Celebrating The Lords Super
CELEBRATING THE LORD’S SUPPER
I Corinthians 11:17‑34
November 4, 2007
David Riley
Red Bank Baptist Church
1 Cor 11:17-34
17 But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.
18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part, I believe it.
19 For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you.
20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper,
21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.
22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God, and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which 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 {He took} the cup also, 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 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly.
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you may not come together for judgment. And the remaining matters I shall arrange when I come.
(NAS)
INTRODUCTION
Family reunions are almost a thing of the past. Many people would be hard‑pressed even to name their relatives and the cities they live in, much less tell the tales of the last time they spent together. Families just don't gather like they used to. And many wouldn't make it through a reunion anyway, because strife, like a thistly vine, would strangle from the gathering every trace of relaxation and joy.
But there was a time when family reunions were as regular as birds heading south for the winter. Members of the family would flock to the reunion site and settle in for a time of laughing, eating, and rekindling closeness.
In the same way that our natural families need to reunite to strengthen their bonds, so we in the family of God need times of sharing and feasting times to tighten our family ties.
The night before His crucifixion, Jesus instituted a family reunion‑the Lord's Supper.
Matt 26:26-30
26 And while they were eating, Jesus took {some} bread, and after a blessing, He broke {it} and gave {it} to the disciples, and said,
"Take, eat; this is My body."
27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave {it} to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you;
28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.
29 "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."
30 And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
(NAS)
In this memorial service, believers may participate together in the most meaningful, the most intimate form of worship.
I. The Church's Practice
The love feast, or agape feast, was like a modern‑day potluck. Members of a church family would gather and bring whatever food or drink they could afford. They were encouraged to share it all, regardless of how rich or poor they were. After the feast, the most symbolic part of the meal was served ‑ the Eucharist. Eucharist means "thanksgiving," telling us something of the purpose for partaking in the bread and the cup.
It included the breaking and eating of bread to commemorate Jesus' crucified body and drinking from a cup of wine in remembrance of the blood He shed for our sins. After the meal, the believers would linger to share and sing and enjoy a time where all barriers were down and all bonds strengthened.
I. The Church's Practice
II. The Corinthians' Situation
Like everything else man has touched, he ruined even the Lord's Supper. In I Corinthians 11:17‑34, we see that the Corinthians had turned what was intended to be a feast of love and remembrance into a gluttonous orgy of pride and selfishness. Small wonder Paul refused to praise them!
A. Paul's Introductory Comments.
When it comes to his rebuke on this issue, Paul doesn't mince words.
1 Corinthians 11:17
17 But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.
NASB
In verse 2 of chapter 11, Paul had something to praise them about. But now the reason for praising them has disappeared. Because they had so perverted the Lord's Supper, he wishes they had never observed it at all.
A Christian’s attitudes and motives should be pure at all times. But when believers come to the table of the Lord, sharing the bread of His body and the cup of His blood, it is absolutely necessary that they leave behind all sin, all bitterness, all racial and sexual prejudice, all class pride, and all feelings of superiority. Of all places and occasions, those attitudes are most out place at the Lord’s Supper. They grievously profane that holy, beautiful, and unifying ordinance of God.
B. Paul's Condemnation.
This severe beginning sets Paul's tone for the rest of the chapter, as he continues to blast the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 11:18-20
18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part, I believe it.
19 For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you.
20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper,
NASB
Though the Corinthians were supposed to be gathered to celebrate their unity in Christ, they huddled instead into exclusive little groups ‑ barriered, proud, selfish.
1 Corinthians 11:21-22
21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.
22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God, and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.
NASB
Like a group of whining two‑year‑olds, they clung to what they could call "Mine!" Drunken and gorged on their own food and drink, they hadn't yet learned to share. So, because of their selfishness, Paul shakes in their faces the scathing finger of condemnation.
I. The Church's Practice
II. The Corinthians' Situation
III. Jesus' Instruction
Like any good teacher, Paul doesn't leave the Corinthians wallowing in what they've done wrong, but follows his condemning speech with instruction for the right way to celebrate the Lord’s Supper taken from the very words of Jesus.
A. The Meal's Elements.
This instruction was nothing new to the Corinthians. As Paul says:
1 Corinthians 11:23a
23a For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you,
NASB
But, ears filled with their own prideful voices, they hadn't listened. So he tells them again.
1 Corinthians 11:23b-24
23b that the Lord Jesus in the night in which 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."
NASB
In the night in which He was betrayed gives the historical setting, which many of the believers may not have known, because, as just noted, probably none of the gospels was yet written. Again we see a jewel against a filthy backdrop.
This most beautiful and meaningful of Christian celebrations was instituted on the very night the Lord was betrayed and arrested. In the midst of the world’s evil, God establishes His good; in the midst of Satan’s wickedness, God plants His holiness.
