1 Coríntios 11

BLIVRE · Chapter 11/16

1Sede meus imitadores, assim como eu também sou de Cristo.

2Eu vos louvo, irmãos, de que em tudo vos lembrais de mim, e retendes [minhas] ordens, assim como eu vos entreguei.

3Mas quero que saibais, que a cabeça de todo homem é Cristo; e a cabeça da mulher é o homem; e a cabeça de Cristo é Deus.

4Todo homem que ora ou profetiza, tendo [alguma coisa] sobre a cabeça, desonra sua própria cabeça.

5Mas toda mulher que ora ou profetiza com a cabeça descoberta, desonra sua própria cabeça; porque é o mesmo que se a tivesse raspada.

6Porque se a mulher não se cobre, raspe-se também; mas se para a mulher é vergonhoso se cortar ou se raspar, que se cubra.

7Porque o homem não deve cobrir a cabeça, pois é a imagem e a glória de Deus; mas a mulher é a glória do homem.

8Porque o homem não provem da mulher, mas sim a mulher do homem.

9Porque também o homem não foi criado por causa da mulher, mas a mulher [foi criada] por causa do homem.

10Portanto a mulher deve ter sobre a cabeça sinal de autoridade, por causa dos anjos.

11Porém, nem o homem é sem a mulher, nem a mulher sem o homem, no Senhor.

12Porque assim como a mulher vem do homem, assim também é o homem pela mulher; porém tudo [vem] de Deus.

13Julgai-vos entre vós mesmos: é decente que a mulher ore a Deus descoberta?

14Ou não vos ensina a mesma natureza, que ter cabelo longo é desonra para o homem?

15Mas a mulher ter cabelo longo, lhe é honra, porque os cabelos lhe são dados por cobertura?

16Porém se alguém parece ser inclinado a disputas, nós não temos tal costume, nem as igrejas de Deus.

17Mas isto eu vos declaro, que não vos louvo, porque vós vos ajuntais, não para melhor, mas para pior.

18Porque, em primeiro lugar, eu ouço que, quando vos ajuntais, há divisões entre vós; e em parte eu acredito.

19Porque é necessário que haja diferenças de opinião entre vós, para que os que são aprovados sejam evidenciados entre vós.

20Quando, pois, vós vos reunis, não é para comer da ceia do Senhor;

21Porque cada um, comendo antes, toma sua própria ceia; e um fica com fome, e outro fica bêbado.

22Por acaso não tendes casas para comer e para beber? Ou desprezais a Igreja de Deus, e envergonhais os que não têm? Que vos direi? Eu vos elogiarei? Nisto eu não [vos] elogio.

23Porque eu recebi do Senhor o que também vos entreguei; que o Senhor Jesus, na noite em que foi traído, tomou o pão;

24E tendo dado graças, o partiu, e disse: Tomai, comei; isto é o meu corpo, que é partido por vós; fazei isto em memória de mim.

25Semelhantemente também, depois de cear, [tomou] o copo, dizendo: Este copo é o novo Testamento em meu sangue. Fazei isto todas as vezes que [o] beberdes, em memória de mim.

26Porque todas as vezes que comerdes deste pão, e beberdes deste copo, anunciai a morte do Senhor, até que ele venha.

27Portanto quem comer deste pão, ou beber deste copo do Senhor indignamente, será culpado do corpo e do sangue do Senhor.

28Portanto examine-se cada um a si mesmo, e assim coma deste pão, e beba deste copo.

29Porque quem come e bebe indignamente, para si mesmo come e bebe condenação, não discernindo o corpo do Senhor.

30Por esta causa há entre vós muitos fracos e doentes, e muitos que dormem.

31Porque se nós julgássemos a nós mesmos, não seríamos julgados.

32Mas quando somos julgados, somos repreendidos pelo Senhor; para que não sejamos condenados com o mundo.

33Portanto, meus irmãos, quando vos ajuntardes para comer, esperai uns aos outros.

