In this chapter, Paul continues to address issues in the church of Corinth that he had heard were causing division and poor testimony. He specifically discusses head coverings for women and the Lord's Supper, but his goal is to help Christians understand the importance of showing submission to the authority of God and proper reverence for Christ, his Son.
“But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God."(v3). Paul lays out the hierarchy of authority God intended for believers to submit to. God, then Christ, then man, then woman. In Bible days and all the way up to the 19th century, married women kept their hair covered as a sign of the husband being in authority over them. This is no longer a cultural norm but there is still an expectation that believers submit to authority. As women, we are to let God be sovereign over our lives and respect our husbands as the leaders of our family.
Just today I was listening to Susie Larson speak and she made the comment "You have no authority unless you are under authority". She went on to say that Satan tries to get us to disrespect God's authority through our unbelief and independence and how that cripples us. But, when we get back in rank, God can empower us in our Spiritual walk.
Paul points out that God has designated roles for men and women. He also points out that in God's eyes, men and women both are equally valuable and interdependent. “Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.” (11-12). The roles God designed for men and women should promote love, harmony, and serve to honor Him.
During the final 1/2 of this chapter Paul scrutinizes the behaviors of the church when they assembled together, especially when observing the Lord's Supper. He describes a sort of free for all where reverence for what the Lord's Supper represented had been lost. Instead of focusing on self examination and what Christ gave in sacrificing his body, the supper observance had become a type of "Happy Hour". “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”(27-28)
Worshiping God involves being honest with God and allowing God to purge the deepest, darkest places within us.
Worshiping God involves being honest with God and allowing God to purge the deepest, darkest places within us.
Even today, we have to be careful to preserve true worship for that is what we were created for...to worship the one true God. Church is meant to be a place of social interaction but not at the expense of shutting out God. We have to be careful to show reverence to God, reverence to Christ and respect to each other as part of His body. It's easy to become complacent and lose focus. God is not honored by our presence in a place of worship if our heart is not in a state of worship. We must be diligent to maintain a heart of worship and praise.