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1 Corinthians 11

KJV · Chapter 11/16

1Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

2Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you.

3But 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.

4Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

5But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

6For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

7For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

8For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.

9Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

10For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

11Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.

12For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

13Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?

14Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

15But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

16But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

17Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.

18For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

19For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

20When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.

21For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

22What? have ye not houses to eat and to 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.

23For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.

27Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

29For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

30For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

31For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

32But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

33Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.

34And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

📖 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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 Corinthians 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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