866 1 Cor.11.17-34 A Model of Love & Consideration
1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 viewsNotes
Transcript
- As human beings we have the tendency to focus on the gnats & in the process, swallow the camel
- This is what Jesus accused the religious leaders of Israel of doing
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
- So often we can’t see the forest for the trees
- This applies to partaking of the Lord’s Supper as well
- To ritualise it to such an extent that Jesus’ figures of speech about communion is taken literally - that the body & blood of Jesus is actually present in the bread & the cup
- Or even say that it transforms into the literal body & blood of Jesus after you have ingested it
--------------------
- This miss’ the fact that Jesus, everywhere, used powerful figures of speech to make His points
- He says, “I am the door of the sheep”; :I am the good shepherd”; “I am the vine & you are the branches”; “I am the bread of life”; “I will give you living water”
Q. Do we seriously take these statements literalisticly?
- Now I know that many of us get tripped up on His sayings
32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.
- Again, even with His words on hunger, people think of literal bread
- Is this what He’s meaning in communion – are we literally consuming His body & His blood?
---------------
- The disciples – even His true disciples – were often perplexed by His plethora of figures of speech
28 “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.” 29 His disciples said, “Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech.
---------------
- In this message today, the apostle Paul addresses the abuses that were happening in the Corinthian church when it came to sharing the Lord’s Supper together
1. The Lord’s Supper Should Unite (vs.17-22)
1. The Lord’s Supper Should Unite (vs.17-22)
- Sadly, a number of churches only share communion once a month or once a quarter
- A pastor said to me that if you share it every week, it becomes less special
- I thought to myself, that if you applied that logic consistently, then it would become even more special if you celebrated it only once a year!
- Such silly arguments fail to gain the purpose & point of communion
- This is aside from the question, then, as to why the disciples just after Pentecost were celebrating it every day?
- When the church began to meet every Sunday on the Lord’s Day, the day of His resurrection, the church celebrated communion together
--------------------
- In the early church, we celebrated communion around a meal
- It would have resembled our time of church lunch & it would begin by remembering Jesus body in His suffering & death
- By giving thanks for the body & for the cup, the church would then be about fellowshipping in Christ through a full meal together
-------------------
- I shared with our home group on Thursday night that they called this time a “love feast”
- The word love in Greek is “agape” – so it is a love feast, not as some people say “agape” feast – there is nothing more special about using the Greek word
- What makes it special is that it is the church, coming together to remember her Lord & all that He has done to bring us out of darkness & into His glorious light
-----------------
- Communion, as Paul points out here, is a time of church unity as we come together to remember Jesus – but to remember that He has made us His people
- From all differing backgrounds where no skin colour exists in respect to one’s worth before God
- It is not only a time of unity, but a time of unity in Christ
17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.
----------------------
- As we look at this passage, Paul notes their disunity & he makes plain that it is evident in the way they care little at all for each other
- They are having their meal together – the church is made up of different people, including slaves – the well off are bringing food for the meal
- However, they consider that since they provided the food, they go first – they hog in until there is nothing left & some go hungry
- Paul says that it is not the Lord’s Supper they are eating, but their own!
- The hungry are those who are the poorer members – they didn’t bring anything, therefore, they miss out
- Then, you have those who perhaps, have not brought the drink, but since it is free, let’s drink as much as we can – and you have those who are drunk
---------------------
- This, Paul says, misses completely what the communion time symbolises
- Their improper personal relationships collide head on with what Christ has done for us on the cross
- At the cross, He laid down His life for His people – what kind of comparison is hogging into the food & others missing out compared with what Jesus has done for us?
