Focusing on the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17–34 (ESV)

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 come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets 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.

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 you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup 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 cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

INTRODUCTION:

Anything that we do regularly can become rote or routine:

Rote:

Routine: What we do without thinking.

Leave the house forget to put the garage door down.

When this happens, we engage in a vain practice which neither honors our Lord nor strengthens us in our Christian walk.

To help prevent this, 1 Corinthians 11 gives us a four-fold perspective on the Lord’s Supper.

1. Look Backwards (vv. 23-25)

looking back to Jesus’ historical work on our behalf

1 Corinthians 11:23–25 (ESV)

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 you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

· Christians are not religious.

o Meaning our worth or status before God is not dictated by our actions,

§ but rather Jesus actions on our behalf

§ shows our infinite worth and justified status before God.

o Even in Paul’s righteous rebuke of the consumers in Corinth,

§ he is not telling them to simply step up, shape up, or ship out.

§ He points them back to Jesus and reminds them of the gospel they have received.

§ He reminds them of how communion is given to us by Jesus to regularly show us the truth and beauty of the gospel.

· There is good news for sinners in the world and consumers in the church.

o The good news is while Jesus was being betrayed he was giving communion showing His people how to remember his sacrifice on the Cross that was to come.

o We are ALL betrayers of God.

§ From our first parents Adam and Eve choosing to consume what God forbade betraying God as King,

§ each of us has been born disposed to consume rather than contribute.

o We all consume resources of God’s earth,

§ we are all drunk on our own selfishness and pride robing God the glory he is due as our Creator and King.

§ Left alone we are slaves to consumption and will constantly betray the God of the Universe and declare ourselves kings of our own kingdoms.

§ But we have not been left alone;

o God comes to us in Jesus contributing his perfect sinless life as a sacrifice for our sinful life of consumption.

§ As the world was preparing once again to rejecting Jesus, He was preparing to save the world.

§ On the night of Passover when God’s people shared a meal of remembrance of how He took them out of slavery in Egypt,

§ Jesus gives His people a new remembrance meal for a new covenant.

· The elements, the symbols of communion,

o the bread, the cup of wine or juice, are not significant on their own; they are not magical or mystical.

o Communion is only as significant as the person who gave it to us.

§ He took the bread,

§ He gave thanks, .

§ He broke it,

§ and He said this is my body which is for you. Remember me!

· The ancient Israelites looked back to the Passover events

o as the defining moment in their history,

o when their identity as a nation began.

· That was when they escaped death and slavery through the intervention of God and they were freed to serve the Lord.

· In the church,

o we look back to the events surrounding the crucifixion

o and resurrection of Jesus as the defining moment in our history.

§ That is how we escape death and the slavery of sin,

§ and that is how we are freed to serve the Lord.

o The Lord’s Supper is a memorial of this defining moment in our history.

1 Corinthians 10:16 (ESV)

16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

· So the Lord’s Supper, although a memorial of a death, is not a funeral, as if Jesus were still dead.

o Rather, we observe this memorial knowing that death held Jesus only three days—knowing that death will not hold us forever, either.

o We rejoice that Jesus has conquered death, and has set free all who were enslaved by a fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15).

o We can remember Jesus’ death with the happy knowledge that he has triumphed over sin and death!

o As Jesus predicted, our mourning has turned into joy (John 16:20).

o Coming to the Lord’s table and having communion should be a celebration, not a funeral.

· As we partake, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

o We are not celebrating a dead, fallen hero,

o but a risen, living Savior.

We not only look back but we…

2. Look Forward (v. 26)

1 Corinthians 11:26 (ESV)

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

· The forward look should fill our hearts with hope and encouragement. Life is not a meaningless existence!

· The forward look should also give us a genuine concern for people all around us and move us to greater compassion, greater prayer and greater boldness in our witness.

· The Lord’s Supper calls Christians toward the future when Christ will return to make all things right.

o Though our present situation may be dire,

o the Lord’s Supper causes us to look forward with hope.

· Participating in the Lord’s Supper is a “proclamation” that Jesus is our sustenance in this world—the sufficiency of his death is proclaimed for our salvation and hope.

Now we begin to personalize the Lord’s Supper…

3. Look Inward (vv. 27-28)

looking through self-examination in light of Jesus’ work

1 Corinthians 11:27–28 (ESV)

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

· Note that Paul says “unworthy manner,” not “unworthy individual.”

o He is not concerned about whether or not the reader deserves to approach the Lord’s Table.

o It is a question of whether one is approaching with indifference or an unrepentant heart.

§ If one is afflicted by sin, the Supper is comfort.

§ If an individual is comfortable with sin, the Supper is affliction.

· Paul is calling the Christians to examine themselves,

o not to find reasons they are unworthy,

o but to find evidence of a repentant heart—evidence that grace is at work.

o If a believer has a repentant heart, he or she should be coming to the Table.

· Paul wants believers to examine themselves not for perfection,

o but for recognition of their need of Christ’s perfection on their behalf.

o The only time Christians should refrain from the Table is when they find hardened apathy within themselves about their relationship with God and/or others.

· God provides a regular portion of his grace for sinners at the Table,

o so they are encouraged to relish it, celebrate it, enjoy it, and feed on Christ.

o The key is to keep solemnity and celebration in tension.

o We can look toward solemnity because of its significance and to celebration because of what Christ has done.

Partaking in a worthy manner means examining ourselves, which might include asking things like:

Am I truly a believer? Am I trusting in the life and death of the Lord Jesus and his shed blood as a sacrifice for sins as my only acceptance before a holy and just God?

Would the Lord Jesus be pleased with how I have obeyed him since I last participated in the Lord’s Supper?

Are there ways I have offended God in thought, word or deed that I have not confessed?

To what am I giving my life? Would Christ be pleased with my goals, ambitions, and values?

The very nature of the Lord’s Supper requires an inward look – a careful, thoughtful examination.

4. Look Outward (vv. 29-34)

looking around to “discern the body.”

1 Corinthians 11:29 (ESV)

29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

· Paul is calling people to look around them. “

o Discern the body” is a reference to the church.

· Jesus’ body is broken for believers so they can be whole.

o Division within a Christian body is not a faithful proclamation of the gospel.

o Christians are to consider their relationships with other members as they rejoice in healthy and fruitful relationships.

· If there are ways in which the community is encouraging

o social, racial, or economic stratification,

o then the members need to repent.

· The grace of God needs to permeate our relationships,

o to put us around those who are unlike us.

o Christians need to seek to dismantle systemic disunity.

· When we realize that Christ was torn up and broken for us,

o we can then begin to pursue gift distribution

o rather than personal accumulation.

1 Corinthians 11:33–34 (ESV

33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

· “Wait for one another”

o means to put others’ needs before our own because Christ put our needs before his.

o We can refrain from gorging ourselves because Christ refrained for our sake.

· Don Carson in his book Love in Hard Places writes, “[The church] is made up of natural enemies. What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything else of that sort. Christians come together because they have all been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance … they are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’ sake.”

· The Lord’s Supper reveals the vertical aspects

o of what it means to be in union with God

o .through the Lord Jesus Christ,

· but there are also horizontal and social implications

o for what it means to be in good relationships with others.

o for what it means to put others’ needs first.