Just as, by contrast, the fleshly factions cause the Lord’s approved saints to “become evident” (11:19), so Jesus’ betrayal and arrest cause His gracious sacrifice to become more evident. In the midst of Satan’s absolute worst, the condemnation of the Son of God on the cross, God accomplished His absolute best, the sacrifice for the redemption of the world through that cross.
Although Jesus was celebrating the Passover meal with His disciples in the upper room, neither the gospels nor Paul’s account here give all the details of the meal. They concentrate on Jesus’ institution of the new meal, the new supper, which now supersedes the old.
The Passover meal began with the host’s pronouncing a blessing over the first cup of red wine and passing it to the others present. Four cups of wine were passed around during the meal.
After the first cup was drunk bitter herbs dipped in a fruit sauce were eaten and a message was given on the meaning of Passover. Then the first part of a hymn, the Hallel (which means “praise” and is related to hallelujah, “praise ye the Lord”), was sung. The Hallel is comprised of Psalms 113–118, and the first part sung was usually 113 or 113 and 114.
After the second cup was passed, the host would break and pass around the unleavened bread. Then the meal proper, which consisted of the roasted sacrificial lamb, was eaten.
The third cup, after prayer, was then passed and the rest of the Hallel was sung.
The fourth cup, which celebrated the coming kingdom, was drunk immediately before leaving.
It was the third cup that Jesus blessed and that became the cup of Communion.
Luke 22:20
20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
NASB
After Jesus gave some brief words of warning, rebuke, and instruction, the meal was concluded with the singing of a hymn.
1 Corinthians 11:24a
24a and when He [Jesus] had given thanks, He broke it,
NASB
In the Greek had given thanks is a participle, euvcaristhvsa~, from which we get Eucharist, the name by which some Christians refer to the Lord’s Supper.
1. The Bread
1 Corinthians 11:23-24
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which 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."
NASB
The bread that had represented the Exodus now came to represent the body of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. To the Jewish mind the body represented the whole person, not just his physical body. Jesus’ body represents the great mystery of His whole incarnate life, His whole teaching, ministry, and work—all He was and all He did.
The word broken (as in the KJV of verse 24) does not appear in the best manuscripts or in most modern translations. Though the Romans frequently broke the legs of crucified victims in order to hasten death as an act of mercy; John specifically tells us that Jesus’ legs were not broken.
John 19:33
33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs;
36 For these things came to pass, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "Not a bone of Him shall be broken."
NASB
The best reading therefore is simply,
1 Corinthians 11:24b
24b "This is My body, which is for you."
NASB
For you are two of the most beautiful words in all of Scripture. Jesus gave His body, His entire incarnate life, for us who believe in Him. “I became a man for you; I gave the gospel to you; I suffered for you; and I died for you.” Our gracious, loving, magnanimous, merciful God became incarnate not for Himself but for us. Whether a person wants and receives the benefit of that sacrifice is his choice; but Jesus made it and offers it for every person. He paid the ransom for everyone who will be freed.
2. The Cup
1 Corinthians 11:25
25 In the same way He took the cup also, after supper,
saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
NASB
The cup that had represented the lamb’s blood smeared on the door posts and lintels now came to represent the blood of the Lamb of God, shed for the salvation of the world. The Old Covenant was ratified repeatedly by the blood of animals offered by men; but the New Covenant has been ratified once and for all by the blood of Jesus Christ, which God Himself has offered. The old deliverance was merely from Egypt to Canaan.
So Jesus took the cup and said it is the new covenant in My blood. It is important to realize that this was not new in the sense that it was a covenant of grace replacing one of works. It is new in that it is the saving covenant to which all the Old Testament shadows pointed. The new deliverance is from sin to salvation, from death to life, from Satan’s realm to God’s heaven. Passover was transformed into the Lord’s Supper. We now eat the bread and drink the cup not to remember the Red Sea and the Exodus but to remember the Cross and the Savior.
That black night when Judas would betray Him, Jesus gathered His disciples together to celebrate the Passover meal. But no paschal lamb was present at this celebration.
Instead, Jesus the Lamb of God ‑ stood before them and spoke of His death, the ultimate sacrifice. Methodically, He took the bread ... gave thanks for it ... broke it ... and distributed it. Then He took a goblet of wine and said:
1 Corinthians 11:25
25 In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
NASB
Covenant means "a promise or pact between two parties in which there is a mutual agreement." The Old Covenant was based on Moses' Law. And the New Covenant is based on Jesus' blood‑His sacrifice for us. While those under the Law are condemned, those covered by the blood of the New Covenant are free from all condemnation.
Romans 8:1
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
NASB
Paul brings this point home, saying,
1 Corinthians 11:26
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
NASB
B. The Meal's Purpose.
Jesus makes the purpose clear in repeating the phrase,
1 Corinthians 11:25d
25d in remembrance of Me."