Q. In what way, can that be said to be a “love” feast?
-------------------------
- But then, there is this interesting statement in v.19
19 For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.
- Sadly, this seems to express the fact that there are always those within a church’s fellowship who are there for the wrong reasons
- By a person’s behaviour, by their fruit, you will know them, says Jesus
- It becomes evident to all, those who are walking with Christ & those who are not
- Selfishness leaves a trail behind it for all to see
- Paul understands that this is a reality, not that it is his wish
---------------------
- What we have just looked at will need to be kept in mind as we work through this message because it will bear on what the apostle says in the latter portions of this passage
2. An Opportunity to Remember Jesus’ Suffering (vs.23-26)
2. An Opportunity to Remember Jesus’ Suffering (vs.23-26)
- The reason the Lord’s Supper is so important is now laid out
- This section which records the words of Jesus at the last Supper with His disciples is similar to what is recorded in Matt & Mk, but it is virtually identical to Luke’s recording of the last supper
- We have here the meaning of the supper & the meaning is plain
- Twice, the purpose is stated: “do this in remembrance of Me”
- Not because this bread will turn into my body or because this cup will turn into my blood either physically or spiritually
- This is a time, when you can set aside all the thoughts you have had going on throughout the week & think afresh of the goodness of God as shown in the suffering & death of His Son for us
-----------------
- The bread is My body (as in the I am the vine & I am the door – metaphorical) which is for you
- This speaks to the suffering of Jesus – His suffering in Gethsemane as He contemplated the whipping & crucifixion
- The cat o' nine tails applied cuts with bits of flesh torn from His body by the 9 tails of twine that has bits of metal & bone sewn into it
- The Via Dolorosa – Latin for “Sorrowful Way” – “way of suffering” as He carried the cross to the place of execution – about 600 metres
- His crucifixion where He not only endured the pain of suffering having been nailed to a cross, but the lying insults that the very community He served dished up to Him
------------------------
Q. How can a people who truly reflect what Jesus has done for them turn around & in the same moment treat their fellow believers in such an unloving way – how does that in any way, shape or form reflect the meaning of communion as we “do this in remembrance of Me”?
-----------------
- This should also become a concern for every one who leads communion
- If this is indeed a time to remember Him – to put aside the thoughts, concerns & cares we bring to church – shouldn’t the communion leader aid the people of God in their devotion talk by helping us remember Him?
-----------------
- If its about His body given for us – if its about the covenant in His blood, then surely, the central concern of the communion leader in His devotion is to centre the thoughts of the people on Christ – on His body & what that means – all for the purpose of aiding God’s people in their need at that time to remember – call to mind – “this is My body”; this cup is the NC in My blood
------------------
- For the communion leader, this time is not a time for a message you can give to the people – that may satisfy the ego, but that is not in line with the purpose of communion
- Nor is it a time for correcting peoples lives – as good as that may be – its just not appropriate for this time which is specifically set aside to remember Jesus’ sufferings
- I assure you, I have no one in mind & this is not a rebuke to anyone
- But we all know it does happen & we need to hear again afresh the real meaning & purpose of communion
----------------
- The cup of the Lord represents His gracious NC that He inaugurated through the shedding of His blood
31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
- A Covenant was established through the shedding & sprinkling of blood
8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
- Jeremiah’s prophecy signals a new era which will usher in the end & establish the kingdom of Christ for all time
----------------------
- The blood, again, is not the point per se
- Jesus could not have given blood at a local blood bank & therein satisfy the demands of a substitutionary sacrifice for sin
- A death was required – His death – the perfect lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
- Blood is a metaphor for death & in that day, the sword wound drew blood & death & the people of that era understood that well
--------------------
- The point is that there can be no forgiveness without a cost & in the case of salvation, it meant death – that is something many people cannot comprehend
Why Did God Sacrifice His Son (Richard Dawkins)
- Richard Dawkins, on that thinking, would have no criminal in jail – we just hold no one to account – no punishment for wrongdoing
- If God doesn’t uphold justice, why should mankind, if we take this line of thinking?
- Of course, as in the OT where a lamb was slaughtered, the lamb of God, Jesus, inaugurated the NC through His sacrificial death
-----------------------
- Communion is also a proclamation
- Christ’s death is not an end in itself, but the beginning of the End
- The Lord’s Supper is a meal that proclaims the Lord’s death until He comes
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.”
