1 Corinthians 11:20-34
The Lord’s Supper
Introduction
Tonight as we prepare to observe the Lord’s Supper, I want us to examine the Lord’s teaching as He directed Paul to write in 1 Corinthians 11. I want to draw your attention particularly to verses 27 & 29. Paul said,
"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord…for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body."
Paul indicates very clearly that an individual can observe the Lord’s Supper worthily, and also unworthily. Since we see that the consequences of participating unworthily are very grave, we want to examine the Lord’s requirements for observing the His Supper as they are given in this text. I want to make it very clear tonight that none of us are worthy of what Jesus has done for us. Romans 5:8 tells us that…
"God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet (while we were still) sinners, Christ died for us."
We were sinners – in fact, the book of Ephesians tells us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but here we find that Jesus made us worthy. If He is your Savior, then you have been justified, declared righteous in God’s sight because of the shed blood of Christ. However, we are not talking about whether you are worthy, but the manner in which you observe this Supper. You can be completely worthy because of your position with Christ, but participate in this church ordinance unworthily because of your present relationship, or fellowship with Christ. If you are going to participate in a worthy manner, then there are some qualifications that must be met in your life.
You must be a church member.
We read in verse 20,
“When ye come together therefore into one place, [this] is not to eat the Lord’s supper.”
We can see very clearly from this verse that Paul is speaking directly to the church members at Corinth. I think we understand what is necessary for one to be a church member. You must be saved, scripturally baptized, and you must be accepted into church fellowship by vote of the church. I have had people since moving here call me their pastor who are not members of this church. I understand what they are saying, but until they unite with us, they are not one of us.
There are three views of the Lord’s Supper I want to discuss here. The first is what is most commonly called open communion. This view says that so long as you are a believer in Christ, or so long as you are saved, you may partake of the Supper. This is the teaching of those who hold to a universal church. That simply means that they believe that when a person is saved, he becomes a part of “the” church: that invisible, universal church that is made up of all believers. The second view that is not nearly so common is called close communion. Those who hold to the close communion view believe that you must be saved, baptized, and be a member of a church of like faith and order. For instance, I know of one of our churches that practices close communion, and so long as you are a member of some ABA church, you are welcome to partake of the Lord’s Supper with them. I think this view is a little misleading. If you were to open a door and, rather than shutting it, you left if open only a little, is it still open or not? It is open. They call is close, but it is still open. The last view, and the view that we hold to is what is called closed communion. It is our view based on Scripture that you must be saved, Scripturally baptized, and be a member of this church in order to partake of the Lord’s Supper with us.
Why do we practice "closed" communion? We practice it because we believe the Lord commanded it. We practice it because we believe the Bible teaches it. We practice it because we believe that it is the only way for us to be true to the teachings of Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, which teaches us to hold accountable the members of our church and, and leave those who are on the outside to the Lord. We are responsible for our members – not for believers who are outside our fellowship. I realize that what I am about to say is a play on words, but I have made it a habit to teach our view as open communion – that is, it is open to anyone who meets our requirements – saved, Scripturally baptized, and be a member of our church. If you meet those requirements – our table is open to you.
You must observe the Supper for the right reasons.
Read with me verses 21-26.
“For in eating every one taketh before [other] his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise [you] not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the [same] night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink [it], in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”
The Lord’s Supper is not a fellowship meal. The Corinthian believers had perverted the Supper until they were gathering to eat and drink, and were having church fellowships as part of the observance. They were living in open sin and were allowing their lifestyles to bring reproach on the church. Their actions and behaviors were sending contradictory messages about the Savior they claimed to love and serve. Listen, the Lord’s Supper is not a time of fun and games. It is not a time where we gather together and take lightly the death of our Lord. It is not a time when we are to go through the motions. It is distinctly a time to remember what Christ has done for us – and that is it.
Jesus specifically gave us the elements that are to be used to remind us of the sacrifice that He made on our behalf. How can we “eat” of His flesh and blood and not be reminded? How can we even consider partaking in a manner that slights the holy and righteous nature of our Savior? It ought not be done. Before you put that cup to your mouth or that bread to your lips, you get settled in your hearts what you are here for, and if you are unable to bring your heart and mind to a place where you earnestly and honestly believe that you are partaking for the right reasons, then you ought to abstain from the table. I don’t say that because I want to discourage you – but because of the seriousness of what we’re doing. The Lord thought it serious enough that He killed some people for partaking in an unworthy manner, so what I say today I say in love and concern for you.
You must be in fellowship with God.
“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink [this] cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of [that] bread, and drink of [that] cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many [are] weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.”
Notice some of the distinctives of being in fellowship with God. First there is a willingness to examine yourself. Many of God’s children are like the actor W.C. Fields. A friend of his visited Field’s hospital room and was surprised to find him thumbing through a Bible. Asked what he was doing with a Bible, Fields replied, "I’m looking for loopholes." It is not our responsibility here to examine the lives of those around us, but our own lives. Paul said that as we prepare for this time, we need to examine ourselves, judge ourselves, so that the Lord and the church body doesn’t have to do it. Ask yourself some serious questions and be honest about your answers. Is there unconfessed sin in your life? Are you giving in to ungodliness in your thought life? What about your prejudices? Do you harbor hate or wrath against someone? Sure we’re concerned with the obvious things that everyone sees, but what about those things that no one knows about but you and God? A second distinctive that will mark your life if you are in fellowship with God is that you will enjoy God’s favor. Paul said that if we examine ourselves and take care of problem areas, then God won’t have to judge us. In other words, He will be pleased with what we have done. We have rightly examined our lives and have attempted to line them up with the teachings of Scripture and have discerned what the Lord has done for us. A third one is right human relationships. When we are right with God then we will be right with man. If you are not right with man, then you are not right with God. If God’s love is in you, then how can you not unconditionally love and forgive others, whether they are friends, family, or your enemies?
Notice some distinctives of being out of fellowship with God. I will not dive into these, but just want to bring them to your attention. Verse 29 mentions damnation. Verse 30 lists sickness and even death. Judgment is found in verse 31, chastening in verse 32, and wrong or dysfunctional relationships in verses 33 & 34. Of course we shouldn’t forget that when you are out of fellowship with God you will manifest a lack of care for the importance of the Lord’s ordinances.
From these things, we ought to be able to see clearly that the Lord takes this ordinance far more seriously than any of us will ever know. We are all guilty from time to time of taking for granted what Jesus has done for us. Paul said in Philippians 2:5 and following,
"Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
If you know that you have been guilty of this, then confess it. Tell the Lord how much you love Him and are thankful for what He has done for you. Tell Him you are sorry and ask for His forgiveness. After you have done these things and you know that you have made things right with the Lord, join us with a thankful heart, with a humble spirit, and with a willingness to give your life back to Him.
