1 Corinthians 11:17-34 | The Lord's Supper: An Invitation to Be Strengthened in Our Faith

Announcement: Ed Anderson, Youth Pastor candidate

Sunday, November 9th: Preaching at all 3 services + Q&A session

Sunday, November 16: Congregational meeting. See “Sunday morning resources” shelf.

Scripture reading

At MEFC, we place God’s Word, the Bible as the ultimate authority. Let us read what it has to say about the Lord’s Supper in a responsive reading based on 1 Corinthians 11.

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.

Congregation: 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, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.

When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.

Congregation: For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk.

What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in?

Congregation: 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?

Congregation: No, I will not.

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, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said,

Congregation: “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying,

Congregation: “This cup is the new covenant in 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.

Congregation: 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.

Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

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

That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

Congregation: But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 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.

(1 Corinthians 11:17-34, ESV)

While God’s Word—the Bible—is the ultimate authority in our church, we also affirm our statement of faith.

Let’s read article 6 together.

We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.

At MEFC we want to be intentional with the two ordinances that the Lord Jesus gave us.

Discover baptism class

At MEFC, on the first Sunday of each month we eat a piece of bread and drink from a cup.

Eating the bread and drinking the cup is known as:

The Eucharist (1 Corinthians 11:24; Greek: eucharistia, “thanksgiving”)

The Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20)

Communion (1 Corinthians 10:16, KJV)

This practice goes back all the way back when Jesus and his disciples gathered in the upper room on the night when he was betrayed. (1 Co 11:23-25)

Today’s sermon is titled: The Lord's Supper: An Invitation to Be Strengthened in Our Faith.

How are we strengthened in our faith? We have communion with Christ and we have communion with each other.

(1)We Have Communion With Christ

Jesus broke the bread and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me”

Jesus took the cup and said, “This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

When we take the bread and the cup we remember what Christ has done for us, his people,

Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the Passover feast (Lk 22:7-8). This is no coincidence.

Jesus is the fulfillment of Passover for he will be sacrificed on behalf of his people.

In the OT, the Passover meal was a time of remembrance:

“This day shall be for you a memorial day.” (Exodus 12:14)

“It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.” (Exodus 12:27)

In the Passover, God is remembered and celebrated as the deliverer of his people from bondage. In the same way, during communion we remember or “proclaim the Lord’s death.” (1 Co 11:26)

Do we simply remember what Christ has done for us? I would argue from Scripture that there is something more that takes place when we partake of the bread and the cup.

Let us remember and recover the fact that Christianity is supernatural by nature.

When we eat the bread and drink the cup we “commune with Christ.

1 Corinthians 10:16: “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?

Let this sink in for a moment: We commune with Christ at the Lord’s Supper. Christ himself is present.

The word participation in Greek is koinonia: an association involving close mutual relations and involvement. Koinonia is also translated as fellowship.

How is Jesus present in the elements? We speak of his presence as a spiritual one for his physical resurrected body is in heaven.

“Rather, I urge my readers not to confine their mental interest within these too narrow limits, but to strive to rise much higher than I can lead them. For, whenever this matter is discussed, when I have tried to say all, I feel that I have as yet said little in proportion to its worth. And although my mind can think beyond what my tongue can utter, yet even my mind is conquered and overwhelmed by the greatness of the thing. Therefore, nothing remains but to break forth in wonder at this mystery, which plainly neither the mind is able to conceive nor the tongue to express.” (John Calvin, Inst. IV.17.7)

Calvin admitted that he was “not ashamed to confess” that the nature of Christ’s presence in the Supper is “a secret too lofty for either my mind to comprehend or my words to declare.” In short, he concludes, “I rather experience than understand it” (John Calvin,Inst. IV.17.32).

Do you eat physical food only if you understand exactly how the food breaks down into your bloodstream and how it is distributed within your body? You simply eat because you are hungry and after eating you walk away nourished. It’s the same way with communion. When we partake in genuine faith, our souls are nourished and strengthened for the journey ahead.

(2)We Have Communion With Each Other

The Lord’s Supper is not something that we do alone, but together as a church body.

1 Corinthians 10:17 “17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

During the Lord’s Supper we remember that the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

The church at Corinth failed to realized this by allowing a worldly way of thinking to infiltrate the church and it reflected on how they practiced the Lord’s Supper (notes from Andrew Naselli’s commentary)

The church meeting likely took place at someone’s large home (a wealthy Christian)

The architecture of Greco-Roman homes in Corinth suggests that the social elite would eat in a special dining room (the triclinium) while the lower class would eat in a larger courtyard outside (the atrium)

Paul rebukes the Corinthians because the elite feast on their own food during the meal (in the triclinium) without sharing it with the rest (out in the atrium), thus leaving them hungry.

Thus the way the rich church members celebrate the Lord’s Supper like it is a private dinner contradicts what the Lord’s Supper symbolizes, namely, that the church is a unified loaf because of the gospel (10:16–17). The way elite Corinthian Christians mistreat fellow church members denies the gospel because when they celebrate what is supposed to be a shared meal commemorating Jesus’ death, they selfishly refuse to share their food with fellow brothers and sisters for whom Jesus unselfishly died.

Speaking of food. SNAP/EBT benefits are currently on hold due to the U.S. government shutdown. Some of you depend on this benefits for your daily meals. We want you to know that you’re not alone. If you consider yourself a part of this church family and this situation affects you, please don't hesitate to reach out to one of our pastors or elders. We have a benevolence fund set aside for times just like this, and we want to make sure every person in our church community is cared for and supported.

Conclusion: How to prepare our hearts to receive the Lord’s Supper

With humble hearts. Here’s why this is so important. In our passage today, Paul warns

1 Corinthians 11:27–30 “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.”

Robertson and Plummer (1911, 250) argue that this includes “all that is incompatible with the intention of Christ in instituting the [Lord’s Supper],” including both internal attitude and external behavior.

The Lord’s Supper is to be eaten by unworthy people in a worthy manner.

Discerning questions:

Are you walking in unconfessed, unrepentant sin and unwilling to let it go?

Are you holding on to a grudge and refusing to forgive someone?

Do you consistently put others down while justifying why you are right to do so?

Do you come to the Lord’s Table believing you have earned worthiness by your own merit, rather than with a humble heart and empty hands?

Remember the persecuted church (video)