1 Corinthians 11 - Headship & Lord's Supper

Let's turn our Bibles to the book of 1st Corinthians, please, in chapter 11. 1st Corinthians in chapter 11. What I would like to do is consider the whole of this chapter, but we'll divide it as the chapter is divided.

We'll read from verse 2 down to verse 16, make a few statements, and then get to the latter part of the chapter. 1st Corinthians chapter 11 verse 2 says, Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances, that is the oral teaching that Paul had delivered to them. 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.

Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head, that is Christ. And every woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, that would be the man. For that is even all one as if she were shaven.

For if the woman be not covered, let her be shorn. And if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn, that is to have her hair cut short or even shaved off, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man.

For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power or a symbol, a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.

Nevertheless, neither is a man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. For as a woman is of the man, even so is a man also by or through the woman. But all things of God.

Judge in yourselves, is it comely or is it proper that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given for a covering. But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. Now, 1st Corinthians is a chapter that is very much debated.

It's a chapter that is denied. It's a chapter that is even despised. But it is a very important chapter when it comes to teaching on the New Testament.

And I know that some of the things that we are going to say are very well known to the older people, and my exercise was for the younger people that are among us. Because we live in a day that we are influenced by many people outside of assemblies and assembly teaching. And I'm not going to speak down on that, but we have to be very careful because we can listen to all range of teaching of men on the Internet in messages.

And there are men that I do listen to, and I appreciate their teaching. But you're not going to find church teaching from John MacArthur. He teaches a lot of other things that are very good, but not from chapter 11 of 1st Corinthians.

And there are other men like that. So sadly, this is a chapter that we could say is disregarded by people or is simply chalked up as something that is cultural. It is for a day gone by.

But I would encourage you to consider this chapter as something that is still valid even for us today in 2025. And Paul spends at least half of this chapter speaking on this subject. I take it is of something that is of great importance.

Not just to Paul, but to the Lord himself. So very simply what we're going to do is just go down through this chapter and consider, what is this all about? The uncovered head of the band and the covered head of the sisters. Well just to bring us back, the Apostle Paul had given this teaching as he had previously been in Corinth.

And the sad reality is that he is writing just a few years later to give corrective teaching because likely they had lost sight of the reason why they were doing what they were doing. And that is why it is vital for you and I to study the Word of God and understand the reasons that we do the things that we do. And maybe there are people here and this is all new.

So it's great that a person could come to the Word of God and learn. And learn why does God command us to do certain things? What is the reason, the motive behind it? Because when it comes to this issue of the uncovered head of the man and the covered head of the woman, we ought to appreciate this is something that Paul taught while he was in Corinth, but he taught in every other place where he had visited and preached the gospel and saw people saved. Because the last verse that we have read is this, if any man seemed to be contentious, we have no such custom.

We do not have any other custom nor any of the other churches of God that men come with their head uncovered and women come with their heads covered. It is not something that was cultural just for Corinth. Paul says this is a practice of all churches in every place that he worked and taught the Word of God.

And sadly some people would simply just regard this as for Corinth or something that was merely cultural. But when we come to the teaching or what this symbol actually means, it is not cultural. It is something that is divinely ordered by God even in creation.

This great big word of headship. It is not cultural. It is creational.

It is something that God instituted in the very beginning. And not only that, the distinction of sexes is something that God established in the very beginning of creation. Now people talk about gender confusion.

I don't know if it's actually confusion. It's more rebellion against God. But when it comes to Christians as believers that have come to know Christ, our desire is no longer to rebel against God, but to live lives that please God.

And when we come to his Word, we can discover how we can do that and put on display the order that God himself has established. So this is not a chapter to be disregarded. It's not something just to be dismissed as something that was cultural or only for Corinth.

Now I will take the time to say this. You say that, but when you come over to chapter 12 and 13 and 14, then you're gonna say, well there are things that are cultural, things that are no longer practiced. And you're right.

