1 Cor 11:17-34 - We Come Together as One
From 1 Cor 11-14 Paul addresses the conduct of the Corinthians when they come together for worship.
• 1 Cor 11:2-14 Keeping to Good Traditions
• 1 Cor 11:17-34 Observing the Lord’s Supper
• 1 Cor 12:1-14:40 Using of the Spiritual Gifts
Last week, we heard how Paul argues for the keeping of good traditions and customs, specifically about the women having their heads covered when they meet.
• Man and woman have distinctive roles and Paul explains it theologically and from nature (from creation) that this is the good order that God has set.
• The woman is placed in a position of submission to the man and hence it has been a tradition for her to wear a head covering.
• Not because man is more “superior” than woman; both are mutually dependent. 11:11 “… in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman.”
We do not have to throw out traditions and customs in the name of freedom. Keep what is good and appropriate.
• Don’t turn a good practice into something contentious and divide the Body of Christ. We don’t have to pick a fight over this head-covering issue.
• 11:16 “If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.” Not everything traditional is bad and not everything new is good.
Paul now addresses another issue that divides – the observance of the Lord’s Supper; the taking of the Holy Communion when the people of God gather.
1 Cor 11:17-22 ESV
17But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18For, 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, 19for 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. 21For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22What! 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.
Paul raises two issues with them when they come together for the Lord’s Supper:
(1) The disunity and segregation when they meet for the Lord’s Supper
(2) Making a mockery of the meaning of the Lord’s Supper by their bad behaviours
“I am not going to commend you on this,” Paul said twice (17, 22). “Your coming together for the Lord’s Supper is not for the better but for the worse.” (17)
• It would be better that they had not gathered than to come together and show such disunity and selfish behaviours.
From the book of Acts, we know it is customary for believers to meet in homes to break bread together and enjoy food and fellowship (cf. Acts 2:46).
• During such meals, which Jude calls “love feasts” (Jude 1:12) or some calls agape meals (from the Greek word love), they would take the Lord’s Supper.
• It was called the Lord’s Supper (20) because Jesus instituted it when He had His last supper (Passover feast) with the disciples on the night before He was betrayed.
• During the Passover meal, they had unleavened bread and wine, and hence they were used by Jesus to call us to remember Him.
We called it “holy communion” today, taking the word “communion” from 1 Cor 10:16 KJV “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”
• The word ‘communion’ in Greek is “koinonia”, meaning fellowship. ESV and NIV translate it as “participation”.
• We are brought into a relationship with Christ and hence with one another in Christ.
But something was not right when they gathered for the Lord’s Supper, which was taken as part of their communal meal.
• The food was brought together for all to share, with the rich bringing more and the poor less.
• They call this meal the “love feast” or “agape meal” precisely because of the emphasis on showing love for one another and sharing their food with fellow saints.
However, as Paul described it, there were divisions and factions, observable ones.
• Those who came early went ahead to eat their own meals. They did not wait for the rest. There wasn’t any sharing of the food.
• Some were left hungry and others drank so much until they were drunk.
Imagine this scenario in a church event when everyone helps themselves to the food; whoever comes early eats whatever they want without regard for the rest.
• Paul says if you are so hungry and cannot wait, then eat and drink at home! This gathering is different because we are here to remember the Lord as one church.
It seems that there is a segregation between the haves and haves-not, the affluent and the poorer ones among them, which would likely be the slaves or the freemen.
• The context tells us the better-off come with their own food, they own houses to eat and drink in, and Paul says their behaviour humiliates those who have-not.
• And they were probably seated at different places, separated from the poor and the latecomers as the factions were seen.
• And why were the poorer saints late? They have to work longer hours as slaves. And they would not be able to bring as much food to the potluck meal.
Although Paul was talking about a new subject on the Lord’s Supper, the same root problem remains – some Corinthians were proud of their freedom and rights, exercising no self-control, and doing what they like.
