Receiving One Another in the Church

Today, I’d like to challenge you to consider the Lord’s Supper from a perspective which we often overlook and one which Christ himself takes very seriously.

Christ has given the church two ordinances, which are two special commands or practices he desires us to do together as a church. The first, baptism, marks our formal entrance into the church and the second, the Lord’s Supper, maintains our unity as a church.

Neither of these practices makes us a follower of Christ but both enable us to recognize one another as followers of Christ. Baptism conveys that I have committed to following Christ and the Lord’s Supper conveys that I continue to be committed to following Christ.

Unfortunately, we can do these things – just as anything else we do as a church – without appreciating the true importance of what we are doing. We can observe the Lord’s Supper, for instance, as a mindless ritual. In our passage today, Paul corrects a flawed, wrong approach to observing the Lord’s Supper which was happening in the church at Corinth. We should allow his corrective teaching to speak to our own church today.

In summary, here is what Paul teaches in 1 Cor 11:17-34: when we observe the Lord's Supper, we must examine whether we are doing so as a unified church because a divided church makes our observance counterproductive.

Observing the Lord’s Supper can be counterproductive. (1 Cor 11:17-22)

Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you,

The church at Corinth had many problems – doctrinal, legal, moral, relational, problems with their reputation in the community, and more, but they had some positive qualities, too. Shortly before (1 Cor 11:17), Paul had praised them for remembering some things he had taught them to do when they gathered together for worship, yet here he makes a distinction. Though he had already praised them for certain positive behaviors, he would not praise them for everything. He was about to give them some instructions to correct some wrong behavior pertaining to how they observed the Lord’s Supper.

Before moving on, let me point out that just as Paul was able to acknowledge positive qualities in the Corinthian church, despite their many problems, we should learn to do the same. Just because another believer has a problem of some kind doesn’t mean everything about them is a problem. We need to avoid arriving at conclusions which portray one another as “all bad.” Just because another believer may fall short in some way doesn’t mean they’re a lost cause or deserving of outright judgment and rejection. We’re all a work in progress and always have something which needs to be improved.

Since you come together not for the better but for the worse.

With this statement, Paul claims that when they gathered to observe the Lord’s Supper, their actions were not commendable but were counterproductive instead. He will soon say, “What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in” (1 Cor 11:22)? Today, we would say, “Don’t bother coming, you’d be better off staying home!” The message Paul is trying to express here is that they thought they were doing a good thing by observing the Lord’s Supper, but there was a problem with how they were doing it which made their behavior worthless and unhelpful.

For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.

This reveals to us the reason for Paul’s concern. He had heard from reliable sources that when members of this church observed the Lord’s Supper together, they were not truly “together.” Though they would gather in the same place from a physical, locational standpoint (in the same building or room, etc.), there were personal, relational, social divisions within the larger group. Are there any such divisions in our church today?

For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.

With this statement, Paul makes an off-handed comment, once again looking for a positive perspective on an otherwise negative situation. He acknowledges that to some extent, the divisions within the church at Corinth might actually reveal who was a genuine follower of Christ (“those who are approved”) and who was not. If so, then perhaps there was a silver lining to the problem.

Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.

With these words, Paul tells the church that though they claim to be gathering together to observe the Lord’s Supper, that’s not actually what they’re doing. Perhaps they were doing so in their motions but not in reality.

For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk.

Rather than gathering to observe the Lord’s Supper, they gathered to feed their stomachs and quench their thirst. From what Paul says here, it seems as though certain people were insisting on eating and drinking before others.

This “me-first” mindset resulted in two problematic outcomes. First, the selfish people caused others in the church to wait to be fed for a long time and remain hungry, getting nothing to eat in the end. Second, they not only filled their stomachs, but they did so to an excessive, gluttonous degree – so much so that they became drunk

Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?

Here Paul introduces an important concept which he wants to embed firmly in our hearts – that when we mistreat other members of our church, we disrespect the entire church by making the church appear as something very different than what it really is. In other words, we give the church a very bad reputation.

Selfish church members give their entire church – and everyone in it – a bad reputation. Most importantly, they give Christ a bad reputation, and that’s a serious problem.

