The Lord's Supper

Well, this morning we are going to partake of the Lord's Table again.

That'll be the focus of our service.

And so I thought it'd be appropriate to spend some time this morning

deepening our understanding of the Lord's Table.

What are we doing as we eat and drink from this table?

And why do we do this?

So we're opening our Bibles this morning to 1 Corinthians 11, verse 17.

1 Corinthians 11:17

Now, this letter was written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth.

It's estimated that he wrote this letter about 20 years after Jesus ascended into heaven

and about four or five years after this church here in Corinth was established.

So this is a relatively young church.

Paul has some words of encouragement for them.

He commends them for some things and gives them instructions.

But if you're familiar with this letter that Paul has written,

he also offers them many words of correction.

There were quite a few things that they were doing there in the church at Corinth

that were unfitting to their profession of faith in Jesus.

And so Paul, having got word of these things, is writing partially to address some of them.

And one of these things where the Corinthian Christians have been failing

is their observance of the Lord's Supper.

So let's listen to what Paul had to say to them here in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 17.

1 Corinthians 11:17

He writes,

In the following directives, I have no praise for you,

for your meetings do more harm than good.

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.

No doubt there have to be differences among you

to show which of you have God's approval.

So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat.

For when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers.

As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.

Don't you have homes to eat and drink in?

Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing?

What shall I say to you?

Shall I praise you?

Certainly not in this matter.

It must have been hard for the Corinthians to hear these words of Paul the Apostle.

Just moments ago, back up in verse 2,

Paul said this to them.

He said, I praise you for remembering me and everything

and for holding fast to the traditions

just as I pass them on to you.

So it's not all bad.

They have been doing many things well.

They've been holding fast to these traditions

that Paul has passed on to them.

And Paul commends them for that.

He praises them for that.

But now when it comes to this thing

of how they observe the Lord's Supper,

Paul says, I have no praise for you.

In fact, he says, your meetings do more harm than good.

They are for the worse, not the better.

Man, that must have been hard for them to hear.

Now, Paul isn't saying that it would be better for them not to meet.

Rather, it's what they're doing when they meet together

that's resulting in harm.

And we'll see what kind of harm in a moment.

In verse 18, Paul brings up one major cause

or root issue here.

He says that he is aware of the divisions that are among them.

They are a divided church.

Now, Paul's already brought this up

and said a lot about this earlier in the letter.

But it seems to come out here that these divisions

are along certain lines.

Look at verse 22.

Verse 22.

Do you despise the church of God

by humiliating those who have nothing?

So it seems that not only were there divisions and factions

about who's following who in the church,

there was also division between wealthy and poor in the church.

Those who have and those who have nothing.

More about that in a moment.

Paul does, in verse 19, acknowledge

that there is a legitimate reason to have divisions.

It does make sense that if some are not living in obedience to Christ,

not walking by the Spirit,

it will put them at odds with others who are in the church.

There will be a bit of a divide there.

But now Paul brings to the forefront

what exactly it is that they are doing

which is causing harm in the church.

He says,

So then, when you come together,

it is not the Lord's Supper you eat.

For when you're eating,

some of you go ahead with your own private suppers.

As a result,

one person remains hungry

and another person gets drunk.

That's pretty serious.

It may also sound a little strange to us.

When we do the Lord's Table,

we do it so differently today in our culture.

But it seems from the passage here

that when they gathered to have the Lord's Supper,

they would not just pass around a little piece of bread and cup like we do,

but they would have a full meal.

A church meal.

Perhaps a celebratory banquet.

After all,

the Lord's Supper was done the first time by Jesus

with his disciples at Passover.

It was done around a table.

It was a full meal.

And it was a celebration kind of meal.

But what started out

as a very Christ-honoring celebration for the Corinthians

has now turned into something ugly.

Something very hurtful.

Even spiritually damaging to the church.

So much so that Paul says,

it is not the Lord's Supper

that you are eating.

Wow.

So what are they doing wrong?

Paul says that some of them are going ahead

with their own private suppers,

leaving others to go hungry.

Some of them are getting drunk,

while others, it seems,

are getting nothing.

How could this be?

It seems here that part of the divisions

are along these lines

of those who have much

and those who have very little or nothing.

