1 Cor 11:17-34

Chad Myhre

1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

1 Corinthians 11:17–34

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1 Corinthians 11:17–19 ESV

1 Corinthians 11:17–22 ESV

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.

SLIDE 3

1 Corinthians 11:20–22 ESV

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.

Intro:

We humans have a terrible habit of changing things…

Sometimes we like to remove the reality, the core truth, the hard parts of a topic..

And replace them.. w/something that better fits our opinions

When our founding fathers established the separation of church and state..

They thought back upon England..

And of how the government had it’s own church..

And in that church, that government had the ultimate say on what went on..

So here, in America, they set the church free..

To practice their faith freely, w/o the government intervening.

..w/o the government ordaining and organizing any particular group or denomination..

It was a law.. that was intended to protect the church from government control and influence..

It was all about “political authority”.. keeping it’s hand, out of the “spiritual establishment”

It was never intended to be a law that protected government from being influenced by the spiritual establishment..

But, that’s what it has become..

Evolution has never been anything but a theory..

It’s based on observations of adaptation w/in a species..

No body refutes inter species evolution.. or more correctly.. “adaptation”…

But the idea of one species involving into another..

Is impossible to prove.. because.. no proof exists..

It is as Darwin presented it..

A theory.

But, it’s the only viable solution..

For everyone is wired to ask the all important question:

“How did we get here?”

The mind might try to answer this with.. “A creator.. some kind of god made all this.”

w/ that answer, we then face a responsibility to come to terms w/the reality of God..

Since a lot of folks are not too keen on that idea..

They don’t like the idea of God.. and all the personal accountability that goes along w/that..

They are desperate to embrace a contrary view, one that sets them free from considering the possible reality of a God or a creator..

This makes, the theory of evolution.. very attractive..

And so, it’s taught to us.. from elementary school on..

The text book might use the word “theory”..

But that’s not how it’s presented..

And those artistic renderings which depict what transitional man might have looked like?

Those are pretty good.

So, in reality.. evolution is a theory..

And that’s fine.. it’s a brilliant idea..

But is that how the world sees it?

Or, has it in fact, taken on another status?

Has it been promoted..

From theory.. to fact?

Huge faith..

Massive faith..

The majority has come to this conclusion..

Not theory.. but fact!

Many things in the church have changed over the ages..

In the OT, God ruled Israel as a Theocracy under the judges… then, as a Monarchy under the Kings.

Has become, to many folks.. the thing which gives salvation..

He had a special and unique relationship with the nation of Israel, and even as He proved Himself to them over and over again… they struggled to operate as a state government under Biblical principles...

There are no more Theocracies… and there are no more monarchies where God has ordained, anointed and called a King to carry out His principles..

As it was in Jesus’ day… the governments were secular, and religion existed on it’s own....

But… man struggled with this division… And man has tried, over and over again to join together government and religion.

Any study of history would show us, consistently… that the unity of church and state has always created problems.

You see a lot of this in church history… and in almost every case… the influence of one entity upon the other led to corruption.

In the early days, when Christianity began to be established and accepted… early in the 4th century… they sought to unite the two.

Over the years, a Catholic city, or state, or country, required membership and devotion to the Catholic church first to confirm citizenship.

If you were living in one of these places, and you had not been properly identified as a Catholic, you were there illegally, and the punishment was often times extreme or even lethal.

How did they confirm a person’s citizenship? For instance, when a new child entered into a family, how did that child become a legal citizen? -The church decreed, that this citizenship was established through Baptism.

These were the practices that established the idea of baptizing infants.

When Protestant cities and states and countries were established, they required that babies be baptized into their churches for citizenship. When the Orthodox cities were established… they practiced the same thing…

Over the years, when common people began to get their hands on the Bible, and read it for themselves… they began to see things differently than the state churches…

So, for those who embraced believer baptism… -there was great conflict. There was persecution. For the sake of following a Biblical conviction that was apart from state influence… many of these people fled into other countries, and sought the freedom to practice their faith w/o punishment.

And yet… here we are… nearly 1500 years later… and the practice of baptizing infants is still widely practiced. The origin of the idea, which established it firmly in those early churches… has passed away… but the practice is still there...

And they have a Biblical argument for it… but it’s not the easiest conclusion to come to… but if you’ve been raised in that tradition, it makes sense...

If you come to the Bible with fresh eyes, apart from that tradition, it’s neigh unto impossible to draw a conclusion for infant baptism.

You see, the church has two very diverse ideas on baptism… and within those two main ideas… there are probably thousands of unique applications and interpretations...

The inerrancy of scripture..

Has become.. to many.. a farce.. it is, to many..

A book full of errors..

