The Unity of a Meal

Eucharist - the Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper, in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed. late Middle English: from Old French eucariste, based on ecclesiastical Greek eukharistia ‘thanksgiving’, from Greek eukharistos ‘grateful’, from eu ‘well’ + kharizesthai ‘offer graciously’ (from kharis ‘grace’).

To find this out we will look at the Communion account found in 1 Cor 17-34

1 Corinthians 11:17–34 ESV

17 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. 18 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, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses 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 commend you in this? No, I will not. 23 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, 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 also he took the cup, 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 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. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 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.

The Problem

1 Corinthians 11:17–19 ESV

There were major division in the church in Corinth. This isn't slight issues or clicks. This was significant division based on finances and class.

We hear many significant voices in the church talk about how its the one place everyone is equal, but not in Corinth.

Remember that the Church is the assembly. The point is to come together as one body. So for Paul to hear within the Church, within the assembly there was division would be like getting a vase with cracks all throughout that leaked water.

He knows the church well enough to know these concerns are not over blown.

He points out how there needs to be a grouping to find who are true believers and who is there treating it as no more than a social gathering.

1 Corinthians 11:20–22 ESV

20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses 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 commend you in this? No, I will not.

Some of them ate, but not of the Lords supper. It matters what is in our heart. We can say it is the one true God we are here to worship, but if its not true in our heart we do not worship Yahweh.

Some go ahead and eat. This does not refer to eating the bread before others do accidently, but rather feasting on their own to simply fill their bellies.

Others do not share.

Some get drunk. This is not a point of whether drinking is appropriate, but that in this context, drinking in excess is purely wrong.

Paul says to just go do that at home.

But one of the worst things to me in this warning passage is they humiliate those who do not have. They are to share and help each other.

Application: Disunity in a church is dangerous. This doesnt mean we always need to agree, but that at a core level we love on another. If you have an issue with someone work it out.

This cannot happen if we make each other feel bad because we have this and you do not. Let’s discuss disagreement over coffee or lunch instead of attacking one another.

Ill: Team, a real team needs to at its core know they are one unit.

The Order

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

23 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, 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 also he took the cup, 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.

Paul gives the order of communion here as it looked at the Last Supper. We do not know if this was something passed by oral tradition or if it was through an inspired vision from Christ. I tend to think its the latter since he says he recieved it from an inspired vision, but we know that it matches with the passages in the gospels.

We know that participating in the Lord’s Supper was regularly practiced by believers. We see this in Acts 2, so it would have been happening right from the beginning of the church

This time starts with the bread because the meal, the seder or passover meal would begin by breaking the bread. In this Christ reminded the disciples that he was the bread of life, like manna from heaven. But even though he is all people need His body would be broken like the bread for all of mankind.

In the meal the fourth cup would be to remember the Mosaic covenant which started the nation of Israel. In this meal Christ instead made the new convenient, not in the blood of A lamb, but instead in the blood of THE lamb. The lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.

We do this continually to remember Christ and what he did. We need to remember this is not only something we act out but a time we spiritually come before Gods throne and truly worship him. The elements are not magically changed, but we are mercifully transformed.

Acts 2:42-47

English Standard Version Chapter 2

The Fellowship of the Believers

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Application: We are unified in the body and blood of christ. We are made right with God because of this meal and what it represents. We are forgiven for much more than we forgive. Lets use this time to forgive, correct our behavior and be the church.

Sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. It is an act of supreme ingratitude toward the One to whom we owe everything, to the One who has given us life itself. - Sproul

Illustration:

The Warning

1 Corinthians 11:27–32 ESV

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. 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. 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.

Application: We need to treat things like communion with reverence and remember what it means. It should be a time to bring us together, to not act like this warning, but lets look out if we see someone err in this way and help bring them back to the fold.

Application: We take communion in a worthy manner, not because we are worthy, but because we do it as the Lord instructed.

The "worthiness" of which Paul speaks is adverbial, not adjectival. That is, it does not describe the people who participate but the manner in which they do so. We are all, every one of us, unworthy of the love that invites us to the Lord's Table. - Sproul

Teaching. We do not do it right on our own, but because we are instructed. We learn over time to do it correctly - Sanctification, never be truly worthy.

The Reminder

1 Corinthians 11:33–34 ESV

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.

Paul reminds them this is not a time to fill their bellies, but a time to fill their souls.

We need to remember this is should be a time when something awe inspiring happens, its not the transformation of the elements or a blessing of the elements. Rather a blessing on Gods people.

Christ did not simply bless these elements and make them any holier than they already were. Rather, he blessed the disciples there and all of us that have come after.

This is a New Covenant, it was foretold in Jeremiah

Jeremiah 31:31–32 ESV

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.

Why focus so much on this meal?

A time of ritual?

A time to remember we are the body?

A time to time of fellowship?

A time of reflection?

These are all true, these are aspects, but we need to remember that Communion with God is the climax of worship. It is the time that we come together to celebrate the coming before God to eat a meal remembering that we can come before him through Christ our mediator.

Communion is a time of unity not because we like each other, which I hope we do but because we are all cleansed in the blood of the lamb.

Coming to the table with God.

We must remember that the core of what Communion is that its a reminder that Christ died, his body broken, his blood poured out so that we could be in true communion with the on true God, now and forever Amen.

This meal is a reminder that Christ died, his body broken, his blood poured out so that we could be in true communion as a body with the on true God, now and forever

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