Knowing Your Place

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Start with Application Testimony

[Give people an opportunity to share a testimony from last week’s exhortation]

Last week’s exhortation: Ask the Lord to reveal which rights you’re holding onto that hinder His calling on your life - then start letting them go.

INTRO

We are going verse-by-verse, in a topical study through I & II Corinthians

Current Topic: Becoming Mature - The personal discipline of becoming like Jesus

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been learning that maturity means becoming more like Jesus in how we live. In chapter 10, we saw the call to reject sinful desires and choose God’s way. Chapter 8 reminded us that love - not knowledge - is the measure of maturity, and chapter 9 showed us the power of giving up our rights for the sake of others. As we step into chapter 11, we continue by asking how we show honor to God and one another when we gather.

Paul begins this chapter by addressing a complex, culturally specific issue regarding men and women in worship. Here are some things to keep in mind as we go:

Every era and culture comes with lots of assumed and implied meaning behind people’s words. As we read, we will want to be careful not to read our present cultural and social issues, and assumptions, into what Paul is saying.

A deep dive into some of Paul’s statements and the cultural understanding of his audience would take a separate study. We’re not going to do that today. Instead we’re focusing on the universal principles that emerge from the passage and those notes that help us to identify them.

For more commentary on these matters, there are footnotes at the end of this lesson.

READ

1 Corinthians 11 CSB

1 Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ. 2 Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions just as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with something on his head dishonors his head. 5 Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since that is one and the same as having her head shaved. 6 For if a woman doesn’t cover her head, she should have her hair cut off. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her head be covered. 7 A man should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God. So too, woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman came from man. 9 Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man. 10 This is why a woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, and man is not independent of woman. 12 For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman, and all things come from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to argue about this, we have no other custom, nor do the churches of God. 17 Now in giving this instruction I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For to begin with, I hear that when you come together as a church there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 Indeed, it is necessary that there be factions among you, so that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 When you come together, then, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For at the meal, each one eats his own supper. So one person is hungry while another gets drunk! 22 Don’t you have homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I do not praise you in this matter! 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep. 31 If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged, 32 but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, welcome one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you gather together you will not come under judgment. I will give instructions about the other matters whenever I come.

EXAMINE

#1 | We are not self-determining - we have a role and a function

God has designed us differently.

1 Corinthians 11:8–9,11-12 “...man did not come from woman, but woman came from man. 9 Neither was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man… 11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, and man is not independent of woman. 12 For just as woman came from man, so man comes through woman, and all things come from God.”

Paul points out an insightful contrast: whereas Eve was created from Adam, ever since then, every man has been created in a woman’s womb. It’s a perfect example of how God designed both equality and distinction into the human race.

This mirrors the Trinity - the Father, Son, and Spirit are equal yet distinct in role and function. (Consider verse 3)

Our equality in Christ doesn’t erase our distinctiveness.

1 Corinthians 11:7,10 “A man should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God. So too, woman is the glory of man… 10 This is why a woman should have a symbol of authority on her head...”

What Paul is providing is a culturally relevant way for the Corinthian men and women to operate together at the same level in the church, while honoring the God-given distinctiveness of male and female.

In Christ we are all equal - yet the distinctions God gave us remain a part of His plan and purpose for each of us.

#2 | We have to see ourselves as part of a larger interconnected whole

Our relationship with Christ is not separate from our relationship with one another in the church.

1 Corinthians 11:17–18,20 “...you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For to begin with, I hear that when you come together as a church there are divisions among you… 20 When you come together, then, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.”

Paul is giving them a very strong rebuke, saying that Christ was not present in their communion because of their failure to receive one another in mutual love and honor.

What we do to others in the church, we do to Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:27–29 “...whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord… 29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

What was the “unworthy manner” in which they were celebrating communion?

They weren’t pursuing unity. They didn’t love and honor one another. They didn’t recognize that Christ was represented by their own brothers and sisters in the room. (i.e. “recognizing the body”)

#3 | We have to keep a check on our ego

Our natural tendency will always be to exert our own will and independence.

From the beginning, humanity’s consistent sin has been to reject God’s designs and roles for us and to remake ourselves according to our own designs. This is what’s happening in Genesis 3:1-6 with the Serpent and Adam and Eve.

The immature think maturity is about autonomy and self-creation. But the mature know the value of community and authority. (Ephesians 4:10-16)

You cannot be mature and unaccountable. Maturity loves accountability and thrives in it.

So we must not wait to be called out - we must proactively evaluate ourselves.

1 Corinthians 11:31 “If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged,”

We find ourselves in hot water when we allow our ego to go unchecked, or worse yet, embrace the lies of autonomy and self-creation.

We can save ourselves a lot of pain by evaluating ourselves and proactively submitting to the authority of God to define our identity, position, and purpose.