Probably the church was gathering at this time

in the home of a wealthy person

who had the means to host the gathering

and the space

and to put on the meal.

And many of the wealthy

either wouldn't need to work

or if they did work,

they could get the day off

or they could get off a little earlier from work.

They could be there nice and early

for the celebration.

But those who were poor

likely worked most of the day.

Or if they were slaves,

they couldn't leave

until they were allowed to

by their master

to come and participate.

The picture here, as we get,

is that they did their best

to get there when they could.

And it seems to be a case

of wealth and privilege

in which the wealthy

just decided to go ahead with the meal.

Start eating and drinking.

Not everybody had even showed up yet.

So that by the time

those who were poor

arrived,

there was nothing left.

And those who had gone ahead

were drunk.

Can you imagine this?

You show up to a church potluck.

You just get down into the basement.

You got there as soon as you could.

And every dish,

every bowl

is empty.

And there's a group of people

over there in the other room

and they're drunk.

Man, that must have hurt.

The wonder Paul is livid.

He rebukes them

very sharply.

He says,

Don't you have homes

to eat and drink in?

This is meant to be

a special meal

by which we remember

Jesus Christ.

The purpose of this meal

is not just to eat

and get full,

to party

and have a good time.

Essentially,

what he's saying is

if you're hungry,

eat at home

before you come.

That way,

there will be enough

to go around for everybody.

Paul will echo this again

down in verse 34.

He says,

Anyone who is hungry

should eat something at home

so that when you meet together

it may not result

in judgment.

More about that word

judgment later.

I was trying to think

of how I could put this

in modern terms.

Imagine that you were invited

to a wedding

and the time came

for the speeches

and the toasts.

People to stand up

and to say things

to honor the bride

and the groom.

But then when someone

goes to ask

those serving the drink

to top up

everybody's glass,

they tell you,

embarrassed,

that there's nothing left.

Why?

Because a group of guests

snuck into the back room

where the alcohol

was being kept

and they pounded it all back

until they were sloshed.

Can you imagine that?

This is outrageous.

It's totally out of sync

with the whole purpose

of the occasion.

Paul asks

the rhetorical question,

do you despise

the church of God?

In other words,

speaking to those

who are going ahead

and getting drunk,

what you're doing,

your behavior,

it shows utter contempt

for God's people

and for the gathering

of his people.

Do you shame

those who have nothing?

Says Paul.

What you're doing

is humiliating

those brothers and sisters

in Christ

who either

don't have the freedom

to get there earlier

or don't have the means

to bring anything

when they come.

Maybe they're barely

able to put food

on their own table.

He says,

shall I praise you?

Certainly not

in this matter.

So Paul has exposed

what they are doing

that is wrong,

that is harmful.

And now he's going

to tell them

about what the Lord's

Supper

is all about.

Verse 23.

He says,

For I received

from the Lord

what I also

passed on to you.

The Lord Jesus,

on the night

he was betrayed,

took bread,

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.

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.

For whenever you eat

this bread and drink

this cup,

says Paul,

you proclaim

the Lord's death

until he comes.

So Paul is trying

to reground them.

There are times

when traditions

that we hold to

drift so far away

from the reason

they were started

that they no longer

reflect the true

purpose of the occasion.

So what does Paul do?

He takes them

back to the source.

Back to the very night

that Jesus instituted

the Lord's Supper

to remind them

of what it's all about.

Paul says,

For I received

from the Lord

what I also

passed on to you.

Paul wasn't at the table

on the night

of Jesus' betrayal.

In fact,

he didn't even become

a follower of Jesus

until after Jesus

had ascended into heaven.

So we might wonder,

how does Paul know

what happened

on the night

of Jesus' betrayal?

How the Lord's Supper

should be done?

Paul says,

I received

what I'm about

to tell you

from the Lord,

from Jesus himself.

In other words,

Jesus spoke

to the Apostle Paul

just like he spoke

to the other Apostles

after he had ascended

to heaven.

And Jesus told Paul

exactly what he did

and said

with the other Apostles

on the night

of his betrayal.

This is direct,

special revelation.

It's not just Paul's guess

at what happened

based on something

that Peter had told him.

No, Jesus

is the source here.

Jesus told it

to Paul

and then Paul

explained it

and passed it along

to the Corinthians.

And what did Jesus do

and say?