NASB
The Lord’s Supper is a time for the family of God to reunite around His Table and commemorate His death. There's nothing sacred about the bread and wine themselves. They are significant only because they physically represent His body and blood.
Do this in remembrance of Me is a command from the lips of our Lord Himself. Sharing in the Lord’s Supper is therefore not an option for believers. We must have the Lord’s Supper on a regular basis if we are to be faithful to the Lord who bought us through the act we are called to remember. Not to partake of the Lord’s Supper is disobedience and a sin.
For the Hebrew to remember meant much more than simply to bring something to mind, merely to recall that it happened. To truly remember is to go back in one’s mind and recapture as much of the reality and significance of an event or experience as one possibly can.
To remember Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross is to relive with Him His life, agony, suffering, and death as much as is humanly possible. When we partake of the Lord’s Supper we do not offer a sacrifice again; we remember His once–for–all sacrifice for us and rededicate ourselves to His obedient service.
1 Corinthians 11:26
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
NASB
As often as we are willing to remember and to proclaim the death of Christ, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper. No frequency is given, but it is a permanent feast. It is more than a remembrance for our own sakes; it is also a proclamation for the world’s sake. It is a testimony to the world that we are not ashamed of our Lord or of His blood, that we belong to Him and are obedient to Him.
The Lord’s Supper is also a reminder of the Lord’s coming again, for He tells us to proclaim His death by this means until He comes. It helps keep us looking forward to the day when we will be with Him. It is a celebration of His present life and of His future return in glory.
There is much involved in that remembrance. When a believer comes to the Lord’s table,
· he remembers Christ’s work on the cross (11:25),
· he partakes of Christ’s spiritual presence in the fellowship, not the elements themselves (10:16),
· he communes with the saints (10:17),
· he worships in holiness (10:20–22), he proclaims salvation in Christ (11:24–25),
· and he anticipates the return of the Lord (11:26) and the coming Kingdom (Matt. 26:29).
Whether you use bread and wine or crackers and grape juice, the meal's essentials are the same ‑ family, thanksgiving, sharing, and Christ. Nothing else matters.
I. The Church's Practice
II. The Corinthians' Situation
III. Jesus' Instruction
IV. Paul's Application
After presenting the ideal for this family reunion, Paul returns to the wreck the Corinthians had made of it.
A. The Offense.
One of the house rules about the Lord's Supper was that you were to dress for the occasion, casting off the rags of pride, selfishness, gluttony, and drunkenness. Paul spells out the seriousness of disobedience, saying,
1 Corinthians 11:27
27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
NASB
“The phrase "in an unworthy manner" has been explained in a host of ways: with a bad conscience and without repentance; with contempt for the poor; without faith in the words given for you without self‑examination." The explanation to which the context naturally leads is this: Without the grateful memory of Christ's sufferings, a memory which necessarily implies the breaking of the will with sin.”
From Commentary on First Corinthians. by Frederic Louis Godet (1889; reprint, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Publications, 1977), pp. 591‑92.
1 Corinthians 11:28-29
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to
himself, if he does not judge the body rightly.
Judgment (κρίμα) here has the idea of chastisement. That chastening comes if he does not judge the body rightly, that is, the blood and body used in Communion. To avoid God’s discipline, one must properly discern and respond to the holiness of the occasion.
B. The Punishment
Those who come to the Lord's Table with unclean hearts are sure to be disciplined:
1 Corinthians 11:29-30,32
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly.
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world.
NASB
This discipline isn't purely punitive, but is fatherly, bringing offenders to repentance so they won't be judged.
The types of chastening the Lord may use are illustrated in verse 30. God does not eternally condemn those who abuse the Lord’s table, but His punishment may be severe illness or even death.
Hebrews 12:5-7
5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;
6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives. "
7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
NASB
C. The Solution.
Mingled in with Paul's negative words is some advice on how to avoid displeasing our heavenly Father.
1 Corinthians 11:28,31
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged.
NASB
Before taking the Lord’s Supper, we must plead with the Lord as David did:
Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
NASB
There is a remedy for unworthiness. This involves discerning what we are and what we ought to be. If we confess our sins, our wrong attitudes and motives,
1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
NASB
Table Manners
When celebrating the Lord's Supper, how are your table manners? Do you eat with unwashed hands? Do you share the meal grudgingly? Remember what this family reunion represents. Enjoy it with wholehearted thanksgiving ... and reverence.
CELEBRATING THE LORD’S SUPPER
I Corinthians 11:17‑34
David Riley
Red Bank Baptist Church
November 4, 2007
I. The Church's Practice
II. The Corinthians' Situation
III. Jesus' Instruction
IV. Paul's Application