- Jesus’ death is not the end
- The Lord’s Supper is a repeated reminder & experience for us of the reality of what Jesus’ death has accomplished
--------------------
- But we would be selfish to see this in terms of it being only about us
- In doing this we proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes
- For those who see & hear us celebrating the Lord’s sacrificial death, they themselves have the opportunity to respond Christ
- So sharing in this time of communion is not just about us, but about others who hear & respond to the “proclamation” of the communion itself
3. The Need to “Discern” the Body (vs.27-34)
3. The Need to “Discern” the Body (vs.27-34)
- This last section is rather perplexing & we can have 2 different interpretations of it
- I’ll try & explain both, simply, but I will leave you with my preferred choice – it revolves around this verse...
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.
- The question is what is the “unworthy manner”?
- Now you will not solve this if you do not take into account v.29
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
- One perspective is that it relates to taking the communion itself – that is the bread & the cup
- An “unworthy” manner is any sin that may be in the lives of God’s people or any sins that they may have committed through the week
- It may be a slackness in being too flippant in the moment & not somber enough when you are taking the bread & the cup
- It can mean that if you are not recognising the elements, you may be eating & drinking judgement upon yourself
- In other words, this view would take the “does not judge the body” as being the elements of this is My body & this cup…
--------------
- The second view has much to commend it from the context
- In this view, “not judging the body rightly”, relates to the church – the body of Christ
- The word “judge” here means “to discern”
- As we consider this church & the fact that they are not caring for one another – some are hungry & others are getting drunk, they are not modelling what the sacrificial death of Christ means
-----------------
- There are good reasons for taking “body” to mean the body of Christ, the church
- If he meant the elements that represent the body & the cup, why only say “does not judge the body” and include “the cup”, rightly?
- He has in v.26-29, 4 times combined both eating with drinking
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 a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to 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.
- So why does he leave it with a singular “judge the body” & not the “body & the blood”? He had combined them up to that point
------------------
- It seems to me that the wording & the context favours the second view
29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.
- We see this same sort of message against the false teachers in the book of Jude
12 These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted;
- What we have here, then, is a disregard of the church & a disregard as such that negates the very thing that the communion stands for – love & consideration (sacrifice) for others
-----------------
- In the Corinthian church, we see how much this bothered the Lord
- Paul says that judgement has come upon them in the form of sickness & even death
- They are being judged/disciplined by the Lord
- You may recall Ananias & Sapphira who were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit
- In the last 2 verses here, you can see his conclusion to the problem & this really helps reinforce the point that the second view is in mind
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 will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.
- He hasn’t left the thought of improper conduct when they have their communal meal/the Lord’s Supper together – it has to do with the church taking communion & yet, living like the world
- As one commentator put it…
To “profane” the meal as they are doing is to place themselves under the same liability as those responsible for that death in the first place...Thus, to be “guilty of his body and blood” means to be “liable for his death.”
-- Gordon Fee
- What he means is that to ignore what Jesus’ sacrifice means in the way we treat each other is to betray what that sacrifice means for us
- To treat others in such a way means treating Christ in such a way
- In this way, a person aligns themselves with the unbeliever who was responsible for His death
- The reason is that He died for such terrible selfish sins
- So to carry out those sins against the brethren is put ourselves outside the kingdom abusing Christ
-------------------
- The process of examining ourselves should now be obvious
Q. How are we treating each other?
Q. What are we doing or who are we not considering when we take the elements that represent the sacrifice of Christ? - now, obviously, this is in a meal setting where people were going hungry & others getting drunk
- Now given that we are not having anyone hungry during the time of the Lord’s Supper, the teaching comes to have a general meaning for us in matters outside of communion
- It can bear upon what happens during church lunch
- There is no alcohol there, but we can still overfill our plate & perhaps load up on chips which are a favourite to many – we can act selfishly & be inconsiderate in those times
Q. Are we reflecting the sacrifice of Christ in our dealings with one another – that is the question?
- What we say about each other? Do we recognise that Christ died for each of us & not just for me?
---------------------
- In the teaching of Jesus, Paul expected that there would be a mix in the broader church & that there would be the genuine & the false
- The fact that there are some who have become sick & have died is warning to each person in the church to not take the Lord as a fool
- To take His mercy for granted, & in our behaviour treat with contempt him or her for whom Christ died becomes a serious matter
- Let us ensure that our behaviour befits the glorious Gospel of Christ that we proclaim in communion