When it comes to the sign gifts, yes there were things that were given for a specific time and a specific people. And the Word of God makes it plain that they had their purpose, and they would ultimately come to an end. The sign gifts, like healings and speaking in tongues, those sort of things.

Those were things that were done in an early day. But when there were Jews that were present, when there were Jews that see the signs of God's working, that this truly was that they might be converted, that they might become believers. So having said that, we do have to consider the Word of God and understand, yes there are things that do not apply to us today.

But when it comes to this chapter, this does apply to us today. I trust we'll be able to appreciate that. Now going back to where we began, this is not something that was new or something that was invented by Paul.

In verse 2 it says this, I praise you brethren that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I deliver them to you. And that word ordinances simply means teaching that was delivered orally. Because you'll have to remember, take into account that as this book is being written, this is one of the earliest books of the New Testament.

Now church truth was being taught, but it had yet to be written down. So these things that Paul is referring to, that you remember me in all the ordinances, is simply this, is that this was teaching that had been given orally. Because that is exactly what we have in the example of the Apostles.

Go into all nations, the Lord Jesus told the disciples, teaching them all things that I have taught you. It isn't until Paul, inspired by the Word of God, has to sit down and then write corrective teaching to Corinth that these words are penned. But this wasn't new, because this had been taught already in Corinth and sadly they had lost sight of it or deviated from what they had been taught.

Now what is this all about? Verse 3 says, I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. So this is a definitive statement. This is a statement of fact.

Now unfortunately Paul doesn't expound more on this as to what a headship is, but he is simply stating a fact. The order that is established is this, is that every man has a head which is Christ. Every woman has a head which is a man, and Christ has a head who is God.

So what we can appreciate is this is very simply speaking of divine authority that is established by God himself. And some people will get up in arms and say this is all about suppression and women being suppressed. It's not.

But the Bible does teach us about authority and submission to authority. And we know that that is that is how the world that we live in works. That there are laws that are established by government, and those laws are submitted to so that there isn't chaos and anarchy and everybody doing what they want to.

So in the very same sense we have order established by God in creation. God is the one that created man. And God put that man over his creation to have rule and dominion over it.

And then out of the sight of man God created a woman to be a helper for that man. That's what Paul tells us. And this is something that is very clear in a natural sense as we come to the end of the chapter.

When it speaks about the man being distinct by having his short hair, and the woman being distinct by having her long hair, it's very simply saying that there are rules that God gives. And there is a parallel truth that is given when it comes to church gathering. And it doesn't contradict but it actually complements each other.

So that is why when we come to the end of the chapter some people will dismiss the need of a superficial or an artificial covering saying, verse 15, if a woman have long hair it is given to her for a covering. Now what we need to understand is this, that there are two lines here. There is a natural sphere and then there is the church sphere.

And they don't contradict each other but they actually complement each other. So there is a place that is given for us to display our place as men having short hair in the natural sphere and the woman having long hair. That there is very clearly a distinction of sexes in each one fulfilling their role as God created us to do.

But now when we come to the church truth that is being taught, then there is another covering. That is, verse 4 tells us, every man praying or prophesying having his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head.

Because what Paul says very simply is this is something that puts on display divine order as God's people come together. That man is taking the position that God has given him. You notice what we read here in verse 7? A man indeed ought not to cover his head for as much as he is the image and glory of God.

I take it in the beginning when God created Adam in his likeness and image that Adam was to represent God on planet Earth. He was going to be the spokesman for God. So the same matter when it comes to the church the place that God gives the man is to guide, is to preside, is to provide when it comes to the spiritual needs of God's people.

If we can understand that that when a man stands it to pray or prophesy he is the one that is representing God in the company. That is a place that God gave him to direct, to guide, to protect. That is the place that God gives us.

And we display our recognition of that divine authority by not having our hats on. The hats are left at the door. Why? Because we are taking the place that God has given us.

