Bible Reading Challenge #30
1 Corinthians 11:17–22
17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
Over the first eleven chapters, Paul has addressed many serious issues in the Corinthian church—immorality, idolatry, and improper worship. But now he pivots to perhaps the most frustrating of them all: the abuse of the Lord’s Supper.
Paul essentially says, “Yes, you’re gathering—but it’s not for good. Your gatherings are actually doing more harm than good.” Instead of building unity, they were exposing and enlarging inequality.
What was happening?
The divide between the “haves” and “have-nots” was mostly along economic lines. The church was made up largely of hardworking, poorer believers who clung to Jesus in hope, despite their difficult circumstances and even persecution. These “have-nots” had no official day off under the Roman calendar, so they arrived at the Lord’s Supper late—tired and hungry—only to find that the wealthy members had already eaten their fill and, in some cases, gotten drunk.
The wealthy, with leisure time and resources, did not wait for their brothers and sisters. They indulged while the food was hot, consuming so much that nothing was left for others. Meanwhile, the working class showed up to scraps—and shame.
Paul’s anger was not simply about the food or drink. It was about their self-centered attitude. Their selfishness turned something sacred into something sinful.
On a personal note: I am grateful that this is not the spirit I see in our church family. While I know of many churches that struggle with these same kinds of divisions, thanks be to God that at FBCFB there is a genuine spirit of unity, fellowship, and encouragement. I especially want to celebrate the women of our church who have been catalysts in creating and protecting this kind of culture. My prayer is that God would continue to bless us with this spirit—and grow it among our entire congregation.
Bible Challenge #29
1 Corinthians 11:1-16
1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
Head Coverings
2 Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife[a] is her husband,[b] and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, 5 but every wife[c] who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head. 7 For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.[d] 11 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12 for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, 15 but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering. 16 If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.
This is a passage that can often be difficult or scary because it seems to be so contrary to our current cultural understanding of the relationship between men and women. However, we need not approach difficult Bible passages with fear. When we read this passage we must notice that Paul is giving us two different points of information. First, Paul is giving us a principle. Second, Paul applies that principle to the Corinthian church. The principle is what we also need to follow, but the application may change from culture to culture.
But what is the principle? The principle is that there is an order of submission to follow for the church to be reverently worshiping God. This order starts with God the Son submitting to God the Father, then men submit to God the Son, then women submit to men. However, this is not every woman to every man (only wife submitting to husband, who in turn is submitting to God and to church leadership who is submitting to God), and the Bible is clear that any principle of biblical submission only applies to the family and to the church, this does not speak in any way to the workplace or to the governance of society.
Important caveats aside, we have to acknowledge that this principle is foreign and even hostile to the way our current culture sees the world. However, our culture knows there is some level of submission right? No one would seriously argue that a 5 year old shouldn’t submit to their parents, or that a student shouldn’t have to submit to their teachers’ rules and how they grade. But here is the breakdown, our culture cannot understand that equals can CHOOSE to submit to one another. The issue is that our culture thinks that if someone has ANY authority over me, I must not be their equal (and even those in the church can easily fall victim to this, we were raised in this culture after all).
The good news is that this isn’t true!! Look at our example above. Jesus submits to God the Father, but they are one and the same person, they can’t get any more equal! So this is the fundamental principle Paul is teaching, that there is an order of submission among equals between men and women, just like with God the Father and God the Son. They are unified in dignity, value, worth, and mission, but have different roles to carry out that mission.
Then we get into the confusing bit where Paul applies the principle for the Corinthian church (they have a history of misunderstanding his teachings so he applies it for them), and in their culture head coverings meant two different things for men and women. For men, only the social and religious elite wore head coverings, and only for special times. Hence, for a man to wear a head covering would be placing himself above the others in the church, when in reality they are all submitted to God and to the church leadership who are in turn submitted to God. Therefore, a man shouldn’t wear a head covering. Alternatively, for women a head covering in their culture signified that they were a married woman and were saying I am with my husband. Therefore, under Paul’s principle of an order of submission then it makes perfect sense in that culture for the women to wear head coverings.
Also, don’t miss the key point that this is only even a problem because BOTH men and women are praying and prophesying in the church (verse 5). This is extremely uncommon for that time and culture, and shows an equality across gender lines that was unheard of for that period.
Anyways, so we must follow the principle, but the application may change. For our culture, the application has certainly changed. We simply don’t wear head coverings, and if we do it is a matter of style and not a commentary on gender roles. In fact, I would argue that there is no way in our culture to indicate authority or submission by appearance. In that case, it then comes to each Christian to do their best to faithfully apply this principle in their life.
However, I think because of the confusing part of this passage (verses 2-10), we often miss the most important part of this passage. Paul knows that people are evil, and he knows they are going to twist what he just said to promote inequality between men and women, or to try and force submission as a duty, rather than taking his actual meaning which is equality with submission by choice. So he includes this reminder in verse 11-12…
Men and women cannot exist without the other! We need each other. Paul uses the fact that this is reproductively true to illustrate that it is also true in the family and in the church. Every family and every church needs men AND women using the fullness of their gifts from God, serving and leading, teaching and learning. Because if we don’t have both, we cannot accomplish what God has planned for our families or for our church. God has put us in our families and in our church for this specific time for a reason. Let that be a rallying cry for us, and let us focus on how we can best follow the principle that Paul is teaching rather than getting bogged down in an application that no longer applies to our current culture.
Bible Challenge 28
1 Corinthians 10:31-33
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
Do all to the glory of God.
