Sermon Discussion Questions:
1. Read 1 Cor 11:17-34 together. What questions do you have?
2. What should the Lord's Supper do to unite us?
3. The Corinthians were divided by wealth/status. What may divide church members today?
4. Picture another Christian who is different than you. What makes it most difficult for you to feel united with them? What should you do about it?
A folded flag gently placed in the hands of a grieving widow. A boyfriend dropping down on one knee to ask the big question. A handshake between two men. Every culture has symbols that bind society together, that connect it to some greater truth. An eagle. A crown. A cross. These are passed down from those who have gone before us, and connect us not only to the past, but to ideas that spread out like a canopy over human history. When the young woman has a ring slipped on her finger or the flag put in her hands, those symbols represent something far greater than the materials used to construct them. They speak of the indissoluble covenant of marriage, love, and fidelity; the honor of sacrifice, the ideals of a nation, the recognition of loss.
We may live in a time where symbols don’t seem to bear much weight as they once did. Our modern sensibilities come with a bent of skepticism towards tradition, towards institutions, towards something that should be revered. We “see through” the tradition and find that it is “nothing but” a piece of metal, a big room, a custom that has just been done for a long time—nothing else. I remember being in a pastor’s office when I was a young intern and there was one of the faux motivational posters with the word “Tradition” sitting under a picture of the running of the bulls in Spain, and the definition below reading: “Just because it’s always been done doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly stupid.” The fact that this hung in the pastor’s office gave you good sense of his philosophy of ministry. Of course, that posture towards tradition is so dangerous because there is truth in it. Things can be old and wrong. Jesus Himself was willing to contravene the traditions of men when they violated the commands of God (Mark 7).
But God Himself, of course, relies on symbols to convey truth to us in a way we can apprehend. The Passover; the Temple; the Ark. These are concrete realities that connect God’s people with the numinous, with the eternal power and Person that exists beyond the material world.
What about us? Has God given us any symbols, any memorials for us to pass on from generation to generation? Yes, He has given us two: the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. In our passage in 1 Corinthians we will return to the Corinthian’s practices surround the Lord’s Supper, but here we will see the great cost and loss they have experienced by dishonoring and abusing the ordinance God has given.
17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses 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 commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when 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 also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.
- 1 Cor 11:17-34
The Corinthian church is a deeply divided church. Paul opened the letter by immediately addressing the divisions in the church, and has been drawing attention to it in almost every chapter. In the first four chapters, there are divisions being made over who follows which teacher. In chapter six, we find out that some people in the church are filing lawsuits against each other. In chapters 8-10 we saw divisions over food being offered to idols, and in chapters 12-14 we will see even more divisions around spiritual gifts. And here, we find another instance of divisions and factiousness in the church around the Lord’s Supper.
Now, the fact that the Lord’s Supper is leading to divisions, when one if its main aims is to promote unity in the church (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-17), may be what sends Paul over the edge. That is like Thanksgiving turning into a shouting match and hurt feelings—the whole point of this thing is to bring us together as a family, not tear us apart!
Let’s look at the problem, the warning, the remedy
The Problem
But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. (1 Cor 11:17).
Paul commended the church back in 11:2 for remembering him in everything and maintaining the traditions as he delivered them, but here Paul has nothing positive to say. This section represents some of Paul’s most blistering critiques of the Corinthian church, going so far as to say that their church gatherings are actually doing more harm than good. So, Paul begins to list off the problems.
18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses 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 commend you in this? No, I will not.” (1 Cor 11:18-22)
When we read this excerpt, what jumps out at us is the fact that some are getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper. If there is something to be outraged at, it is getting drunk during communion. But, to our surprise, the drunkenness is not the main offense that makes Paul so exasperated. Paul, obviously, condemns drunkenness of any kind (Eph 5:18). But the drunkenness is downstream of the bigger problem going on: division in the church.
Okay, what is actually going on that is making Paul so angry? The early church often celebrated the Lord’s Supper in conjunction with a full meal. At some point during the meal, the church would then take bread and wine and celebrate communion. This is what the Corinthians have been doing. But something is going on during the meal that is creating factions in the church where some are going hungry while others are getting drunk, and this leaves “those who have nothing” in the church being humiliated and shamed. What’s causing that?
The Corinthian church had some in it who were of noble birth and higher social status, but not many (1 Cor 1:26-31) and had slaves who were members of the church (cf. 1 Cor 7:21ff). If you were a wealthy, free man who was invited to a meal at someone’s home, and you met a slave in the home, you would assume that that slave was there to serve you your meal. But here, in the Church, slave and free both are equally members of Christ and thus are sharing a meal together. This would be very strange to normal customs. So, there is a probably a division that is common in the world that has crept in to the church. And the rich are doing something that is shaming the poor.
