LESSON EIGHT
PAUL'S FIRST CORINTHIAN LETTER (Continued)

Scriptural Reference: I Corinthians Chapters 11, 12, 14.

A. WOMEN'S PLACE IN PUBLIC WORSHIP: (I Corinthians 11:1-16, I Corinthians 14:34-35).
•	In chapter 12 Paul dealt with proper behavior in public worship. 
o	Involves the principle of subjection to the man. 
•	In the church the woman covers her head, to acknowledge the headship of the man and the man leaves his head uncovered to acknowledge the headship of Christ.
•	It is his desire that they follow Christ as closely as he has. 
o	Man is the glory and image of Christ and woman is the glory of man.
•	Corinth was full of temple prostitutes who were known to go about the street unveiled - sign of their character. 
•	Some of Christian women were laying aside their veils in church meetings.
o	It was this that Paul endeavored to correct.
•	In the scripture, Paul established the necessity of long hair. He stated that the woman's hair was her glory and her covering (verse 15). There was no custom in the church of a woman cutting her hair and thus there was no reason for contention (verse 16).
•	 God wants a distinct distinction between male and female and when it comes to the matter of worship the woman must conform to God's plan and also man must conform.
•	In verse 10, the word "power" means "covering; authority." 
o	This is a reminder that even the angels cover their faces as they worship. 

B. THE LORD'S SUPPER: (I Corinthians 11:17-34).
•	The Corinthian church was keeping the Lord's Supper incorrectly.
•	 Paul defined how that the observance of that ceremony could be a blessing or could be a curse. 
•	Paul did not disapprove of literal communion but he set forth the orderly procedure and gave the spiritual interpretation.
•	It was the practice in the early church to meet together for what they called "love feasts." - A time of social fellowship and breaking of bread. 
•	Many who brought food ate it in their own clique and those who had abundance were not sharing with those who had little.
•	Paul warned the Corinthian church against the sin of eating the bread and drinking the cup, unworthily. 
•	He warned against the way in which the communion service would be kept or the attitude in which we would approach the table. 
o	We are to remember the Lord's body at the Lord's table. 

C. SPIRITUAL GIFTS: (I Corinthians 12).

1. UNITY OF THE BODY:
•	It would appear that Paul had finished answering the questions that the Corinthian church had asked and that he had now completed dealing with carnality in the church and was going to deal with spiritual things. 
•	Chapter 12 teaches two things: 
o	Unity of the body 
o	The operation of the gifts of the Spirit.
•	The problem with the Corinthian church was a three-fold problem: a) Division and carnality; b) immorality and sin; c) problems of church administration and of life in general.
•	The same spirit works in all. The Spirit divides to every man as He wills.
•	The saints must all work together. All are needed in the church, and all the manifestations and gifts of the Spirit. 
•	Within the body there is no such thing as an unimportant member or a member who is essential. 
•	We should seek the welfare of the body, desire the will of God and covet to be used by God in a way that will glorify the Lord and benefit the entire body.

2. GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT:
•	There are nine gifts of the Spirit, placed in the church for the profit of each member (verse 7). 
•	These gifts of the Spirit are diverse and given to every man severally as the Lord wills (verse 11). 
•	The gifts of the Spirit are distributed within the body according to the Lord's will. 
•	They are there to meet a definite need that may arise in the church and to minister to the church. 
•	These nine gifts are as follows:
a.	Word of Wisdom. Jesus showed the gift in his ministry (Mark 12:14-17); promised his disciples similar aid (Matthew 10:19-20).
b.	Word of Knowledge. This is manifested in the ministry of the Apostle Paul (Acts 27:22-26).
c.	Faith. This gift of faith is a supernatural endowment by which some special work is wrought through answered prayer. It is to meet a special need that may arise in a church.
d.	Gifts of Healing. This gift is in the plural. The reason for the plural is probably because of the many causes of sickness - demon activity, organic, need of a correction of living habits. 
e.	Working of Miracles. A miracle is an act of God, which to the natural man would seem impossible and which would have no natural explanation. This gift is to meet needs that arise in protection and preservation of God's people. 
f.	Prophecy. New Testament prophecy is a forth telling of Scripture truths, within the framework of the Bible. Prophecy speaks unto men to edification, exhortation, and comfort (I Corinthians 14:3).
g.	Discerning of Spirits. Perceiving whether something is motivated by God, an evil spirit, or the human spirit. One of the most important of all nine gifts. 
h.	Divers Kinds of Tongues. Speaking to the church, a message that God wants the church to hear. Should be operated in strict connection with interpretation. A message addressed to the church; in harmony with Bible truths.
i.	Interpretation of Tongues. The word "interpret" here does not mean "to translate" but "to explain." Explains the meaning of the message in tongues, yielding to the Spirit, in the giving forth of the message. Sometimes the message in tongues is longer than the interpretation and vice versa. 
•	It may help us somewhat in understanding the ministry within the church of the nine gifts by grouping them into three groups as follows: 
a. Gifts of Knowledge (to know): word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits.
b. Gifts of Power (to act): faith, working of miracles, gifts of healing.
c. Gifts of Utterance (to speak): prophecy, divers kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues.

3. OTHER GIFTS:
•	Paul lists other ministries and gifts, which God has placed in the church:
o	Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, Miracles, Gifts of healings, Helps, Governments, Diversities of tongues.
•	The question: "Do all speak with tongues?" is a definite reference to the gift of tongues. It does not refer to the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

D. ORDERLY WORSHIP: (I Corinthians 14).
•	Paul did not condemn speaking in tongues. He did advise against ministering to the church congregation in tongues unless accompanied by orderly interpretations. 
•	The edifying of the church was Paul's concern and he recommended prophecy above tongues for that purpose, unless there was an interpreter.
•	Several important truths brought out concerning orderly worship in the church. We might list a few of them:
1. Love should govern the operation of the gifts of the Spirit.
2. Guiding principle of the operation of gifts of the Spirit is to edify the church. 
3. There are four ways of speaking to the church, namely: by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by doctrine (verse 6).
4. Prophecy is speaking to edification, exhortation and comfort (verse 3). 
5. One may speak in tongues in prayer and worship and by so doing edify himself (verse 4).
6. The vernacular should be used in the church so that the unsaved can understand what is going on (verses 19, 20).
7. The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. This simply means that a prophet does have power to control the gift.
8. There should be no confusion in the church but everything should be done decently, in order and that which will glorify the Lord.

LESSON EIGHT
SELF HELP TEST SEL

F HELP TEST
A.	Explain clearly how a woman's hair is her glory.

B.	What is a woman's place in public worship?

C.	How may a person partake of the Lord's Supper unworthily?

D.	What were the three main problems existing in the Corinthian church?

1.
2.
3.

       E.  List five principles which govern orderly worship in the church:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.