Bible

In the Bible room today, we continue reading the book of I Corinthians with Session 5, the summaries of chapters 11 and 12.

____________________________________

I Corinthians

Session 5

Chapter 11. Remember

I will begin here by thanking you for always remembering me,

• And holding to all the teaching I have given you;
• Now I want you to understand that the leader of man is Christ;
• The man is the leader of the woman, and God leads Christ;
• It is a dishonor for a man to pray or preach with his head
• Covered, but it is a dishonor for a woman to pray or preach
• With her head not covered; Also, a woman whose head has
• Been shaved should be covered; A man is the image of God and
• Should not be covered, but woman is the image of man so she
• Should always be covered; The head covering for a woman is
• The symbol of authority, honoring the angels; However, in the
• Lord, neither man nor woman is independent from the other;
• For the woman came from man, but now the man comes from
• A woman, and everyone comes from God; However, I am  
• Leaving these issues for you to decide among yourselves as to
• What is best: Should a woman’s head be uncovered when she
• Prays to God? Is it a dishonor for a man to have long hair? If a
• Woman happens to have long hair, it could be considered a
• Blessing, as it is there for a covering; But there is no teaching
• From God, or in any of the churches on these matters, so, if
• There are disagreements, you must resolve them yourselves;
• I need to tell you that I am not at all happy that I must address
• Your behavior when you take the Lord’s supper; In fact, it
• Seems to me, from what I am hearing, that this service is
• Making your unity worse, not better; You should know who
• The real believers are among you, and those who are not;
• This is an important distinction as it determines the purpose of
• Your gathering together; It seems to me that you are not
• Observing the Lord’s supper at all, for many of you are only
• Bringing your own supper and getting drunk; Why are you
• Doing such a despicable thing? You should be eating and
• Drinking at home; What you are doing is despising the church
• Of God, and it is also distasteful for others as well; I am very
• Disappointed in you; I have already given you the Lord’s
• Instructions on how to observe the Lord’s supper as He did on
• The night He was betrayed: He broke the bread and said, “This
• Is my body which is broken for you, do this and remember
• Me;” Then, after supper, he lifted the cup and said, “This cup is
• The new covenant in My blood; Remember Me whenever you
• Drink it.” Your gatherings together should always be in
• Anticipation of the Lord’s return;
• Now, those among you who are not true believers, cannot be
• Celebrating the Lord’s supper; The unbelievers who do that, are
• Dishonoring the body and blood of the Lord, and some may
• Become sick, perhaps dying; You could avoid that by discerning
• Among yourselves, and allowing the Lord to direct you; Also,
• When you come together for this occasion, wait for everyone
• To be present before the meal begins, as it is not to be treated
• As one you would normally eat at home;
• I will bring further instructions on this when I come to see you.

Chapter 12. Harmony

Now, fellow believers, I will address the subject of spiritual gifts:

• I want you to understand everything about this issue:
• As Gentiles, you were somehow deceived into idol worship;
• And I can assure you that no one speaking the word from God,
• Has ever called Jesus a false teacher; By the same token, only
• The Holy Spirit can empower someone to declare that Jesus is
• Lord; But there are various abilities given by the Spirit, and
• They are all from the same Spirit, just as there are different
• Ways of being in service to the Lord; And it all comes from
• God so that everyone will be built up; By His Spirit He gives
• These abilities to those believers as He may choose;
• To some, He may grant a special insight into a particular issue,
• And to some, a piece of knowledge on a subject, or some may
• Receive extra faith they need; He may also gift someone with
• The ability to impart healings, or work miracles, or prophesy,
• Discern spirits, speak various tongues, or interpret them; All
• These abilities are given by one and the same Spirit;
• The body is one but has several members, similar to Christ;
• All of us, Jews and Greeks, slaves and free, have been baptized
• Into one Spirit, and as the body has several members, it is still
• One body; The foot, the ear, the hand, the eye, are separate,
• But each one is part of the body; And each one has a unique,
• Important function to perform, just as God put them together;
• If all the parts were the same, there could be no body; The eye
• Cannot say that the hand is not needed, nor can the head say
• That the feet are not needed; And, although some parts seem to
• Be of less significance, they are all necessary; We may value
• Some more than others, and some we feel the need to keep
• Covered, while others need not be; God has established the
• Order of importance of every part, so that harmony is
• Maintained and everything can function as He intended;
• If one part feels pain, the whole body hurts, but when healing
• Comes, the body is restored;
• In the church, God has established certain offices; They begin
• With apostles, followed by prophets, then teachers, and after
• That comes the various abilities, such as miracles, healings,
• Helps, administrations, and various tongues; Is everyone gifted
• To have all these abilities? Is everyone an apostle, a prophet, a
• Teacher? Is everyone a miracle worker, or a healer, or does
• Everyone speak or interpret tongues? I urge everyone to seek
• The abilities for which they are best suited;
• But now I will show you the absolute best way to handle
• Every ability which you have been given.

End of Session 5 of the book of I Corinthians.