\\INTRODUCTION TO 1 CORINTHIANS 11\\

In this chapter the apostle blames both men and women for their
indecent appearance in public worship, and admonishes them how they
should behave with the reasons of it; and also corrects some abuses
and irregularities among them, at, or before, the Lord's supper;
which leads him to give a particular account of that ordinance, of
the nature, use, and design of it, and some directions about the
performance of it, and attendance on it. He begins with an
exhortation suitable to what he had said in the latter part of the
preceding chapter, to follow him, as he followed Christ, \\#1Co 11:1\\
and praises them for their remembrance of him, and for the keeping
the ordinances as they were delivered to them; that is, as many of
them, and as far as they did so, \\#1Co 11:2\\. And in order to make
way for what he had on his mind to reprove them for, and admonish
them about, he observes, that as God is the head of Christ, and
Christ the head of every man, so the man is the head of the woman,
\\#1Co 11:3\\ wherefore for him to appear, and join in public
worship, with his head covered, is to dishonour his head, \\#1Co 11:4\\
as, on the other hand, for a woman to have her head uncovered in
divine service, is to dishonour her head, it being all one as if her
head was shaved, \\#1Co 11:5\\ wherefore it is concluded, that if it
is a shame for her to be shaved or shorn, she ought to be covered
when attending the worship of God, \\#1Co 11:6\\. The reason why a
man should be uncovered at such a time is, because he is the image
and glory of God; and the reason why the woman should be covered is,
because she is the glory of the man, is made for his glory, and to be
in subjection to him, of which the covering is a token, \\#1Co 11:7\\
and that she is so, is argued from the order of the creation, man
being not of the woman, but the woman of the man, \\#1Co 11:8\\ and
from the end of the creation, man being not for the woman, but the
woman for the man, \\#1Co 11:9\\. Another reason why the woman should
be covered at the time of public worship is, because of the angels
then present, \\#1Co 11:10\\ but lest on this account the woman
should be treated with contempt by the man, the apostle observes,
that they are not, and cannot be without one another; and that they
are from each other in different senses, and both from the Lord,
\\#1Co 11:11,12\\, and then proceeds to other arguments, showing that
women should not appear uncovered in the house of God: one is taken
from the uncomeliness of it, which must be so judged by everyone,
\\#1Co 11:13\\ and another is taken from nature and custom, and the
contrary in men, which is disagreeable and shameful; for, if, the
dictates of nature, it is shameful in men to wear long hair, it must
be comely and decent in women, and what is for their glory, to wear
such hair, since it is their covering, \\#1Co 11:14,15\\. But if,
after all the apostle had said on this subject, there should be any
contentious persons disposed to wrangle about it, he observes, that
they were not proper persons to be continued in the church, \\#1Co 11:16\\
and then proceeds to take notice of some ill conduct of many in the
Corinthian church, at, or before, the eating of the Lord's supper;
partly through schisms and factions, they meeting in parties for that
purpose; which he had heard of, and had reason to believe, and could
not praise them for; their coming together in such a manner, being
for the worse, and not the better, \\#1Co 11:18,19\\ and the rather
he gave credit to this report, since there were heresies among them,
which issue in schisms and divisions, and which must be expected,
that hereby Christ's faithful ones might be distinguished from
others, \\#1Co 11:19\\ when he goes on to show how they abused the
ordinance of the supper, not only by meeting together in parties, but
by indulging their sensual appetites in eating and drinking, which
was the principal end in coming together, and not the Lord's supper,
\\#1Co 11:20\\ for they stayed not one for another, but one took his
supper before the other, and so the one was full, and the other
hungry, \\#1Co 11:21\\ the evil of which the apostle exposes by
observing the indecency of such a conduct, when they had houses of
their own to feast in; the contempt which they cast upon the church
of God, and the shame they exposed the poor and hungry unto, all
which was far from being praiseworthy, \\#1Co 11:22\\ upon which he
gives a particular account of the Lord's supper, as he had it from
Christ himself, the time when, the manner in which it was instituted
and celebrated by him, the significance of its several parts, its
use, and end, and the continuance of it until the second coming of
Christ, \\#1Co 11:23-26\\ and then he proceeds to show the evil of an
unworthy partaking of this ordinance, how that such are guilty of,
and vilify and reproach the body and blood of Christ, \\#1Co 11:27\\
wherefore previous to a participation of it a man should examine
himself as to his repentance towards God, and faith in Christ,
\\#1Co 11:28\\ seeing such that are unworthy communicants bring
condemnation on themselves, not having spiritual judgment to discern
the Lord's body in the ordinance, \\#1Co 11:29\\ and so become liable
to diseases and death itself, which was the case of several in the
Corinthian church, \\#1Co 11:30\\ whereas, if persons would but
examine and judge of themselves before hand, they would not be
exposed to such judgments, \\#1Co 11:31\\ though the people of God,
when they are afflicted, should look upon their afflictions, not as
punishments, but as chastisements inflicted on them, for this end,
that they might not be condemned with the world of the ungodly
hereafter, \\#1Co 11:32\\. Wherefore the apostle's advice is, that
when they came to the Lord's table they would not form themselves
into factions and parties, and one part of them eat before, and
separate from the rest, but that they would tarry till they all come
together, and then join as one body and one bread, \\#1Co 11:33\\ and
that if any man was an hungry, he should eat at home, and not have an
ante-supper in the house of God, indulging his appetite there to his
condemnation, and those that joined with him, \\#1Co 11:34\\ and the
chapter is concluded with an intimation, that besides these
irregularities, there were others in this church which the apostle
signifies he would correct, when he should be in person with them.