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1 Corinthians 11

Paul brings the Corinthians’ worship under Christ’s authority, confronting dishonor in their gatherings and contempt for those who lack food.

Paul addresses the Corinthian believers about conduct in their gatherings. He begins with imitation of Christ, then discusses head coverings for men and women who pray or prophesy, appealing to creation and their dependence on one another in the Lord. He then confronts divisions at the Lord’s Supper: some eat ahead and become drunk while others go hungry. Recounting Jesus’ words over the bread and cup, Paul calls for self-examination and tells them to wait for one another.

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1Be imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.
2Now I praise you, brothers, that you remember me in all things, and hold firm the traditions, even 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 man, and the head of Christ is God.
4Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head.
5But every woman praying or prophesying with her head uncovered dishonors her head. For it is one and the same thing as if she were shaved.
6For if a woman is not covered, let her hair also be cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or be shaved, let her be covered.
7For a man indeed ought not to have his head covered, because he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man.
9for man wasn’t created for the woman, but woman for the man.
10For this cause the woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels.
11Nevertheless, neither is the woman independent of the man, nor the man independent of the woman, in the Lord.
12For as woman came from man, so a man also comes through a woman; but all things are from God.
13Judge for yourselves. Is it appropriate that a woman pray to God unveiled?
14Doesn’t even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?
16But if any man seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither do God’s assemblies.
17But in giving you this command I don’t praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.
18For first of all, when you come together in the assembly, I hear that divisions exist among you, and I partly believe it.
19For there also must be factions among you, that those who are approved may be revealed among you.
20When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.
21For in your eating each one takes his own supper first. One is hungry, and another is drunken.
22What, don’t you have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise God’s assembly and put them to shame who don’t have enough? What shall I tell you? Shall I praise you? In this I don’t praise you.
23For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread.
24When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.”
25In the same way he also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.”
26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way eats and drinks judgment to himself if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body.
30For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
31For if we discerned ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged.
32But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
34But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest your coming together be for judgment. The rest I will set in order whenever I come.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
1 Corinthians 11:1Paul places his own example under Christ’s, establishing whose pattern must govern the Corinthians’ conduct.
1 Corinthians 11:23Jesus’ actions on the night of his betrayal establish the received practice against which Paul judges their divided meals.
1 Corinthians 11:32Paul distinguishes the Lord’s discipline from condemnation with the world, explaining the purpose of judgment within the assembly.
Where this chapter reaches

Genesis supplies the creation account behind Paul’s discussion of man and woman, while Matthew shares the event of Jesus taking bread and the cup before his death. Hebrews shares the teaching that the Lord’s discipline serves the good of those who belong to him.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

How does Paul’s account of Jesus’ last supper expose what has gone wrong at Corinth’s meals?

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What might waiting for one another reveal about how your church treats people who have less?

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Questions people ask about 1 Corinthians 11

Does 1 Corinthians 11 require women to wear head coverings?

Paul directs women praying or prophesying to cover their heads and men to leave theirs uncovered. He appeals to creation, honor, and the practice of the assemblies. Christians differ over whether the required covering is a garment or hair, and how the instruction applies across cultures. The passage assumes women pray and prophesy.

What does taking communion in an unworthy way mean?

The immediate setting is a divided meal where some become drunk while others go hungry and suffer shame. Paul warns against eating and drinking without discerning the Lord’s body. Interpreters differ over the full scope of that phrase. His stated response is self-examination, followed by eating, and waiting for one another.

Why does Paul say some Corinthians were sick or had died?

Paul connects weakness, sickness, and death among the Corinthians with their abuse of the Lord’s Supper. In verse 30, sleep refers to death. He describes this judgment as the Lord’s discipline, aimed at preventing condemnation with the world. This specific explanation does not establish that every illness or death results from a particular sin.

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What the Bible says about worship →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).