1 Corinthians 11 Study Notes

11:11-16 These verses have yielded various interpretations, so interpretive certainty is difficult. Though Paul addresses the man’s headship role in marriage (v. 3), which is rooted in creation (v. 8), he also acknowledges that men and women are not independent of one another. In the beginning, woman was formed from man (see Gn 2:21-23). But through childbirth, man also comes through woman. And all things come from God—including gender distinctions. For a woman in Corinth to pray with her head uncovered was to deny these distinctions. Regardless of the specific local cultural expressions, to deny male/female differences in worship would be improper (v. 13), contrary to nature (v. 14-15), and in opposition to the practices of all the churches (v. 16).

11:17-18 Paul chided the Corinthian believers for their inappropriate, divisive behavior when they came together as a church (cp. v. 20). The word church refers to their assembly as a unified, corporate body. In the NT, “church” never refers to a building or place of meeting.

11:19 The approved . . . among you refers to those who were not the cause of divisions within the body. Their behavior was exemplary during a time of strife.

11:20-22 To the church’s shame, the scene Paul describes seems typical of a pagan setting. Instead of coming together in unity, members were focused on their own selfish desires.

11:23-25 I received from the Lord most likely means Paul was given a special revelation from Jesus about this matter. For other instances where Paul received such revelation, see Ac 18:9ff; 22:18; 23:11; 27:23-25; 2Co 12:7. Christ’s selflessness in giving his life for others stood in stark contrast to the Corinthians’ selfishness during the Lord’s Supper.

11:26 The phrase as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup emphasizes that the solemn remembrance of Christ’s death is a corporate declaration of “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (2:2) until he comes again.

11:27 Since the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s suffering and death on our behalf, to participate in an unworthy manner is to sin against the body and blood of the Lord.

11:28-29 A person must examine himself with respect to Christ’s sacrifice for believers and the relationship each believer has within the corporate body. The phrase whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body is a solemn wordplay on the word “body.” Believers are to recognize that Jesus selflessly sacrificed his body for others and that this sacrifice was designed to make Christians a selfless corporate body.

11:30-32 If the Corinthian believers judged and examined themselves correctly, this would avert judgment from God within the corporate body. Asleep is a term Paul and other biblical authors use for physical death (cp. 15:18; Jn 11:11; Ac 7:60).

11:33-34 By way of a summary, Paul directed the Corinthians to welcome one another when they assembled to partake of the Lord’s Supper.