And quite devoid of divine instruction..

Relativism has taken a strong hold.. and the old ideas of “absolutes”.. is gone..

The scriptural teaching.. which tells us, that there is only one way to Heaven..

That has been replaced..

.. w/the old wagon wheel theory..

Many different spokes.. all lead to the hub..

And so, w/faith, there are many ways to God..

Jesus gave us an outline, a model for prayer.. we call it “the Lord’s Prayer”..

And it teaches us how to pray.. and what to pray..

But it doesn’t teach us.. “what to say”..

Scripture commands us to avoid vane repetitions..

And yet..

For many.. prayer is not a real conversation w/God..

No.. it’s a poetic recital of some prayer.. that is said, word for word..

Week in and week out..

But.. often times… it doesn’t mean anything to the one saying it..

It’s just a mindless chant..

And for many.. real prayer.. is non existent..

.. it is replaced.. by a mindless chant.

The simple.. black and white presentation of truth.. that we are given in the scriptures..

Is just.. too simple..

It is, for so many.. just too hard to swallow..

And so.. we humans have a way.. of working these things over in our minds..

And slowly.. we justify different forms of these truths..

Different presentations..

Ones which are more widely accepted..

Ones which are more tolerable to differing belief systems..

And ultimately.. I believe this is the big one..

Ones which require less accountability out of us.

These changes have happened.. some very quickly, and some over time..

and for the most part.. they are all products of thought

++..

men got together, and thought about how they could make their faith more appealing..

.. to themselves, and to the world around them..

But .. sometimes.. changes come along..

That are w/o thought..

They just, happen over time..

And nobody suggests the change..

Nobody makes a formal announcement..

No.. it just happens..

A good, true, spiritual practice..

Can be changed.. transformed.. take on a new identity..

Simply because.. we let our guards down..

We relax.. we begin to let the heart of the practice slip away..

And what do we do?

We go through the motions..

And if there’s something in it that pleases our flesh..

Then that’s what it becomes.. an enjoyable experience..

It’s a common thing, for people to be so into the emotional experience of worship..

That they forget to engage their hearts..

And truly set their sights upon God..

It’s not too uncommon.. for a worship service.. to change..

And eventually, it will become.. a concert..

And people will say..

Worship was either good, or bad.. based upon the band.

Worship should be good, not because of the band… but rather, because of your heart.

It doesn’t matter if there’s one guitar up here, or a whole band..

The band isn’t up here for you..

We don’t have a drummer for you..

We have a drummer, because the Lord gave Bill a desire to use His skills for His glory..

That’s why every individual that is up here, is up here..

Not because.. you need a full band to worship..

It’s defiantly not about you..

It’s about them, and their obedient response to serve the Lord.

Your worship experience is enhanced by what goes on here on the stage..

But whether it’s a good worship time or not..

Depends on you..

Not the band.

You see.. it’s not a concert.

But if we’re not careful.. about what is going on in our hearts..

That’s what it can become..

In Corinth.. they were continually letting things change..

they were continually, slipping away from the true heart of an issue..

and allowing it to become something else..

And in today’s text.. this is precisely what’s going on..

They met together, on a regular basis..

For what was called, a love feast..

And this love feast, incorporated, the practice we call communion..

They communed w/one another.. practicing their call to fellowship and unity amongst the family..

And then.. they communed w/one another..

Practicing their call to fellowship.. and to unity.. w/the death of their Savior.

This started out.. as a great thing..

As a time for everyone to come together, and share of what they had.. w/one another.. and w/those who didn’t have anything..

It was essentially, a pot luck..

But over time.. it changed.. it became something it was never intended to be..

Let’s read these opening passages again.

SLIDE 4

1 Corinthians 11:17–19 ESV

SLIDE 5

1 Cor 17.20-22

1 Corinthians 11:20–22 ESV

In , as the church was birthed and growing..

we learned, that they were continually going from house to house..

and as part of that fellowship.. they were often eating together.

In it’s correct practice.. this was a healthy, and expected thing..

But here in Corinth.. something changed..

Some people... started to think, mostly of themselves..

They brought food and drink.. for their little groups..

And they excluded others..

And they ate.. heartily and exclusively..

And they drank.. in excess..

Instead of this being a time of mutual sharing..

It was a time of exclusive feasting..

And it created division… and it was dangerous..

Notice what Paul says in verse 17..

.. essentially.. he’s letting them know, that the outcome of their gathering..

Was not for the edification of the body..

It was, in fact.. it was actually harmful.. - it was not for the better… but for the worse…

Sure, folks from the church are getting together and having a good time.. Essentially, the love feasts were a bunch of people coming together and eating food… that essential practice still happened… but the heart and purpose of it was lost..

