Sunday, October 6th, 2019 - Getting Right By Getting Real (2 Cor. 11:17-34)
Do we dishonor the Lord when we gather for the Lord’s Supper?
Introduction:
I. The Corinthian Problem Explained (1 Cor. 11:17-22).
A. A Destructive Assembly (1 Cor. 11:17-19).
1. Reprimanding Declaration (v. 17).
2. Reported Divisions (v. 18).
3. Repulsive Dispositions (v. 19).
B. A Disgraceful Assembly (1 Cor. 11:20-22).
1. Pseudo Gatherings (v. 20).
2. Selfish Gatherings (v. 21).
the wealthy Christians in Corinth do not set out to deprive some of the poor of food at the Lord’s Supper. Rather, this is an indirect consequence of their beginning to eat the ordinary meal preceding the Brotritus and Kelchritus before all have arrived. As patrons of the community, in conformity with Roman custom, they often appropriate more than their share of the provisions that they have supplied for the meal. Thus, it frequently happens that there is not enough food for the latest comers, although they are still able to partake of the bread and the wine used in what later would become known as the Eucharist. In Paul’s estimation, the effect is to humiliate all of those who must rely on the hospitality of their social superiors, because they are confronted with the fact of their social inferiority. He admonishes the wealthy to make social distinctions as invisible as possible when the church meets together; practically, this means that they must share the provisions equally with the poor.
3. Shameful Gatherings (v. 22).
II. The Communion Partaking Expounded (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
A. The Delivered Ordinance (1 Cor. 11:23-25).
1. Paul's Faithfulness to Communicate (v. 23).
2. Christ's Faithfulness to Vindicate (vv. 24a-25a).
3. The Believer's Faithfulness to Participate (vv. 24b-25b).
B. A Demonstration of Faith (1 Cor. 11:26).
III. Their Coming Presumptuously without Examination (1 Cor. 11:27-32).
A. The Duty of Self-Examination (1 Cor. 11:27-31).
1. The Danger of Despising the Ordinance (v. 27).
2. The Duty to Delight in the Ordinance (v. 28).
3. Discerning the Lord's Body in the Ordinance (v. 29).
UNWŎRŦHILY, adv. [See Worthy and Worth.]
Not according to desert; without due regard to merit; as, to treat a man unworthily.