Now this doesn't mean that men, speaking about suppression, that men are to be despots and have the ultimate rule and authority before we get carried away. Men also, men are also subject to their head who is Christ. So it is not that men have their place to dictate whatever they think, but we are subject to someone else as well.

We are subject to Christ. We are to submit ourselves to his authority over us. We are to appreciate his care and protection for us.

And we take the place that he has given us. We uncover our heads. We are making known that we are under the authority of Christ.

We are submitted to Christ and that we are looking to Christ for his care and direction. And likewise, when the woman comes to the church, the Bible says this, it is a shame for her if she were to pray or prophesy having her head uncovered. Because this covering is just simply a symbol that speaks of her recognition of authority as established by God.

That is why the verse that we have read tells us, again verse 10, for this cause ought the woman to have the symbol of authority on her head. It's simply a very, a very simple display of God's divine orders that was established. And of course, the Bible tells us a place that God gave man to be the image and glory of God, to be head over creation.

Now when it comes to the church, man isn't the head, Christ is the head. But we have a place of responsibility, of headship, of providing, protecting, and caring for those who we are over. So the Bible tells us for someone, for a sister, a woman to come with her head uncovered, if she is outwardly displaying, I do not recognize divine authority, I'm not subject to.

And that would be a shame. That would be just as shameful as if she were to shave off all of her hair. You see, that is the other sphere.

The natural sense is very shameful for a woman to cut off her hair. It would be an act of rebellion against God. So in the very same sense, for a person to come, for a man to cover his head, it's an act of rebellion.

Or a woman to come and not cover her head is an act of rebellion, according to what Paul says here, according to what the Bible tells us. Now some people will say, again, taking these two verses into account, verse 4 and verse 15, is the hair sufficient? Well it isn't. It isn't.

It is not. In the natural sphere it is enough. But not when it comes to the assembly that the hair is enough.

Let's just notice the words of this verse. Again, verse 4. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered. Now if the head covering is synonymous with hair, just read it like that.

If the hair is enough. Well, it says that if every man praying or prophesying, having hair, dishonors his head. That doesn't make any sense, does it? It isn't speaking about the natural hair.

It's speaking about something else that would cover the head of the man. Verse 5 says every woman praying or prophesying with her head, her head uncovered. In other words, having no hair, if we're gonna use that in a sense, having no hair dishonors her head.

It is the same, even or one as if she were shaven, as if she had no hair. That doesn't make sense either. It can't be.

It isn't the same. In the natural sense, the hair is given as a display of who she is. But when it comes to the assembly, there is a covering that is taken off and there is a covering that is put on.

We have to, we have to understand that they're speaking of two different things. The hair of the woman cannot be synonymous with a veil when it comes to the gathering together, because if she is not covered, it says it would be the same as if she had no hair, if she were shaven or shorn. So very simply, what Paul is saying is this, don't lose sight of this.

This is something that speaks of great truth. It is a very simple thing to remove our hat and for the woman to cover her head, puts on display divine order as recognized in this place, in a world that lives in rebellion against God. There are local assemblies where people gather and recognize divine order very simply and yet glorifying to God.

Now, we read the place that God gives man. I won't take the time to go through that, but you notice the woman was created for the man, not the man for the woman. We know that woman was taken from the side of Adam and she was brought to him to be a complement, to be a help suitable for him.

That is what God himself designed. That isn't man taking a higher place, that is the way God designed. But man is not independent of the woman because every one of us has been born of our mothers.

Now, we're going to leave that. If you have any questions, we'll do what we can afterwards if you'd like, but I'd like to look at the last part of this chapter because this as well is something that in the circles that we move in is very much appreciated, but outside this is also something that is rejected by many people. Verse 17, now it says in this, that I declare unto you, I praise you not, that you come together not for the better but for the worse.

First of all, when you come together in the church, that is the assembly of Christians, not the building, when you come together as an assembly, I hear that there be divisions among you, and I partly believe it, for there must be also heresies among you that they which are approved may be manifest among you. When you come together, there it is, when you come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper. Well, we're gonna find out why it wasn't.

