1 Corinthians 11

Apart from chapters 12 and 13 this chapter (11) is probably one of the most used passages in Corinthians due to its dealing with the Lord’s Supper.  Of course chapter 12 deals with the Spiritual Gifts and chapter 13 is the infamous “Love Chapter.”  When we evaluate chapter 11 Paul begins by dealing with some regulations regarding worship, prayer in particular.   We must remember as Paul discusses the matters of male/female head coverings he is addressing a cultural issue in reference to a woman with her head covered and uncovered.  The greater issue in the chapter deals with the matter of divisions in the church based on insensitivity by the affluent towards those with lesser means.  This is addressed in the matter of taking the Lord’s Supper and the Communal Meal.  Paul sees a lack of concern by many within the church in that when the communal meal is taken, those who arrive first make a glutton and drunkard of themselves leaving none for those arriving late, who were generally the lower class. 

Paul’s intention seems to be two-fold.  First, he wants to instruct the church in the proper disbursement of Communion.  Secondly, he wants to see a greater sensitivity of the church for one another.  These actions of “self-first” create a great divide in the church causing a lack focus on the greater matters of the church’s mission to share the Gospel.  Whether the matter is covering of the head, eating before the others arrived, saving the best food for yourself (ouch!), or isolating yourself from those of lesser means, the division in the church is prevalent and problematic. 

Paul closes the chapter with a methodology of how to deal with such matters.  In verse 28 Paul says, “So a man should examine himself…”  This is the critical component.  We must do a thorough analysis of where we stand in relation to our walk with God and our relationship to one another.  This is a matter which should use only one person as the standard, Jesus Christ.  Any other standard will be inferior.  Many people prefer to compare themselves to other believers and non-believers; however, that standard is inferior and will not give a valid picture of who we really are in Christ.  We must rely on the old letters on the bracelet of times past, WWJD.  (What Would Jesus Do?)  So here is the question, according to God’s standard of Jesus Christ, how do we measure up to the examination?  Do we pass or fail?  Unfortunately we all would fail but thank God there is grace available through Christ Jesus.

Takeaways

1.       Divisions are caused by selfishness.

2.      Our standard of evaluation must be the model of Jesus Christ.

3.      Our evaluation will never pass of our own merit but thanks be to God who offers us grace through Jesus Christ.