CHAPTER XI. _The apostle reprehends the Corinthians for several_ _irregularities in their manner of conducting public worship;_ _the men praying or prophesying with their heads covered, and_ _the women with their heads uncovered, contrary to custom,_ _propriety, and decency_, 1-6. _Reasons why... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:2. _THAT YE REMEMBER ME IN ALL THINGS_] It appears that the apostle had previously given them a variety of directions relative to the matters mentioned here; that some had paid strict attention to them, and that others had not; and that contentions and divisions were the conse... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:3. _THE HEAD OF EVERY MAN IS CHRIST_] The apostle is speaking particularly of Christianity and its ordinances: _Christ_ _is the Head_ or Author of this religion; and is the creator, preserver, and _Lord_ of every man. The _man_ also _is the lord_ or _head of the woman_; and t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:4. _PRAYING, OR PROPHESYING_] Any person who engages in public acts in the worship of God, whether prayer, singing, or exhortation: for we learn, from the apostle himself, that προφητευειν, _to prophesy_, signifies to _speak unto men to_ _edification, exhortation, and comfort_... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:5. _BUT EVERY WOMAN THAT PRAYETH_, c.] Whatever may be the meaning of _praying_ and _prophesying_, in respect to the _man_, they have precisely the same meaning in respect to the _woman_. So that some women at least, as well as some men, might speak to others to _edification_... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:6. _FOR IF THE WOMAN BE NOT COVERED_] If she will not wear a veil in the public assemblies, _let her be shorn_-let her carry a public badge of infamy: _but if it be a shame_-if to be shorn or shaven would appear, as it must, a badge of infamy, _then_ _let her be covered_-let... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:7. _A MAN INDEED OUGHT NOT TO COVER HIS HEAD_] He should not wear his _cap_ or _turban_ in the public congregation, for this was a badge of servitude, or an indication that he had a conscience overwhelmed with guilt; and besides, it was contrary to the custom that prevailed, b... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:8. _FOR, THE MAN IS NOT OF THE WOMAN_] Bishop Pearce translates ου γαρ εστιν ανηρ εκ γυναικος, αλλα γυνη εξ ανδρος, thus: "For the man doth not BELONG to the woman, but the woman to the man." And vindicates this sense of εκ, by its use in 1 Corinthians 12:15. If the foot shal... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:9. _NEITHER WAS THE MAN CREATED_, c.] και γαρ ουκ εκτισθη. for the man was not created upon the woman's account. The reason is plain from what is mentioned above and from the original creation of woman she was made _for_ the man, to be his proper or suitable helper.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:10. _FOR THIS CAUSE OUGHT THE WOMAN TO HAVE POWER ON_ HER _HEAD BECAUSE OF THE ANGELS._] There are few portions in the sacred writings that have given rise to such a variety of conjectures and explanations, and are less understood, than this verse, and 1 Corinthians 15:29. Ou... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:11. _NEITHER_ IS _THE MAN WITHOUT THE WOMAN_] The apostle seems to say: I do not intimate any _disparagement_ of the female sex, by insisting on the necessity of her being under the power or authority of the man; for they are both equally dependent on each other, _in the Lord_... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:12. _FOR AS THE WOMAN IS OF THE MAN_] For as the woman was first formed out of the side of man, man has ever since been formed out of the womb of the woman; but they, as all other created things, are of God.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:13. _JUDGE IN YOURSELVES_] Consider the subject _in your_ _own common sense_, and then say whether it be decent for a woman to pray in public without a veil on her head? The heathen priestesses prayed or delivered their oracles bare-headed or with dishevelled hair, _non compta... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:14. _DOTH NOT - NATURE - TEACH YOU, THAT, IF A MAN HAVE LONG_ _HAIR_] Nature certainly teaches us, by bestowing it, that it is proper for women to have long hair; and it is not so with men. The hair of the male rarely grows like that of a female, unless _art_ is used, and eve... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:15. _BUT IF A WOMAN HAVE LONG HAIR_] The Author of their being has given a larger proportion of hair to the head of women than to that of men; and to them it is an especial ornament, and may in various cases serve as a _veil_. It is a certain fact that a man's long hair rende... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:16. _BUT IF ANY MAN SEEM TO BE CONTENTIOUS_] Ει δε τις δοκει φιλονεικος ειναι· If any person _sets himself up_ as a wrangler-_puts himself forward_ as a defender of such points, that a _woman may pray or teach with her head uncovered_, and that _a man_ may, without reproach, _... