An Unworthy Observance

1 Corinthians 11:17‑22

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes 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 praise you for this? Certainly not!

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magine that Paul were to join us in our Communion observance today. Imagine that he sat among us, observing our worship—the manner in which we shared in the ordinance and the attitudes we displayed as we confessed our unity in Christ. What do you suppose he would say concerning our observance as a church? What do you imagine he would say concerning our individual observances? You do realise that whether we are commended or condemned as a congregation is dependent upon the sum of the units constituting the Body. Our practise, and the subsequent manner in which a given practise is viewed by God, is but a composite of the individual attitudes of the whole of our people. How would the apostle view our observance?

The apostle did write of a Communion meal which made a lasting impression. Though he had shared in the observance of that continuing ordinance among numerous saints, and though he was instrumental in instituting that same ordinance in a large number of congregations, it is safe to say that the observance of the Corinthian church made a lasting impression on the apostle. However, the impression was not positive; it elicited a stern rebuke from the Apostle's pen. In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good… What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not [1 Corinthians 11:17, 22]. Those scathing queries form the apostolic probe of Corinthian observance of the Lord's Supper. God permitted this rebuke to stand, thus providing a means for instruction to the saints throughout the whole of this dispensation and until our Lord returns. What elicited such apostolic choler? What stirred him so deeply that he would risk losing affection from the very people he had led to faith and established in the Faith of the Lord Jesus?

Unworthy Actions — Having raised the question, the apostle does not hesitate to detail the charges he must press against the Corinthians. In the first place [verse 18a] … and then he delineates several practises unworthy of God's holy people and unworthy of being found in this holy observance of commemoration. Let's go back in our minds, reviewing what this ordinance is all about so that we may discern what is unworthy in the practise of the Corinthians.

First, this is Communion. When the saints of God gather to observe this ordinance they make a declaration of fellowship both with Christ and with one another. By the very definition of the word and by the meaning of the rite an unbeliever cannot be in communion with Christ. Unbelievers have no fellowship with God. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin [1 John 1:5‑7].

If I am not in fellowship with God it must follow that I cannot be in fellowship with God's people. There is no fellowship between the living and the dead and there is no fellowship between light and darkness [cf. 2 Corinthians 6:14]. The sad truth is that unbelievers cannot declare Communion either with Christ or with His Church. What is even more terrifying is that unbelievers open themselves to God's judgement should they persist in foisting themselves upon the observance.

It seems vital that I pause of this point to say that this does not need to be a situation which keeps you from the meal, for when you have come to Christ in faith you are born into the Family of God. The Meal is an excellent time for you to openly declare your faith in Christ and to unite with the Body of Christ. Even as I speak should you have come to believe in Christ the Lord as a congregation we would welcome you to stand and declare your faith and seek to join with us in worship and in service.

Again, the meal is called The Lord's Supper. He is the focus of our observance, for we are looking back recalling the sacrifice He made because of our sin. We see the bread broken for us and we remember that His body was broken for us. We see the wine in the cup and we remember that His blood was shed for us. We are actively calling to mind His sacrifice, confessing that it was for love that He gave Himself in our place. Again, outsiders cannot make such a statement. What is more poignant still is that they are helpless to focus on Christ as Redeemer, for looking back they see the same event and it judges them. Whereas the cross of Christ frees us when we believe, until we have believed that that same cross condemns us. We see the cross and we are reminded that it condemns us as sinners and thus we are under the judgement of God [see John 3:16‑21, 36].

We call the meal Eucharist, or Thanksgiving. When we participate in the meal it should be with gratitude to God for His grace and for His goodness toward us. Indeed, we are grateful for salvation from the merciless rule of self and we recognise that we may now live as free people. We are grateful for deliverance from the penalty of sin and thus we lift our hearts to God in praise. But Christ has promised that He shall return and that we shall reign with Him. Therefore, the child of God looks forward to His return with anticipation and with joy.

As believers lift the cup and share in the broken bread they proclaim the Lord's death until He comes [1 Corinthians 11:26]. How sweet is the anticipation of the child of God at the thought of Christ's return. That hope purifies the believer, encourages him in the time of distress and enables him to continue in the race which is set before him. That same event for the unbeliever—if the he thinks about it at all—is a source of terror, for when Christ returns He shall judge all who do not believe. Perhaps you recall Jesus’ words on this subject.

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned [John 5:24‑29].

