Two weeks ago we introduced the question, “What is church?” and we started with the first part of the answer, which is, “the church is a people group.” Last week we continued to ask the same question, “What is church?” and we added to the answer, “it’s a people group whose essential business is to love others as Jesus loved us.” In Acts 1:8; Jesus told his disciples before he ascended back to His Father, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
If we think of Weymouth as Jerusalem and Nova Scotia as Judea and the Maritimes as Samaria and the rest of the world as the ends of the earth, we could read Jesus words to us like this: And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere, in Weymouth, throughout Nova Scotia, in the Maritimes and to the ends of the earth.
We are a people group with the privilege and the honor of living the Word of God as witnesses. I believe that if we start accepting ourselves as the people group of heaven who are in place on earth to share the Gospel of Jesus as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to engage this mission; our lives, this church, our worship will be anything but boring.
And during the course of our discussion on “What is Church?” there has been another question for each of us as individuals to consider and that question is, “Are you living as a witness for the gospel?” Last week we discussed why this question is important and what the answer means for you. Love is the motive, the driving force behind your witness of gospel of Jesus. Love, according to Jesus himself, is at the core of every follower. Paul shares with us in Romans 12:9-13 that we are to be genuine in loving others. Love is the motive that drives everything we do as a church. He tells us to serve the Lord enthusiastically. The word that Paul uses in Romans 12:11 is zeontes which means “I am boiling.” Paul is saying to be so hot in your desire to serve and to work for Christ that you’re boiling. And yes, you can reference this to Revelation 3:16, “But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” We don’t want to be lukewarm. And it’s really not enough to be hot, God expects us to be boiling over with compassion and love.
And this leads us to the conclusion of the answer to the question “What is Church?” The church of Jesus is a people group whose essential business is to love others as Jesus loved us and who routinely come together to share faith, enjoy testimony and most importantly pray with confidence, boldness and power.
One of the things that I discovered as I read from Acts through 1 Corinthians is how intentional the church was when they came together. They had a purpose for being together. Here are a few examples: In Acts 4 Peter and John ask the church to meet so they can share a report that they were told not to speak of Jesus anymore by the local religious authorities. So the church prayed with confidence, boldness and power and here is what the Scripture said happened next, “After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.” There was no shutting up this church.
In Acts 6 the apostles called a meeting of all the believers so that they could appoint men as deacons to administer a food program that was fairly distributed among Jewish and Gentile widows. The apostles felt they needed to dedicate themselves to sharing their faith and as a result of this meeting Acts 6:7 says, “So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too.”
We don’t have time to look at every example of the meetings of these first followers but there is one more example in Acts 20 that I want to look at because it leads to our discussion in 1 Corinthians. Luke shares with us in verse 7 that the church in Troas met on Sunday to break bread. Modern translators have changed the phrase “break bread” to the phrase, “Lord’s Supper.” In our time we understand a liturgical and religious ceremony we call the Lord’s Supper but in the day and time Luke was writing the phrase “break bread” most often meant they met for a meal with the purpose of remembering the sacrifice of Jesus at the same time. And this is why the church in Troas was coming together. They didn’t come together for a meal, we’ll talk about what Paul has to say about that in a moment, they came together to enjoy testimony of Jesus, his death, burial and resurrection and what this meant for them. And they like many churches during this time enjoyed this testimony with a meal.
In our response to Jesus series a month ago I said, “Some of the best work Jesus did was during a meal. Jesus said, “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.” Matthew 25:35 Of these five acts of service, providing a meal, a drink, clothing, health care, and visiting a prison, four of them can be done in our home. And the first three we can provide through a meal. Jesus said, “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet, don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.” Luke 14:12-14
I’m not suggesting that we should do the same thing as these first century followers and have a meal every time we celebrate the testimony of Jesus through the Lord’s Supper, but what if we celebrated the testimony of Jesus every time we shared a meal. How would this change our potlucks or other fellowship meals? For these early followers enjoying the testimony of Jesus was the central motive that brought them together on the first day of the week. And this is why the church in Corinth came together on Sunday.
The church in Corinth was made up of believers who were very different. There was a lot of conflict among them including who they considered to be their main influence. This division is one of the first things Paul addresses in his first letter to them. He said, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:10-12
Not only did they argue about who they considered to be their main influence they also were very different as individuals. Paul says this about them in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Some of the first believers in Corinth were converted pagan idol prostitutes. The culture in ancient Corinth reflected it’s status as the largest and richest city in Greece. This description of the city in Corinth in Paul’s day can be seen on www.ancientcorinth.net. This is a quote from that source, “Corinth was known as an especially "wild” city and had a reputation for licentiousness. Paul was faced with a city that was used to coin one of the Greek words for "fornicate”, which was korinthiazomai! This reputation was based, in part, on the ancient Greek historian Strabo's report that there were 1,000 sacred prostitutes in the temple of Aphrodite on the Acrocorinth, which was a 1,886-foot hill that rises above the City of Corinth to the south.”
Some of these pagan prostitutes and worshipers found themselves breaking bread together around a table with thieves, drunks and cheaters. When the Jewish believers in Jerusalem became followers of Jesus they didn’t give up being Jews. They still practiced the rituals, feasts and traditions of their Jewish faith. The same is true with the Gentiles who were pagan worshipers. They believed in Jesus as the Son of God but they didn’t give up their rituals, feasts and traditions of their pagan faith. This clash of cultures brought about a lot of conflict in the early church, especially in city centers like Corinth where there would’ve been Jews and Gentiles, both unwilling to give up their faith practices even though they shared the same belief in Jesus. The Jews complained that the gentile believer was still feasting at pagan worship centers and felt they should not have anything to do with their pagan rituals, and this is why Paul includes a chapter in Corinthians (chapter 10) reminding Jews that they too in their history worshiped other gods. He concludes the chapter with this thought, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentilesor the church of God. I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.”