In this case, Paul indicates that it was church members with more influence and resources who were disregarding other members who were less privileged or successful. Believers who are less privileged and successful in life from a power and wealth standpoint already enjoy less respect in the world outside the church, and by following Christ, they lose even more respect from nonbelievers.

While such people can expect to be looked down upon, overlooked, or mistreated by nonbelievers, they should not be treated this way in their church family. No members of a church should feel shamed or overlooked due to their social position or financial standing. The church should be a place of equal standing. The cross is the great equalizer for all must bow the knee to Christ and the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.

Paul concludes that there is nothing good about this behavior. He would like to praise them for how they observed the Lord’s Supper, because technically they were doing this, yet he couldn’t praise them because their selfish attitude and approach undermined the very thing which they believed they were doing for Christ.

Observing the Lord’s Supper must focus on Christ. (1 Cor 11:23-26)

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

With these words, Paul reminds us about why we observe the Lord’s Supper, and we do so for at least three reasons.

We observe the Lord’s Supper to obey Christ.

We do so to obey Christ, because he said, “Take, eat,” and also, “Do this” (drink the juice). So, we show our submission to Christ as our Lord and Master by doing what he said.

Now, he didn’t merely say to do this once, but “do this” tells us to keep on doing this, then “as often as” tells us that we who are followers of Christ should do this regularly and repeatedly. That’s why we do this at least four times every year at Brookdale.

We observe the Lord’s Supper to remember Christ.

In addition to obeying Christ, we also observe the Lord’s Supper to remember him. He says to eat the bread “in remembrance of me” and to drink the juice “in remembrance of me.” By remembering, Christ meant more than merely remembering in an academic, intellectual, or mental way his existence or that he died on the cross for our sins.

In the Bible, “remembering” is more than mental recall. It involves emotion and volition as well as cognition. It not only touches the past; it also articulates with the present and the future, helping a person connect previously acquired wisdom to current and future decisions. In the words of Old Testament scholar Robert Cosand, “Remembrance is an understanding of the reality of the past in such a way that the events of the past become a force in the present, producing some activity of will or of body or both.” Bruce Waltke says simply, “Remembrance equals participation.” (Jeffrey D. Arthurs, Preaching as Reminding, p. 13).

The most impactful memorial in the United States may very well be the Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C. When you enter the museum, you are assigned a passport which introduces you to and identifies you as an actual Holocaust victim. As you make your way through the exhibits, you connect with that person as you trace what happened to him or her throughout the war. The museum is filled with pictures, sounds, recreated scenes, and even mementos (like piles of discarded shoes from those who died in the gas chambers) – all of which make a definite impact on you as a person.

Why does a memorial like this exist? Not merely to educate you from an academic standpoint or to prove that such things actually occurred (which itself is being questioned by some today). The purpose of such a memorial is to remind you of these events in such a way that you make a personal connection to those events, feel empathy for what happened, and choose to do what you can to detect and prevent similar problems today.

This is the purpose of observing the Lord’s Supper. Consider, for instance, to what degree has the fact that Christ lived, suffered, and died for your sins even entered your mind this past week. More importantly, to what degree has his sacrificial life and suffering tangibly affected your feelings, choices, and actions in day-to-day life. To what degree has Christ’s death for you influenced the way you’ve related to God, treated your spouse and children, responded to other people in your life, spent your money, and allocated your time?

Observing the Lord’s Supper together with your church is super important because it’s that extra special way that Christ himself tells us to remember what he has done for us in the way that I’ve just described. When we fail to make this practice a priority, we not only disobey Christ, but we fail to allow his death to influence our thinking, feelings, and choices to the degree he desires. We risk “forgetting” to connect his death to our life.

We observe the Lord’s Supper to look forward to Christ.

Third, we observe the Lord’s Supper not only to obey and remember Christ, but to look forward to his future return. This is an often-overlooked purpose for the Lord’s Supper. Yet, as other pastors from church history have pointed out, the Lord’s Supper is a special moment in the present that both remembers and savors the past while looking forward to and anticipating the future. We look back to Christ’s suffering but look forward to celebrating with him. In fact, Christ himself looked forward to this at the first Lord’s Supper.

