1 Corinthians 11:2-16 Paul discussed the relationship between men and women and talked about headship.

“The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:3

This did not mean that Jesus had less authority than God the Father. He was, and is, everything that God is – creator of all things, sustainer of life, all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all equal within the Godhead.

Nor does it mean that men were like God to women. Each person, man or woman, had his or her own relationship with God the Father, through Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus revealed the independent relationships women had with him when he interacted with his many women disciples.

• In one-to-one conversations with women Jesus forgave their sins, healed their illnesses, answered their questions, set them free from oppressive social stigmas, and sent them off to live the new lives he gave them.
• The first person to proclaim the gospel was the woman Jesus met at the well in Sychar. It was to her that Jesus first confessed he was the Messiah.
• Jesus appreciated the women who supported him from their own means. Among his traveling companions were married women whose husbands did not get in the middle of their personal relationships with Jesus.
• Women were the disciples who went with Jesus to the cross, and they were the first witnesses to his resurrection.

Jesus came to show people that each person could have a direct relationship to the Father with only Christ as the mediator.

The Meaning of Headship

There are different interpretations of what “headship” means, but we know from Scripture that it does not mean women are less important than men in God’s eyes. Nor does it mean that a woman must go through a man to have a relationship with God.

However, some fellowships of believers interpret “the head of the woman is man” to mean that men lead the church and women are not to practice any kind of leadership when men are present.

There are other churches that recognize that the Holy Spirit blesses women as well as men with gifts of leadership and the ability to teach, but women are only to lead other women and children.

Still other churches believe that the Holy Spirit distributes gifts of leadership and teaching equally among men and women. They apply Paul’s words in Galatians 3:28 in their life together.

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

These churches put women leaders under the same accountability and discipline as their male counterparts in the same roles.

Paul expected women to speak up in the Corinthian church, but he wanted them to be properly attired when they did it.

“Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head.” 1 Corinthians 11:5

Most scholars agree that the issue of shaved heads, short and long hair, and head coverings were specific to the culture of Paul’s time and not universally applicable to every era of the Church. However, there are some churches who still strictly adhere to the guidelines Paul described in 1 Corinthians 11:4-10.

The Lord’s Supper

Most of us are familiar with a Communion service that involves a tiny bit of bread or cracker, along with a small sip of wine or grape juice. The church at Corinth would have been amazed at such a ritual. Their habit was to share a full meal called the Agape or love feast.The first day of every week they ate and drank together and then worshiped God with full stomach and grateful hearts – unless they were unfortunate working class people who got to the gathering after all the food was eaten by the wealthy leisure class.

There were no weekends or days off for working people. They often came to the Lord’s supper after work on Sunday, only to find supper was over.

“So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.” 1 Corinthians 11:20-21

The Supper Jesus Instituted

Jesus was the host at the first Lord’s Supper and he left a pattern for his disciples to follow. Paul carefully passed that pattern along to the churches.

“For I received from the Lord what I passed on to you: The Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Jesus distributed the bread and wine equally among his disciples and left no one out. And no one ate someone else’s share of the food before they could get to it.

“So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.” 1 Corinthians 11:33-34

Paul encouraged everyone in the church to examine their hearts before they sat down to eat because the Lord would judge those who sinned against his body by eating his Supper in an unworthy manner.

Spiritual Gifts

Paul wanted the Corinthians to know how different the Holy Spirit was from the idols they had worshiped in the past.

“You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray by mute idols.” 1 Corinthians 12:2

The Spirit lived in the brothers and sisters, spoke to them, and taught them how to relate to God. He was generous to them, giving them spiritual gifts that blessed the whole body of Christ. Paul’s list of gifts included wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, discernment, and speaking and interpreting tongues.

“All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” 1 Corinthians 11:11

God blessed the believers with a diversity of gifts so that the body as a whole would be fruitful. Every gift was needed; therefore every believer was needed.

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we are all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

Paul chose people who were poles apart from each other socially to make his point. Jews and Gentiles didn’t ordinarily associate with each other, and slaves and free people were in vastly different social classes. Yet, in the Lord they all belonged to the body of Christ and needed each other to be complete.

What could bring this vast diversity of people together?

Paul said, “And yet I will show the most excellent way.” 1 Corinthians 12:31

Love, the Greatest Virtue

There is no greater statement about love than what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthian 13:1-13. It’s so daunting to read the attributes of a truly loving person that we might despair of ever possessing them. Who has ever been this patient, kind, humble, forgiving and good to other people?

It has been suggested that we read this passage and insert our own names in the place of “love” to help us personalize these attributes . . . ________ is patient, _______ is kind. _______ does not envy . . .  and so on.

Have you ever done this and still felt like a failure because you’re not all these things? We might be  liars if we claim that we are able to love like this.

But if we go through the list of love’s attributes and put in the name of Jesus, it all makes sense. It’s so much easier to believe in love when we think of Jesus and how he loves.

But how does that help us learn to love?

While we may not be able to love as we should in our own strength, we can look at Jesus and imitate him. We can ask, “How does Jesus love this person in my life?”

Then we can review the list in 1 Corinthians 13 and remind ourselves: Jesus is patient with people, he always believes the best about them, and he keeps no record of wrongs. He is not self-seeking, he always protects, always hopes and always perseveres.” We can look at each aspect of love and do what Jesus does.

As Paul said, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

We are limited in this life and can only know part of what there is to know about love, but Jesus knows all there is to know. If we really want to grow in love, instead of looking at ourselves, we can look at Jesus and imitate the Lord of love.