1 Corinthians 11 explained: Head Coverings and the Lord's Supper

Following and remembering (vv. 1-2)

Verse 1 probably closes the previous chapter's argument: Paul asks them to copy him only as far as he copies Christ. He then praises them for keeping the teachings he handed on, before turning to problems.

Covered heads in worship (vv. 3-6)

Paul says a man should pray or prophesy (speak a message from God) bareheaded, and a woman with her head covered, since in that culture a woman's uncovered head could look as shameful as a shaved one. He takes for granted that women pray and prophesy aloud in worship; scholars debate whether 'head' in verse 3 means 'authority over' or 'source,' and whether the covering is a veil or long hair worn up.

Creation, angels and hair (vv. 7-16)

Paul argues from Genesis 2, where the woman is made from and for the man, then adds that in the Lord neither is independent of the other, since every man is born of a woman and all things come from God. His appeals to 'the angels,' to what 'nature' teaches about hair, and to the churches' shared custom are hard to pin down, and the translations differ on whether verse 10 means a sign of authority over her or her own authority over her head.

A meal that shamed the poor (vv. 17-22)

The church met in homes for a full shared meal that included the Lord's Supper, but some ate their own food first while others went hungry and some got drunk. Poorer members, probably arriving late with little to bring, were humiliated, and Paul says a meal like that is not really the Lord's Supper at all.

What Jesus handed on (vv. 23-26)

Paul repeats words he says came from the Lord: the bread is Jesus' body, the cup is the new covenant (a new agreement between God and people) sealed by his death, and sharing them proclaims that death until he returns. Catholic and Orthodox Christians read 'This is my body' as the bread and wine truly becoming Christ's body and blood, Lutherans see him truly present with them, and many other Protestants see a real but spiritual presence or a meal of remembrance.

Examine yourselves and wait (vv. 27-34)

In context, eating 'in an unworthy manner' points first to the contempt shown to poorer members, though Catholic, Orthodox and many other Christians also read it as a call to receive with faith and repentance. Readers differ on whether 'discerning the body' means recognizing Christ in the bread, the church as his body, or both. Paul bluntly links illnesses and some deaths among them to this, calling it the Lord's correction. He is speaking to one church's situation, not saying every illness or death is a punishment. He tells them to wait for one another and eat at home if they are hungry.

Key verse: 1 Corinthians 11:26

Where Christians differ

Christians differ over what verses 3 to 16 require today: some keep head coverings as a lasting command, many keep the idea of male leadership while treating the covering as a local custom, and others read the whole passage as cultural and stress the mutual dependence of verses 11 and 12.

Something to think about

In the groups you belong to, what small habits show who is treated as fully belonging and who is not?