To any who share this service today and have yet to submit to Christ as Lord, I invite you now to believe this Good News that Jesus Christ died because of your sin and has raised that you may be declared free of all guilt and condemnation. Thus, for you all that remains undone is that you believe this Good News and embrace Him as Master of life. If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved [Romans 10:9,10]. Throughout this congregation are Christians who are even now praying that you will believe and be born into the Family of God.

I must return to the text, however. I summarise for you the thought that the meal is to be a confession of Communion as believers confess their fellowship with Christ and with one another. This is to be a meal in which we focus on the Risen Christ as we commemorate His love and His sacrifice. We confess that we deserved to be judged but that He has taken our place. This is to be a meal of Thanksgiving in which we express our joy and our anticipation at His promised return. Should we violate the purpose of any of these aspects of the observance, we are approaching the table in a manner unworthy of our Lord—we are dishonouring Him and disgracing the Name by which we are have been called.

One other piece of information is vital if we will understand the apostle's motivation for rebuking these saints who were dishonouring the Lord they professed to love. Two ancient traditions are in view, each carried out to this day among the churches of our Lord. The ajgavph [Jude 12], or love feast, was like our potluck supper. Each person brought something to share. The Communion [koinwniva] was the observance of the continuing ordinance as we have already discussed. The term which Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 11:20 [dei`pnon] appears to refer to putting together both the ajgavph and the Eucharist at one time. This spiritual family reunion was designed to be a time of open expression of love.

The Corinthians numbered among their membership some who approached the Lord's Table in a manner which could never be construed as Communion—there was no fellowship. The dei`pnon was, for them, an opportunity to see and to be seen. As a result there was overt ranking of saints. Underscore this thought in your minds: one cannot esteem one saint above another and be in fellowship either with them or with God. Imagine, one member was flattered shamelessly while another was ignored … and this at the table of the Lord! That is a practise unworthy of the Lord's Table.

Paul further noted that there was within the membership a tendency to exalt self … to esteem number one. There was an appalling absence of humility and an exaggerated sense of self‑importance. The willingness to serve others was increasingly rare among these saints. Again, you may take it as a given: ranking the saints of God encourages over evaluation of one’s own importance. Puffed up with pride I will find myself pressed to elevate myself in my own thinking. As an aside, but nonetheless vital for the people of the Living God to acknowledge, the current trend to self‑abasement among many of the saints is nothing but an ill‑disguised self‑exaltation. They imagine themselves to be so important that they attempt to coerce attention toward themselves through speaking down about themselves. Agree with such a person when they say they are nothing and they will likely not speak to you again of their low self‑esteem. Such imaginations are practises unworthy of the Lord's Table.

Some years ago Lynda and I witnessed an example of that pride which condemns believers. We had met a vivacious Christian who held membership in a Korean congregation. The woman fairly bubbled with the joy of her new faith. She spoke of her joy in reading the Old Testament, of her joy in study of the Word of God in home Bible studies, of her joy in service to Christ. Then she spoke of her husband—also a Christian. He had little joy and resented his work and station in life. In Korea, he had been manager of a large department store. In Canada, he owned his own business and by every appearance he appeared to be doing quite well.

Any of us, I suspect, would be pleased to have the success which he enjoyed. Nevertheless, when his friends would visit they appeared to enjoy more success than he did and his pride was injured and his spirit was wounded and he had no joy in the success he enjoyed. He compared himself to others and felt that he had received less success than he merited. That gracious Christian lady lifted her heart to God—rejoicing that she and her husband owned a good business, rejoicing that they had good employees and rejoicing that they had loyal customers. She rejoiced that God was so good to her and her husband. Her husband, also a Christian, was grieved because as he compared himself against other men he always came out with less stature than he felt he deserved.

The situation described by the lives of this Christian couple is nothing less than an application of the warning of the Word through the Apostle John. You will undoubtedly remember the warning he has given. Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever [1 John 2:15‑17].

When the cravings of our sinful nature, the lust of our eyes and the boasting of what we have and what we do invades our lives, we inevitably suffer. When those same worldly elements are brought into the church, they are disastrous and divisive in the extreme. According to the text, among the membership of the Church of God at Corinth was a significant minority, if not a majority, who ignored the needy. There were actually people in attendance at the Love Feasts who were compelled to fast! They had no food, and they were forced to watch others eat. Oh, they could share in the Communion, but not in the ajgavph … the Love Feast.

The ground at the foot of the cross is level, and we each approach the Lord's Table alike as sinners redeemed by the infinite grace of the Son of God. When I ignore the needy I ignore people who are loved by God. As a young lad, my father was wont to say: “God must love the poor; He made so many of us.” There is an element of truth to that; and it is significant that among the poor of this world is found the most ready reception of the Gospel. This is apostolic instruction.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” [1 Corinthians 1:26‑31].

