The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (181 page)

11
 many, that they may be saved.
¹
Be imitators of me
, as I am of Christ.

Head Coverings

2
 
I commend you
because you remember me in everything and maintain
the traditions
even as I have delivered them to you.
³
But I want you
to understand that
the head
of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.
⁴
Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head,
⁵
but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled dishonors her head—it is the same as if her head were shaven.
⁶
For if a woman will not
veil herself
, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil.
⁷
For a man ought not to cover his head,
since he is the image
and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man.
⁸
(For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.
⁹
Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.)
¹⁰
That is why a woman ought to have a veil
^r
on her head,
because of the angels
.
¹¹
(Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman;
¹²
for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.)
¹³
Judge for yourselves; is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
¹⁴
Does not
nature itself
teach you that for a man to wear long hair is degrading to him,
¹⁵
but if a woman has long hair, it is her pride? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
¹⁶
If any one is disposed to be contentious, we recognize no other practice, nor do the churches of God.

Abuses at the Lord's Supper

17
 
But in the following
instructions
I do not commend you
, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.
¹⁸
For, in the first place,
when you assemble
as a Church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it,
¹⁹
for there must be
factions
among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.
²⁰
When you meet together, it is
not the Lord's supper
that you eat.
 
*
²¹
For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal, and one is hungry and another is drunk.
²²
What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the Church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

The Institution of the Eucharist

23
 For
I received from the Lord
what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,
²⁴
and
when he had given thanks
, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for
^s
you.
Do this in remembrance of me
."
²⁵
In the same way also the chalice, after supper, saying, "This chalice is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
²⁶
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the chalice,
you proclaim the Lord's death
until he comes.

Partaking of the Eucharist Unworthily

27
 Whoever, therefore, eats
the bread or drinks the cup
of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.
²⁸
Let a man
examine himself
, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
²⁹
For any one who eats and drinks without
discerning the body
eats and drinks judgment upon himself.
³⁰
That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
^t
31
But if we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged.
³²
But when we are judged by the Lord, we are
chastened
^u
so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

33
 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—
³⁴
if any one is hungry,
let him eat at home
—lest you come together to be condemned. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

Spiritual Gifts

12
  
Now concerning
spiritual
gifts
, brethren, I do not want you to be uninformed.
 
*
²
You know that when you were heathen, you were
led astray to mute idols
, however you may have been moved.
³
Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "
Jesus be cursed
!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.

4
 
Now there are varieties
of
gifts
, but the same Spirit;
⁵
and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
⁶
and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one.
⁷
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for
the common good
.
⁸
To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
⁹
to another
faith
by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
¹⁰
to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of
tongues
, to another the interpretation of tongues.
¹¹
All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

One Body with Many Members

12
 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
¹³
For
by one Spirit
we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14
 For the body
does not consist of one member
but of many.
¹⁵
If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.
¹⁶
And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.
¹⁷
If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?
¹⁸
But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose.
¹⁹
If all were a single organ, where would the body be?
²⁰
As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
²¹
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again
the head
to the feet, "I have no need of you."
²²
On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable,
²³
and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,
²⁴
which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part,
²⁵
that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.
²⁶
If one member suffers, all
suffer together
; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

27
 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
²⁸
And God has appointed in the Church
first apostles
, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues.
²⁹
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?
³⁰
Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
³¹
But earnestly
desire the higher gifts
.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.
 
*

The Way of Love

13
  
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,
but have not love
, I am a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal
.
²
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love,
I am nothing
.
³
If I give away all I have, and if I
deliver my body to be burned
,
^v
but have not love, I gain nothing.

4
 
Love is patient
and kind; love is not jealous or boastful;
⁵
it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
⁶
it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.
⁷
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8
 Love never ends; as for prophecies, they
will pass away
; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
⁹
For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect;
¹⁰
but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.
¹¹
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
¹²
For now we see
in a mirror dimly
, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.
¹³
So
faith, hope, love abide
, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

14
  
Make love your aim
, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may
prophesy
.
²
For one who
speaks in a tongue
speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
³
On the other hand, he who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
⁴
He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the Church.
⁵
Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than he who speaks in tongues, unless some one interprets, so that the Church may be edified.

6
 Now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how shall I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?
⁷
If even
lifeless instruments
, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will any one know what is played?
⁸
And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?
⁹
So with yourselves; if you in a tongue utter speech that is not intelligible, how will any one know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air.
¹⁰
There are doubtless
many different languages
in the world, and none is without meaning;
¹¹
but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a
foreigner
to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.
¹²
So with yourselves; since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the Church.