1 Corinthians 10-15 Notes

1 Corinthians 10-11: Head Coverings and the Lord’s Supper

Imitation of Christ: Paul encourages the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ.
Headship and Authority:
- The head of every man is Christ.
- The head of a wife is her husband.
- The head of Christ is God.
Head Coverings:
- A man who prays or prophesies with a covered head dishonors his head (Christ).
- A woman who prays or prophesies with an uncovered head dishonors her head (her husband); it is equivalent to having her head shaved.
- If a woman refuses to cover her head, she should cut her hair short. If it's disgraceful to cut or shave her hair, she should cover it.
- A man should not cover his head because he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man.
- Woman was created from man and for man.
- A woman should have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels.
- In the Lord, men and women are interdependent.
Nature and Custom:
- Nature teaches that long hair is a disgrace for men but a glory for women.
- A woman’s hair is given to her as a covering.
- If anyone is contentious about this issue, the church has no such practice.
Problems at the Lord’s Supper:
- Paul does not commend them for their gatherings, which are for the worse due to divisions.
- When they come together, it is not truly the Lord’s Supper they are eating.
- People eat their own meals, leading to some being hungry and others drunk.
- They are despising the church of God and humiliating those who have nothing.
The Institution of the Lord’s Supper:
- The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
- He also took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
- Eating the bread and drinking the cup proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Proper Participation:
- Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup unworthily will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.
- A person should examine themselves before eating the bread and drinking the cup.
- Eating and drinking without discerning the body brings judgment.
- Some are weak, ill, or have even died because of this.
- If we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.
- Being judged by the Lord is discipline to avoid condemnation with the world.
Practical Instructions:
- Wait for one another when coming together to eat.
- If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home to avoid judgment.

1 Corinthians 12: Spiritual Gifts

Unity and Diversity: Paul emphasizes that he doesn't want the Corinthians to be uninformed about spiritual gifts.
Source of Gifts: Spiritual gifts come from the same Spirit, the same Lord, and the same God who empowers them all.
Confession of Jesus: No one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, “Jesus is accursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
Manifestation for the Common Good: To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Varieties of Gifts:
- Utterance of wisdom.
- Utterance of knowledge.
- Faith.
- Gifts of healing.
- Working of miracles.
- Prophecy.
- Ability to distinguish between spirits.
- Various kinds of tongues.
- Interpretation of tongues.
Empowerment and Apportionment: All gifts are empowered by the same Spirit, who distributes to each one individually as He wills.
The Body of Christ Analogy:
- The body is one and has many members, all forming one body, just as it is with Christ.
- All were baptized into one body by one Spirit, regardless of background (Jews, Greeks, slaves, free).
Interdependence of Members:
- The body does not consist of one member but of many.
- Each part is essential, and none can claim to be unnecessary.
- God arranged the members in the body as He chose.
Mutual Care:
- There should be no division in the body; members should care for one another.
- If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Appointment of Leaders: God has appointed in the church:
- Apostles
- Prophets
- Teachers
- Miracles
- Gifts of healing
- Helping
- Administrating
- Various kinds of tongues.
Desire for Higher Gifts: Paul urges them to earnestly desire the higher gifts and promises to show a more excellent way.

1 Corinthians 13: The More Excellent Way of Love

Love Defined: Love is the most excellent way.
The Supremacy of Love:
- Speaking in tongues or having prophetic powers, understanding, knowledge, or faith without love is worthless.
- Giving away possessions or delivering up one’s body without love gains nothing.
Qualities of Love:
- Patient and kind.
- Not envious or boastful.
- Not arrogant or rude.
- Does not insist on its own way.
- Not irritable or resentful.
- Does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
- Bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things.
The Permanence of Love: Love never ends, while prophecies, tongues, and knowledge will pass away.
Partial vs. Perfect: We know and prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
Maturity Analogy: As a child, one speaks, thinks, and reasons like a child, but maturity involves leaving childish ways.
Present and Future Vision: Now we see dimly, but then face to face; now we know in part, but then we shall know fully.
The Abiding Virtues: Faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 14: Prophecy and Tongues

