Paul continues to address problems in the way the Corinthian church was worshiping. Here he focuses on a problem he heard about in their practice of the Lord’s Supper.

Following Christ in 21st Century Corinth – Week 16

presented 16 January 2019

1 Corinthians 11: 17-34

AUDIO

Lecture Handout

Handout Week 16

Lesson Notes

The Lord’s Supper & the Body (1 Corinthians 11: 17-34)

• Verse 17 – “no commendation” – their worship gatherings are bad!
• Verse 18 – When they gather, they’re divided
  • Based on a report Paul received – not answering a question from the Corinthians
  • Similar to the discussion in the early chapters, but this time not over church politics
  • They’re divided based on social status
  • This church is so divided they can’t even worship well together!
  • There may have been physical divisions within the house churches in Corinth
    • Rich members had the leisure to arrive early, bring a large meal, and set up in the small private dining room typical in a wealthy Corinthian hone
    • Everyone else would be crowded into the atrium or courtyard
• Verse 19 – Because there are false Christians in their midst, the division could reveal who is true and who is false
  • That sort of division is inevitable and even useful, if painful
  • But that isn’t the issue here – these are selfish, immature, classist believers
• Verse 20 – What they claim is the Lord’s Supper isn’t, because it’s so bad
  • Really it’s just their personal suppers
  • In the early years of the church, the Lord’s Supper was the last part of a full meal, an agape, or love, feast (see also Jude 12)
  • People were bringing food and drink for themselves – they didn’t bring enough to be a potluck
  • Verse 21 – Poor Christians were going hungry, left to watch others eat at church
  • Meanwhile the rich are getting drunk in worship!
  • Verse 22 – Take care of excessive eating and drinking at home!
  • The poor are embarrassed and humiliated when they’re there to worship God and remember the sacrifice of Jesus
  • Behaving like that in church is despising God’s church – despising Christ’s bride!
  • This is reprehensible. I’m reminded of James 2: 1-9
• Verse 23 – Paul’s understanding of the Last Supper appears to me to be direct revelation from Christ, those some say this is the language of passing on oral tradition from the other apostles
  • Verse 24 – the bread symbolizes the broken body of Christ, hung on the cross to die
    • Catholicism says it’s the real body and blood of Christ through transubstantiation, Lutherans that Christ is over, under, and in the bread through consubstantiation
    • We emphasize the remembrance – that it’s a symbol
    • Nobody at the Last Supper would have mistaken Christ’s breaking of the common loaf and passing it around for claiming the bread was literal human meat or that the cup was literally His blood
    • Given for us – we partake of the bread to remember Christ’s sacrifice for us
    • That’s why the Lord’s Supper is only appropriate for believers – unbelievers can’t do it in meaningful remembrance, and the sacrifice wasn’t for them
  • The cup symbolizes the New Covenant – Romans 3: 23-26
    • Every biblical covenant was ratified with blood
    • The Old Covenant was expressed in the Mosaic Law. There was a sacrifice and a sprinkling of the people with blood
    • The New Covenant is grace in Christ – ratified by His blood shed on the cross
    • This was foretold in Jeremiah 31: 31-34
    • We drink in remembrance of Christ’s blood that was freely poured out to establish the New Covenant
    • Verse 26 – whenever we do, we proclaim the death of Jesus
      • An ongoing instruction for the church – ordained by Christ – why we call it an ordinance
      • We’ll do this until Christ returns
      • An ordinance is not a sacrament -> there’s no grace imparted by this act, it’s a symbolic act of remembrance celebrating Christ’s sacrifice
      • But it’s deadly serious – it can’t save you, but it could kill you!
  • Verse 27 – If you partake of the Lord’s Supper in the unworthy manner Paul just described: drunk, humiliating people, divided as a church, only pleasing themselves at the expense of others
    • Then you’re guilty of the body and blood of Christ if you do!
  • Verse 28 – So examine yourself before partaking – EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!
    • Examine = “Test and find approved”
    • Get your heart right toward God and everyone gathered with you
      • Is there sin you need to confess? Confess it!
      • Are there relationships you need to reconcile? Go reconcile!
      • Look unselfishly on all others present
    • Verse 29 – to do otherwise is to drink God’s judgment on yourself
    • Discern the body -> discern the unity of the body of Christ, the church
    • Note it doesn’t say discern the body and the blood – Paul isn’t referring to the elements and their significance. He means the church and her significance.
    • Or suffer the consequences!
  • Verse 30 – God had been punishing the church in Corinth – this seems widespread
    • They’re experiencing illness, disability, and death because of their unholy observance of the Lord’s Supper
  • Verse 31 – If we’d just evaluate ourselves, examining and confessing our personal sins and failures of fellowship, choosing to overcome differences and divisions, then we wouldn’t be condemned
    • The Corinthian church is under God’s discipline, which will stop when they recognize and turn away from their sin
    • Verse 32 – God disciplines us – painfully and harshly sometimes, to keep us from being condemned as unbelievers
  • Verse 33 – So wait for, or share with, one another as one body
  • Verse 34 – This isn’t your supper – if you’re hungry, eat beforehand to avoid God’s judgment
    • Paul will address other issues in person – but this was so severe it had to be dealt with immediately

The Lord’s Supper

We can be entirely too quick to set up and observe the Lord’s Supper. It can even become a rote experience. Take a moment now just to observe this body gathered here – men and women, black and white, younger and older.

 

Next Week: 1 Corinthians 12: 1-31a