For in eating, everyone taketh before another his own supper, and one is hungry, another is drunken. What, have ye not houses to eat and 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. For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he break it and said, Take, eat.

This is my body which is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, and when he had stopped saying, This cup is a New Testament in my blood, this do ye as often as ye drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he come.

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. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if you would judge, if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged, that is by the Lord. When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Wherefore, my brother, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home, that he come not together unto condemnation, and the rest I will set in order when I come." So again, this is a teaching that had been given to the Corinthians. But just a few short years had gone by and they had lost sight again of this great and solemn act, the Lord's Supper.

And that is a reminder to us as well as how quick we are to to loosen our grasp on truth and appreciation of it. And maybe there are people that have known this for many, many years, and thank God for that. But the reality is that we are very quick to let go of truth that has been delivered to us.

So as Paul writes to them, of course he is writing to correct error and difficulty in Corinth, but the sad reality is only a few years had gone by that they had been taught this. And yet they had lost sight of the importance of it and they had deviated from from God's purpose. So first of all, what Paul mentions is this, is that there were divisions that were manifest even at this occasion.

Now this isn't the first time, it's actually mentioned in the very first chapter of this book, that there were divisions among the people. And I would very simply say just the reason that there was so much division and strife in Corinth is one simple word, it was pride. When people started to uphold other men and follow other men and see themselves as great and others as less.

Then you have the Jews that could look down on the Gentiles. In this chapter you can have the rich that are looking down on the poor. In this occasion when the people should have been gathering together to remember the Lord should be the greatest display of unity.

And yet Paul says even in this there is division that is real among you, because those are our rich who are despising those that are poor. Paul goes on to touch that issue of division among them which would ultimately come from pride. We're going to leave that but that's also the cause of the problems in chapter 12 through 14, the problem of pride.

Now Paul says this when you come together verse 20 into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper. Now had they been taught what the Lord's Supper was, yes. And Paul is going to teach them again but they had lost sight of it.

And it becomes something that was commonplace. And they had completely missed the whole purpose of it. And Paul has to bring them back.

And that's that's my desire today to help us appreciate the awesome privilege that it is for us to obey the Lord in this. But also to help us appreciate what a solemn occasion it ought to be. Not something that is just a common thing when we come together, but it's something that should be highly appreciated by each and every one of us.

So they had completely deviated from God's purpose for them to the point that it had become just a common meal. And I know that there are other commentaries that are going to talk about love feasts and that, but listen what Paul says. Supposedly you're coming together to eat the Lord's Supper but people are coming just to eat bread.

And other people are coming and they're drinking wine and they're getting drunken. That is what was happening when they were coming together. And that is why Paul has to speak to them.

He has to correct them and tell them what what is going on here. He says a place to eat and drink if you're hungry. It's not when the people of God come together.

Now it doesn't mean that the assembly can't have a meal. Some people go on beyond what the Word of God says and you can't eat at the hall. Don't you have houses to eat and drink? And that's that's not what Paul is saying.

He says when it's the Lord's Supper you're not coming to eat and drink. You're not coming to fill your belly. You're not coming here because it's a party.

And that's what is happening here in Corinth. He says I cannot praise you in this. And then he takes him back to verse 23.

He takes him back to what he had received from the Lord himself. And for the younger people here, remember Paul was not saved until after the death burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Paul was not one of the Apostles in the upper room.

He was not an eyewitness to what the Lord Jesus instituted that night. But there was a time that the Lord Jesus taught Paul. He spoke to him directly.

He revealed it to him. I received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you. So when it comes to the Lord's Supper, again emphasis needs to be made.

This is not Paul speaking. Paul was simply the messenger of this truth. What he had received from the Lord.

I delivered it to you. They had been taught. But what happened? They had lost sight.

It says that the Lord the same night in which he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks and break it, he said, take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you.

