March 10, 2002
23For this is what the Lord himself said, and I pass it on to you just as I received it. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took a loaf of bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant between God and you, sealed by the shedding of my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it." 26For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. First Corinthians 11.23-26 - NLT
Corinth - the city of corruption, widespread sexual perversion, debauchery, lawsuits, incest, paganism and more - and that was the church membership! These people came together to worship? Paul rejected the notion that any worship of God was happening. His description of what they called worship should cause us to prepare for genuine worship…if for no other reason than shame:
20When you gather in the same place, you can’t possibly be eating the Lord’s Supper. 21Each of you eats his own supper without waiting for each other. So one person goes hungry and another gets drunk. First Corinthians 11.20-21 GWT
One lady told about how her "…cousin’s daughter Kathy usually stays in children’s church on Sunday mornings, but one Sunday she went with her parents to the regular adult service. When Communion was served, she turned to her mother and whispered loudly, "The snack in children’s church is much better. And we get a lot more juice."
This kind of childish selfishness was evident in big ways - adult ways, in the church at Corinth. Christians and churches suffer severe consequences when they do not honor the Lord by putting Him first. Illness and premature death are mentioned by Paul - but while these are severe enough, the worst has got to be powerlessness. Like the parable of the talents, we are left with no Kingdom gain in our hands to offer our Lord - only the miserable truth that we "did our own thing" - we ignored His calling!
We do this by demanding our own way, ignoring weaker brothers, and many other ways. We sin against the broken body and shed blood. We make the Gospel of none effect. We trample the grace! There is a time and place to take care of our personal needs; we need to heed the warnings so we don’t trample His grace, but become vessels of that grace for others.
I like to read Dan Erickson’s sermons. He proposed something about this passage which I’d not considered - that the discerning of the Lord’s body had more to do with our treatment of the people who make up the Lord’s body here on earth, than our reverence for the sacred moment of worship.
I think the person who participates in the Lord’s Supper without recognizing the relationship he has with other Christians, who is interested not in serving people but in using them, is the individual who is participating in an unworthy manner and may face God’s judgment. Thus, I would say that when we examine our lives before we eat at the Lord’s Table, the focus should not be so much on our vertical relationship with God, but on our horizontal relationships with other Christians. Obviously the two are connected. In many ways the vertical relationship is more important, but in this passage, I believe Paul is saying we should make sure we are treating those within the body of Christ in the right way, make sure we don’t have bitter or hateful attitudes toward a Christian brother or sister before we eat and drink the Lord’s Supper.
Observing the Lord’s Supper is not something we do individually at our kitchen table or something like that. It is something we do together as a congregation, as a group of Christians. Roger Williams, the fellow who started the first Baptist church in North America in Providence, Rhode Island, separated himself from so many folks that he was only willing to take communion with his wife, and eventually he was not sure about her either. It is not supposed to be that way.
It is vitally important to understand the table - and come to it prepared for living-out the faith it represents. This morning I want to pose three questions…
What does the table say?
What shall we do?
When we do what we should, what will we find?
WHAT DOES THE TABLE SAY?
The Table Describes our Condition Of course the table stands for the sacrifice of Jesus. The Gospel tells us he came to us, leaving heaven’s splendor for Calvary’s cross. He was buried, descended into Hell (where he preached to the captives there), raised on the third day defeating death, and then ascended to the right hand of the Father 40 days later.
Those are the facts of the Gospel. What do the facts mean to you and me? If I apply the laws of reason, I can look at the fact that God sacrificed His Son for all men, including me (John 3.16). Science tells us each action has an equal and opposite reaction. In this case, if there is a sacrifice, there must have been an equal need for that sacrifice. The Gospel also supplies that information:
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3.23 KJV
For the wages of sin is death…Romans 6.23a
We were sinners in need of a death sacrifice; a blood sacrifice. The table shows us our desperate need of forgiveness…and the incredible cost - death!
The Table Prescribes our Cure The whole world standing on death row, convicted of sin; not a pretty picture! What is required to hand a pardon to each of us? Nothing less than our life. Apply the laws of science once again - how do you give up your life in order to live? In the ordinary scheme of things you cannot do that. That’s why Jesus came. That’s why He died in your place.
