We All Submit

Reading:  1 Corinthians 11:2-10
    
     This is a challenging text for a number of reasons:  the exact nature of the covering is not clear, the role of broader culture in determining what is disgraceful is not fully explained, and the text itself can be confusing.  Paul appears to be addressing women who are praying or prophesying in a way that does not show proper respect for the divine order.  “Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.  But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God”(1 Cor 11:2-3).  The word “wife” is “woman,” which can mean either wife or unmarried woman.  Paul contends that there are unique roles and layers of submission in God’s service—and that these must be respected.

     The way Paul wants this order respected is through a covering.  “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven”(1 Cor 11:4-5).  Two of his comments about this covering seem, in my judgment, to relate to the contemporary culture:  “it is the same as if her head were shaven”(v. 5) and  “since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head”(v. 6).  Paul’s emphasis on the covering is all about submission and order.  He wants it to remain clear that women are in submission, even as they pray and prophesy.

     I find it interesting that even in such a difficult text, there is an expectation that all of us submit.  There is no shame in such submission.  Jesus submits to the Father.  Men submit to Jesus.  Women submit to men.  And in many ways men submit to women as well (see Eph 5:21).  If we are going to live as Christians, we must embrace the fact that “you are not your own”(1 Cor 6:19) and that this will mean surrendering our will to God and to others—no matter our gender. 

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One Thing to Think About:  Why does the idea of submission bother us?

One Thing to Pray For:  A heart to yield to Jesus—and to others
 

Seek the Good of Your Neighbor

Reading:  1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1
    
    Paul finally gives the Corinthians some practical advice about whether to eat food offered to idols.  “Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.  For ‘the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof’”(1 Cor 10:25-26).  Animals used in pagan sacrifices were often then sold in the regular markets.  Paul wants them to just eat it, aware that all animals belong to God, not pagan gods.  Then he discusses a specific scenario:  an unbeliever invites you over and feeds you meat.  Again, he tells them to eat without concern (1 Cor 10:27).  But if the unbeliever tells you it comes from pagan worship, do not eat it for their sake.  Paul does not want unbelievers thinking that Christians have no problems with idols.  

    So should Christians eat this food?  Paul’s answer:  it depends.  This lack of clarity does not come from uncertainty, but concern for others.  “‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful.  ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.  Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor”(1 Cor 10:23-24).  The Corinthians have their catchy slogans (“all things are lawful”), but their slogans are only concerned about themselves and their own rights.  Paul has a different focus:  how will this impact others?  Will it be to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31)?  Rather than insisting on our own rights, Paul wants the Corinthians to “give no offense” to others “just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.  Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ”(1 Cor 10:32-11:1).  This is the way of Jesus.

    We tend strongly toward selfishness.  This does not necessarily change when we become Christians.  We can become preoccupied with our own rights, opinions, and beliefs and ignore our impact on others.  But what if my rights push unbelievers away?  What if my rights encourage weak brothers to violate their conscience?  “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.”  This is the way of Jesus.

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One Thing to Think About:  What kind of impact am I having on the people around me?

One Thing to Pray For:  The humility to change my behavior to bless others
 

Sharing and Unity

Reading:  1 Corinthians 10:14-22
    
    Having reminded us of Israel’s fall in the wilderness, Paul returns to his topic of eating meat offered to idols.  In this section, he is thinking particularly of Christians joining in the feasts inside idol temples (since “we know that an idol has no real existence”, 1 Cor 8:4).  To help them think through it, he points them to the Lord’s Supper that Christians celebrate together:  “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?  The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?”(1 Cor 10:16).  As we share this meal together, we “participate in”(or share in/have communion with) the blood and body of Jesus.  It is no longer a mere meal, but a declaration that we belong to Jesus, remember his sacrifice, and share in it.  There is also a horizontal unity that it achieves with other partakers:  “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread”(1 Cor 10:17).  We are unified by our eating together in celebration of Jesus’ sacrifice.  Together, we connect with Jesus’ sacrifice.