Do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner when he took the cup and he had stopped saying, this cup is a new testament in my blood. This do you as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

In the summary of it all says, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show forth the Lord's death. So it isn't about feasting. It isn't about parting.

These symbols are merely bread and wine. It will never be more than that. But the truth that they speak to us of should be something that affects us.

In the solemnity that ought to be displayed. Not because we are worshiping those items, but because the Lord says, this speaks of a body that was given for you. This cup speaks of a life that was given for you.

And when you come together, it's not to party. It is not to eat. You are showing forth the death of the Lord.

Paul is elevating this to something that is very great and very solemn. For you and I as believers, might God preserve us from ever thinking of the Lord's Supper as something that is casual. That doesn't matter whether I'm there or not.

That it's just bread and it's just wine. It's just an hour. Paul says this is something that the Lord himself commanded us to do until he come again.

Not something that was cultural. Not something for a little while. And yet in evangelical circles today, this is something that is again disregarded.

Once a year, twice a year, four times a year. You notice Paul says, as often as you eat this bread. Until he come.

It is something that we need to be practicing and more than practicing, appreciating as believers today. And Paul goes on to say, whosoever, wherefore, because of this. Whosoever shall eat this bread and drink the cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinking drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep that as they had died.

And Paul speaks of the necessity of judging yourselves so that you do not come under the judgment of God. So what does this mean then to eat and drink of the bread and the cup unworthily? I don't know about in this part of the country, this part of the world, but there are places that teach that this this verse tells us that we need to judge ourselves and look at our lives and confess in and review our lives and then participate. But that is in the context of what Paul is teaching.

Paul says that when you come together to do this, understand what you are doing lest you become careless, lest you eat in an unworthy manner. Because Paul tells us this, if we are treating this lightly, if we are despising the Lord's Supper, we are doing no different than those men did with the Lord Jesus himself. He was of no value to them.

They could beat him, they could spit on him, they could mock him, they could manhandle him, they treated him as nothing. Paul says you better not do the same thing. You need to understand, yes, it is only bread, it is only wine, but they speak to us of the Lord Jesus in his awesome sacrifice.

It's not bread to fill your stomach, it's not wine to be happy. To eat of this unworthily is to despise this holy institution. To treat the Lord Jesus as nothing, that is what they did when they crucified him.

And Paul says God has actually had to take up dealings with you. Now, what I find so solemn about this, and if I am wrong then I will be corrected, as you know, we read of an awful, grievous sin in chapter 5 of a man that I would suggest was not even saved, who was part of the company of believers. And Paul says you have failed to deal with that person and removing him from among you.

Now, we would say that was an awful, grievous sin, but you notice when we come to chapter 11, it was God that was dealing with the believers who were despising the Lord's Supper. Now, sin is awful, is grievous to the heart of God, but for me it just suggests that God himself had to take up dealings with these people. He didn't take up dealings with the man in chapter 5, but Paul says that there are those that are sick and have died among you because of your careless attitude, because you have lost sight of this solemn occasion.

You are not coming together to remember the Lord, you're actually despising the church and you're despising the Lord. And God had to deal with them. Paul says we're not coming here to eat, we're coming here to remember the Lord.

I trust that this will encourage us again, that this might be a help for younger believers, that 1st Corinthians chapter 11 is not a chapter to be dismissed, not a chapter to be disregarded, but a chapter to be appreciated and the truths that the symbols speak to us appreciated. Whether it is divine authority that's seen in the uncovered head of the man and the covered head of the woman or the simple symbols of bread and wine, but what do they speak to us of? They speak to us of a body that was broken, they speak to us of a life that was poured out for the forgiveness of our sins. Should we ever become careless and indifferent towards this awesome privilege, might God preserve us to not be like the Corinthians but appreciate the Lord commanded this, that we gather together to remember him in obedience, in appreciation, to do the until he come, but to do it in a manner that is worthy of his person.

May God help us.