Sermon Tone Analysis

1 Corinthians 11:17-22, 27-34

Today, I’d like to challenge you to consider the Lord’s Supper from a perspective which we often overlook and one which Christ himself takes very seriously.

Christ has given the church two ordinances, which are two special commands or practices he desires us to do together as a church.

The first, baptism, marks our formal entrance into the church and the second, the Lord’s Supper, maintains our unity as a church.

Neither of these practices makes us a follower of Christ but both enable us to recognize one another as followers of Christ.

Baptism conveys that I have committed to following Christ and the Lord’s Supper conveys that I continue to be committed to following Christ.

Unfortunately, we can do these things – just as anything else we do as a church – without appreciating the true importance of what we are doing.

We can observe the Lord’s Supper, for instance, as a mindless ritual.

In our passage today, Paul corrects a flawed, wrong approach to observing the Lord’s Supper which was happening in the church at Corinth.

We should allow his corrective teaching to speak to our own church today.

In summary, here is what Paul teaches in 1 Cor 11:17-34: when we observe the Lord's Supper, we must examine whether we are doing so as a unified church because a divided church makes our observance counterproductive.

Observing the Lord’s Supper can be counterproductive.

(1 Cor 11:17-22)

Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you,

The church at Corinth had many problems – doctrinal, legal, moral, relational, problems with their reputation in the community, and more, but they had some positive qualities, too.

Shortly before (1 Cor 11:17), Paul had praised them for remembering some things he had taught them to do when they gathered together for worship, yet here he makes a distinction.

Though he had already praised them for certain positive behaviors, he would not praise them for everything.

He was about to give them some instructions to correct some wrong behavior pertaining to how they observed the Lord’s Supper.

Before moving on, let me point out that just as Paul was able to acknowledge positive qualities in the Corinthian church, despite their many problems, we should learn to do the same.

Just because another believer has a problem of some kind doesn’t mean everything about them is a problem.

We need to avoid arriving at conclusions which portray one another as “all bad.”

Just because another believer may fall short in some way doesn’t mean they’re a lost cause or deserving of outright judgment and rejection.

We’re all a work in progress and always have something which needs to be improved.

Since you come together not for the better but for the worse.

With this statement, Paul claims that when they gathered to observe the Lord’s Supper, their actions were not commendable but were counterproductive instead.

He will soon say, “What!

Do you not have houses to eat and drink in” (1 Cor 11:22)?

Today, we would say, “Don’t bother coming, you’d be better off staying home!”

The message Paul is trying to express here is that they thought they were doing a good thing by observing the Lord’s Supper, but there was a problem with how they were doing it which made their behavior worthless and unhelpful.

For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.

This reveals to us the reason for Paul’s concern.

He had heard from reliable sources that when members of this church observed the Lord’s Supper together, they were not truly “together.”

Though they would gather in the same place from a physical, locational standpoint (in the same building or room, etc.), there were personal, relational, social divisions within the larger group.

Are there any such divisions in our church today?

For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.

With this statement, Paul makes an off-handed comment, once again looking for a positive perspective on an otherwise negative situation.

He acknowledges that to some extent, the divisions within the church at Corinth might actually reveal who was a genuine follower of Christ (“those who are approved”) and who was not.

If so, then perhaps there was a silver lining to the problem.

Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.

With these words, Paul tells the church that though they claim to be gathering together to observe the Lord’s Supper, that’s not actually what they’re doing.

Perhaps they were doing so in their motions but not in reality.

For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk.

Rather than gathering to observe the Lord’s Supper, they gathered to feed their stomachs and quench their thirst.

From what Paul says here, it seems as though certain people were insisting on eating and drinking before others.

This “me-first” mindset resulted in two problematic outcomes.

First, the selfish people caused others in the church to wait to be fed for a long time and remain hungry, getting nothing to eat in the end.

Second, they not only filled their stomachs, but they did so to an excessive, gluttonous degree – so much so that they became drunk

Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?

Here Paul introduces an important concept which he wants to embed firmly in our hearts – that when we mistreat other members of our church, we disrespect the entire church by making the church appear as something very different than what it really is.

In other words, we give the church a very bad reputation.