But is it something that builds up the body and glorifies Christ?

No…

Paul tells them.. if you want to do stuff like this.. do it in your home…

If you want to be exclusionary in your fellowship..

Do it at home..

Here amongst the family, we are one.. we are called to unity.. ..

That’s why, when we have a pot luck here..

You don’t set your dish aside and say..

“Oh, this macaroni and cheese.. is just for my family. “

Everyone else.. just better back off…

No way.. that’s not how they work..

You bring your mac n cheese.. you put it on the table w/everything else..

And it’s there, for everybody and anybody to take full advantage of..

And those who had the money and the means to bring a dish of food..

They will eat your mac n cheese..

And those, who didn’t bring anything..

They too.. will eat your mac n cheese.

I’m sure.. this is how things began in Corinth..

but you know how things are..

eventually.. the different folks began to group together..

and the folks who were “well to do” got together..

and the folks who were not “well to do”..

stood around, eating what was left over.. if.. there was anything at all.

Years ago.. I learned.. if you’re in the back of the line..

You never get deviled eggs..

I made this comment years ago when I first taught this passage… and since then, Kitty Pratt has often set aside a couple deviled eggs for me.. (Thanks Kitty)

There’s never deviled eggs for me..

But these poor folks.. in Corinth..

It was worse than that for them..

Not only did they miss out on the deviled eggs… but they didn’t get anything.

Paul said, that there were divisions..

and we’re led to believe.. that they are economic divisions..

Can you believe that?

The wealthy, high society folks..

Didn’t want to fellowship.. w/the poor, low society folks..

Such divisions.. are very common.. in our modern day..

Different classes.. different races.. different personalities.

They just.. naturally flock together..

.. and, in every town..

You’ll have your “race” oriented churches..

Your rich churches..

Your middle class churches..

And your poor churches..

Why?

Well, why was there division in their love feasts?

Because the heart.. the true reason for their gathering.. had changed….

You see.. it’s not always easy for us..

To socialize outside of our comfort zones..

We are driven to divide.. because that’s what comes easiest to us..

But here’s the thing..

We are not called to do things.. because they are easy..

As a body of believers, we are called to unity..

That’s what this section of scripture is all about..

It’s an issue of unity..

In Corinth.. it was between those who had money..

And those who had none..

For us, it could be any number of things..

But whatever it is, that brings the division..

It’s unhealthy.. and it’s outside of God’s plan..

As a matter of fact.. in the context of this passage.. we see, that the unity of the body.. is a significant part of what communion is about…

SLIDE 6

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

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.”

SLIDE 7

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 ESV

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.

Partaking in communion.. is something that we can do alone..

But I believe, as Paul instructs this church on unity..

That it is something, that should be done..

As a family..

This is an act of unity..

This is a practice, that we do, as one..

Our minds are upon the same thing..

We are remembering and communing w/the same Lord..

Our focus is common..

And we are, for a moment.. like minded..

All of us possess our salvation, because of what happened on that cross..

He suffered great loss and great pain, so that salvation could be extended to us.. freely..

If we’re banking on our own goodness or our own brains to get us eternal life..

Then the cross, is not benefiting us..

It can..

But, if we’re trying to do it on our own..

The work of the cross, is vanity.. until.. we finally receive it..

You see.. as those who have something to be thankful for..

As those who have received.. partaken.. and have been transformed by the cross..

We are so thankfull

Because we realized..

There was nothing we could do on our own..

Morality.. wasn’t enough..

Generosity.. wasn’t enough..

We realized.. that we were hopeless and destitute for all eternity..

And w/o this extremely generous gift that we don’t understand or deserve..

We’re done for..

When we come to this place of gratitude.. in our hearts.. and in our minds..

All those other things that divide us..

Are gone..

Social class.. doctrinal disputes.. disagreements.. differing views..

.. those things.. are gone..

When we are partaking in Communion..

We are on common ground..

And it’s as basic as it gets..

We are there, where the remembrance of our damnation..

Haunts us..

And the amazing gift of forgiveness from God..

Elates us..

If you can’t find unity in communion..

I would question the reality of your salvation experience..

For if you never came to that point..

Where you knew, you were helpless w/o God..

Then I’m not so sure, that you could have come to that place..

Where you received freely, and benefited from the cross..

By eating w/someone.. in this culture.. it was considered a great act of intimacy..

almost as if, you were becoming one w/that other person..

This is why it was such a big deal for Jews when it came to eating with Gentiles… A Jew wouldn’t dare dip their bread in the same bowl of a Gentile, because it would make them unclean…

In communion, there is a message for us..

Not only about us.. becoming one w/Christ..

