Whos Supper?1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Intro
Good morning Church, this morning we are going to continue from where Keith left off last week in Pauls 1st letter to the Corinthian church. Before we look at this mornings passage though, let’s just take a look at the background.
Background
The city of Corinth was a great city in many ways. Politically it was the capitol city of the Roman province of Achaia, which included almost all of Greece.
Infact, it was so strategically located (which is why Paul chose to plant there in the first place), it became very prosperous. Corinth was built on a narrow strip of land (4 miles or so across) with the Mediterranean sea on either side, built on a plateau next to an 1900-foot mountain that was home to the city fortress. This fortress was so secure that it was never taken by force until the invention of gunpowder. It also contained an inexhaustible water supply in the fountain of Peirene. So it was a secure city. At the very top of the mountain was the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and at the base of the citadel stood the temple of Melicertes, the god of seafarers.
Because Corinth was built on this narrow strip of land, it served as a crossroads for both land and sea trade, being a pinch point for goods travelling between the two large areas of land (north and south) with ports on either side (east and west). Goods travelling by sea would pass through Corinth rather than sail the 200 miles around the cape because the waters were so treacherous. Sometimes, sometimes even the boats would pass over land on rollers.
As a result of all this wealth and trade, luxuries & goods from all over the world were available in Corinth, as were the vices of the world. Though not all of the sins of Corinth were imported, the temple of Aphrodite was well known for having around 1000 temple prostitues who sold themselves in the name of their false God.
Corinths reputation for moral bankruptcy was well established among the greeks, who would use the verb “corinthianize” to describe an act of immorality or corruption & “corinthian girl” became a synonym for prostitute.
Pagan feasting culture
As a result of Corinth being so rich in carnal activity and being a Pagan stronghold, heathen banquets were commonplace, during these meals, rich foods and meat that had been sacrificed to the Gods would be served. There would also be one or more cups passed around to be shared and drank in honour of the Gods. The first cup in the celebration was a cup that was offered to Jupiter, the second cup was a cup that was offered to the nymphs, and the third cup to Jupiter Soter or Jupiter the Saviour. And as people took part in this act of pagan worship they were publicly honouring and submitting themselves to the power of these false spiritual idols.
These pagan feasts were places where the rich and powerful would come and display their wealth & power with lavish food, wine, fine clothes and by engaging in all sorts of carnal activities under the pretence of devotion to their false idols.
This is the context into which Paul is writing this letter and this mornings passage
So lets look together now at this mornings reading from 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Scripture
“17 But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. 18 First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. 19 But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!
20 When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. 21 For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. 22 What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!
23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you.[a] Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.
27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against[b] the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ,[c] you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.
31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 32 Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
33 So, my dear brothers and sisters,[d] when you gather for the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other. 34 If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won’t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I’ll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive.”
Agape feast (love feast)
The agape (or love feast) of early christian church, its intention was to be an outward sign and outworking of unity in the church, where jew gentile, rich and poor could hold everything in common (acts 2:44-46). In Practice, in the context of Corinth, it became something that better reflected its surrounding culture than the culture of the kingdom. Easy to see why this might be an issue for people in a culture where feasting is so tied up in pagan culture.
Pauls charges against the Corinthians
Paul has 2 main charges against the church
The first aspect and the bigger issue is general disunity and factions and the second aspect is the practical concern with how they were administering communion. It appears that the division expressed in communion was also related to those who were well off and those who were poor because the poor were being “humiliated”
The second issue is that it appears there were those who would gather ahead of time and take their fill of the bread and the wine and leave out others in the church. Instead of building up one another the church was fractured and selfish.
Factions in the church
Unavoidable because of sin
If you find a perfect church, don’t join it, you will ruin it! All have sinned and fallen short. A church made of people, is a church full of sinners and it is unavoidable that divisions will arise.
Unavoidable because of righteousness (Sheep & goats).
Although factions are in some ways unavoidable, they are not acceptable.
Lords Supper
One of the 2 ordinances of Jesus for believers
Significance in unity of the church, public remembrance & proclamation of Christs death, resurrection & return to judge, and the complete fulfilment of our judgment in christ.
I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
How the Corinthian church made it their supper and not the Lords
Proclaiming christ in communion & not in unity within the community of God is no witness to the glory & transforming power of God.
Words & deeds a witness without good character is no witness in a court of law
A drunk witness is no witness in a court of law
A witness with a conflicting testimony is no witness in a court
John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Keys to christian unity
living out gods call (called and chosen to live for the praise of his glory and walk in unity). We cannot say “dont look at the church, look at Christ” because Christ has chosen us as his body on earth to represent him. We are called to live in humility as CS Lewis puts it “not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less”. Be humble, putting others first in their needs and making space for their gifting. Love costs something but unity is worth sacrificing for. Unity is not something we have to work towards attaining, it is done in Christ (which is what we remember in communion).
Ephesians 4:1-6
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Speaking/ living out our faith. We must not define our relationships in the community of believer by our differences, or our preferences, by how hard or easy someone is to speak to, or let fear of looking stupid, rob us of the unity that Jesus has won for us. Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously talks of cheap grace, I believe we as the church often settle for cheap unity. We settle for unity with others like ourselves on our terms, unity that doesn’t cost us anything, that doesn’t ask anything of us. It is dangerously easy for a church to attract a certain type of person to the detriment of others, heaven forbid we turn into a middle class church, or a working class church for that matter, or any other specific category of believer, except those who know & love God and live according to the full witness of scripture. God deliver us from the appearance of unity if the truth is we have just built a tribe. Unity does not mean uniformity! We can and we must strive for unity in the body of christ. Later on in this letter Paul tells them in 1 Corinthians 12:21-26
“The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Growing in the image of Jesus. Becoming more like Christ, imitating him. Growing together as his body, reflecting his gospel culture, not the culture of the world around us, and in so doing, transforming the church and those who witness our unity.
Romans 12:1-2 tells us
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
To love comes with a responsibility toward each other (one another verses)
To love well comes at a personal cost (just as communion remembers the cost of Jesus perfect love).
To love well declares with our lives what the gospel & communion specifically declares & is evidence to support the transforming power of salvation.
The table is the Lords not the church's
The community is there in "common unity" because of the Lords invitation
The community is enabled to be present by the Lords enabling.
Called by the Father
Redeemed in the Son
Empowered through the Spirit
The table is the place where His sacrifice meets the community of Faith (Rom 12:1&2
The Community of God reaches its highest unity when together they worship Him.
It is the one moment in time when they all face the same way together they
They look to Him
They alll do the same thing together they share in obedience with the Lord and eachother
They can potentially act with the same heart attitude
Rememberance obedience faith and thankfulness
The Lord is At the table
The Lord is ON the Table
Pray & close