Gathered Christianity

1 Corinthians 11:1–22 NASB95

Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also 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 cover her head. For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man; for indeed man was not created for the woman’s sake, but woman for the man’s sake. Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering. But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God. But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.

INTRO: Have you ever walked into a room and found yourself in the middle of a conversation that seems odd? I remember walking up on a conversation between two young ladies who were discussing the TV show, “The Bachelor”. They were reliving the events that unfolded in the latest episode, but at the same time seemed to be assigning themselves roles and l felt a bit odd. Oh sure, I could have just jumped in and started making comments, though I knew nothing of the show’s events. Should I just turn around and walk out?

There are times when we come across passages in the Bible that seem odd or out of place. Here in chapter 11, we begin to see some very specific cultural practices being addressed. There are two temptations for us that we want to avoid.

1 - We could read this passage and forget that there was a very different culture that is being addressed. In doing so, we can then prescribe actions or enact traditions based upon this Scripture that truly have no real meaning for us. But, we might feel very pious for doing so.

or

2- We could write this whole section off as culturally irrelevant and move on without paying any further attention to it.

But, we want to stay away from these two temptations. That is going to take some effort on our part. So, in our time together this morning, I want to bring to light that which is specific to the 1st century Corinthian culture, so that we can understand what I believe to be the main goal of this teaching.

To do this, we must recall that Chapter 10 ended with a call to “Live to the glory of God and the salvation of men”

If you remember, we were looking at our everyday, normal Christian life. In chapter 11, Paul moves from the proper everyday Christianity to the proper expressions of gathered Christianity.

What you should know about Corinth in the 1st century is that there were many false gods and idols. This was true before the 1st century- even in the early chapters of the Bible we are introduced to people who worship false gods. Because of the idolatrous practices and traditions, the Jewish people and Christians afterwards adopted traditions that were intended to stand in contrast to the pagan worshipers in order to give glory to God and to draw others to Him.

One such practice involved head coverings. Now, Paul doesn’t go into great explanation here because his readers understood and, by in large, practiced as Paul was instructing.

In the Pagan worship tradition, there were women who would ‘serve’ in the temples as prostitutes - this was part of their ‘worship’. to the pagan gods. These women would often have their heads shaved as this was meant to shame them for adulterous acts. A veil or shawl was tradition for Mediterranean women and was a symbol of honor for their husbands. Thus, for a lady to have her head uncovered was to show dishonor to her husband, and in the Pagan temple a symbol that she was an instrument of idolatry and adultery.

For men in the Pagan temple, a head covering was worn to demonstrate subjection to the false god. Perhaps a sign of anonymity as well, but either way a practice of idol-worshipers.

Now, again, these are traditional behaviors in the 1st century. So, when people were saved and brought into the Christian church, some mature believers understood their freedom (we talked about this a few weeks ago) and women would flaunt that freedom by uncovering their head- maybe because it was hot; Men would flaunt it by covering their head - maybe because they were cold!

The point is that by doing so, they were a distraction or stumbling block to new believers who came out of those idolatrous practices.

Now, in addressing this culturally specific issue, Paul underscores an enduring principle of worship. That is, there is a proper and improper way to gather as a church and worship.

So, with that in mind, I want to lead us through 3 principles of Public Worship that are drawn out here. If you picked up a bulletin, I encourage you to use the sermon guide and follow along with me. The sermon is titled, “Gathered Christianity”.

We begin by gathering with:

Proper Authority and Structure (1-3)

The Corinthian church seemed to understand this principle, as Paul praises them for remembering and keeping the traditions of worship that he taught them. Even so, he highlights a couple points that we want to grasp:

Look down at v. 3 (READ)

Let’s break this down- the whole cultural issue of head coverings is explained as dishonoring one’s head…but he isn’t talking about the head atop your shoulders physically. Here in v. 3, Paul is explaining how God designed the church and family to operate.

Jesus is the head of the every man.

This is to say that in the church, men need to understand that God has placed a responsibility on us. We are accountable to Jesus for how we worship and how we lead. We are to live and worship in a way that brings Him honor.

Husbands are the head of their wives

This is not about value. We’ll talk more on this in a moment. This is to say that men will give account to God for how they lead their wives and families. Because men have been given this charge, wives are to honor their husbands. The shawl was a visible symbol of honor and respect for her husband. If a woman did not bring honor to her husband during public worship, then there is no way the husband could honor Christ in worship because he is not fulfilling his role.

God is the head of Christ.

This draws us to understand how Jesus gives honor to God the Father. He humbled Himself, stepped down from His lofty throne in order to serve humanity and to give His life as a ransom. God was honored as Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, healed the sick, and proclaimed His Kingdom. God was honored as Jesus cried out, “Not my will, but Thine!” and paid the price for our sin. In all that Jesus did, He honored God the Father. Thus, the resurrected Jesus was given all authority by the Father (Mat. 28:18 and Rev. 5:5)

This structure is helps us to see how we can give honor to God by acknowledging the proper authority.

In the church, God has placed me here to pastor. And the Word of God says that I will give an account for how I shepherd this flock of God’s people. My desire to lead you well. But in order for me to lead well, I need your support. I need your commitment to God’s work here.

Men, each of us will give an account for how we lead our families. Just as Adam was charged with Eve’s rebellion, so we are accountable for the holiness of our brides.

