Church For The Rest of Us (6)

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

No, it’s not a misprint. Because this Sunday we observed the Lord’s Supper, I wanted to look at what the Bible says about what we just did. We will examine the subject of women and their role in the church next Sunday

PASSOVER

The Passover dinner marks the beginning of freedom for the Jewish nation. The blood of a lamb over the doorposts of one’s home meant deliverance from the death of all the firstborn in the household. It was this event that God used to set the descendants of Abraham free from centuries of oppression by Egyptian powers.

That Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and trial occured on Passover is no mere coincidence. That night as Jesus and His twelve closest followers - those He had specifically chosen and empowered to be His witnesses - Jesus finished the traditional dinner with a twist.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 HCSB

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He also took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

Just a few moments ago we took a small piece of bread and a small cup of juice, re-enacting what Jesus established on that Passover night 2,000 years ago.

But there is actually more going on in this ‘reenactment’ than just an event to remember.

Coming Together…or Coming Apart?

1 Corinthians 11:17–20 HCSB

Now in giving the following instruction I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For to begin with, I hear that when you come together as a church there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. There must, indeed, be factions among you, so that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore, when you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s Supper.

Three times in this section Paul uses a Greek word translated as ‘come together.’ Digging into the background of this particular first century word we learn that it generally means coming together for a common purpose, a common task. For example, the same word is used in

Acts 15:38 HCSB

But Paul did not think it appropriate to take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work.

where it is translated ‘take along...’ referring to Paul’s reluctance to have John Mark rejoin he and Barnabas on a return trip to some of the churches they had begun. Paul’s reasoning - John Mark’s departure suggested he really wasn’t on the same page, focused on the same objective.

Here, in his letter to the believers in Corinth he challenges them about their ‘coming together.’ Instead of ‘coming together’ for a common purpose or assignment, believers in Corinth gathered to highlight the divisions among them!

As believers in Corinth came together for the ‘Lord’s Supper’ they began with a meal. At this meal you could easily discern who had resources and who didn’t. Those who were blessed financially ate much better than those who were struggling.

The believers in Corinth were ‘coming together’ as Paul had written in the first chapter, just so the distinctions and divisions among them could be seen by all - including those unbelievers outside the church!

Brokenness To One-ness

Obviously Jesus’ death on the cross for our sin starts with the reality that each of us as individuals is broken. Sin is brokenness.

Jesus’ death is the only remedy for the brokenness of sin.

And Jesus’ death is also for the purpose of healing the brokenness among people groups.

Ephesians 2:11–22 HCSB

So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called “the uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised,” which is done in the flesh by human hands. At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. In His flesh, He made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations, so that He might create in Himself one new man from the two, resulting in peace. He did this so that He might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross and put the hostility to death by it. When the Messiah came, He proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone. The whole building, being put together by Him, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord. You also are being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

So, every time believers in Corinth came together and observed the Lord’s Supper and highlighted the divisions among them they truly were ignoring the purpose and power of Jesus’ death on the cross.

Set Free from Sin or Falling Into Discipline

1 Corinthians 11:28–30 HCSB

So a man should examine himself; in this way he should eat the bread and drink from the cup. For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep.

Sin is no trivial matter. Sin, as God has said from creation onward, is a life and death matter (see Gen 2:17).

The cup, representing the blood of Jesus, is more than just a juice.

The cup is nothing less than a physical reminder of one undeniable fact:

Leviticus 17:11 HCSB

For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have appointed it to you to make atonement on the altar for your lives, since it is the lifeblood that makes atonement.

As Jesus suffered physically He literally poured out his Life - His blood - as an atonement for our sin.

His blood represents God’s promise of forgiveness and freedom from the lingering power of sin.

Hebrews 9:11–14 HCSB

But the Messiah has appeared, high priest of the good things that have come. In the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands (that is, not of this creation ), He entered the most holy place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow, sprinkling those who are defiled, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?

Coming Together for God’s Purposes

1 Corinthians 11:33 HCSB

Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

Here we find another use of the word we mentioned earlier...

For what purpose are we ‘coming together?’

Paul has clearly identified our aim in observing the Lord’s Supper:

1 Corinthians 11:26 HCSB

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

Opportunities and Challenges

Each observance of the Lord’s Supper is an opportunity:

Are we One in Purpose?

Most of us would identify that yes, this is our ‘church family.’

Some have made specific commitments to this ‘family’ by ‘joining’ the church. Others are content to casually identify as a part of the church family.

Let me challenge all of us today:

If we are truly ‘coming together’ then why wouldn’t we want to publicly identify with this church family?

We accept members by several methods:

1 - on a profession of faith in Jesus Christ we baptize that individual and that places their name on our church membership roll.

2 - on promise of a letter/statement from another Southern Baptist Church. We cooperate with nearly 45,000 other churches across North America and as people move from one location to another they often identify with a new church.

3 - on your assurance that you were baptized by immersion AFTER you received Jesus as Lord and Savior in a manner that matches that of the New Testament.

Each observance of the Lord’s Supper also offers a challenge:

Proclaiming the Gospel with One Voice

The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is not to satisfy our hunger. The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to demonstrate to the world that Jesus saves and that He is coming again.

Since we broadcast on Facebook and Youtube, who knows whose life might be touched by a clear and powerful demonstration of our clear purpose on Sunday’s like today!