1 Corinthians
What Should I Be Doing During the Lord’s Supper?
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
May 4, 2003
Intro:
A. [Communion Misunderstood, Citation: Terry Fullam, "Worship: What We’re Doing, and Why," Preaching Today, Tape No. 102.]
I’m thinking of a small-town church in upstate New York.
They’d had a rector in that church for over thirty-five years.
He was loved by the church and the community.
After he retired, he was replaced by a young priest.
It was his first church; he had a great desire to do well.
He had been at the church several weeks when he began to perceive that the people were upset at him.
He was troubled.
Eventually he called aside one of the lay leaders of the church and said, "I don’t know what’s wrong, but I have a feeling that there’s something wrong."
The man said, "Well, Father, that’s true. I hate to say it, but it’s the way you do the Communion service."
"The way I do the Communion service? What do you mean?"
"Well, it’s not so much what you do as what you leave out."
"I don’t think I leave out anything from the Communion service."
"Oh yes, you do. Just before our previous rector administered the chalice and wine to the people, he’d always go over and touch the radiator. And, then, he would--"
"Touch the radiator? I never heard of that liturgical tradition."
So the younger man called the former rector.
He said, "I haven’t even been here a month, and I’m in trouble."
"In trouble? Why?"
"Well, it’s something to do with touching the radiator. Could that be possible? Did you do that?"
"Oh yes, I did. Always before I administered the chalice to the people, I touched the radiator to discharge the static electricity so I wouldn’t shock them."
For over thirty-five years, the untutored people of his congregation had thought that was a part of the holy tradition.
I have to tell you that church has now gained the name, "The Church of the Holy Radiator."
That’s a ludicrous example, but often it’s nothing more profound than that.
Traditions get started, and people endure traditions for a long time.
They mix it up with practical obedience to the living God.
B. Today I want us to think through what is Biblical and what is traditional about the Lord’s Supper and see if we can bring some freshness to our observation of it.
I. Reconciling
1 Corinthians 11:17-22 (NIV), In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes 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 praise you for this? Certainly not!
A. Paul begins these thoughts on communion with a stern scolding of the Corinthians.
1. Just as parents sometimes have to scold their children in order for them to develop into mature adults, so preachers sometimes have to scold their congregations.
2. And Paul felt that this church needed to be scolded for this particular problem.
B. Now I must first tell you how the Corinthians were observing the Lord’s Supper.
1. In NT days, it was common for not just the Corinthian church, but for most churches, to combine the Lord’s Supper with a pitch in dinner.
2. It was a one-time shot.
3. Not only did they participate in the Lord’s Supper, but they also shared their evening meal with other believers.
4. That may seem like a somewhat strange way of doing it today, because there aren’t any churches that I know of that do it that way now.
a. But you may recall that it was during an actual meal that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper.
b. DeVinci called it The Last Supper.
c. It was during an evening meal that the Lord instituted communion.
d. So it is not that much of a stretch to see why the early churches were following that pattern.
C. However, there was a problem with the way they were doing it.
1. It’s that same “a” word that I keep coming back to: attitude.
2. Their attitudes while partaking of this meal were appalling.
3. But notice that they weren’t being scolded for combining the Lord’s Supper with a regular meal; they were being scolded for their attitudes.
4. The first wrong attitude that Paul addresses is that they were divided.
5. Paul spent much of the first three chapters of this book addressing their problem with divisions in the church.
6. They had divided their local church into sects of people who liked to do certain things in certain ways.
7. The Corinthian church was divided; it wasn’t unified.
8. And this division in the church was the most problematic during their communion.
D. Now why would division be a problem during communion?
1. After all, communion is a private thing, isn’t it?
2. Communion is something that is between an individual and God, isn’t it?
3. The answer to those questions is a resounding: NO!
4. You see, although communion is a time where a believer privately speaks to God in his own heart, communion is a congregational event.
5. Communion should be a time of reconciliation with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
6. When we participate in communion, we should allow God to evaluate our relationships.
7. And when there are relationships with other believers that aren’t right, we are partaking of communion in an unworthy manner.
8. If we partake while holding a grudge against a brother, we are sinning.
9. Paul will say more about this at the end of this chapter.
10. Division in the body of Christ is sin.
11.Paul is saying that if we partake of the Lord’s Supper without first being reconciled to our brothers and sisters, we are misplacing our priorities.
12.And the church cannot ever expect to be what God wants it to be if the church is not willing to do things in the proper order.
13.We must first go and be reconciled to our brothers.