Do you not recall the words of the apostle spoken to the Ephesian elders [Acts 20:35]? In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Ignoring the needy, and especially at Communion, is a practise unworthy of the Lord's Table.

Unworthy Attitudes — Obviously, if members of the church were overtly ignoring the needy, exalting themselves and ranking the saints within the church, there was an underlying cause. Underscore in your minds this singular truth: actions are always preceded by attitudes. It is true that I am what I think. Where my mind dwells is where I shall shortly live. In this context you will perhaps recall Jesus’ words in Mark 7:20-23. That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man. Clearly, the Corinthians were revealed as subchristian in their attitudes. Paul addresses them as though they were saved, but there was precious little evidence of their salvation evident in their thought patterns and consequently little evidence of new life in their actions toward fellow Christians.

The pride of these Corinthians is evident in the apostolic accusations. It is nothing less than rank promotion of self which he exposes. As evidence of selfishness, he notes sectarianism, exclusiveness, even heresy. I hear that when you come together as a church—ejn ejkklhsiva/ … in congregation—there are divisions among you, and to some extend I believe it. The apostle's statement to the church shows that he was not credulous. He makes it obvious that he is aware of exaggeration in the report that he had received, but there was also that disquieting element of truth which had yet to be confronted within the congregation.

That word we have translated as divisions is the Greek word scivsmata. We obtain our word schism from this Greek word, and it yet refers to disunity, to a lack of harmony, to a division or a rending. The apostle heard of rank sectarianism. They affirmed with their mouths that they were gathered for fellowship (the ajgavph) and for worship (the Communion), but in fact their lives served to deny what their lips stated. There was both an ecclesiastical breakdown and a ritual breakdown.

There was an exclusiveness which must only be seen as repulsive to the Lord Christ, especially when it is discovered among His holy people. It was our Lord who said, Come to Me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest [Matthew 11:28]. It was Jesus who said if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink [John 7:37b]. There is no thought of exclusiveness found in the words of our Lord. Therefore, attitudes which exclude when resident among His professed people are especially repugnant and repellent and reprehensible.

I recall being in such a church once. Individuals, though recognised as saints and admitted as such, were not permitted to hold membership within that congregation on the basis of their race. Before God, we are equal in sin and in our need of His grace. Before God, we are alike condemned outside the love and the mercy of Christ. Before God, we stand as one in our need of forgiveness. I found the attitude of exclusiveness in conflict with the Word of God then and I stand on the identical principle now.

Sectarianism which resulted in exclusiveness was resident among the Corinthians, as were heresies. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval [verse 19]. That word translated differences is the Greek word aiJrevsei". Our English word heresy comes from this Greek word. In our culture we make a greater distinction between sectarianism and heresies than was resident in the Greek language. The word has to do with choosing and means those who have chosen in the same way.

The word aiJrevsei" is used of the Sadduccees [Acts 5:17 – party], applied to the Pharisees [Acts 15:5 – party], and used in speaking of Christians [Acts 24:5,14; 28:22 – sect]. Choosing can be disruptive, however; it may be one of the works of the flesh [Galatians 5:20 – factions]. The Apostle makes the point that it is only as those who choose in a self‑willed manner make their appearance that those who enjoy God's approval [oiJ dovkimoi– those who have stood the test] are revealed. The distinction was slight in Paul's mind. Insistence upon self and upon place was used by God to demonstrate who was truly identified with the Lord.

The Corinthians experienced schisms, splits, sects as they separated into sets. We sing,

We are not divided,

All one body we.

That hymn was written by Baring Gould to show that the Church of England was one and not disrupted like the poor dissenters. The remarkable thing is that the Methodists and the Congregationalists and the Presbyterians and the Baptists and all the other ists took it and put it in their hymnbooks. At the end of his life he said that hymn and its reception had taught him that it meant far more than he had intended when he wrote it. Despite this truth, the Corinthians were determined to segregate within the Body of Christ.

Unworthy Admissions — Unworthy actions were the result of unworthy attitudes harboured in spite of the previous instruction of the apostle. The church knew better; the apostle states that he had already passed on to them the instructions he is now forced to repeat [1 Corinthians 11:23]. Coming to the Lord's Table, the worldly saints were demonstrating that they were proud and therefore not in fellowship either with the Lord or with one another, that they were self‑reliant instead of relying on Christ and therefore ungrateful, that they were living for the present instead of looking to His return and were therefore unprepared. Unprepared, ungrateful, out of fellowship—what a sorrowful admission their supposed love feast had become!