How shall we lead them? The way Jesus led, by loving and serving them. Do not relegate this responsibility!

Ephesians 5:25 NASB95

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

Wives, let your husbands lead. Not because you are helpless and need their guidance - we all know that you are capable and competent - rather because God has given this structure for His glory. If your desire is to honor God, then honor your husband.

Discuss: Headship can be controversial in our society. How can we best understand structure and authority in the home and in the church?

Gathered Christianity begins with proper authority and structure. The next principle that Paul brings out in this passage is:

Proper Engagement and Involvement (4-16)

Worship is not a passive activity.

ILL: I want you to imagine that you are a high-school basketball coach. Now, you have a team of about 12 girls who signed up to play ball. Now, just suppose you hold practice, but when they come, they just stand around, and stare at you. You walk through shooting, dribbling, passing, etc. but they just stand there. Then comes the game. They show up, they dress out, but they just stand there. How effective is this?

The same is true in congregational worship. You have been taught to worship. You have been given tools. But if all you do is show up, then you are not engaging and thus not accomplishing the goal of giving honor to our Lord as a body.

Here, we can see that the Apostle Paul alludes to the normal engagement in worship of both men and women. Let me read v. 4-5 (READ)

This is almost a passing statement in this text, but if we are to understand public worship, we must acknowledge that Paul is not instructing prayer and prophesying (they knew to do this), but addresses the posture as this is expressed.

Therefore it is understood that both men and women are naturally engaged in public worship- Testifying of God’s power and mercy! Going before the throne of Grace in prayer- Interceding on behalf on one another, giving thanks to God in heaven!

Later on we will talk about Spiritual gifts, but we can understand from this reference that in the church, we are all to be involved and engaged!

We are called to worship together. We ought to be beating down the doors for the chance to engage in bringing honor to God.

And we do this according to God’s design. Men, let me reiterate that your first act of worship is to lead your family well. Ladies, your first act of worship is as a helpmate to your husband.

Paul draws us back to creation to help us to see that we were created to bring glory to God in specific roles and reminds us in Verse 11 that men and women both have equal value in God’s eyes and that we need one another.

ILL: Mark McCall was telling me about an encounter he and Dolly had at a restaurant a few weeks back. There was, if I remember right, a Hispanic pastor or missionary that was there and was telling Mark that the husband is the head of the household… and the wife is the neck.

Look, church is not meant to be a men’s only club or a women’s only club. Gathered worship is for us all to engage in. It is necessary for us to have proper structure and proper engagement in order to bring glory to God.

Discuss: How engaged are you in worship? When have you spoken of God’s goodness in your life?

But finally, I want to draw us to the more serious correction that Paul is offering in this section of Scripture. This correction highlight the principle of :

Proper Fellowship and Accord (17-22)

Verse 17 stands in contrast to v. 2. The church in Corinth had remembered the traditions, but they missed the point of gathering for public worship.

It would be much like looking at a congregation who was faithful to come to the service, but they were doing it for the wrong reasons. Their worship had faded into a mere tradition.

Let’ read again what Paul tells them in v. 17-22 (READ).

If you were with us when we began this study, you know that there were divisions/ factions in the Corinthian church. Some were through preference of teaching, others through economic or social factions.

Here Paul condemns the church because they were gathering as outright hypocrites.

Once again, Paul points to the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. If you were here last week, we noted that our identity is proclaimed as we take the Lord’s Supper. We are united as a body in Christ.

There is equal footing here. Social and economic advantages/ disadvantages are not present in Christ. If you are in Christ this morning, your past does not place you farther down the stream of grace. Your good deeds don’t give you a leg up above another.

No, we are all sinners who have experienced the life-changing Gospel of Jesus!

In the Corinthian church, there would be a group who would come together for a scheduled Lord’s Supper ceremony.

Now, it’s worth noting that they did not have tiny pre-filled cups of juice or wine and a chicklet-sized square of bread. No, it was bread and wine that they were to share with one another.

Before taking the Lord’s Supper, they would have a nice pot-luck dinner.

You see, some folks got there and decided to go ahead and eat and drink before the whole church was gathered. Then, by the time everyone was there, these folks had eaten all the food and drank all the wine! Any ceremonious taking of the Lord’s Supper was trivialized because part of the congregation was left out of the fellowship.

The church was not united- Some were so selfish and prideful that they cared nothing about unity or even the purpose of the Lord’s Supper. They just came in and misused the elements set aside for celebrating the covenant of Christ with no regard for the church.

Here is our key: If we are going to honor Christ, then we must come together, UNITED in CHRIST. We ought not to let preferences or social status create divisions. Christ is not divided, thus His church should not be either!

So what?

As we close, I want to offer this encouragement and challenge: We are going to pray and sing in a moment. As we sing, I am asking you to think through your commitment to honor Jesus Christ. Is your worship sincere and consistent? Are you united in Christ?

Men, are you honoring Christ in the way you lead your family? How about in your engagement in the church?

Ladies, are you honoring Christ in your role as a helpmate and worshiper?

Single folks and children, are you bringing honor to the Lord in how you engage in worship?

If your life is not honoring Christ, maybe you’ve never trusted Him for salvation. I’ll be down front and would love to speak with you.

Discuss: How can you be a part of unifying the body of Christ at LRBC?