The Body and the Blood of the Lord

If you would please, in preparation for the Lord’s Table, join me in turning to 1 Corinthians 11 for a bit of a reminder about the nature and the purpose of this celebration, communion or the Lord’s Table.

As you surely know, the Corinthian Church was abounding with problems. Divisions caused by pride, insubordination, lawsuits against their fellow Christians, a moral scandal, confusion about marriage, the abuse of Christian liberty, grumbling, It wasn’t all bad in the Corinthian church. God had indeed saved some of them, but even those had a long way to go in their sanctification. Having already addressed a great many concerns, here in chapter 11, Paul addresses a new issue

Let me give you a bit of background before we look to the text itself. The early church celebrated the Lord’s Supper with what came to be known as a love feast, an all-church event that included dinner as well as communion. And that whole idea gives us the fear that maybe that would bring the celebration of communion down to the level of a potluck. What it was designed to do is bring the love feast up to the level of communion. That’s not what was happening in the Corinthian church. Evidently, people would bring food ostensibly to share with others. As I said, kind of what we call a potluck. In the use of the phrase, the breaking of bread, there seems to be a bit of an overlap. Almost a blending of the meal and the ordinance itself. It’s not always clear when that phrase is used whether it’s a meal or whether it’s the ordinance of the Lord’s table in view. And it seems to be almost intentionally vague and undefined so as to encompass both elements. What we can gather is that once the church was finished with the meal, they would celebrate the Lord’s supper. But sadly, the Corinthians even managed to taint that solemn occasion.

If you would, I wanna take a good portion of this chapter, verse 17, all the way down through verse 34.

1 Corinthians 11, beginning in verse 17, but in giving this instruction, I do not praise you because you’ve come together not for the better, but for the worse. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you. And in part, I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may be evident within among you. Therefore, when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in your eating, each one takes his own supper first, and one is hungry, and another is drunk. What? Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which 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, he took the cup also after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat the bread and drink the cup. For he who eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason, many among you are weak and sick and a number sleep. That if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

So then my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home. so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.

So Paul begins this discussion of the Lord’s table, and immediately it’s evident that it’s not just any dinner, it’s not just any meal. It’s the Lord’s supper that is in view. And I wanted to provide you this morning four courses, if you will, to this meal. Four courses that restore a proper exercise of the Lord’s table.

First of all, if you track back to verse 17, Paul presents the shame of abusing the Lord’s table. Paul takes a sudden turn here in verse 17, in the overall scope of chapter 11, because back in verse two, he opened the discussion of submission and head coverings by praising this church. But here in verse 17, his attitude has changed. He says that in giving this instruction, that is instruction regarding the Lord’s table, he does not praise them.

Where Paul could commend the Corinthians, he commended them. But he seems to play upon the natural tendency to smugness. As soon as they heard that their actions were praiseworthy, they might have begun to swell with pride. And so he does an about face here. It’s an understatement. Not only will he not praise them, even in that statement, he has already begun to rebuke them. They did have some commendatory practices, but the way that they behaved around the Lord’s table wasn’t one of them.

At the end of verse 17, Paul provides the reason for his rebuke. You come together not for the better, but for the worse. What a shocking statement, he basically says, your meeting together does more harm than good. Instead of church as it’s meant to be conducted, it’s worship, it’s people, it’s ordinances, it’s fellowship, instead of that being a blessing, it was a spiritual detriment. Not only was their gathering together not edifying, It was detrimental. It was the opposite of what it was supposed to be.

Why was this meeting so destructive? Glance at verse 18, if you would, where Paul says, for in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear the divisions exist among you. Paul is not talking about just any meeting. but when they come together as a church, a meeting officially set apart to God himself. You see, in the early church, there were no buildings designated for the worship of Christ. The church was and is not a building. And in that sense, the church wasn’t the church until it was gathered. And the gathered church should have been a holy and solemn occasion of worship. But in the case of the Corinthian church, when they gathered, instead of unified worship, only disagreements and division became evident.

Paul caught wind of this. I hear that divisions exist among you. And in part, he says, I believe it. Knowing these imperfect believers as he did, it wasn’t a stretch for him to learn that they were divided. The word here for divisions, you’ll hear it in the Greek, it’s schisma, the Greek word from which we get our word schisms, and it refers to factions, not separations from the church, but divisions within it. What usually begins as a minor rift between a few individuals sometimes grows into a full-blown church split. In the Corinthian church, there were these cliques and they were growing. We don’t know the nature of these factions, doctrinal perhaps, social, ethnic, over giftings. We don’t know. all of those things are possible, and because he’s addressed all of them already. We just know that they were very divided, this church, and there was indeed a socioeconomic element involved, as we’ll see.

