THE LORD’S SUPPER

1 Corinthians 11:17-22

Conduct at the Lord's Supper

Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 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. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? 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 do not praise you.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Institution of the Lord's Supper

(Matt 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-23)

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; 24 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." 25 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."

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.

1 Corinthians 11:27-34

Examine Yourself

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. 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 in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 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.

NKJV

The apostle Paul found it necessary to correct the Corinthian church concerning their observance of the Lord’s Supper. Paul heard that there were divisions and factions among them. They managed to segregate God’s family, according to their differences in the natural, disregarding the unity of the Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, those who were baptized in the Spirit became one in heart and mind, counting nothing they possessed as their own, but had all things in common. Just a few years later, the Corinthian church showed no signs of being in one accord, in one place, but had become self centered.

What they called the Lord’s Supper no longer resembled what Jesus demonstrated and instituted. This was to be a covenant meal, demonstrating the willingness of all participants to lay down their lives for their brothers and sisters. Covenant with God, basically, is an agreement that places everything that each one has at the disposal of the other and is available to defend them against the enemy. God of course has no lack or need of anything, but asks for our participation anyway. When Lot and his family were captured in the attack on the city of Sodom, Abraham used all at his disposal to go after and retrieve everything that was stolen. Lot was not just Abraham’s nephew, but was part of a family covenant with God. Abraham had faith in God’s promise to be involved, with all at His disposal, to defend his family; thereby he was able to defeat armies with only a couple hundred men. They not only brought back Lot and his household, but all the people of the city with their goods. Abraham boldly acted, counting on God’s agreement to be involved in the recovery of Lot and his family, as part of the covenant.

Jesus demonstrated by His broken body and shed blood that He put His all in harm’s way, even to death, to capture and save all that had been stolen by His enemy, Satan. It was the most selfless act ever demonstrated on this earth: one that He now wants us to show forth or portray regularly until He returns. Eating of His body (bread), and drinking of His blood (wine), demonstrates our willingness to become one with Him in heart and mind: valuing what He values, placing all we have, even our very lives, on the line just as He did, that others might have abundant life.

Every time we eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord, we proclaim, and prophetically display, the Lord’s selfless act of death, in remembrance of Him, until He comes again. Therefore, if we partake in an unworthy manner, we are guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. The word unworthy refers to the actions, not the person; it does not refer to the value or worth of a soul, but the unequal manner in which His death is portrayed. The most selfless act on earth can not be demonstrated through selfishness and division.

The actions of the Corinthians were contrary to those of Christ: they resembled more the mockery of those who put Him to death. Many of the Corinthians were weak and sick, some had even gone to an early grave, because they did not discern or understand the implication of their actions. Jesus’ body received judgment and was condemned in our place: the innocent in stead of the guilty. All selfishness and sin was placed on Jesus, it was judged and condemned on the cross. But, if we are walking in selfishness (sin) and partake of His body in a covenant meal, we will eat and drink of the judgment and condemnation that was placed on Him. Instead of receiving the blessings that belong to the family of God, we partake of the judgment for sin that was placed on Jesus body.

The church is now considered the body of Christ and we are all members of that body. If we consider others as unimportant, or selfishly ignore them, it is a sign that we are not discerning the body of Christ. In the following chapter, I Corinthians 12, Paul speaks of the body having many parts that God has placed in order, as it has pleased Him. He says that we cannot say we have no need of the other parts; just as the hand cannot do without the eye, neither can we function properly without all the members in their place.

God’s judgment is not for the purpose of condemning us with the world but to correct us and get us back on track. We must learn to judge our own actions to determine if we are considering the body of Christ as one, in the unity of the Spirit.