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 17. _NOW IN THIS - I PRAISE YOU NOT_] In the beginning of this epistle the apostle did _praise_ them for their attention in general to the rules he had laid down, see 1 Corinthians 11:2; but here he is obliged to _condemn_ certain irregularities which had crept in among them, particularly rel... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 18. _THERE BE DIVISIONS AMONG YOU_] They had σχισματα, _schisms_, among them: the old parties were kept up, even in the place where they assembled to eat the _Lord's Supper_. The Paulians, the Kephites, and the Apollonians, continued to be distinct parties; and ate their meals separately, even... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 19. _THERE MUST BE ALSO HERESIES_] αιρεσεις. Not a common _consent_ of the members of the Church, either in the _doctrines_ of the Gospel, or in the _ceremonies_ of the Christian religion. Their difference in religious _opinion_ led to a difference in their religious _practice_, and thus the C... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 20. THIS _IS NOT TO EAT THE LORD'S SUPPER._] They did not come together to eat the Lord's Supper _exclusively_, which they should have done, and not have made it a _part_ of an ordinary meal.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 21. _EVERY ONE TAKETH BEFORE - HIS OWN SUPPER_] They had a grand feast, though the different sects kept in parties by themselves; but all took as ample a supper as they could provide, (each bringing his own provisions with him,) before they took what was called the _Lord's Supper_. See note on... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 22. _HAVE YE NOT HOUSES TO EAT AND TO DRINK IN?_] They should have taken their ordinary meal at _home_, and have come together in the church to celebrate the Lord's Supper. _DESPISE YE THE CHURCH OF GOD_] Ye render the sacred assembly and the place contemptible by your conduct, and ye show yo... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 23. _I HAVE RECEIVED OF THE LORD_] It is possible that several of the people at Corinth did receive the bread and wine of the eucharist as they did the paschal bread and wine, as a mere commemoration of an event. And as our Lord had by this institution consecrated that bread and wine, not to b... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 24. _THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME._] The papists believe the apostles were not ordained priests before these words. Si quis dixerit, illis verbis, hoc facite in meam commemorationem, Christum non instituisse apostolos sacerdotes, anathema sit: "If any one shall say that in these words, 'This d... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 26. _YE DO SHOW THE LORD 'S DEATH_] As in the passover they showed forth the bondage they had been in, and the redemption they had received from it; so in the eucharist they showed forth the sacrificial death of Christ, and the redemption from sin derived from it.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 27. _WHOSOEVER SHALL EAT - AND DRINK - UNWORTHILY_] To put a final end to controversies and perplexities relative to these words and the context, let the reader observe, that to _eat_ and _drink_ the _bread_ and _wine_ in the Lord's Supper _unworthily_, is to eat and drink as the Corinthians... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 28. _LET A MAN EXAMINE HIMSELF_] Let him try whether he has proper faith in the Lord Jesus; and whether he discerns the Lord's body; and whether he duly considers that the _bread_ and _wine_ point out the crucified body and spilt blood of Christ.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 29. _EATETH AND DRINKETH DAMNATION_] κριμα, _Judgment,_ _punishment_; and yet this is not unto _damnation_, for the judgment or punishment inflicted upon the disorderly and the profane was intended for their _emendation_; for in 1 Corinthians 11:32, it is said, then we are _judged_, κρινομενοι... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 30. _FOR THIS CAUSE_] That they partook of this sacred ordinance without discerning the Lord's body; _many are weak and_ _sickly_: it is hard to say whether these words refer to the consequences of their own intemperance or to some extraordinary disorders inflicted immediately by God himself.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 31. _IF WE WOULD JUDGE OURSELVES_] If, having acted improperly, we condemn our conduct and humble ourselves, we shall not be _judged_, i.e. _punished_ for the sin we have committed.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 32. _BUT WHEN WE ARE JUDGED_] See note on 1 Corinthians 11:29.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 33. _WHEN YE COME TOGETHER TO EAT_] The Lord's Supper, _tarry one for another_-do not eat and drink in _parties_ as ye have done heretofore; and do not connect it with any other meal.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 1 Corinthians 11:34. _AND IF ANY MAN HUNGER_] Let him not come to the house of God to eat an ordinary meal, _let him eat at home_-take that in his own house which is necessary for the support of his body before he comes to that sacred repast, where he should have the feeding of his soul alone... [ Continue Reading ]