Paul tells us

that Jesus took bread.

He gave thanks.

He prayed

and thanked God

for it.

And then he broke

the bread

into pieces.

And Jesus said

he did this

while saying

this is my body

which is for you.

Do this in remembrance

of me.

So on the night

of his betrayal

Jesus gave the disciples

a picture,

a metaphor

using that bread

that was in his hands.

He broke it

which symbolized

his death.

And then he passed

out the pieces

of the bread

to all the disciples

at the table

which symbolizes

that they are

to benefit.

They are to receive

something

from his death.

Now Paul doesn't

explain all of the

symbolism here

to the Corinthians

but Jesus did explain it

when he taught

the crowds

in John chapter 6.

John 6 · chapter mention

just as bread

is something

that sustains

and gives life

to the body

in the same way

Jesus' death

his body

broken

will bring life

to them.

And so Jesus says

this is my body

which is

for you.

In other words

me

dying on the cross

it's for you.

it's for you

my disciples.

You are to benefit

from what's

going to happen

tomorrow.

Similarly

Paul explains

what Jesus did

with the cup.

Verse 25

after the supper

he took the cup

and he said

this cup

is the new covenant

in my blood.

And again

Paul doesn't

explain

exactly

what that means.

There's a lot

of symbolism here

but we know it

from what the other

gospel writers

recorded

and what it says

in other places

in the Bible.

The idea here

is that Jesus' death

will inaugurate

will bring about

a new deal

a new arrangement

between God

and man.

We could take

a whole series

of sermons

just to understand

all that there is

to this new

covenant

relationship.

how it compares

with the old covenant

but basically

to sum it up

Jesus

by his death

is about to offer

the ultimate

sacrifice

to atone

for sins

so that people

can be forgiven

completely

and forever

of all the wrongs

that they have done

and become

permanent citizens

in God's

kingdom

members

of his family

members

of his household

people who will

inherit eternal

life

and all the good

things that God

has been promising

to his people

since the very

beginning.

Essentially

Jesus is saying

my death

my blood

is about to

open up

that new

arrangement

that new

relationship

between

God

and you.

