1 Corinthians 11-14

GOD’S WORD Translation

11 Imitate me as I imitate Christ.

Advice about Worship

² I praise you for always thinking about me and for carefully following the traditions that I handed down to you.

³ However, I want you to realize that Christ has authority over every man, a husband has authority over his wife, and God has authority over Christ. ⁴ Every man who covers his head when he prays or speaks what God has revealed dishonors the one who has authority over him. ⁵ Every woman who prays or speaks what God has revealed and has her head uncovered while she speaks dishonors the one who has authority over her. She is like the woman who has her head shaved. ⁶ So if a woman doesn’t cover her head, she should cut off her hair. If it’s a disgrace for a woman to cut off her hair or shave her head, she should cover her head. ⁷ A man should not cover his head. He is God’s image and glory. The woman, however, is man’s glory. ⁸ Clearly, man wasn’t made from woman but woman from man. ⁹ Man wasn’t created for woman but woman for man. ¹⁰ Therefore, a woman should wear something on her head to show she is under ⌞someone’s⌟ authority, out of respect for the angels.

¹¹ Yet, as believers in the Lord, women couldn’t exist without men and men couldn’t exist without women. ¹² As a woman came into existence from a man, so men come into existence by women, but everything comes from God.

¹³ Judge your own situation. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴ Doesn’t nature itself teach you that it is disgraceful for a man to have long hair? ¹⁵ Doesn’t it teach you that it is a woman’s pride to wear her hair long? Her hair is given to her in place of a covering. ¹⁶ If anyone wants to argue about this ⌞they can’t, because⌟ we don’t have any custom like this—nor do any of the churches of God.

¹⁷ I have no praise for you as I instruct you in the following matter: When you gather, it results in more harm than good. ¹⁸ In the first place, I hear that when you gather as a church you split up into opposing groups. I believe some of what I hear. ¹⁹ Factions have to exist in order to make it clear who the genuine believers among you are.

²⁰ When you gather in the same place, you can’t possibly be eating the Lord’s Supper. ²¹ Each of you eats his own supper ⌞without waiting for each other⌟. So one person goes hungry and another gets drunk. ²² Don’t you have homes in which to eat and drink? Do you despise God’s church and embarrass people who don’t have anything to eat? What can I say to you? Should I praise you? I won’t praise you for this. ²³ After all, I passed on to you what I had received from the Lord.

On the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread ²⁴ and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He broke the bread and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” ²⁵ When supper was over, he did the same with the cup. He said, “This cup is the new promise ^[a] made with my blood. Every time you drink from it, do it to remember me.” ²⁶ Every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you tell about the Lord’s death until he comes.

²⁷ Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks from the Lord’s cup in an improper way will be held responsible for the Lord’s body and blood. ²⁸ With this in mind, individuals must determine whether what they are doing is proper when they eat the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹ Anyone who eats and drinks is eating and drinking a judgment against himself when he doesn’t recognize the Lord’s body.

³⁰ This is the reason why many of you are weak and sick and quite a number ⌞of you⌟ have died. ³¹ If we were judging ourselves correctly, we would not be judged. ³² But when the Lord judges us, he disciplines us so that we won’t be condemned along with the rest of the world.

³³ Therefore, brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, wait for each other. ³⁴ Whoever is hungry should eat at home so that you don’t have a gathering that brings judgment on you.

I will give directions concerning the other matters when I come.

Spiritual Gifts

12 Brothers and sisters, I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding concerning spiritual gifts. ² You know that when you were unbelievers, every time you were led to worship false gods you were worshiping gods who couldn’t even speak. ³ So I want you to know that no one speaking by God’s Spirit says, “Jesus is cursed.” No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

⁴ There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. ⁵ There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. ⁶ There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person.

⁷ The evidence of the Spirit’s presence is given to each person for the common good of everyone. ⁸ The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom. The same Spirit gives another person the ability to speak with knowledge. ⁹ To another person the same Spirit gives ⌞courageous⌟ faith. To another person the same Spirit gives the ability to heal. ¹⁰ Another can work miracles. Another can speak what God has revealed. Another can tell the difference between spirits. Another can speak in different kinds of languages. Another can interpret languages. ¹¹ There is only one Spirit who does all these things by giving what God wants to give to each person.

¹² For example, the body is one unit and yet has many parts. As all the parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether we are Jewish or Greek, slave or free, God gave all of us one Spirit to drink.

¹⁴ As you know, the human body is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. ¹⁵ Suppose a foot says, “I’m not a hand, so I’m not part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? ¹⁶ Or suppose an ear says, “I’m not an eye, so I’m not a part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? ¹⁸ So God put each and every part of the body together as he wanted it. ¹⁹ How could it be a body if it only had one part? ²⁰ So there are many parts but one body.

²¹ An eye can’t say to a hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² The opposite is true. The parts of the body that we think are weaker are the ones we really need. ²³ The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we give special honor. So our unpresentable parts are made more presentable. ²⁴ However, our presentable parts don’t need this kind of treatment. God has put the body together and given special honor to the part that doesn’t have it. ²⁵ God’s purpose was that the body should not be divided but rather that all of its parts should feel the same concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts share its suffering. If one part is praised, all the others share in its happiness.

²⁷ You are Christ’s body and each of you is an individual part of it. ²⁸ In the church God has appointed first apostles, next prophets, third teachers, then those who perform miracles, then those who have the gift of healing, then those who help others, those who are managers, and those who can speak in a number of languages. ²⁹ Not all believers are apostles, are they? Are all of them prophets? Do all of them teach? Do all of them perform miracles ³⁰ or have gifts of healing? Can all of them speak in other languages or interpret languages?