But also..

Becoming one.. w/o each other..

X said, “take eat, this is my body.”

It was broken for us..

This is where our mind goes.. as we eat of the bread..

That He was beat, whipped, nailed to a cross..

And through that pain.. through that vicious torture..

God delivered a suffering and a pain, so great..

That the whips could not compare..

The fists.. nor the nails.. could compare..

God delivered His wrath, for the sins of all humanity..

And He poured it out.. upon His Son..

And this..

Not the Roman Soldiers..

This, is what broke His body..

It was the wrath, that God had..

For my sin.. and your sin..

That’s what broke His body..

And that’s what we need to remember..

We were behind that suffering..

And we.. have benefited from it..

The cup.. speaks of His blood..

the term “new covenant” is used..

In the Old Covenant.. the old deal.. the old contract that God had w/man..

He was required to bring offerings to the temple..

And those offerings died..

So that the sins of man could be covered temporarily..

And God’s wrath could be detoured, upon that animal.. temporarily..

But it was merely a covering..

IN the New Covenant.. the better covenant..

The blood of Christ..

Washes our sins away..

For good..

And God makes a choice, to remove those sins..

Our sins.. from us..

As far as the east, is from the west.

And as we drink of the cup..

This is what we remember..

Not that a noble revolutionary suffered and died for His cause..

That’s not what we remember..

But.. that our Savior..

Whom was broken in our place..

And the one who paid the eternal price for our souls..

The One, to whom we responded to..

And repented..

And received His gift..

That’s who we remember..

Verse 26 says that we are proclaiming His death..

we are literally.. “preaching His death”..

Yes, partaking of the cup, and of the bread.. does proclaim a message..

But, in our day to day lives..

As long as we are having regular, sincere practices of remembrance..

We will know.. the urgency.. to share.

For in communion..

We remember our desperate estate..

And we remember… How God pulled us out of that desperation..

And gave us eternal life..

As we keep our salvation before us..

As a reality..

We will gain a burden, for those around us..

Who haven’t experienced what we have.

How long are we to share the message?

How long do we proclaim it?

Until He comes..

Folks.. there’s work for us to do.. in the here and now..

W/these lives.. we have a responsibility.. and a call..

We have something to proclaim..

For how long?

As long as it takes..

SLIDE 8

1 Corinthians 11:27–30 ESV

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.

SLIDE 9

1 Corinthians 11:31–34 ESV

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.

Many fear, that they are unworthy.

Because of this, they don’t participate in communion..

But, if that were so, none of us would partake in communion..

We are not worthy…

And unless we realize that, communion won’t be, for us, the experience it needs to be.

This passage says, “unworthy manner”..

What does that mean?

Well, if we follow the current train of thought..

this again, is in reference to unity.

Are we coming to the cup and the bread..

.. as those who have acted selfishly, and have ignored the needs of others..

.. in exchange for our own pleasure?

Are we inconsiderate?

Are we showing racism, or hatred..

Are we despising one another?

Are we casting judgment upon those who don’t believe exactly as we do?

Do we have someone, that we need to go to.. and ask forgiveness of???

Are we, being the body..

Are we discerning the body..

Or, are we disjointed?

Notice the judgment that might come upon those, who drink in an unworthy manner..

The chastisement of the Lord..

may come in the form of sickness..

in vs. 30.. it says, many sleep..

This is a word, that is used, in reference to death..

But it is only used, in scripture, in reference to the death of a believer..

Whatever the case may be..

it does seem, that there are sicknesses, that the Lord allows us to go through..

as a chastisement..

And that’s something, that only we, the individual can judge and receive in our hearts..

But notice the purpose..

Scripture tells us, that God chastises those whom He loves..

and here, we find out why..

in vs. 32..

it’s so.. “we may not be condemned along w/the world”

Folks.. the lord is out to protect us..

He’s out to put us on the right path.. the path of blessing..

The path of goodness..

The path of blessing..

It’s a high call..

And it’s a big challenge to our flesh..

But this is where He wants us..

Because He… as a God of love..

.. wants to shower His love / blessings upon us..

And He wants to put us in that place..

That place of sincerity.. ..obedience.. commitment.. and that place of intimacy.

..obedience.. commitment.. and that place of intimacy.

He wants us there, because that’s where the things we seek are..

In the next few chapters..

He’s going to tell us, of those things that will help us get there..

For the purpose, of edifying the body..

He has given us spiritual gifts..

These are spiritual enablings that work in and through the body..

For what purpose?’

… so that the body may be built up… established… strengthened… affirmed… corrected… and directed..

Conclusion!

But for now.. communion.!

The next 3 chapters… are the fun ones…

pray

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