Christ said this as he observed the Passover with his disciples, the night he was both betrayed and crucified: “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” (Matt 26:29).

The next time he eats with his followers will be with us all in his kingdom when we observe the Lord’s Supper with the Lord himself. Then all the pastors will sit down and Christ himself will serve us. I’m looking forward to that moment – are you?

Observing the Lord’s Supper should promote unity in the church. (1 Cor 11:27-34)

Having reminded the members of the church at Corinth about the special significance of the Lord’s Supper, Paul now returns to correcting their wrong approach to doing this.

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

When we hear these words, we tend to conclude that to “examine himself” tells us to examine our hearts to affirm either (a) that we are genuine followers of Christ or (b) that we are harboring no outstanding, unconfessed sins in our lives, esp. of a private nature.

To be sure, we should not tolerate ongoing, unconfessed sins in our life because when we do this as a follower of Christ, we are either (a) providing evidence that we are not a genuine believer or (b) we are “trampling on the Son of God” (Heb 10:29). When we do this as followers of Christ, we do not enjoy a close relationship with Christ but feel guilty and have no confidence that we are living in a way that pleases him.

However, neither of these options are what Paul has in view here. What Paul calls “unworthy” and what he tells each one of us to “examine” within ourselves is not the matter of inward, unconfessed sins.

Unworthy here means to do something in an improper way that does not match or line up and – by implication – to be doing something that is not only unworthy but worthless and not worth doing.

What Paul wants us to evaluate when we observe the Lord’s Supper is whether we are behaving towards one another properly in the church. In these verses, he refers to doing this in a way that is unworthy of “the body and blood of the Lord.” He also refers to doing this in a way that is unworthy of (or “does not discern”) the [Lord’s] body. Most manuscripts do not have Lord’s before body in v. 29, so this is most likely a reference not merely to Christ’s own physical body, which he sacrificed for us through suffering and death, but to his spiritual body, which is the church and of which we are all equal members.

Paul’s point here is that there is something especially disturbing and wrong about a church who observes the Lord’s Supper together but who is clearly divided at the same time.

So, the Lord’s Supper is more than a regular occasion to remember the significance of Christ’s death, it is also a regular opportunity to evaluate the genuineness of our closeness and oneness together as a church – which is the spiritual body of Christ. To be divided and at odds with one another in a church family is disrespectful to Christ and also damages or disparages his reputation to the believers and nonbelievers who know us.

For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.

Here Paul claimed that numerous members of the church at Corinth were physically ill and sick as a divine consequence for participating in the Lord’s Supper while ignoring the divisions between them and their mistreatment of one another. He even claimed that some had recently died as a result of their wrong approach to the Lord’s Supper.

For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

Here Paul claimed that these severe physical consequences were indeed the fatherly, parental discipline and chastening of God. God himself – even Christ himself – had brought about these strict consequences as a warning to the church at Corinth to observe the Lord’s Supper properly – and by “properly” we mean in a unified and harmonious way in which all members treat one another with equal love and respect, and no divisions between them.

Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

In conclusion, Paul gave the church members some practical advice.

First, when they came together to observe the Lord’s Supper, they should “wait for one another” or “receive one another.” By this he means “to let other people eat first,” “to let other people eat the food that you brought to the meal,” and “welcome other members into your circle of fellowship so that there aren’t multiple groups at the meal who don’t acknowledge each other or treat one another well.”

Second, he tells them not to count on the Lord’s Supper to solve their hunger problems or to be their fulfilling meal for the day (or in the case of some who were poorer, for the week). You see, the early church attached to the Lord’s Supper something called the “agape feast” or “love dinner.” They combined the Lord’s Supper with a larger, full-course meal – which we do, too.

The problem arose when those who were wealthier brought more or fancier foods and those who were poorer brought less or none. In such a case, the church should have let those who needed more food eat first and should not have required them to wait a long time to be served and to sit in separate places. They should have let them eat like all the rest and mixed and mingled with them as they ate.

