter, sometimes practices we think are normal can actually be harmful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The local church is a big deal. It can only function properly if every member decides to be selfless. When we let selfishness get in the way, it can rip the church apart.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read through 1 Corinthians 11. While you\u2019re reading, write down the two areas of corporate worship where the Corinthians were causing division. Also, jot down any questions you might have about the passage.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/strong> And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2<\/strong> I am so glad that you always keep me in your thoughts, and that you are following the teachings I passed on to you. 3<\/strong> But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4<\/strong> A man dishonors his head if he covers his head while praying or prophesying. 5<\/strong> But a woman dishonors her head if she prays or prophesies without a covering on her head, for this is the same as shaving her head. 6<\/strong> Yes, if she refuses to wear a head covering, she should cut off all her hair! But since it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or her head shaved, she should wear a covering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 7<\/strong> A man should not wear anything on his head when worshiping, for man is made in God\u2019s image and reflects God\u2019s glory. And woman reflects man\u2019s glory. 8<\/strong> For the first man didn\u2019t come from woman, but the first woman came from man. 9<\/strong> And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. 10<\/strong> For this reason, and because the angels are watching, a woman should wear a covering on her head to show she is under authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 11<\/strong> But among the Lord\u2019s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. 12<\/strong> For although the first woman came from man, every other man was born from a woman, and everything comes from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 13<\/strong> Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head? 14<\/strong> Isn\u2019t it obvious that it\u2019s disgraceful for a man to have long hair? 15<\/strong> And isn\u2019t long hair a woman\u2019s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering. 16<\/strong> But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God\u2019s other churches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 17<\/strong> But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. 18<\/strong> First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. 19<\/strong> But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God\u2019s approval will be recognized!<\/p>\n\n\n\n 20<\/strong> When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord\u2019s Supper. 21<\/strong> For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. 22<\/strong> What? Don\u2019t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God\u2019s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n 23<\/strong> For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24<\/strong> and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, \u201cThis is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.\u201d 25<\/strong> In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, \u201cThis cup is the new covenant between God and his people\u2014an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.\u201d 26<\/strong> For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord\u2019s death until he comes again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 27<\/strong> So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28<\/strong> That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29<\/strong> For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God\u2019s judgment upon yourself. 30<\/strong> That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 31<\/strong> But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 32<\/strong> Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 33<\/strong> So, my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the Lord\u2019s Supper, wait for each other. 34<\/strong> If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won\u2019t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I\u2019ll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive.<\/p>\n1 Corinthians 11:1\u201334 (NLT)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ll dive deeper into these verses in the coming days. As mentioned in the introduction, there are some tough issues in this passage. We won\u2019t be able to address everything, but we will figure out how we can choose the others-centered life in corporate worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s start this week off with prayer. Ask God to soften you to what he has to teach you through this week\u2019s study. Pray for Redemption Point church\u2014for its leaders, volunteers, members, and attendees. Pray God would give you a selfless attitude toward your local church as a result of studying 1 Corinthians 11.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Text your response to the above prompting questions to your group and\/or share it as a comment below<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So far in our journey through 1 Corinthians, we\u2019ve looked at a lot of the external issues in the church. They were dealing with division over leadership, sexual ethics, and food. For the first time studying this letter, we\u2019ll peek into the Corinthians\u2019 actual worship service and see some internal problems that were also causing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"\n Welcome!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Welcome to the book of 1 Corinthians. As we study this letter, we\u2019ll step into ancient Corinth while reading the words Paul wrote to the fledgling church. We\u2019re going to see that, like all churches, the Corinthian church wasn\u2019t perfect. They had a problem. A big problem. And it grew to such an epic proportion that it poisoned the church in various ways. Paul wrote to provide the antidote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this study, we\u2019re going to explore Paul\u2019s solution to both the problems in Corinth and in us. Through his words, we\u2019ll learn more about Jesus\u2019s plan for a people who live radically different lives than the world around them. But we\u2019ll also take a hard look in the mirror and ask the Spirit to point out our own self-centered attitudes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading the Bible isn\u2019t just something we do to impress people or to check off on a to-do list. It\u2019s about getting to know God. It\u2019s about shaping every minute of our lives to reflect Jesus. It\u2019s about thinking differently in the power of the Spirit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So as we approach each week, we\u2019ll focus on one main idea. That main idea will point us to change how we think, feel, and act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, we\u2019ll see that resolving relational disunity begins in our hearts because division is a symptom of self-focus. From this main idea, we have three goals: <\/p>\n\n\n\n First Corinthians will take us on a journey. We\u2019ll look at the struggles of one of the first local churches in all of history. We\u2019ll see that the Corinthians weren\u2019t much different from us. And we\u2019ll realize that Paul\u2019s words to them still ring true today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before we jump into 1 Corinthians, spend a few minutes writing out a short prayer to God. Ask him to use this study to change you. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Open up your Bible to 1 Corinthians. Go ahead and read the entire first chapter. As you read, ask yourself this question: What was the problem in the Corinthian church?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 Corinthians 1:1\u201331 (ESV): <\/p> 1\u00a0Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, \u201cI will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.\u201d<\/p> 20\u00a0Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21\u00a0For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22\u00a0For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23\u00a0but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24\u00a0but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25\u00a0For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.<\/p> 26\u00a0For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27\u00a0But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28\u00a0God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29\u00a0so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30\u00a0And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31\u00a0so that, as it is written, \u201cLet the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The Corinthian church suffered from division. We\u2019ll see it all throughout the book. The struggling church fought over leadership, spiritual gifts, food, marriage, and theology. Since the theme of disunity runs throughout the letter, it\u2019s tempting to think that was the church\u2019s problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t. Disunity was only a symptom of a far more insidious\u2014and common\u2014 disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you catch the real issue that was going on in Corinth? It was selfishness. They were so consumed with themselves that they tried to solve their problems their own way, held on to their culture, and, as a result, blasted chasms between them and other Christians.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one likes to admit to selfishness\u2014 especially people who claim to follow Jesus. But it often sneaks into our lives in ways we don\u2019t readily see. And then it spills over in ways we never expect. For the Corinthians, their selfishness led to severe divisions in the church. What is it for us? We\u2019ll spend the rest of the study unpacking that very question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we know the main problem Paul\u2019s tackling in 1 Corinthians, take a moment to be honest with God. Write down any fears or concerns you have about confronting the problem of selfishness. Ask God to use this study to turn your gaze to him.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1corinthians"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
2\u00a0To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3\u00a0Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4\u00a0I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5\u00a0that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge\u2014 6\u00a0even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you\u2014 7\u00a0so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8\u00a0who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9\u00a0God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10\u00a0I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11\u00a0For it has been reported to me by Chloe\u2019s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12\u00a0What I mean is that each one of you says, \u201cI follow Paul,\u201d or \u201cI follow Apollos,\u201d or \u201cI follow Cephas,\u201d or \u201cI follow Christ.\u201d 13\u00a0Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14\u00a0I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15\u00a0so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16\u00a0(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17\u00a0For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
18\u00a0For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19\u00a0For it is written, <\/p>