Glance at verse 19, a very interesting verse. The division itself didn’t surprise Paul. Verse 19, there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. He basically says here that not all divisions are bad. And here, however, he uses a different word, not schisms, but hiresis, heresies, translated as factions. In the case of heretical teaching, to which he alludes here, They separate the true from the false believers. But generally speaking, for anyone, keeping away from factions and factious people is a wise course.

Well, that’s the shame of abusing the Lord’s Supper, verses 17 through 19. And beginning in verse 20, Paul zeroes in on exactly how the Corinthians were doing this. So not only the shame of abusing the Lord’s table, but the means of abusing the Lord’s table. Glance, if you would, at verse 20. When you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper. Paul begins to present a contrast between the ordinance that our Lord had instituted and what the Corinthians were doing in practice. They were dramatically different, and therein was their sin. The irony was that they actually had a special name for their food fellowships, which were essentially potlucks. They called them love feasts. The problem was, not only did it not measure up to that which the Lord had instituted, it didn’t even measure up to their own standard by calling it a love feast. It didn’t measure up on either. These were supposed to be exhibitions of brotherly love, partaking together, sharing, enjoying a common meal. Instead, there was chaos and just plain gluttony. Most people pulled aside to stuff their faces while others looked on hungry. Paul essentially says, call it what you want. This is not the Lord’s table.

He details his concerns with their behavior in verse 21. In their celebration, it was every person for him or herself. Paul says, in your eating, each one takes his own supper first, and one is hungry and another is drunk. They didn’t even wait for the common meal. Which means they didn’t share what they had brung for that very purpose. Instead, they pulled aside, and before the group meal had even begun, they started eating, shoveling food into their faces, rude and gluttonous behavior that dishonored their fellow believers.

The idea of drunkenness here is problematic. That some of these people actually became drunken would only make this terrible situation that much worse. What Paul seems to be doing here is positioning two opposite extremes. Lack, those who lacked, and excess, those who had more than enough, but instead of sharing, ate it themselves. Some members didn’t have anything to eat or not enough. Others had far more than enough. And so their motives were false. They were playing church. What they were doing showed no love or care for others and that made the celebration of the Lord’s table impossible. What was supposed to promote unity degenerated into selfish division. They desecrated the very institution they were supposed to honor. It was a graceless celebration.

Paul’s response to this in verse 22 is strong. What, do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.

They only had their own interests and appetites in mind, and they were satisfying them during the church gathering. Why not stay home and do that, Paul says. The question is rhetorical. Of course, they had their own homes, which made their behavior all the more offensive. It seems as if they were doing this on purpose, and thereby demonstrating their low view of Christ’s church.

Paul immediately contrasts their supper with the Lord’s Supper, beginning in verse 23. And here Paul recounts the Lord’s Supper as communicated to him a declared memorial. Glancet verse 23, familiar verses for you. For I received from the Lord that which I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which you 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, he took the cup also after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

Paul explains to the Corinthians that the Lord himself was the one who had imparted to him the procedure for the Lord’s table, and that he had imparted it as such, directly to these believers. He further explains that the Lord’s table, as instituted by Jesus himself, was supposed to be this solemn and special occasion. This delicate description, it almost has the effect of taking us right into the upper room, doesn’t it?

Luke captures a beautiful picture of the early church and their celebration of the Lord’s table in Acts chapter two. Would you turn there for just a minute? Acts chapter two. Again, another familiar passage, but I want you to enjoy this. Acts chapter two, and when you get there, scroll down to verse 42. Acts chapter two and verse 42.

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. Would you go down to verse 46? Day by day, continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, having honor and having favor with all the people, and the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

What a remarkable scene. Back, if you would, to 1 Corinthians 11. By the Lord’s design, the Lord’s table was supposed to be a unifying occasion and a remembrance of our Savior’s great sacrifice on our behalf. Of the bread. Paul said, do this in remembrance of me. Likewise of the cup, Jesus himself said, do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. It was thereby a testimony to those who are without the church, outside of the church, it was a testimony of Christ’s sacrifice.

Glance please at verse 26, as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. The celebration of the Lord’s table becomes a declaration of Christ’s atonement. It proclaims to the world that we believe and ascribe to these truths about Jesus. What a sobering contrast to the version of this event that the Corinthian church was practicing. What the Corinthians were doing was desecrating this ordinance. But unfortunately, The solemnity and the significance of this commemorative event were completely overshadowed by their petty selfishness.