14.The church will never be a healthy church without reconciled relationships.
15.Divisive, attacking attitudes, and the Lord’s Supper do not go together.
16.Because the Lord’s Supper is about forgiveness; not revenge.
17.The Lord’s Supper is about unity; not division.
18.Brothers and Sisters who have had differences during the week should be reconciled in their own hearts before they participate in the Lord’s Supper.
E. And so one of the things you should be doing during communion is reconciling, another is…
II. Remembering
1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (NIV), For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
A. Remembering our Savior on Calvary is clearly a very important part of Communion.
1. Jesus said to do this in remembrance of Him.
2. As we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are to remember the sacrifice that was made for us on Calvary.
B. In 1997 I was teaching the 3rd through 6th grade Sunday School class.
One of the things that I enjoy about teaching children is that when they first really understand something that they have heard repeatedly before, they get an intriguing expression on their faces.
I was teaching them what the Bible means when it says that Jesus died for them.
It is something that these children had heard many times, but they didn’t quite comprehend what it really means.
What does it mean that Jesus died for us?
Well our class was reading in Matthew 5:17, where Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
My question then was: how did Jesus fulfill the Law?
If Jesus didn’t simply come to do away with the Law, how did He fulfill it?
Well Romans 6:23 summarizes the OT Law in one verse when it says, “For the wages of sin is death…”
I gave the children an example of one of the laws, which says that any child who talked back to their parents was taken out and everybody threw stones at them until they died.
That was the OT punishment for children talking back to their parents.
And that is just one example of the OT Law that says that if you sin, you must die; “the wages of sin is death.”
I asked the children how many of them would still be alive, to which none of them responded positively.
I then said now Jesus said that He didn’t come to do away with that law, but to fulfill it.
It seems as if the law was done away with, because they are all still alive.
And, on the surface, many folks would think that is what grace is; just doing away with the Law; abolishing the Law.
But Jesus said that He didn’t come to abolish the Law.
So I asked the kids, “If Jesus said He didn’t come to do away with the Law, why aren’t we all dead?”
You see the answer lies in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.”
But notice that it doesn’t say that the person doing the sinning has to die; it just says that if there is sin there must be death.
I told the children there is one substitute that God will take for your death, and that is the death of Jesus.
And you should have seen the look on their faces when I said, “That’s what we mean when we say, ‘Jesus died for you!’”
It was one of those “Kodak” moments as the lights slowly turned on.
C. You see, when the Bible and the hymns say, “Nothing but the blood of Jesus…” that’s what they are talking about.
1. The only thing that can save you from hell is believing that the blood shed for you on Calvary was spilt for you!
2. (Sing) “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again: Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can for sin atone—Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Naught of good that I have done—Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace—Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness—Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh! Precious is the flow That make me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
D. Jesus died for you—all you have to do is believe it—there is no other way!
1. God’s law, that will never pass away, says there must be death for sin.
2. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
3. So since all of us have sinned, there has to be death.
4. It’s either yours or Jesus’.
5. And you get to decide whose it will be for you.
6. Will you die and go to hell for your own sin or will you believe that Jesus died for you and thereby spend eternity in heaven with Him?
7. Plus you decide which it will be, by the way that you live your life.
8. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me you will obey what I command.”
a. That’s how you decide who dies for your sin: whether or not you obey His commands.
b. Do you live your life in obedience to His commands?
E. And if you choose Jesus’ death for you, then you should be eternally thankful!
1. And when we take communion, you give thanks as you remember the great price that was paid for you!
2. We remember that nothing but the blood of Jesus has saved us from hell!
3. Remembering is a very important thing to do during communion.
4. Another is…
III. Repeating
1 Corinthians 11:26 (NIV), For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
A. Jesus said that when we partake of this meal, we proclaim His death until He returns.
1. That means that by participating in this Supper, we repeat the story.
2. We repeat the story that Christ died for us.
B. We are to continue participating in this meal until He returns.
1. We are to repeat the story of Calvary until He returns.
2. We are to proclaim the story of Calvary until He comes.
C. And I must say that the word “repetition” has become synonymous with “boring,” but it is so valuable to us as human beings.
1. The more we repeat things; the more we remember them.
2. The more we repeat things; the more we believe them.
3. The more we repeat things; the more other people believe them.
4. Clearly reconciling, regarding, remembering, and repeating are very important parts of communion, as well as…
IV. Repenting
1 Corinthians 11:27-32 (NIV), Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
A. Repenting means to feel sorry for sin, to ask forgiveness for sin, and to make a plan to avoid it in the future; that is repenting.