Now, with the Kingdom of God there is no ordinary scheme of things. Now you can give up your life by trusting in what He did. God said that would cure your sin problem:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3.16 KJV
That is our cure - believing, placing all our faith in Jesus. The phrase Lord’s Supper uses a word (deipnon) which describes the main meal. That’s a really good picture. On this table there is not much substance for someone who is physically hungry. Much like the little girl sitting in big church, you’d do better downstairs with the children’s church snack. But this is the main meal for the soul. It is the cure for sin, cancer of the spirit. It satisfies your appetite for God.
The Table Warns of Consequences Paul says to take this meal seriously. The crackers and juice are merely symbols of the precious body and blood of Jesus Christ, son of God, Creator and sustainer of everything. In Corinth there were plenty of sick church members, plenty who had died prematurely. Paul said to the church, "Connect the dots!" If you treat what He has done for you casually, and if you treat what he told you to do to remember His loving sacrifice indifferently, you are going to pay a price.
WHAT SHALL WE DO?
Paul says (1 Cor 11.28) we should not forget these three things…
First Things First - Examine Each of us must examine ourselves. Examining means I look at my life on the outside (actions), and the inside (attitudes). How is my heart towards God? That is a question with which to begin. Have I accepted the sacrifice? Have I asked God’s forgiveness on the basis that Jesus Christ offered me a pardon for my sin? Have I done that by faith? Did I (and do I) confess that before men? Do I stand identified with Jesus as my Savior - and I as God’s child?
How is my outside - my actions toward others, especially the body of Christ? Since being saved, do I live as such? Am I unkind towards others? Do I consider others, or do I live like a Corinthian?
Examining is tough work - and that is good. Life is not easy, and it is important to keep our minds and lives in right fellowship with Jesus Christ and his body, the church. What if you find you’re not so hot when you self-examine? That is where the second thing naturally follows the first…
Repent To repent is to turn. Literally, repentance is a matter of rejecting the actions and attitudes of unbelief, and beginning to live in faith. That is a simple statement with far-reaching implications. I can talk about repenting all day long; if I don’t change my attitudes and my actions I have not repented.
Many years ago one of my children had hit a sibling (notice how I don’t identify them by name?). At dinner that night it was apology time. As the apology was given above the table, there was a kick going on below the table. The lips had moved, but the soul was still unchanged. It is that way with children. It is that way with unrepentance and unbelief, no matter how old a disobedient Christian may be.
Eat Eating and drinking at the table is more than symbolism. It is confession of a corporate nature. It is an outward sign that we have done the inward work. We have examined and repented.
The symbolism ends when we have truly done that. When with our hearts in the inward parts of our souls we have rejected unbelief and embraced the worship of Jesus Christ, we then outwardly receive the testimony of His grace. It moves inward, through the mouth. What then comes out of us is our testimony. In this exchange we are bathed in the presence of Christ. This leads to the third question…
WHAT SHALL WE FIND?
In the inward/outward act of examining, repenting, eating we find three realities…
We Find Communion With Christ in His Grace Communion is the word used to describe what happens. Trusting in the grace of Christ, we receive that grace. Trusting in the forgiveness God gives to repentant sinners, we receive that forgiveness. Changing our attitudes and actions towards people, God changes his attitude towards us…and we are blessed in our souls.
It is what the old preacher called, getting right! Do you want that in your soul? Do you want to be right with God? Repent and find communion in grace…and then eat!
We Find Communion With the Body of Christ
You cannot have communion alone! As stated before, we do not separate ourselves for this. We come-together - that for which Christ died. There is something other-worldly about a confessing community of believers. We are a body - all together.
You can get a semblance of this in other ways - family, friendships - even the local bar can offer a kind of acceptance and belonging. But the community of believers known as the body of Christ is forever. It’s the Forever Family.
In the body of Christ there will be no end to the relationships. The earthly family is an expression of that. But at heaven’s gate it will change. Earthly friendships are great. But one day death separates all. The local bar’s communion will last only as long as your liver holds out, or your pocketbook.
As we come to the table we wait for one another - symbol of our sharing community, where none are greater, all are served, and the communion is a foreshadow of grace that will endure forever. And - lastly, for the fulfilling of His wishes…when Jesus told His disciples, Do this whenever you gather…to remember me.
We Find that Powerful filling of His grace to share with the world The power of communing with Christ and His body is an experience that is worth sharing. That is the nature of the kingdom. He shared Himself on the cross for all of us. It is right and worthy that we then spread out and share Him with those who haven’t heard. In that we find our renewal, our revival, our reason for living.
And so…now it makes more sense to say it…Come to the table - but in doing so, don’t trample on the grace.