So, Paul told the church at Corinth that if they couldn’t treat one another properly in a full-course potluck meal, they should cancel the potluck meal and eat at home. They should focus merely on observing the Lord’s Supper with bread and juice, not expecting to satisfy their physical appetites in the process but rather focusing on the spiritual truths about which the observance was supposed to remind them.

So, the question a church needs to ask itself is whether we are observing the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner ourselves. Not only do we share food together without favoritism but do we enjoy a harmonious, unified fellowship together as a church, not hiding or masking unresolved differences and divisions between us.

Meatballs at a Potluck Meal

In the 90’s, my father started a small country church in central Indiana. After one Sunday service, we hosted an afternoon dinner in which every family brought some food to share. After we thanked God for the food, a problem developed. One lady became upset and complained to another lady that the children of the church (I don’t remember if I was one of them) had been served food first before the adults. “After all,” she insisted, “everyone knows that men should always get their food first and the children should go last!” This was, of course, a personal, family, or cultural expectation of which others in the church were unaware. It wasn’t a biblical teaching.

To make matters worse, this lady had brought a crockpot filled with barbequed meatballs which she intended for her husband and some guests of her family to enjoy, but the children had loaded up on so many meatballs that there were no meatballs left for the adults. Sad to say, this situation grew into a serious problem for our church creating real, actual divisions and disunity.

Next Sunday, our church observed the Lord’s Supper. As usual, my father reminded the church to participate in a worthy manner, and if anyone had grievances between each other, they should make things right before they ate the bread and drank the juice. To his surprise, during a time of quiet reflection, the lady who complained about the children eating all the meatballs approached the lady whose children had eaten the meatballs, and they stepped aside to talk privately.

My father was thrilled because he thought they were mending their relationship. When the service ended, he spoke to the lady and asked her how the conversation went. She said, “I told the lady she and her family needed to apologize for eating all the meatballs, but she refused.” Sadly, one of those families stopped coming to church altogether.

Before you participate in the Lord’s Supper, examine your treatment of other people in the church first.

Doing anything Christ commands can be counterproductive if we do so hypocritically, performing the actions and going through the motions but contradicting the purpose and spirit of what we are doing. That’s why our theology must match our practice. It takes real honesty and self-awareness to do this well.

Have you treated other members of your church wrongly? Have you caused divisions within the church due to your actions, attitude, or words to others over the years, months, and weeks before today? Do you argue and create disunity over personal, petty, or unimportant things? These things may be as silly – yet serious – as being offended over who eats food first at a potluck, how much they eat, and so on.

Sadly, the greatest danger to the unity of a church is not always division over serious doctrinal error or grave moral sin but is often some petty or mundane issue or difference which we allow to drive large wedges between us.

When you demand to receive preferential treatment for your opinions and insist that other people treat you with primary respect, while you treat other members of the church as less important – you are doing what Paul tells us is such a problem.

In the church, there should be no special treatment for certain special groups of people, whether that be those who are wealthier, more tenured, of a certain ethnicity, of a certain educational status, etc. We should all treat one another with equal dignity and respect because we are all equal members in the body of Christ. As we observe the Lord’s Supper together, let’s focus our hearts on this simple, heart-searching question. “Am I at odds with anyone or mistreating anyone in the church?”

If the answer is yes, then confess your failure to Christ and receive his forgiveness. Then I would also encourage you to speak to that person or persons as soon as you can – not to point out some flaw in their life but to confess to them your sin or mistreatment against them and ask their forgiveness.

That person could be your spouse or child sitting next to you or it could be any other person in the church. In a church like ours, with such a diversity of members and such a long history, the probability is high that there are indeed some outstanding, lingering differences or divisions among us due to hurtful words and actions against another.

If any such differences come to mind of which you have been a contributor, then I encourage you not to dismiss them. Make such things right in the way that I’ve described so that our church may grow more unified and harmonious together and that we may observe the Lord’s Supper in a way that is more honorable and respectful of Christ and the significance of his suffering and death for our sins.

If we do not take these instructions and warning seriously, then we may be asking Christ to introduce some more significant judgment and disciplinary measures. In fact, this may be the very reason why any number of sad developments have occurred in our church in the past. I don’t have any in mind but perhaps those who’ve been here a longer while may know of some things of this nature.

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