Be Imitators of Me

1Imitate me, as I do the Messiah.a 2I praise you for remembering everything I told youb and for holding to the traditionsc that I passed on to you.

Advice about Head Coverings

3Now I want you to realize that the Messiahd is the head of every man, and man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of the Messiah.e 4Every man who prays or prophesies with something on his head dishonors his head, 5and every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, which is the same as having her head shaved. 6So if a woman does not cover her head, she should cut off her hair. If it is a disgrace for a woman to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her own head.

7A man should not cover his head, because he exists as God’s image and glory. But the woman is man’s glory. 8For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9and man was not created for woman, but woman for man. 10This is why a woman should have authority over her own head: because of the angels.

11In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man of woman. 12For as woman came from man, so man comes through woman. But everything comes from God. 13Decide for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?f 14Nature itself teaches you neither that it is disgraceful for a man to have longg hair 15nor that hair is a woman’s glory, since hair is given as a substitute for coverings. 16But if anyone wants to argue about this, we do not have any custom like this, nor do any of God’s churches.

Concerning the Lord’s Supper

(Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20)

17Now I am not praising you in giving you the following instructions. When you gather, it is not for the better but for the worse. 18For in the first place, I hear that when you gather as a church there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it. 19Of course, there must be factions among you to show which of you are genuine!

20When you gather in the same place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21For as you eat, each of you rushes to eat his own supper, and one person goes hungry while another gets drunk. 22You have homes in which to eat and drink, don’t you? Or do you despise God’s church and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I will not praise you for this!

23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you—how the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took a loaf of bread, 24gave thanks for it, and broke it in pieces, saying, “This is my body that ish for you. Keep doing this in memory of me.” 25He did the same with the cup after the supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. As often as you drink from it, keep doing this in memory of me.” 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks from the cup in an unworthy manner will be held responsible for the Lord’s body and blood. 28A person must examine himself and then eat the bread and drink from the cup, 29because whoever eats and drinksi without recognizing the body,j eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That’s why so many of you are weak and sick and a considerable number are dying.k 31But if we judged ourselves correctly, we would not be judged. 32Now, while we are being judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so we won’tl be condemned along with the world.

33Therefore, my brothers, when you gather to eat, wait for each other. 34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you gather it may not bring judgment on you. And when I come I will give instructions concerning the other matters.