that's what

this meal

the Lord's

supper

is all about

says Paul

it's about

Jesus

and his

death

and what

his death

gives

and brings

to you

and in the

midst of this

Paul really

presses home

why

we should

observe

the Lord's

supper

what's the

reason

that we're

to do

this

the first

reason he

gives

is because

Jesus

commanded

it

do this

said Jesus

do this

whenever

you drink

it

and the

sense we

get from

Jesus

words

when he

says

whenever

you

drink

it

we

get the

sense

that

he

didn't

mean

just

do

it

one

time

right

here

right

now

in

remembrance

of

me

no

he

meant

as an

ongoing

regular

thing

from

now

on

when

you

do

this

do

it

in

remembrance

of

me

Paul's

highlighting

the

fact

that

Jesus

deliberately

gave

them

a

tradition

he

commanded

them

to do

this

thing

with

bread

and

cup

not

just

once

but

again

and

again

repeatedly

that's

why

sometimes

we

call

it

an

ordinance

because

it's

something

he

ordained

something

he

commanded

us

to do

and for

what

purpose

Jesus

is

that the

purpose

was to

remember

him

do this

in

remembrance

of me

drink

it in

remembrance

remembrance

of me

this

thing

that we're

to do

it's

a

memorial

it's

a

it's

a thing

we're

doing

to

remember

Jesus

and

his

death

so we

observe

the

Lord's

table

because

Jesus

commanded

it

we

observe

the

Lord's

table

to

remember

Jesus

and

then

Paul

throws

in a

third

reason

in

verse

26

he

says

for

whenever

you

eat

this

bread

and

drink

this

cup

you

proclaim

the

Lord's

death

until

he

comes

I

really

like

these

words

of

Paul

because

I

spend

a lot

of

my

time

up

here

preaching

but

there's

a

sense

in

which

every

one

of

us

is

called

to

be

a

preacher

Paul

tells

us

here

that

we

are

to

be

preachers

of

the

gospel

we

are

to

preach

the

death

of

Jesus

it's

to

be

something

that

we

proclaim

and

declare

each

one

of

us

who

believes

again

and

again

by

eating

and

drinking

this

bread

and

this

cup

we're

to

keep

doing

that

until

the

Lord

returns

so

this

is

that

third

purpose

to

proclaim

the

Lord's

death

to

proclaim

our

faith

in

it

our

acceptance

of

it

our

love

of

what

he

did

for

us

we're

to

keep

this

proclamation

going

until

the

risen

Lord

Jesus

returns

let me

just

recap

Paul

gives

three

reasons

why

we

should

observe

the

Lord's

supper

repeatedly

again

and

again

as

followers

of

Christ

number

one

Jesus

commanded

us

to

do

it

number

two

it's

to

remember

him

it's

as a

remembrance

of

him

and

number

three

it's

to

proclaim

his

death

the

gospel

the

good

news

until

he

comes

and

in

that

third

one

there

is

a

sense

in

which

declaring

it

it's

a

way

that

we

can

personally

put

our

trust

and

our

faith

in

the

gospel

again

and

again

continually

but

there's

also

a

public

sense

too

in

which

what

we're

doing

is

declaring

the

gospel

to

the

world

who

is

watching

so

now

we're

starting

to see

the

problem

with

how

the

Corinthians

are

doing

the

Lord's

supper

or

if

we

go

with

Paul's

words

how

they're

failing

to

observe

the

Lord's

supper

the

Lord's

supper

is

meant

to

be

focused

on

Jesus

and

what

his

death

has

accomplished

for

us

but

here

in

Corinth

their

practice

of

it

has

degenerated

it's

drifted

away

from

that

into

a

sacrilegious

party

time

where

the

rich

eat

and

drink

themselves

into

a

drunken

stupor

in

the

name

of

Jesus

while

the

poor

and

needy

among

them

are

left

out

and

humiliated

and

so we

expect

that

Paul's

about

to

tell

us

quite

strongly

how

God

feels

about

this

wicked

thing

happening

in

the

church

and

he

does

verse

27

Paul

says

so

then

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

now

we're

getting

even

closer

to

the

heart

of

why

their

gatherings

are

doing

more

harm

than

good

Paul

just

says

it

bluntly

and

clearly

he

spells

out

the

full

implications

of

their

behaviors

these

people

who

are

going

ahead

and

getting

drunk

and

leaving

people

out

they're

eating

and

drinking

this

very

special

meal

in

an

unworthy

manner

says

Paul

and

by

doing

so

they

are

sinning

against

the

very

body

and

blood

of

Jesus

himself

wow

now

there is

some

discussion

about

this

statement

what

does

it

mean

to

sin

against

the

body

and

blood

of

the

Lord

some

have

suggested

maybe

you've

heard

this

that

sinning

against

the

body

of

the

Lord

means

sinning

against

the

people

of

the

Lord

because

there

are

places

in

the

scriptures

where

the

people

of

the

Lord

are

referred

to

as

the

body

of

Christ

while

this

idea

has

some

sense

to

it

especially

in

this

passage

with

how

they've

been

treating

their

fellow

Corinthians

within

the

local

body

I

don't

think

this

is

what

Paul

means

first

of

all

they're

not

just

guilty

of

sinning

against

the

body

of

the

Lord

they're

also

in

the

same

breath

guilty

of

sinning

against

the

blood

of

the

Lord

the

body

and

blood

of

the

Lord

stand

together

as

one

as

what

they're

guilty

of

sinning

against

further

it's

the

physical

body

of

Jesus

and

the

physical

blood

of

Jesus

that's

in

view

here

Paul

just

talked