34Porém se alguém tiver fome, coma em casa; para que não vos ajunteis para [sofrerdes] julgamento. Quanto às demais coisas, as ordenarei quando vier.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul addresses matters of order in worship: the use of a head covering by women when praying or prophesying, and serious abuses in the celebration of the Lord's Supper, in which the wealthy ate without waiting for the poor. He recalls Jesus' own institution of the Supper.

Explanation

The first part of the chapter deals with cultural customs of dress and authority that were signs of respect in Corinthian society, a topic much debated and tied to the social norms of that particular time. The second part is more universal: the church gathered for a communal meal that included the Lord's Supper, but some wealthier members ate and drank to excess before the poorer members arrived, humiliating them. Paul corrects this by recalling Jesus' words at the last supper — 'this is my body... do this in remembrance of me' — showing that this memorial demands unity and mutual consideration, not selfishness. Today's practical application is that the Lord's table should always reflect equality and care among participants, never social privilege.

Fun facts

  • Paul's account of the institution of the Supper (v.23-25) is the oldest written record of that event in the New Testament, written even before the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke were composed.
  • The communal meals of the early Christians, later called 'agape feasts,' were shared by people from very different social classes — something revolutionary in an extremely hierarchical Roman society.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Coríntios 11:1Paul closes the previous chapter inviting the Corinthians to imitate him, but makes clear that the ultimate standard is Christ — he is only a model insofar as he follows Christ Himself.
  2. 1 Coríntios 11:2Before correcting two serious problems (the veil and the Lord’s Supper), Paul opens with praise: he acknowledges that, in general, the Corinthians hold on to the teachings he passed on.
  3. 1 Coríntios 11:3He introduces the discussion about the veil with a chain of authority — God, Christ, man, woman — a hierarchical scheme of the time that Paul uses as the basis for the cultural argument that follows, still debated today.
  4. 1 Coríntios 11:4In the culture of the time, a man praying or prophesying with his head covered, as pagan priests did, would be a cause for shame — Paul asks the men of the church not to follow that custom.
  5. 1 Coríntios 11:5Wearing a veil on the head was, in Corinth, a sign of modesty and submission for a married woman in public spaces. Paul discusses the practice within the church, but the argument mixes local custom with theology, and even today interpreters disagree about what is a permanent rule and what is a custom of the time.
  6. 1 Coríntios 11:6A strong cultural argument: if a woman does not wear the veil, a sign of modesty in Corinth, it would be as if her head were shaved, humiliating at the time — so, if she does not want that, she should wear the veil.
  7. 1 Coríntios 11:7He continues the hierarchical logic: the man, being “the image and glory of God,” should not cover his head; the woman, in this scheme, is described as “the glory of the man.”
  8. 1 Coríntios 11:8He cites the order of creation in Genesis, the woman formed out of the man, as the basis for the argument about the roles described in the previous verses.
  9. 1 Coríntios 11:9He continues citing Genesis: the woman was created for the man, not the man for the woman — another link in Paul’s cultural argument about the veil.
  10. 1 Coríntios 11:10For this reason, Paul concludes, the woman should have “power on her head,” the veil, in a phrase that mentions the angels and whose exact meaning interpreters still debate today.
  11. 1 Coríntios 11:11Paul balances the previous argument: despite the order described, in God’s plan man and woman are interdependent, neither one exists independently of the other.
  12. 1 Coríntios 11:12He reinforces the balance: if the first woman came from the man (Eve from Adam), every man since then is born of a woman — and everything, in the end, comes from God.
  13. 1 Coríntios 11:13Paul invites the Corinthians themselves to judge, by the customs of their own culture, whether it is fitting for a woman to pray in public with her head uncovered.
  14. 1 Coríntios 11:14An argument based on custom: nature itself teaches, according to Paul, that overly long hair is a shame for a man — a custom of the time, not necessarily a universal rule.