REFLECT

Let’s take a moment to pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to highlight and draw our attention to what He wants us to see and understand today

APPLY

Process the passage together with these questions:

[Allow the conversation to go where people take it - we want people to feel the liberty to explore the topics of the passage that stand out to them. Select the questions from below that you think are right for the conversation, or add your own. Questions should be focused, yet open-ended. Wherever the conversation goes, help your group “land the plane” on the core idea of the lesson when you wrap up.]

In what ways do equality and distinctiveness both show up in healthy relationships?

How does the way we treat others in the church reflect what we actually believe about Jesus?

How might embracing your God-given role and identity bring peace instead of pressure?

Where we want to “land the plane”

We are not self-made, we are God-designed, with purpose and distinction. In Christ, we’re equal, but we’re not interchangeable, and our unity depends on honoring both God and one another. Maturity means letting go of ego, embracing accountability, and recognizing that we’re part of something bigger than ourselves. When we see each other rightly, we’ll see Jesus more clearly too.

Exhortation for the Week

Reflect on how you view your role in the body of Christ. Let this be a week of surrender, where you trade ego for obedience and isolation for connection.

FOOTNOTES

Thoughts on Paul’s gender distinctions. In this chapter, then, Paul is trying to reform both men and women in the Corinthian congregation who continue to take their cues for religious behavior from analogous practices in other religious settings in Corinth. He celebrates the mutual interdependence of male and female and the dependence of all on God as the source of everything and everyone. For Paul, equality in Christ has more to do with whose one is than with who one is. All are equally creatures of God and people for whom Christ died and thus of sacred worth. All are not gifted in the same way and all do not share the same function or task. But Paul’s conception of equality is not just a nebulous theological idea. It has social implications. Social ranking is the world’s way of valuing or evaluating people, and in Paul’s view the form of this world is passing away. Therefore, he is happy to dismantle such ways of measuring people. But gender distinction is not something human beings created. Paul sees it as a good gift of God, and he wishes it manifested and so celebrated in Christian worship. He does not believe that there is some neutral core of personhood that has nothing to do with sexual identity. Nor does he believe that sexual distinctions are or will be obliterated in the order of redemption. His theology of the redemption of the body points to belief that Christians are both initially and finally redeemed as men and women of God. One must not confuse the social structures of fallen human patriarchy with Paul’s arguments about the structure of the ekklēsia, which involve the importance and value of affirming gender differences. Furthermore, Paul’s vision of headship or leadership involves the leader in being the head servant—the oikonomos or household steward in the house of God. In Christ, Paul thus inverts the world’s order of who must serve and who will be served. Ben Witherington III, Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), 239–240.

Various Commentators on Head Coverings, Gender Roles, and Honor in Worship

Kenneth E. Bailey Source: Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes (IVP, 2008), esp. pp. 301–320.

Bailey interprets the head covering issue through the lens of Middle Eastern honor-shame culture.

The covering is a cultural symbol of relational integrity and public respect, not a theological mandate.

Paul emphasizes mutual interdependence between men and women (vv.11–12), counterbalancing his use of creation order.

“Nature” refers to societal norms, not biological fact.

Gordon D. Fee Source: Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NICNT, Eerdmans, 1987), pp. 490–530.

Argues the passage is culturally specific and not prescribing timeless church practices.

Paul’s focus is on correcting inappropriate behavior in worship, not on laying down universal rules.

Fee highlights Paul’s rhetorical strategy—appealing to creation, culture, and mutuality.

Craig S. Keener Source: Keener, Paul, Women, and Wives (Hendrickson, 1992), pp. 19–28.

Stresses the Greco-Roman context: uncovered heads on women could be seen as immodest or dishonorable.

Paul’s instructions aim to avoid unnecessary offense in public worship.

Emphasizes that Paul permits women to speak publicly in church (v.5), showing that the issue is how they do so.

Ben Witherington III Source: Witherington, Conflict and Community in Corinth (Eerdmans, 1995), pp. 230–246.

Suggests Paul balances symbolic headship with affirmation of women’s active roles in worship.

Rejects the idea that Paul teaches subordination of essence; rather, he addresses order and respectability in Corinthian worship.

N.T. Wright Relevant Source: Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (SPCK, 2003), general reflections on chs. 10–11.

While not offering detailed commentary on this exact text, Wright often emphasizes Paul’s broader goal of community order and unity in Christ.

Notes that New Testament teaching trends toward mutuality and partnership rather than hierarchy.

In Summary - Key Thematic Insights

Cultural Symbolism: Head coverings were cultural markers of honor and gender identity—not eternal theological requirements.

Public Worship: Women are expected to pray and prophesy publicly (v.5), implying active participation is assumed and affirmed.

Creation Order vs. Mutuality: Paul uses Genesis to establish order but immediately emphasizes that “in the Lord,” man and woman are interdependent (vv.11–12).

"Head" (Greek: kephalē): Debated term; could mean "authority" or "source." Fee and others argue for “source” in this context.

"Nature" (v.14): Likely refers to social custom or common perception rather than biological fact.

Main Aim: Paul seeks to preserve unity, honor, and cultural credibility in worship—not to establish universal dress codes or gender hierarchy.