Who Gets the Glory? - 1 Corinthians 11

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11 make the church slow down. The text does not let familiar assumptions, cultural instincts, or inherited church traditions sit above Scripture. Paul’s difficult language about heads, coverings, glory, authority, and even angels raises real questions, and the whole text gets a vote. Scripture sometimes confirms what Christians already believe, sometimes corrects it, and sometimes makes them admit that a matter is more complicated than they thought.

Corinth’s honor-shame culture gave public meaning to hair, clothing, wealth, family, and social position. Paul writes to real people in that real culture, not to abstract people detached from their world. The passage therefore resists easy answers that simply drop twenty-first-century assumptions about gender, authority, or coverings into Corinth. Paul also refuses readings that stress authority while skipping, “Nevertheless, in the Lord, woman is not independent of man or man independent of woman.”

The Lord places men and women in a relationship of dependence, because all things come from God. Authority cannot become an excuse for self-importance. Corinth asks, “How do I establish my honor?” but the kingdom asks how God receives glory and how his gifts can serve others.

Paul then turns from head coverings to the Lord’s Supper, and the heart problem remains the same. The Corinthians bring status, rights, and self-protection to Christ’s table. Some eat until they are full, some drink until they are drunk, and others go hungry and are humiliated. Their gathering has food, words, and religious activity, but it contradicts the gospel their meal is supposed to proclaim. Paul says that when they gather this way, it is not the Lord’s Supper they are eating.

Jesus stands in direct contrast to Corinth. The Corinthians guard their portion, but Jesus takes bread, breaks it, and says, “This is my body, which is for you.” The Corinthians use abundance without love, but Jesus gives himself. The Corinthians humiliate the weak, but Jesus bears shame to reconcile sinners. The Lord, who possesses all authority, takes the lowest place and gives himself away.

Christ’s table leaves no room for a better place bought by wealth, status, confidence, or visibility. Paul’s warning about eating in an unworthy manner does not tell sinners to make themselves worthy enough to come. Paul warns them not to proclaim the self-giving Christ while carrying selfishness, contempt, division, and disregard for Christ’s body. God’s discipline rescues his people from what is destroying them. The cross forms a people who stop grasping for glory, wait for one another, receive grace with empty hands, and give themselves in love.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The whole text gets a vote [15:31] Scripture should not be forced to support conclusions formed before reading it. Paul’s difficult words and his words of mutual dependence must remain together. A faithful reading allows Scripture to question both certainty and convenience. The Bible does not exist to protect inherited preferences. [15:31]
• 2. In the Lord, none are independent [16:17] Paul refuses self-sufficiency as a category for Christian life. Men and women depend on one another, and all things ultimately come from God. Authority loses its distortion when it is detached from self-importance. Dependence becomes an act of humility before the Giver of every good thing. [16:17]
• 3. Christ gives what Corinth grasps for [21:57] Corinth asks, “What is mine?” while Jesus says, “This is my body, which is for you.” Christ uses absolute authority not to secure privilege but to give himself away. The cross exposes every attempt to use gifts, influence, or resources to establish personal glory. Love begins where grasping ends. [21:57]
• 4. Examine the heart, not others [28:17] Paul calls each person to examine personal patterns of recognition-seeking, disregard, and self-protection. The table is not a place to measure another person’s failures. God’s discipline is not rejection of his people but rescue from the desires destroying them. Honest self-examination makes room for healing and surrender. [28:17]
• 5. Wait for one another at Christ’s table [40:07] Paul’s final instruction is ordinary and searching: wait for one another. Christ’s body cannot be honored while another member is ignored, embarrassed, or left without care. Every place at the table is received as a gift, never earned through status or strength. Christ’s grace turns empty hands into lives given in love.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:31] - 1 Corinthians 11 and Head Coverings
• [06:23] - Sitting With a Difficult Text
• [07:58] - Bringing Assumptions Under Scripture
• [10:26] - Corinth’s Honor-Shame Culture
• [15:31] - The Whole Text Gets a Vote
• [17:24] - Glory, Honor, and the Kingdom
• [18:01] - Division at the Lord’s Supper
• [20:37] - Jesus Gives Himself for Others
• [23:30] - Receiving Christ’s Gift
• [25:45] - Eating and Drinking Worthily
• [28:17] - Examine Yourself
• [31:22] - God Forms Christ’s Life in His People
• [35:41] - Receiving the Bread
• [39:14] - Receiving the Cup
• [40:07] - Wait for One Another

Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 11:17–34

17 Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. [18:01]

18 For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that 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. [18:31]

21 For at the meal, each one eats his own supper. So one person is hungry while another is drunk! [18:35]

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 for this! [18:42]

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.” [20:37]

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.” [21:00]

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. [21:12]

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. [26:01]

28 Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup. [26:15]

29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. [26:22]

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. [26:35]

33 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, welcome one another. [26:48]

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. [26:55]

Observation questions

1. What specific problems does Paul identify in the Corinthians’ gatherings, especially concerning food, drink, and those who have little? [19:09]
2. What contrast does Paul place between the Corinthians guarding “their own supper” and Jesus saying, “This is my body, which is for you”? [21:20]
3. According to verses 27–32, what words does Paul use to describe coming to the table wrongly, and what does he say God’s discipline is meant to prevent? [27:34]
4. What simple instruction closes this part of the passage, and how does it address the divisions described earlier? [40:07]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Paul say that a meal with the right food and religious words may still not truly be the Lord’s Supper? What did the Corinthians’ treatment of poorer believers proclaim about Christ? [20:02]
2. Jesus has all authority, yet gives himself for others. How does that shape the meaning of authority, influence, or leadership among Christians? [22:10]
3. Paul tells believers to examine themselves, not to make themselves worthy enough to come. What is the difference between receiving Christ’s grace as a needy sinner and approaching the table while holding onto contempt, division, or selfishness? [27:09]
4. Paul says that men and women are not independent of one another and that all things come from God. How does this keep Christians from using authority, gifts, or biblical convictions as reasons for self-importance? [15:31]

Application questions

1. Where are you most tempted to ask, “What is mine?”—with your time, money, attention, abilities, comfort, or opportunities? What might it look like to use that gift for someone else this week? [25:22]
2. Is there anyone in the church, workplace, family, or neighborhood who could feel overlooked, embarrassed, or left out because of differences in money, confidence, status, or visibility? What is one practical way you could make room for them? [40:12]
3. When you read a difficult Bible passage, do you tend to search for support for what you already think, avoid the passage, or let the whole text challenge you? What assumption or familiar interpretation might you need to hold more humbly? [15:06]
4. Paul’s call to self-examination directs attention away from another person’s failures and toward one’s own heart. In a current conflict or frustration, what might change if you first asked where you are seeking recognition, protecting your portion, or insisting on being right? [28:21]
5. Is there a place where you have been using freedom, resources, or influence without enough love for others? What would a more Christ-shaped response look like in that situation? [28:39]
6. Christ’s table is a gift; no one earns a better place through strength, reputation, wealth, or spiritual confidence. Where do you still feel pressure to prove yourself to God or to other people? How can you receive Christ’s grace with empty hands this week? [22:52]
7. “Wait for one another” can look ordinary, but it honors Christ’s body. What might waiting for one another look like in your small group, household, or church gathering—especially for those who move more slowly, speak less, or have less to offer publicly? [40:07]