“So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment,” (1 Cor 11:33-34).
There are two basic interpretations based on how you translate a couple of words in this section, primarily a word in vs. 33 (ekdekomai) that can either be translated as “wait for one another” or “share with / welcome one another.” One option is that the poor are not able to arrive at the meal when the rest of the church does, perhaps because they are working and don’t have the freedom in their schedule. So, the wealthier members impatiently begin to eat so that by the time the poor arrive all they find is a bunch of drunk rich people and an empty table. So Paul commands the Corinthians in vs. 33 to “wait for one another.” If you are not taking the Lord’s Supper together as a church, it isn’t the Lord’s Supper.
But, another option isn’t that the wealthier members are eating prior to the poor arriving, but at the meal the wealthier members are bringing sumptuous, lavish meals for themselves (“each one goes ahead with his own meal” vs. 21), imbibing so much that they are becoming intoxicated, while the poorer members of the church struggle to bring any food at all and must sit and watch the rich feast while they starve. Thus, Paul commands the wealthier members to share their food and be welcoming towards those who have nothing, and if they want to eat lavishly, to do so privately at home, not during the Lord’s Supper. If your celebration of the Lord’s Supper results in publicly humiliating other brothers and sisters in Christ, it isn’t the Lord’s Supper anymore.
Either way, the church is dividing between the “haves” and “have-nots”, resulting with the “have-nots” being publicly shamed, being treated in the family of God the same way the outside world treats them: unimportant.
Notice Paul’s language in vs. 22, “What! Do you not have houses 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 commend you in this? No, I will not,” (1 Cor 11:22).
This is fascinating. When you humiliate your brother and sister who have nothing, you “despise the church of God.” I am reminded of Jesus’ words to Saul on the Damascus road, “And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” (Acts 9:4-5). Paul learned a powerful lesson that day: when you persecute the church, you persecute Jesus; when you despise your brother, you despise God. You cannot insult, belittle, snub, or humiliate a fellow member of this church without simultaneously doing so to God. “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen,” (1 John 4:20).
The Warning
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. (1 Cor 11:27)
What does it mean to take the Lord’s Supper “in an unworthy manner”? For an illustration of what that means, we need only look at what the Corinthians have been doing. They were taking something that was intended to bring unity to God’s people through their communion with Christ, but were using it in a worldly manner: getting drunk and ignoring the poor. And so, they are “guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.” What does that mean? Remember back in chapter ten, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread,” (1 Cor 10:16-17). I think the Corinthians are guilty in that they have taken the sacrament that Jesus has left us to have communion with Him and one another, and have now flipped it on its head. They have profaned the meal by humiliating the other members of the church.
Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. (1 Cor 11:28)
So a person should “examine himself” before he takes this meal. This doesn’t mean that this meal is only for perfect Christians. But it does mean that this meal is for Christians. For those who believe the gospel and so have become a member of the body of Christ. And, Paul assumes, while no member of the body of Christ is perfect, we all are repentant, we all desire to obey. The Corinthians were flagrantly, blatantly sinning in how they practiced this meal. Later, Paul repeats this: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith,” (2 Cor 13:5). Paul is inviting them to stop and consider: are you sure you are a Christian? Examine yourself. I think this may be some of what Paul is alluding to earlier when criticizing the church for their divisions, but then concedes: “there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized,” (1 Cor 11:19). When the Lord’s Supper is practiced, there is a division that is made, but Paul says that is actually the one “faction” that is appropriate, that is right in the church. And then Paul warns:
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.” (1 Cor 11:29-31)
This is the reason why we so carefully fence the table every week. This is also one reason why we require you to be baptized prior to taking this meal. Baptism, as we will see in a couple of weeks, is the initiatory rite of an individual coming into the body of Christ. When someone believes the gospel and has given credible evidence of repentance and faith, they are baptized and then added into a church. Salvation is for the individual but brings the individual into a church. So, before you take the meal of the church, you must first be baptized.
To the person here who has not yet been baptized, remember that the Lord’s Supper is a means of grace, not a means of salvation. No one will go to hell only because they failed to take the Lord’s Supper. They go to hell because they do not submit to Jesus. The sacraments of the church are not the car you climb into that gets you to heaven. They are the sign-posts along the road that direct you and assure you that you are most certainly on the right road to heaven. Being baptized and taking the Lord’s Supper do not make you a Christian. But, on the other hand, being baptized and taking the Lord’s Supper is something a Christian does. If you are interested in what it means to be baptized, please speak with a pastor here.
