Worthy to take
1 Cor. 11:17-34
1CO 11:17 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! 23 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." 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 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. 33 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.
This illustration came to me and I think it will be helpful in our understanding of this passage:
The man flew airplanes in the war against Viet Nam. He was a pilot for Delta for almost 30 years. A year and a half ago he flew a small plane into Tulsa to pick me up so that we could fly together to a District Mission Board meeting in Milwaukee. When his plane was refueled and we stowed my luggage he pulled out a “pre-flight” checklist. He went over everything from seat belts, to fuel pressure, to the latch on the cockpit door. His actions surprised me. Why would a man who had flown so many planes for so many years need to go over such simple things? Before we landed in Milwaukee he pulled out another checklist. He looked at certain gauges, lights, and switches.
After we landed I asked Dave why a man with his experience as a pilot needed to check everything so thoroughly each time he flew. He told me that if you miss something simple it might cost you your life. Once you are speeding down the runway or in the air you don’t want to realize that you have forgotten something important. So every pilot no matter how experienced he is goes over a checklist for takeoffs and landings.
In the Word of God for our sermon this evening the Apostle Paul gives us inspired guidance to prepare for the Lord’s Supper. We could say it is a “pre-communion” checklist. It doesn’t matter if we have come to the Lord’s Table for one year or fifty years--one time or a thousand times. Each of us is in equal need of preparation so that we are blessed by our eating and drinking.
The early church would gather, at least once a week, for what they called “Agape feast” or “Love feast.” During which they would take of the bread and the cup remembering the Lord. But what is happening at Corinth is quite chaotic. It reminds me of teenagers and pizza. Sometimes we don’t wait for the pizza to be put down before there is some major scarffing. The Corinthian church would have the food put out, and there would be those who just grab up everything. They would gorge themselves on food and get drunk, while others had nothing. This is not what the Lord Supper is supposed to be about.
Paul reminds us what the Lord’s Supper is supposed to be about and how to approach it. If you would refer to verses 23-26 for a moment, Paul reminds us that what we are taking is from the Lord and it is instituting the New Covenant. We are remembering what Jesus did for us, and taking this as members of this new covenant.
What do we need to know in order to take of this communion in a worthy manner? Well first let us look back at the requirements for taking of the Passover, in which the Lord’s Supper was instituted in.
To take of the Passover we see these requirements.
In Exodus 12:43 we see a list of requirements for taking of the Passover. The first has to do with circumcision. Circumcision was the sign of a covenant before God. Today we say that baptism is similar. We become a covenant people (lack of a better phrase) when we are baptized into Christ. Now should we draw a line and say, well you are not baptized so you should not, or you are and you should? Would we add seekers in this group? This is still a personal matter, no one, myself included should tell someone they should or should not. But be forewarned, we know our hearts, it is better to pass than to condemn ourselves.
The next requirement has to do with leaven. There is to be no leaven in the meal or the house. This is where Paul urges us to examine. We know where we have sinned, and if we have not repented of that sin, we if have not asked for forgiveness, we are still in that sin and would be eating and drinking condemnation. Yes we all sin. But a way to prepare for communion is to confess those sins, not to man, but to God, and then God cleanses us of the leaven.
But focusing on the vertical relationship is not enough. We must examine our horizontal relationship with each other. This is what Paul is talking about in recognizing the Body of Christ, not just that the bread represents his body and the juice represents his blood, but that each of us in this place are members of the body of Christ. It is obvious that the two relationships are entwined, but look at what was happening at Corinth for Paul to write what he wrote. There were divisions, they were not looking out for one another, like the teens this weekend and the couches?
I take it that Paul is asking us to see if we are causing our brother or sister to stumble, to make sure we are treating them the way we should, no bitter or hateful attitudes, no divisions. Not that we are always going to agree on everything, but the attitude that we will not let our disagreements get in the way of our fellowship. Look at Matthew 5: 23-24 MT 5:23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
Bad attitudes toward Christians gives the devil a foothold. That is all he needs to trip us up. That is why Paul tells us in Eph 4:31-32 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. What better time to do so than when we are preparing to take of the Lord’s Supper.
Another reason to examine the horizontal relationship is UNITY. The church at Corinth was divided. When we take of the Lord’s Supper we proclaim his death, it was His death that united us with God. It was His death that bridged the gap between us and God, it is His death that breaks down the walls, all of us in Christ are a new creation. Our relationship with God is not based on class or race, but on GRACE. Therefore make certain, as far as it is up to us individually, we will do what we can to improve our relationship horizontally.
So we are to reflect on what Jesus did for us, reflect on our relationship with God, and reflect on our relationship with our brothers and sisters. What else?
Come to the table focused. Paul reminds us to remember what God has done for us. How can we be focused on those things when we are thinking about what we are going to do this afternoon? Maybe we are thinking about lunch, or that race that is on today, or shopping later. Robert Milligan in his book “The Scheme of Redemption” talks about this very issue. “How can a young sister expect to find enjoyment at the Lord’s table who has spent the morning of the Lord’s day in the vanities of the toilet!” Now I am not saying women should not wear make-up. God is bigger than Maybeline and Mary Kay. But in the case of women it is a matter of focus. Might I dare to add judging? Men we are no different, maybe we are not as concerned about appearances, but what is our focus? Bills to be paid, things to be done, that is not how we should approach the Table of the Lord.
So what happens if I don’t? Paul says we are eating and drinking condemnation. Look at verses 29-30 of our morning’s passage. Some were sick, some are weak and some have fallen asleep. Fallen asleep was symbolic talk for death. That seems rather harsh doesn’t it? Did God really strike them dead for taking in an unworthy manner? Paul says so. Yet remember Ananias and Sapphira? Weren’t they struck dead immediately? Now I am not saying that every sick or dying Christian has taken communion unworthy. I say thank God he does not operate the same way today as then, but then again why tempt God by taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner.
Today we can make it right again. Today we can decide to do what we need to do in order to make the Lord’s Supper more than a ritual. Today we can take of the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner.
1. Ask God right now to forgive us where we have fallen short in this area.
2. Give him our life, consecrate ourselves to him wholly
3. Put the Lord back in the Lord’s Supper.
As we come to the invitation this morning answer three questions:
A. Have you adequately reflected on the death of Christ and His gift of grace in your life?
B. Have you experienced the spiritual release and freedom in Christ that you need?
C. Do you have a need for spiritual renewal this morning?
You must be ready to come to the table
A. Calm your spirit
B. Confess your sins
C. Commit your life