B. Paul says that before we partake of communion, we should examine ourselves.
1. Anyone who eats or drinks communion without recognizing the holiness of Jesus partakes in an unworthy manner.
2. We consider His sinless life; that is holiness.
3. And as we consider how holy He is, we should acknowledge how unholy we are; how sinful we are.
4. To do otherwise is partaking in an unworthy manner because we aren’t really considering the awesomeness of Jesus and the awesomeness of what He did for us.
5. To come before Him without recognizing the fact that we aren’t worthy to be there is extremely disrespectful to an Almighty God!
6. So we should examine ourselves before we come into His presence; before we partake of commune.
7. We should repent of our sins.
C. Paul tells the Corinthians that because they weren’t partaking in a worthy manner a lot of their people were sick and dead.
1. That is certainly something to consider, isn’t it?
2. Usually when we get sick, most of us wonder if it was something we ate or maybe it was some sort of a bug.
3. But clearly, Paul says that another reason for sickness is because of partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner.
D. And obviously, if the church is not partaking of communion in a worthy manner, the church is not going to be a healthy church.
E. And Paul also says that when we allow the Lord to judge us each week during Communion, we will not have to go through judgment on Judgment Day.
1. Listen to verse 32 again: “When we are being judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.”
2. If we partake of Communion in a worthy manner, we will not be judged and condemned on Judgment Day.
3. The reason we won’t have to be judged on Judgment Day is because we’ve already been judged on a regular, basis.
4. If we repent appropriately during Communion, we will not be judged again on Judgment Day.
F. And so during communion we should be reconciling, regarding, remembering, repeating, repenting, and finally…
V. Responding
1 Corinthians 11:33-34 (NIV), So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
A. Responding goes, hand-in-hand, with repenting.
1. Not only should we repent, we should also make a change in our lives.
2. It’s not just a matter of feeling sorry for what we did wrong.
3. It’s not just a matter of asking forgiveness for what we did wrong.
4. It is also making the changes necessary to keep it from happening again.
5. That means we prayerfully ask God to enable us to look for the way of escape from temptation that 1 Corinthians 10:13 says He will always provide instead of falling for the tricks of Satan again.
B. For example if you are repenting for an adulterous affair…
1. It is good to feel sorry for what you’ve done wrong.
2. It is good to ask forgiveness for what you did wrong.
3. It is good to desire to be pure
4. But you’ve got to get serious about trusting God to help you end it.
5. You’ve got to get serious about believing the Jesus can get you out of this and you are going to follow Him and not the leading of Satan.
C. Paul told the Corinthians that because they were disregarding the poor, they should wait for each other.
1. They had to respond.
2. They had to make a plan to stop sinning.
3. They had to make a plan to start regarding others above themselves.
D. During Communion, we need to respond.
1. We can’t just pray during Communion.
2. We need to make a plan of how we are going to respond during the coming week as a result of our time of Communion.
3. What will your response be during the coming week?
Conclusion:
A. What should I be doing during communion?
1. Reconciling ourselves with others.
2. Remembering the price that was paid for our salvation.
3. Repeating the importance of the Lord’s death.
4. Repenting of our sin.
5. Responding to God by getting our lives back on the right path.
B. Here’s another way that might help you…look at one of your hands…
1. Pinkie: The one that is farthest away from us and closest to others reminds us to get ourselves right with others.
2. Ring finger: We put rings on our fingers to remind us of our important relationship; can you look at your ring finger and remember Christ and His death for you?
3. Longest finger: That one is the one that stands out the longest to be seen by others; can you look at it and think of standing tall and proclaiming the Lord’s death?
4. Pointer finger: It is often used to point a finger at others; can you look at it and point the finger at yourself and allow God to point out your sin?
5. Thumb: The thumb’s up is a sign to others that things are right and good; can you look at your thumb and remember to respond to God by getting yourself back on the right path.
C. And here’s one more…
1. Clear up—Get things cleared up with other people in your life.
2. Ring up—remember your most important relationship.
3. Speak up—by participating in this meal.
4. Fess up—confess your sin
5. Get up—allow God to change your life.
D. Now I hope that we are seeing what communion is all about.
1. It is about meditating on relationships.
2. It meditating upon our most important relationship with Jesus Christ.
3. It is meditating upon relationships with others.
4. It is about realigning ourselves with Christ, the cross, and our commitment.
5. The rest is simply ritual!