about

how

Jesus

said

this

is

my

body

this

cup

is

the

covenant

in

my

blood

those

are

the

things

in

view

so

what

does

it

mean

that

they

will

be

guilty

of

the

body

and

blood

of

the

Lord

well

this

is

a

hard

question

to

answer

is

Paul

saying

that

they

will

somehow

share

personally

in

the

guilt

of

crucifying

Jesus

or

is he

saying

that

they

will

be

guilty

of

treating

the

body

and

blood

of

the

Lord

as

unholy

I have

to tell

you

I don't

know

the

answer

but

whatever

this

means

this

seems

by

the

description

to be

almost

the most

serious

kind

of

guilt

that

a

person

can

have

we'll

skip over

verse 28

and come

back to it

in a

moment

but let's

keep the

flow of

Paul's

logic

here

with

verse 29

Paul says

for those

who eat

and drink

without

discerning

the body

of Christ

eat

and drink

judgment

on

themselves

again

I don't

think this

means that

they fail

to remember

the other

people of

the body

of Christ

with whom

they're

eating

the context

and the

flow of

Paul's

argument

points

the other

direction

it's that

they fail

to recognize

what the

elements

the bread

and the

cup

represent

that the

bread

represents

the body

of Jesus

himself

broken

as he

died

on the

cross

the problem

is that

they're

partaking

flippantly

cavalierly

they're getting

drunk

on the

wine

they're

partaking

of these

symbolic

elements

at this

special

meal

without

a sincere

personal

regard

for the

body

and blood

of Jesus

the one

who died

to save

them

and so

what does

Paul say

here

he says

whoever

eats

the bread

and drinks

the cup

in this

manner

eats

and drinks

judgment

on themselves

wow

this is

serious

God

does

take it

personally

when people

sin against

him

and this

sin

what these

Corinthians

are doing

is so

wicked

so grievous

to God

that God

brings

disciplinary

judgment

on them

listen to

this

he says

for those

who eat

and drink

without

discerning

the body

of Christ

eat and

drink

judgment

on

themselves

that

is why

many

among

you

are weak

and sick

and a

number of

you have

fallen

asleep

fallen

asleep

is a

euphemism

here for

have died

do you

hear this

Paul is

saying

that right

now

some of

the

Corinthians

are weak

sick

even have

died

as

disciplinary

judgment

because of

how they've

been sinning

against the

body and

blood of

the Lord

Jesus

when they

gather to

observe the

Lord's

supper

this right

here is I

think what

Paul had in

mind when he

said earlier

that he had

no praise

for them

and that

their

meetings

are doing

more harm

than good

not only are

they harming

each other

but they're

harming

themselves

spiritually

they're

bringing

on

themselves

the

disciplinary

judgment

of God

now it's

very important

here that we

distinguish between

what I'll call

punitive

judgment

and disciplinary

judgment

this judgment

this consequence

comes on

them not as

punishment for

their sins

but as a

form of

discipline

listen to

what Paul

says in

verse 32

he says

nevertheless

when we

are judged

in this

way by

the Lord

we are

being

disciplined

so that

we will

not be

finally

condemned

with the

world

amazingly

if we

belong to

Christ

then Jesus

death on

the cross

for us

has so

truly

and finally

atoned for

our sins

that even

when we do

such terrible

things as

this

what these

Corinthians

are doing

it doesn't

take away

our salvation

we don't

lose it

it doesn't

make us

liable to

eternal

punishment

rather

God brings

this form of

judgment upon

them as a

means of

correction

for those

who are

sick and

weak to

teach them

how they

ought to be

living that

they shouldn't

be living

this way

they should

be living

this way

it's to

bring them

to repentance

for those

who have

died perhaps

it's to

keep them

from continuing

to do

this things

that they've

been doing

spiritual harm

to themselves

and others

now I know

as soon as

we get into

this it raises

some big

questions

some of

you might

be thinking

this

does God

bring this

same form of

disciplinary

judgment on

all his

children

even me

sickness

weakness

even death

if we sin

against God

well this is

much debated

other passages

such as

Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

12 talk

about how

God disciplines

all of his

children for

their good

allowing things

like hardship

in our lives

in order to

train us

to live

righteously

but I would

urge caution

here

I think we

should be slow

to draw a

principle here

about how

God usually

or always

works in

the lives

of his

children

first of all

this thing

some of the

Corinthians are

doing is

especially

grievous

it's hurtful

to the

whole church

it's

sacrilegious

it dishonors

the name

of Christ

it treats

something very

special

and holy

as if it

were profane

and unholy

could it be

that God

reserves this

severity

of discipline

for those

who are

willfully

and repeatedly

committing the

worst

of sins

perhaps

another

angle

here

or another

question

we could

ask

is

should we

always be

looking at

the bad

stuff that

happens to

us

as God

judging us

for particular

sins

well we know

from the story

of Job

that God

sometimes

allows bad

stuff to

happen to

us

for other

purposes

even when we

haven't sinned

it's possible

to go through

this Christian

life

always worried