• They were concerned only about their own wants and not the needs of others. It became an occasion for self-indulgence.
• Paul’s verdict: 11:20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 11:22b Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? ...
• They were making a mockery of the true meaning of observing the Lord’s Supper.
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Do you know what the Lord’s Supper means?
• Paul went on to remind them of the spirit of remembering Christ as a church.
23For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25In 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.” 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27Whoever, 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. 28Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another — 34if 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 of the institution of the Lord’s Supper that has been passed down to him. We are all remembering our salvation through Christ’s sacrifice.
• “We are all saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ. We are all brought into this relationship with Christ and therefore with one another, through this new covenant in His blood. We are one Body in Christ and as a church, to proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
• Paul is not saying we had to be worthy to partake of the Lord’s Supper – we can never be worthy apart from Christ - but that we should partake of it in “a worthy manner”.
• The Corinthians’ selfish behaviour at the meal does not sync with what Christ has done and exemplified for us. Paul wants them to examine their hearts and conduct.
Their failure is not the failure to gather but the failure to be ONE when they gather.
• Paul says “come together” 5 times in this text: “when you come together” (17), “when you come together as a church” (18), “when you come together” (20), “when you come together to eat, wait for one another…” (33), “so that when you come together it will not be for judgment.” (34)
• The Lord’s Supper is a corporate witness, not an individual remembrance of Christ.
• The church gathers to remember Christ and proclaim “the Lord’s death until He comes” - His death AND “until He comes”, meaning His death and resurrection.
But coming together with such disunity, with divisions and factions, with segregation of the haves and have-nots, is making a mockery of the Lord’s Supper.
• We are ALL redeemed by the same blood of Christ and saved by His same grace. We are all equal in the eyes of God.
• Paul says it in Gal 3:18 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
• And in 1 Cor 10:17 “Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf.”
So honour one another and wait for everyone, including the slaves and poor saints among us. Share with them what we have.
• Remove the lines of division and faction from among you. The spirit of superiority, or “we are better” or social class distinctions destroys the witness of the Lord’s Supper.
• Don’t come as a divided church and yet remember Christ. To do this is to remember Him in “an unworthy manner” and “not discerning” the meaning of His sacrifice.
11:30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
God disciplines them. Paul says it clearly that God is not condemning them but disciplining them.
• How this happened we do not know because Paul just said it in one line. But we can trust God’s discipline. He disciplines those He loves.
• God did not give up on them; He loves them, enough to discipline them.
• Heb 12:6-7 “For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives. 7It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?”
• God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness (12:10) and yields the fruit of righteousness (12:11).
Let us summarise what Paul saw at the Lord’s Supper.
• The Corinthian Christians were not waiting for the poor to participate in the Lord’s Supper but were going ahead without them.
• The affluent ones were satisfying themselves with their own food and wine, so that the “haves” had more than they needed, while the “have nots” were deprived of what they needed.
• Their behaviours resulted in the poor being segregated and humiliated, and their needs accentuated. They were treated like “second-class” members of God’s family.
• The Corinthians’ conduct was a denial and distortion of the Gospel, which was symbolized and proclaimed by the Lord’s Supper, which commemorates the sacrifice of Christ’s body and blood for their salvation.
So examine yourselves, Paul says. Do you love your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ when you come to remember the Lord? Do you love those whom He loves?
• Then wait for one another! The Holy Communion is one activity that we are not expected to do it alone, because it is more than just our relationship with Christ.
• As a result of our restored relationship with Him, Christ is looking also at our relationship with others in the family.
• To come to the Holy Communion rightly, we have to examine our hearts and deal with our sins as well as reflect on our relationships with one another in Christ.
We come together as one.
• Do we love our fellow saints as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us?
• Are we more concerned about our wants than the needs of those in the family?
Note: You can hear the sermon with slides at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH7SGpdzyLI
Earlier sermons are available at https://tinyurl.com/KTCC-EnglishService