Selfish church members give their entire church – and everyone in it – a bad reputation.

Most importantly, they give Christ a bad reputation, and that’s a serious problem.

In this case, Paul indicates that it was church members with more influence and resources who were disregarding other members who were less privileged or successful.

Believers who are less privileged and successful in life from a power and wealth standpoint already enjoy less respect in the world outside the church, and by following Christ, they lose even more respect from nonbelievers.

While such people can expect to be looked down upon, overlooked, or mistreated by nonbelievers, they should not be treated this way in their church family.

No members of a church should feel shamed or overlooked due to their social position or financial standing.

The church should be a place of equal standing.

The cross is the great equalizer for all must bow the knee to Christ and the ground is level at the foot of the cross.

What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this?

I do not praise you.

Paul concludes that there is nothing good about this behavior.

He would like to praise them for how they observed the Lord’s Supper, because technically they were doing this, yet he couldn’t praise them because their selfish attitude and approach undermined the very thing which they believed they were doing for Christ.

Observing the Lord’s Supper must focus on Christ.

(1 Cor 11:23-26)

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood.

This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

With these words, Paul reminds us about why we observe the Lord’s Supper, and we do so for at least three reasons.

We observe the Lord’s Supper to obey Christ.

We do so to obey Christ, because he said, “Take, eat,” and also, “Do this” (drink the juice).

So, we show our submission to Christ as our Lord and Master by doing what he said.

Now, he didn’t merely say to do this once, but “do this” tells us to keep on doing this, then “as often as” tells us that we who are followers of Christ should do this regularly and repeatedly.

That’s why we do this at least four times every year at Brookdale.

We observe the Lord’s Supper to remember Christ.

In addition to obeying Christ, we also observe the Lord’s Supper to remember him.

He says to eat the bread “in remembrance of me” and to drink the juice “in remembrance of me.”

By remembering, Christ meant more than merely remembering in an academic, intellectual, or mental way his existence or that he died on the cross for our sins.

In the Bible, “remembering” is more than mental recall.

It involves emotion and volition as well as cognition.

It not only touches the past; it also articulates with the present and the future, helping a person connect previously acquired wisdom to current and future decisions.

In the words of Old Testament scholar Robert Cosand, “Remembrance is an understanding of the reality of the past in such a way that the events of the past become a force in the present, producing some activity of will or of body or both.” Bruce Waltke says simply, “Remembrance equals participation.”

(Jeffrey D. Arthurs, Preaching as Reminding, p. 13).

The most impactful memorial in the United States may very well be the Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C.

When you enter the museum, you are assigned a passport which introduces you to and identifies you as an actual Holocaust victim.

As you make your way through the exhibits, you connect with that person as you trace what happened to him or her throughout the war.

The museum is filled with pictures, sounds, recreated scenes, and even mementos (like piles of discarded shoes from those who died in the gas chambers) – all of which make a definite impact on you as a person.

Why does a memorial like this exist?

Not merely to educate you from an academic standpoint or to prove that such things actually occurred (which itself is being questioned by some today).

The purpose of such a memorial is to remind you of these events in such a way that you make a personal connection to those events, feel empathy for what happened, and choose to do what you can to detect and prevent similar problems today.

This is the purpose of observing the Lord’s Supper.

Consider, for instance, to what degree has the fact that Christ lived, suffered, and died for your sins even entered your mind this past week.

More importantly, to what degree has his sacrificial life and suffering tangibly affected your feelings, choices, and actions in day-to-day life.

To what degree has Christ’s death for you influenced the way you’ve related to God, treated your spouse and children, responded to other people in your life, spent your money, and allocated your time?

Observing the Lord’s Supper together with your church is super important because it’s that extra special way that Christ himself tells us to remember what he has done for us in the way that I’ve just described.

When we fail to make this practice a priority, we not only disobey Christ, but we fail to allow his death to influence our thinking, feelings, and choices to the degree he desires.

We risk “forgetting” to connect his death to our life.

We observe the Lord’s Supper to look forward to Christ.

Third, we observe the Lord’s Supper not only to obey and remember Christ, but to look forward to his future return.

This is an often-overlooked purpose for the Lord’s Supper.