We practice care and caution in our practice of taking the Lord’s Supper because do not want you to eat and drink judgment on yourself. To “discern the body” means that you see that this meal connects you to the body of Christ.
Did God really punish the Corinthians by making them sick and even having some of the die? Yes. Just like God killed Ananias and Saphira for lying to the Holy Spirit in Acts 5. God is the author of life, so He has author-ity to take it. He has numbered all of our days, given us the life we each have, and one day He will summon us all to give an account for what we have done with what He has given. Now, I have been in churches and have seen individuals take the Lord’s Supper that I know should not have been taking it, and I did not witness those individuals drop dead or get ill. This isn’t like Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark or something. We must remember that the Corinthian sin was especially heinous and probably what warranted such a severe judgment from God. Nevertheless, Paul gives us a broad application: anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment. Thus, we should judge ourselves truly so that we won’t be judged. But, to our surprise, we see that the judgment on the Corinthians was actually good for them.
32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (1 Cor 11:32)
We tend to assume that being “judged by the Lord” is exclusively negative, but here it is seen as salutary. When we are “judged by the Lord’ we avoid condemnation, we are disciplined by Him. How is God killing Corinthians and making them ill helping them? Well, if the illness leads them to repentance, that is helpful. Further, perhaps even by striking some down, He is preserving them from destruction. When Paul says that some of the Corinthians have died, the literal phrase used is “some have fallen asleep.” In the New Testament, the idiom “falling asleep” for death is only ever used of Christians. So Paul likely is assuming that these individuals who have died have not been sentenced to hell, but to heaven.
The Remedy
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when 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 also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Cor 11:23-26)
Now, I have always felt a little confused as to why Paul felt the need to include this section. If you removed verses 23-26 from this chapter, the argument would flow fairly well from Paul’s describing the problem to prescribing a warning. Surely, the Corinthians were familiar with Last Supper tradition, familiar with Jesus’ famous words of consecration over the bread and cup. Why repeat them here? I think for two reasons.
One, Paul wants to contrast how Jesus served the meal with how the wealthy Corinthians are taking the meal.
What are the Corinthians focused on? They are focused on themselves “each goes ahead with his own meal,” while Jesus is focused on others. Jesus takes the bread and the cup and gives it to his disciples. And, of course, Jesus isn’t only giving a meal—He is giving Himself. My body, broken for you; My blood, spilled for you.
How are the Corinthians taking the meal? The Corinthians are taking the meal in such a way that breaks other people down. Jesus shares this meal because He will be broken to make others whole. The Corinthians are taking this meal to reinforce the divisions that are typical of the world. Jesus shares this meal to unite people who would not normally come together. At Jesus’ table, there sits a tax-collector and a zealot—sworn enemies, who have become brothers in Christ. The church is not intended to be a place where we only gather with people who share our interests and politics and ethnicity and income brackets.
Jesus Himself, of course, is very different than all of those sitting at the table with Him. There is one divine, one perfect, one holy, one sinless man, and the chasm between Him and the twelve is incalculable. And yet, Jesus breaks bread with sinners. Twice Jesus tells us we are to do this meal “in remembrance” of Him.
Which comes to the second reason why I think Paul brings this up. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes,” (1 Cor 11:26). What does it mean to “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”? It means that we are saying that it is Jesus’ death—His broken body and spilled blood—which will save us from the Judgment that will come when He comes again.
When we all partake of the bread, we all are saying: I am a part of Jesus’ body. When we all drink of the cup, we all are saying: I am a part of the new covenant purchased by the blood of Jesus.
In ancient Rome, when a foreign army was conquered they were required to “pass under the yoke” of Rome. The victorious Romans would put two spears in the ground and then lay a third over the two to create a small, make-shift doorway. But they would place the top spear at about shoulder-height, so that to walk under it you had to stoop. The conquered army would then have to cast aside all of their weapons and pass under this yoke as a symbol of their humiliation and submission to Rome. It didn’t matter if you were the lowest soldier or the general of the army yourself, all had to pass under the yoke. Now, that was entirely negative and was intended to shame the conquered. Jesus, however, has a similar yoke we must pass under—but it isn’t to shame us, but it is to save us. But when we pass under Jesus’ yoke, no matter who we are, we all now are at the same place because we all have entered by the one door of Christ.
So, in this room, there is one person who is the oldest and one person who is the youngest; there is one person who is the wealthiest and one person who is the poorest; there is one person who is the most educated and one person who is the least educated; there is one person who is the godliest and there is one person who has the weakest faith of us all. Nevertheless, because we all have passed through the one door, because we all take the same bread, the same cup—we are all one in Christ.
