“Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”
This is the introductory verse to 1 Corinthians 11. The Apostle Paul knew, by the authority given to him by Christ, that he was a shining example of how the believers at Corinth should conduct themselves. Therefore, he advised them to imitate him. But what did Paul do? Better yet, since Paul imitated Christ, what did Christ do?
We know that Christ was born, lived, and died so that God could be accessible to both the Jews and the Gentiles. His decision to hang and die on the cross was not an easy one. Yet, he prayed to God and was strengthened by angels to complete the work that his Father placed before him. And we thank God that he did.
We are to imitate Christ by being obedient to our Father to the point of death. We are to pray and gain strength to complete the work given to us by our Father when we are weak or when we are strong. We are to trust God, just as Christ had to trust him. When Christ was weak and asked God to take the cup of death away from him, he had to trust that God’s plan was the best plan—despite his emotions.
The prophetic words of Christ found in Isaiah 50:6-7 state, “I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help me; therefore, I will not be disgraced; I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.”
Christ trusted God. Let us imitate this trust, just as Paul trusted in the complete work of Christ, which offers salvation and freedom in God to all men. But after Paul advised the Corinthian Church to imitate him, he wrote about head coverings and communion. It seems to be an odd change of subject, but at the core of his teaching is yet another lesson of imitation.
Paul stated that Christ is the head of every man, the head of every woman is man, and the head of Christ is God (1 Corinthians 11:3). Then, he wrote about head coverings. He stated that any man who prayed or prophesied with his head covered dishonored his head, and every woman who prayed or prophesied with her head uncovered dishonored her head. He stated that the custom of head coverings was found throughout all the churches—therefore, he expected the Corinthians to follow suit.
Then Paul wrote about the Lord’s Supper or communion. He said he would not praise the Corinthians for their involvement in the Lord’s Supper. 1 Corinthians 11:20-21 reads, “Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk.”
Some of the Corinthians ate the Lord’s Supper simply to satisfy their hunger, and others drank the wine to become drunk. Sadly, their participation in communion had nothing to do with Christ. Paul reminded them that the bread was for remembering Christ’s broken body and that the cup of wine was for remembrance of the new covenant—Christ’s shed blood.
This is why Paul advised them to examine themselves before taking communion. Drinking and eating the Lord’s Supper for their selfish satisfaction did not honor Christ; therefore, it was done unworthily. Taking communion for any other reason than remembering Christ would have made them guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Paul said, “But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgement. And the rest I will set in order when I come.” (1 Corinthians 11:34).
The Corinthians were out of order to take communion in the manner that they did. The men and women were also out of order for failing to abide by the custom of covering or uncovering their heads. This entire chapter is about restoring order… a lesson that we can learn from.
If we imitate Christ, we will imitate order. Verse three of this chapter states that the head of Christ is God. This means that Christ was in subjection to God. He followed God's will for his life and did not turn aside from it. God was pleased with Christ's work and elevated him to sit at his right-hand side in glory. If Christ honored order, so should we.
Society often frowns upon the biblical order of man and woman. The idea of a woman's submission to a man is rejected. Yet, no one seems to frown upon order and submission in the workplace. Every employee understands that there must be order in their career or job. Employees answer to a manager not because the manager is more important than them but because someone must lead and someone must follow for tasks to be completed efficiently.
Likewise, God has established order for his kingdom to be run efficiently. Men are no more important than women, and women are no more significant than men. Both are needed to complete God’s will on earth, yet order is necessary. If God is all-knowing as we confess him to be, then we must also believe that he is wise enough to discern who should lead and who should follow.
God is a God of order and has always been that way. When he established the heavens and the earth, he did it in an orderly fashion. He created the hills, grain, and animals before he created Adam and Eve; therefore, all their needs were covered when God placed them in the Garden of Eden. They didn’t have to wait for God's provision of food, water, or even beauty. It was already there because God honors order.
When God instructed his people to complete a task—whether it was Noah for the ark, Solomon for the temple, or Moses for the law—he was always extremely detail-oriented because he is orderly. Even the angelic hosts are orderly, which is why God ordained some angels to be archangels, some to be seraphim, and others to be cherubim.
When it comes to believers of God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son, order is always in order. If we are to imitate Paul, Christ, or the greats in the faith, we must be orderly. Whether we are called to be in submission to Christ, a spouse, or a manager at the workplace, we need to honor the order.
As Paul stated, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ. Christ followed God’s divine order, so let us follow his example. Divine imitation is in order for the saints of God. May we imitate our Lord and be exceedingly blessed for it.
May this message bless you, and may God keep you.
Thank you for reading this week's Write On! Wednesday article. Explore the website for more articles or check out www.amazon.com/author/quinarrington if you are interested in my books. Have a blessed day!
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