Pursuit of Love and Spiritual Gifts: Paul encourages the pursuit of love and the earnest desire for spiritual gifts, especially prophecy.
Speaking in Tongues vs. Prophecy:
- One who speaks in a tongue speaks to God, not to men, uttering mysteries in the Spirit.
- One who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding, encouragement, and consolation.
- Speaking in tongues builds up oneself, while prophesying builds up the church.
Preference for Prophecy: Paul wants all to speak in tongues but even more to prophesy, as prophecy is greater unless tongues are interpreted.
Intelligibility:
- If Paul came speaking in tongues without revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or teaching, it would be of no benefit.
- Like lifeless instruments (flute, harp, bugle), speech must be intelligible to be useful.
- Speaking unintelligibly is like speaking into the air.
Foreign Languages: If one does not know the meaning of a language, they are a foreigner to the speaker.
Building Up the Church: Strive to excel in building up the church through understandable communication.
Interpretation is Key: Those who speak in tongues should pray for the power to interpret.
Praying with Spirit and Mind: Pray with the spirit and the mind, sing praise with both as well.
Thanksgiving:
- If giving thanks with the spirit, how can an outsider say "amen" if they don't understand?
- In church, it's better to speak a few understandable words than many in a tongue.
Maturity in Thinking: Be mature in thinking, not childish.
Tongues as a Sign for Unbelievers: Tongues are a sign for unbelievers, while prophecy is for believers.
Orderly Worship:
- If everyone speaks in tongues and outsiders enter, they may think you are out of your minds.
- If one prophesies and an unbeliever enters, they will be convicted and worship God.
- Each should contribute something for building up: a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.
- Maximum of two or three speakers in tongues, each in turn, with interpretation.
- If no interpreter, keep silent in church.
- Two or three prophets should speak, and others should weigh what is said.
- If a revelation is made to another, the first should be silent.
- All can prophesy one by one for learning and encouragement.
God's Nature and Church Conduct: God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
Women in the Church: Women should keep silent in the churches and be in submission.
Authority and Command: Recognize that Paul's instructions are a command of the Lord.
Conclusion: Earnestly desire to prophesy, do not forbid speaking in tongues, but do all things decently and in order.

1 Corinthians 15: The Resurrection of Christ and the Dead

The Gospel Reminder: Paul reminds them of the gospel he preached, which they received, in which they stand, and by which they are saved if they hold fast to it.
Core Elements of the Gospel:
- Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures.
- He was buried.
- He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
- He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
- He appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time.
- He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
- Last of all, he appeared to Paul.
The Resurrection's Importance: If Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some say there is no resurrection of the dead?
Consequences of No Resurrection:
- If there is no resurrection, then Christ has not been raised.
- If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching and your faith are in vain.
- We are misrepresenting God.
- You are still in your sins.
- Those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
- If our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are to be pitied.
Christ's Resurrection as Firstfruits: Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Order of Resurrection:
- Christ, the firstfruits.
- Then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.
- Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father.
Christ's Reign: Christ must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet; the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Ultimate Subjection: When all things are subjected to Christ, then the Son will be subjected to God, that God may be all in all.
Baptism for the Dead: If the dead are not raised, why are people baptized on their behalf?
Paul's Daily Struggles: Paul faces danger every hour and affirms that he dies every day.
The Futility of Worldly Gain: What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."
Moral Implications: Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals."
Knowledge of God: Some have no knowledge of God, to your shame I say this.
The Nature of the Resurrected Body:
- How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?
- What is sown does not come to life unless it dies.
- God gives it a body as he has chosen, each kind of seed its own body.
Types of Bodies:
- There are different kinds of flesh: humans, animals, birds, fish.
- There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, each with its own glory.
- The sun, moon, and stars each have their own glory.
Resurrection Transformation:
- What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
- It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.
- It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
- It is sown a natural (or soulish) body; it is raised a spiritual body.
The Two Adams:
- The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
- The natural came first, then the spiritual.
- The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
- As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
Bearing the Image: Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Flesh and Blood: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
The Mystery of Transformation: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
Victory Over Death:
- The perishable must put on the imperishable, and the mortal must put on immortality.