    Paul then argues that this is the nature of worship meals:  we share in (and declare allegiance to) the one we worship and we are unified with fellow-worshipers.  This is true with Israel (1 Cor 10:18), whether Paul refers to offerings or to their rebellion at Sinai (1 Cor 10:7).  But Paul is especially concerned with Christians who step into idol-temples and sit down to eat without reservation.  “No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God.  I do not want you to be participants with demons.  You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons”(1 Cor 10:20-21).  Paul does not dispute the fact that pagans are not real; he instead argues that worship meals still mean something.  Our allegiance has already been given.  Will we make Jesus jealous?

    Paul has a rich view of worship.  It is not mere ritualistic acts, but a deep sharing in God’s good gifts and affirmation of our allegiance to him.  It is a time for connecting with others who love and honor him.  We must seek out those who, like us, long to share in Jesus’ grace and sacrifice.

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One Thing to Think About:  How can I appreciate Christian worship more deeply?

One Thing to Pray For:  Brothers and sisters who will join me in communing with Jesus 
 

I’m Not Immune

Reading:  1 Corinthians 10:6-13
    
    Paul takes us back to the story of Israel in the wilderness to remind us to remain humble.  Although the whole nation was saved from slavery, most of them only frustrated God.  This is not just history;  “these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did”(1 Cor 10:6).  They worshiped a golden calf in the shadow of Sinai (1 Cor 10:7).  They practiced sexual immorality with the women of Moab (1 Cor 10:8).  They tested God and questioned his purposes in bringing them out of Egypt (1 Cor 10:9).  Mostly, they continually complained about every unpleasantness they encountered (1 Cor 10:10).  The broader picture is of a bitter, entitled, rebellious people.

    That all makes for easy reading, but Paul warns us.  “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.  Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall”(1 Cor 10:12).  These stories are an “example” for us; they are there “for our instruction.”  We can’t afford to think that we would never behave similarly.  “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it”(1 Cor 10:13).  The temptations we face are “common to man,” just like those in the desert.  “God is faithful” to not allow temptation to exceed our ability to resist it, providing a way out so that we do not have to sin.  Yet this all hinges on the humility to acknowledge that we can fall too.

    It is remarkably easy to criticize and condemn others who sin.  We do that when reading Bible stories and when observing others’ lives.  But I’m not immune from the same temptations and struggles that destroyed them.  I’m not immune from abandoning God, compromising my morality, testing him, or complaining about his choices.  I’m not immune from falling after a great deliverance.  “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

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One Thing to Think About:  Do I ever think I’m different—better—immune?

One Thing to Pray For:  Eyes to perceive God’s way of escape when I’m tempted
 

I Discipline My Body

Reading:  1 Corinthians 9:24-10:5
    
    As another illustration of freely giving up rights, Paul turns to athletes.  Athletes are similar to Christians in several ways:  they run a race, anticipate a prize, and discipline themselves to achieve it.   “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.  They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable”(1 Cor 9:25).  When ancient Greeks participated in the Olympic or Isthmian Games, they followed a strict regimen of diet and training, forgoing normal life.  Athletes today rarely smoke or overeat because they want to win.  Paul says his pursuit of Jesus has a similar intensity:  “So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified”(1 Cor 9:26-27).  This discipline means that Paul is ready at any moment to give up meat to help his brother (8:13) or refuse pay for preaching (9:15) or become a social chameleon (9:19-22).  He wants to run well because he wants the prize.

    Meanwhile there is the constant concern that he will be “disqualified.”  As an example of this danger, Paul reminds us of the Israelites who emerged from Egyptian slavery.  These people experienced a tremendous salvation and were uniquely aware of God’s presence—yet they still fell.  Paul stresses that they were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, and all were baptized—yet with most of them “God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness”(1 Cor 10:5).  The comparison is clear:  just because we have experienced God’s salvation and presence does not mean we will automatically continue to please God.  We can still fall in the desert and be “disqualified.”    

    We all battle being slaves to our bodies.  Our bodies have needs and desires and resisting them often produces pain.  Yet if we are unable to deny those desires and control ourselves, we struggle to live holy lives or to sacrifice our rights for others.  “I discipline my body and keep it under control” is Paul’s purpose statement:  I will be in charge here!  My body will do what I say rather than the opposite.

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One Thing to Think About:  Do I really want to please God?

One Thing to Pray For:  A hunger and passion for self-discipline