Don’t just stop and read over those few words in verse 31. That is an extremely difficult command to follow. Do everything to the glory of God? Even eating food? Even in how we watch a football game?
If you really think about your life, what you do each day, doing everything for the glory of God becomes the hardest command to follow. But it is also the most fruitful and the most beneficial way to live our lives.
So how do we actually do everything, even the littlest things, for God’s glory. Think about it like this. If X unbelieving person was watching me do this thing right now, and they asked me why I was doing it, would I be able to answer that I am doing this thing for this reason for God’s glory.
A practical example is Paul’s example of eating. How do you eat for the glory of God? Wouldn’t you eat healthily, to take care of the body God gave you so you can use it for His glory in how you help and treat your family, what church activity you need to have energy to be involved in, etc. Hopefully that principle is helpful for you.
There is one other thing I want you to catch from these verses, look at verse 33. Is Paul really saying he is trying to please everyone in everything he does? Isn’t that a hopeless task? In a literal sense yes, but Paul isn’t talking about what we would “people-pleasing”, where we want people to be happy with us and to not think negatively of us.
What Paul is saying is that he tries his best to meet people where they are and how they are, without sinning himself of course. So if you want to follow Paul’s example and meet people where they are, you may have to miss watching a football game, or eat somewhere or something you don’t want to, or engage in a hobby you don’t enjoy. But not merely out of selflessness, but because by doing so you are trying to see MANY be saved.
Isn’t that what you want, what we all should want? To see God’s Kingdom grow and to see people be saved?
So why are we unwilling to take step one and meet people where they are, even if it means giving up our desires and some comforts.
Bible Challenge #27
1 Corinthians 10:25-30
25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
Here Paul is applying an extremely important principle of Christian theology that we must understand. It may not be flashy or the most exciting, but I urge you to fully focus and commit this principle to memory.
The exact same action, done in the same time and place, can be a sin for one believer and not be a sin for the other believer.
How is this possible? Isn’t sin sin and anything that isn’t sin not a sin? Yes, there are many sins that are this black and white. But when it comes to the idea of Christian freedom, there are these things called “disputable matters” from Romans 14:1. This is where the Bible doesn’t provide a clear condemnation, and thus we may disagree, but the core of the issue is our conscience.
An overactive conscience can be almost as dangerous as an underactive conscience.
See how Paul says to not even raise the question at your unbelieving friends house if the meat is sacrificed to idols? That’s because if it is, and that pricks your conscience and you think it’s wrong, you now must abstain from the meal or you have sinned. Meanwhile your brother who joined the meal later didn’t ask, and so his conscience isn’t pricked and though he eats the same meat it is not sin for him.
But what do “disputable matters” look like in our society? Things like various political groups/identifications, alcohol, lots of modern media, and the list goes on. It is best to avoid these topics when possible when trying to build relationships with unbelievers and when mentoring younger believers because you might learn something that wounds your own conscience and leads you into either sinning or having to pull back from that relationship.
One last thing you might notice from these verses, but there is another time when we must refuse something we feel free to receive even if our conscience isn’t wounded or prodded.
That being if it would cause a fellow believer or even an unbeliever to stumble and sin.
If you are dining with someone you know or suspect to struggle with alcohol, don’t order alcohol for yourself even if you feel confident to handle it in moderation. If you are talking with someone you know to struggle with an unhealthy loyalty to or obsession with a specific political leaning, don’t bring up politics and avoid arguing about such. If you are at the home of someone who feels strongly about certain modern media being dangerous or sinful, don’t ask to watch your favorite show that falls in that category even if your conscience isn’t pricked.
The are two key principles for us to remember
For “disputable matters”, our conscience tells us whether we are free to partake on one side or if it would be sin to do X thing based on our Christian freedom. (this is how we get ourselves in trouble with an overactive conscience)
We must be wary of others’ overactive consciences, and accommodate those as best we can by denying some of our Christian freedoms in certain situations
Bible Challenge #26
1 Corinthians 10:23-24
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
Is it bad?
That is the question we are always quick to ask and quick to be concerned about. Is it bad that I did this? Is it bad that I said this to that person? Is this show or movie going to be harmful to my child? Is this choice going to hurt me or my walk with God?
But Paul’s principle for us to remember when applying our Christian freedom that we have learned about isn’t based on avoiding harmful things. The question Paul is calling to us to ask ourselves about what we choose to do, consume, and enjoy isn’t to ask whether it is a bad or harmful thing.
It is to ask if it is a GOOD and HELPFUL thing!
That may not seem like a big difference, but it makes a massive difference in how we live when we focus on pursuing what is good instead of avoiding what is bad. That music, book, TV show, or movie that you know is on the line, is no longer an uncertain decision when you are pursuing what is good instead of avoiding what is bad. Unsure where/what to spend money on or whether or not to buy something? Is it good and helpful, or simply not bad?
This approach completely changes how we live because as we pursue what is good, helpful, and beneficial, we don’t even have time or energy to consider the sins or poor choices we struggle with. Obviously this is not a road to perfection, there is no such thing this side of Heaven, but do you have something you are struggling to avoid?
Maybe it is some negativity or mean thoughts/words. Maybe it is a sin struggle. Maybe it is something that isn’t necessarily bad but isn’t building you or others up. Instead of being focused on avoiding the bad things, I challenge you to pursue what is good.
Spend more time with God in His Word and in prayer. Spend more time building intentional connections with your family, friends, coworkers, and sharing with them what you are learning about God and how He loves them and wants to change their lives.