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Roles in Worship

¹ You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.² Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you.³ But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.⁴ Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.⁵ And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved.⁶ If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off. And if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.⁷ A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.⁸ For man did not come from woman, but woman from man.⁹ Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.¹⁰ For this reason a woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.¹¹ In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.¹² For just as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.¹³ Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?¹⁴ Doesn’t 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 long hair is given to her as a covering.¹⁶ If anyone is inclined to dispute this, we have no other practice, nor do the churches of God.

Sharing in the Lord’s Supper

(Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14-23)

¹⁷ In the following instructions I have no praise to offer, because your gatherings do more harm than good.¹⁸ First of all, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.¹⁹ And indeed, there must be differences among you to show which of you are approved.²⁰ Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat.²¹ For as you eat, many of you proceed with your own meal to the exclusion of others. While one remains hungry, another gets drunk.²² Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No I will not!

²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread,²⁴ and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you^(a); do this in remembrance of Me.”²⁵ In the same way, after supper He 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.”²⁶ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.²⁷ Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.²⁸ Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.³⁰ That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.³¹ Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment.³² But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.³³ So, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.³⁴ If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.