³¹ You ⌞only⌟ want the better gifts, but I will show you the best thing to do.^[b]

Love

13 I may speak in the languages of humans and of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am a loud gong or a clashing cymbal. ² I may have the gift to speak what God has revealed, and I may understand all mysteries and have all knowledge. I may even have enough faith to move mountains. But if I don’t have love, I am nothing. ³ I may even give away all that I have and give up my body to be burned.^[c] But if I don’t have love, none of these things will help me.

⁴ Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn’t jealous. It doesn’t sing its own praises. It isn’t arrogant. ⁵ It isn’t rude. It doesn’t think about itself. It isn’t irritable. It doesn’t keep track of wrongs. ⁶ It isn’t happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth. ⁷ Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.

⁸ Love never comes to an end. There is the gift of speaking what God has revealed, but it will no longer be used. There is the gift of speaking in other languages, but it will stop by itself. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will no longer be used. ⁹ Our knowledge is incomplete and our ability to speak what God has revealed is incomplete. ¹⁰ But when what is complete comes, then what is incomplete will no longer be used. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I no longer used childish ways. ¹² Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as God has complete knowledge of me.

¹³ So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love.

Speak in Ways That Can Be Understood

14 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially the gift of speaking what God has revealed. ² When a person speaks in another language, he doesn’t speak to people but to God. No one understands him. His spirit is speaking mysteries. ³ But when a person speaks what God has revealed, he speaks to people to help them grow, to encourage them, and to comfort them. ⁴ When a person speaks in another language, he helps himself grow. But when a person speaks what God has revealed, he helps the church grow. ⁵ I wish that all of you could speak in other languages, but especially that you could speak what God has revealed. The person who speaks what God has revealed is more important than the person who speaks in other languages. This is true unless he can interpret what he says to help the church grow. ⁶ Brothers and sisters, it wouldn’t do you any good if I came to you speaking in other languages, unless I explained revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or doctrine to you.

⁷ Musical instruments like the flute or harp produce sounds. If there is no difference in the notes, how can a person tell what tune is being played? ⁸ For example, if the trumpet doesn’t sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? ⁹ In the same way, if you don’t speak in a way that can be understood, how will anyone know what you’re saying? You will be talking into thin air.

¹⁰ No matter how many different languages there are in the world, not one of them is without meaning. ¹¹ If I don’t know what a language means, I will be a foreigner to the person who speaks it and that person will be a foreigner to me. ¹² In the same way, since you’re eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in them so that you help the church grow. ¹³ So the person who speaks in another language should pray for an interpretation of what he says.

¹⁴ If I pray in another language, my spirit prays, but my mind is not productive. ¹⁵ So what does this mean? It means that I will pray with my spirit, and I will pray with my mind. I will sing psalms with my spirit, and I will sing psalms with my mind. ¹⁶ Otherwise, if you praise God only with your spirit, how can outsiders say “Amen!” to your prayer of thanksgiving? They don’t know what you’re saying. ¹⁷ Your prayer of thanksgiving may be very good, but it doesn’t help other people grow. ¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in other languages more than any of you. ¹⁹ Yet, in order to teach others in church, I would rather say five words that can be understood than ten thousand words in another language.

²⁰ Brothers and sisters, don’t think like children. When it comes to evil, be like babies, but think like mature people. ²¹ God’s word says,

²² So the gift of speaking in other languages is a sign for unbelievers, not for believers. The gift of speaking what God has revealed is a sign for believers, not for unbelievers. ²³ Suppose the whole congregation gathers in the same place and you speak in other languages. When outsiders or unbelievers come in, won’t they say that you’re out of your mind? ²⁴ Now suppose you speak what God has revealed. When unbelievers or outsiders come in you will show them where they are wrong and convince them that they are sinners. ²⁵ The secrets in their hearts will become known, and in this way they will quickly bow with their faces touching the ground, worship God, and confess that God is truly among you.

Maintain Order in Your Worship Services

²⁶ So what does this mean, brothers and sisters? When you gather, each person has a psalm, doctrine, revelation, another language, or an interpretation. Everything must be done to help each other grow. ²⁷ If people speak in other languages, only two or three at the most should speak. They should do it one at a time, and someone must interpret what each person says. ²⁸ But if an interpreter isn’t present, those people should remain silent in church. They should only speak to themselves and to God.

²⁹ Two or three people should speak what God has revealed. Everyone else should decide whether what each person said is right or wrong. ³⁰ If God reveals something to another person who is seated, the first speaker should be silent. ³¹ All of you can take your turns speaking what God has revealed. In that way, everyone will learn and be encouraged. ³² People who speak what God has revealed must control themselves. ³³ God is not a God of disorder but a God of peace.

As in all the churches of God’s holy people, ³⁴ the women must keep silent. They don’t have the right to speak. They must take their place as Moses’ Teachings say. ³⁵ If they want to know anything they should ask their husbands at home. It’s shameful for a woman to speak in church. ³⁶ Did God’s word originate with you? Are you the only ones it has reached?

³⁷ Whoever thinks that he speaks for God or that he is spiritually gifted must acknowledge that what I write to you is what the Lord commands. ³⁸ But whoever ignores what I write should be ignored.

³⁹ So, brothers and sisters, desire to speak what God has revealed, and don’t keep anyone from speaking in other languages. ⁴⁰ Everything must be done in a proper and orderly way.