We solve a lot of issues and conflicts when we make what we say and do all about the glory of God. And we cause a lot of problems when we fail to make what we say and do all about the glory of God. The church in Corinth had a lot to overcome. They were coming out of lifestyles that needed to be drastically changed in order to bring glory to God. They were transforming from self serving hedonistic pleasure seekers to the church of Jesus. They were becoming a people group whose essential business is to love others as Jesus loved and who routinely came together to share faith, enjoy testimony and most importantly pray with confidence, boldness and power. Only one power on earth can change people this dramatically and that is the power of God.
So this is why Paul says this in the Scripture that we are looking at today starting with 1 Corinthians 11:18-19, “First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!” Paul has already addressed this issue earlier in the letter so we know he’s not saying that arguments are good or productive. Paul is stating the obvious that there is a stark difference or division between the genuine follower of Jesus and the person who just shows up for the meal.
Today of course we don’t share a meal every week to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. I wish we did, but, I think women changed that tradition pretty quick. It’s a lot of work to feed a large group of people. And it’s not the meal part that was important. This is a vital part of Paul’s teaching here that we need to understand today. The meal, or the actual ‘breaking bread’ part of the meeting was not the most important.
What Paul points out in this chapter that is most important for us in coming together as a people group is remembering and announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. And this is what is most relevant for us today considering it’s Remembrance Day. We shared a moment of silence at the beginning of our worship time today to remember the lives who have fought and sacrificed for our freedoms. This is appropriate for us to do. We should honor, celebrate and remember those in our armed forces. Without them we would not be sitting here today. But the same idea holds true for what Jesus did for us. Jesus said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” According to Jesus definition of friendship we have no better friends than those who have lost their lives protecting our country. But Jesus is that same kind of friend. And what sets him apart from those we honor today is why Jesus gave his life for us. Jesus didn’t die for patriotism or for the love of country. He died so that he could beat death by resurrecting himself from the grave so that those who chose to place their faith in Him could live with Him. He offered His life because He loves people.
No other human being can make the claim that they conquered death. Only Jesus can make that claim and he does. Paul writes in chapter 15, “Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.”
It’s not the death of Jesus that we worship it’s the fact of his resurrection. This miraculous and historic event only achieved one time in human history never to be achieved again is the testimony we enjoy and celebrate. Paul tells us to remember the death of Jesus but celebrate that he is coming again. In Lee Strobel’s book, “The Case for Christ” he quotes Sir Edward Clark, a British High Court Judge who says, “To me the evidence is conclusive, and over and over again in the High Court I have secured the verdict on evidence not nearly so convincing. As a lawyer I accept the gospel evidence unreservedly as the testimony of truthful men to facts that they were able to substantiate.”
We are a people group whose essential business is to love others as Jesus loved us and who routinely come together to share faith, enjoy testimony and most importantly pray with confidence, boldness and power. The only reason we are able to share our faith, enjoy our testimony and pray with confidence, boldness and power is because Jesus died for our sins and then conquered death once and for all with his resurrection.
Now consider this, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” Romans 8:11 How can we live with this power and be considered a boring people group?
Could it be that some of us could be showing up just for the meal? Oh not a full meal like the folks in Corinth enjoyed, but, for the religion of it. There were some in Corinth who went to church for the meal, they weren’t there to celebrate the testimony of Jesus, or to share faith, or to pray with power, they were just there to eat. Paul says, “When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others.” Paul was concerned with the lack of genuine desire these folks had to live for Jesus. This is the context for what Paul says next, “So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 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. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.”
The Lord’s Supper is our central theme for coming together. This is the testimony that we enjoy. This is the most important aspect of our faith that we share with others. If Jesus didn’t raise himself from the dead then everything we’re about is a lie. Paul teaches us that the Lord’s Supper is to be shared not taken. We are to seek communion with God and with His Son every day of our lives, not just on Sunday. The word Paul uses that is translated to “examine yourself” is dokimazo. It means to approve through testing. This is an everyday occurrence. Paul reminds this church of this same truth in his second letter to them, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” This isn’t about a ritual we think of as the Lord’s Supper, Paul is sharing with us the basic concept of a life in Christ. Genuine faith is tested and proven. You should know this before you commune with God, not just on Sunday but any other time during the week.
We are a people group whose essential business is to love others as Jesus loved us and who routinely come together to share faith, enjoy testimony and most importantly pray with confidence, boldness and power. We are the people group of Jesus Christ and He is here with us.
We’re going to sing a song this morning that reflects what we’ve discussed, “Here I come to Worship.” As you worship and reflect on your witness for Jesus consider your Salvation through Jesus, reflect on the names of those you know who need Jesus, pray with boldness, confidence and power that you will receive an opportunity to serve and bless them in the Name of Jesus so that you can share the gospel with them. This is what we do because we love people. Receive from Jesus as you commune with Him what you need to be engaged in your world as a witness for Him. If you haven’t been baptized then I plead with you today to place your faith in Jesus as the resurrected Savior of the world. The only One who can redeem your soul for God.
Colossians 2:12 says, “For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.”
Are you living as witness for the gospel of Jesus?