  15. 1 Coríntios 11:15For a woman, on the other hand, long hair was a source of honor, and Paul compares it to the very function of the veil, as a natural covering given by the body itself.
  16. 1 Coríntios 11:16Paul closes the discussion of the veil admitting it is a matter open to controversy, but states that the general practice of the churches followed this custom — he does not want to pick a fight over it.
  17. 1 Coríntios 11:17He shifts to a more serious problem: this time Paul offers no praise, because the Corinthian church’s gatherings were making the community worse instead of building it up.
  18. 1 Coríntios 11:18The first problem: Paul had already heard, and partly believes, that there are divisions among the Corinthians when they come together — the same theme of factions from the beginning of the letter, now showing up at their meals.
  19. 1 Coríntios 11:19An almost ironic comment: it even makes sense for disagreements to exist, because they help reveal who is genuinely sincere in the faith within the group.
  20. 1 Coríntios 11:20He gets straight to the point: the way the Corinthians were coming together no longer even deserved to be called “the Lord’s supper,” so distorted had it become.
  21. 1 Coríntios 11:21The Lord’s Supper, in Corinth, was still a real meal, not just a piece of bread. The problem was that the wealthier members arrived first, eating and drinking well, while the poorer ones, who could only arrive after work, went hungry.
  22. 1 Coríntios 11:22An indignant question: do they not have homes of their own to eat and drink in, so why turn the communal meal into a source of humiliation for the poorer members, who arrived later and went hungry (v. 21)?
  23. 1 Coríntios 11:23Paul introduces the oldest existing tradition about the Supper, received directly “of the Lord”: on the night He was betrayed, Jesus took bread — the beginning of the account he carefully hands down to the Corinthians.
  24. 1 Coríntios 11:24Here Paul repeats the words Jesus spoke at the Last Supper, the same tradition found in the gospels: “Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.” He hands this down as something he “received of the Lord,” showing that this practice was already being passed on as fixed teaching among the churches.
  25. 1 Coríntios 11:25After eating, Jesus did the same with the cup, calling it the “new testament” in His blood — an instruction to repeat this act always in remembrance of Him, the core of what would become the Christian Supper.
  26. 1 Coríntios 11:26He explains the meaning of the ritual: every time the church partakes of the bread and the cup, it is publicly proclaiming the Lord’s death, until He comes — it is not just a meal, it is a declaration.
  27. 1 Coríntios 11:27That is why taking part in this Supper carelessly or dishonestly, as the wealthy Corinthians were doing, is treated as a serious offense against the very body and blood of the Lord.
  28. 1 Coríntios 11:28A practical solution: each person should examine themselves before taking part, assessing their own attitude and not that of others, before eating the bread and drinking from the cup.
  29. 1 Coríntios 11:29Whoever takes part without discerning the true meaning of the “Lord’s body,” without pausing to consider what it represents, is in practice bringing judgment upon himself.
  30. 1 Coríntios 11:30To “eat and drink unworthily” is to take part in the supper without recognizing that the bread represents the body of Christ, treating the meal like any ordinary dinner — the problem of the wealthy mentioned earlier in the chapter. Paul links this to sickness and death in the church, understanding it as discipline from God.
  31. 1 Coríntios 11:31A hopeful contrast: if the Corinthians examined themselves and corrected their own behavior, they would not need to suffer the judgment (sickness, death, v. 30) Paul had already mentioned.
  32. 1 Coríntios 11:32Even this judgment that has already happened has a good side: it is discipline from the Lord to correct believers now, so that they will not be condemned along with the world in the end.
  33. 1 Coríntios 11:33The final, practical solution to the problem of the wealthy eating before the poor arrived: wait for one another before beginning the communal meal.
  34. 1 Coríntios 11:34Whoever is very hungry should eat at home beforehand, so that the church’s gathering does not become a cause for judgment — smaller matters Paul promises to settle when he comes to visit.

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