Jerry Vines tells of a deacon he knows who dreamed that an angel took him to the worship service of his church. The building was filled with people, but when they sang the congregational hymns he couldn't hear a sound. When the choir sang its number there wasn't a sound. When the preacher preached the sermon, there wasn't a sound. The deacon looked at the angel and asked, “What's wrong?” The angel replied, “Well, these people are worshipping God with their lips but not with their hearts.” The Corinthians were going through the motions but nothing was happening. It is possible for us to despise the church and desecrate the holy things of God. If we do not come to worship in a spirit of unity we will return home worse off than when we arrived. That is the tragic admission of Corinthian worship.

Unequivocal Admonition — When confronted with the admonishment from the Word or rebuked by the preacher we are sometimes tempted to respond with anger to the challenge. It helps if we can but consider the motive behind issuance of the admonition. Generally within Scripture or in the preaching of the Word to the saints a warning is recognised as evidence of love. If someone loves us they feel free to rebuke us when such rebuke is required. It is hypocritical for us to profess love yet permit error to persist. The apostle wrote as he did precisely because he did love the Corinthians. He had brought them to the Faith, he had nurtured them in their spiritual infancy and he yet yearned for them to fulfil his aspiration of full maturity for them. Though it was with a degree of fear and evident concern, the man of God nevertheless confronted them with their sin.

Don't imagine that I am about to point an accusing finger to expose some heinous sin or outrageous practise within our congregation. I praise you and give thanks to God that you have demonstrated godly sensitivity to the preached Word. Recent history dictates that I would be remiss if I failed to caution you that we have room for growth in the very areas the apostle has dealt with. We are susceptible to pride—to sectarianism, to exclusiveness, to “choosing sides.” We dare not relax our guard against such evil.

It is natural that we feel more comfortable with what we know—with familiar friends and familiar surroundings—but we must not permit our enjoyment of one another to become the basis for exclusion of visitors. It is natural that we choose close friends, that we spend more time with some than with others. We must be careful, however, that we don't fall into a trap which begins to choose with a view to becoming divisive.

Perhaps we need to occasionally review our attitude toward the saints, asking if we are guilty of looking down on some among us or whether we are guilty of unduly elevating some. I suggest that it would prove to be a helpful exercise from time‑to‑time to pray by name for each member of the Body asking God to examine our attitude toward each person sharing worship. Dare we ask Him to correct any attitude which fails His scrutiny? That is exactly what we may require if we will avoid the formation of sects and heresies within our own congregation. We need to be ruthless in examining ourselves and in resisting exaltation of persons.

Perhaps we need to examine our perception of ourselves. Do we so esteem ourselves that we are above serving in some humble position among the brothers? Do we imagine that since we do “so much” already that we need not serve? I confess that we haven't enough servants to qualify yet as a Macedonian church. There is room in my life—in our lives—for genuine humility, learning to esteem others as better than ourselves.

Frankly, I am less concerned about actions—real or perceived—which may or may not be evident among us. I am concerned that we avoid attitudes which are unworthy of the Name of our Lord and Saviour. The Communion Meal is an excellent opportunity to review our lives and the underlying attitudes which shape those lives insuring that they reflect the beauty of the Lord Christ. That is where the apostle is leading the Corinthians, and us as we read his letter to them. Note verses 33 and 34. So then informs us that what follows is a summation. Each of us is responsible to examine our attitudes, but when those attitudes are correct, the actions will reflect the appropriateness of our attitudes. When you come together to eat, wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgement.

If we believe that our Lord is our Judge, and that He will judge us—now—then we will heed this admonition. The reason for this warning is not to erect barriers to keep others from the Lord's Table; it is rather to instruct us in the proper way in which we are to come before Him. When I come before Him, I want to be in fellowship with Him and in hearty fellowship with His people. I want no pride interfering, keeping me from the joy of knowing unity with God's holy people. When I come before Him I want to insure that I focus on Him, remembering His love and His mercy and His grace and the great salvation He purchased through His sacrifice. I don't want to be guilty of centring my attention on myself, comparing myself to another in light of this world which is fast fading away. When I come before His Table, I want to be facing forward, encouraged in the hope of the resurrection, knowing that my Lord is coming soon. I don't want to become so attached to the things of this world that I am unable to receive the blessing of anticipation. I want to hold the things of this life very loosely. Before the Table of the Lord, all this may be accomplished if I maintain a proper attitude as I first come near. Amen.