What can be the result of that? What can be the consequences of defiling such a glorious celebration? This is what Paul addresses in 27 through 30.

not only the shame of abusing the Lord’s table and the means of abusing it, but the consequence of abusing the Lord’s table. If you look at verse 27, therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Such an individual who comes to the Lord’s table and partakes in an unworthy manner draws down upon himself Condemnation. God’s judgment. He shall, as Paul concludes in verse 27, be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. If such a person, it’s as if the person moves to crucify the Lord himself all over again.

But what exactly does Paul mean by partaking in an unworthy manner? Many people read that And they take it to mean something about themselves, as if they are in some way unworthy to participate in communion. Paul is not referring to the person who merely comes to the Lord’s table with a sense of unworthiness. No person. is worthy in and of their own merits. We’re all sinners, only saved by God’s grace. In that sense, none of us are worthy.

It’s important to note that this word unworthy is an adverb, not an adjective. Here’s your grammar lesson for the day. An adjective would describe a person. But Paul is not addressing the worthiness or the unworthiness of the individual partaking. His caution is not about our own inherent unworthiness. We are unworthy of God’s grace, every one of us. Paul here uses an adverb because his concern is about the manner in which they’re celebrating this ordinance. And so, the proper translation here would say that we are not to partake of the Lord’s table unworthily. Paul’s addressing the way in which the table is approached. We’re not to partake in communion in an unworthy manner or unworthily.

And the context here shows that partaking the Lord’s table in an unworthy manner, he refers at minimum. to the divisive greed and the selfish behavior that he’s already mentioned. To degrade the Lord’s table by partaking in it with an impure mindset, irreverently, sinfully, is directly contrary to the purpose of the ordinance. And he proceeds to explain the consequences of abusing the Lord’s table generally in verse 29, that such a person, he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself. As he’s done throughout this section, by saying eating and drinking, he’s still speaking about partaking of the elements of the Lord’s table, the bread and the cup. And he says that to partake in those elements in an unworthy manner is to invoke the Lord’s judgment.

And then in verse 30, he spells out those consequences. Many among you are weak and sick and a number sleep. So this weakness, this sickliness, and even death are the result of failing to judge the body rightly, Paul says. And this whole concept of physical hardship brought on by not dealing with our sin, that’s a common and relatable feature in Scripture. Just a few verses, Psalm 6, 2. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am pining away. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed. Psalm 31, 10. For my life is spent with sorrow, my years with sighing, my strength has failed because of my iniquity, and my body has wasted away. Psalm 32.3, when I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.

So the weakness of which Paul speaks here, a general reference to the effects of illness, is that which is brought about by sickness. The more general word for sickness, described as kind of a protracted debilitation, would certainly bring about such weakness. This is a sickness that is severe enough to sap one’s energy and zest. It sneaks up on us, takes control, and diminishes our ability to even do life. So Paul likely meant for these two words to be kind of blended together as one, weakness and sickness.

And the sleep that Paul mentions, this is no ordinary sleep. This is no Sunday afternoon nap. Sleep here is a euphemism for death itself. Paul is pointing here to the untimely death of some of the believers in the Corinthian church who had abused the Lord’s table. They partook of the elements of communion unworthily, verse 27. They did not examine themselves, verse 28. They did not judge the body rightly, verse 29. And the Lord took them.

The bottom line is that these physical maladies are brought about by a spiritual condition. The chastisement was weakness and sickness and even death. God knows well how to train his children, and chastisement, such as physical suffering, is too effective of a tool for God to set aside.

So how do we avoid partaking of the Lord’s table in an unworthy manner? Not only the shame of abusing the Lord’s table and the means of abusing it, the consequence of abusing it, and fourthly, the prevention of such abuse.

Would you look at verse 28? But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Paul first alludes to the prevention of the abuse of the Lord’s table there in verse 28. We must examine ourselves before eating of the bread and drinking the cup. This word refers to kind of a purifying or a proving, if you will, examination. That we are to examine and verify our readiness for this ordinance. We do so in prayer. In the midst of prayer, we confess anything that the Holy Spirit brings to mind. We cry out for grace that this is the end of that sin and that we do not engage in it again. In so doing, we humbly and prayerfully ask for the indwelling Spirit of God to reveal all of our faulty mindsets, our unconfessed sins, and really anything in attitude or action that is unbecoming of a Christian, unbecoming of the Lord’s table.

And then, in verses 31 and 32, Paul expands upon this idea of examination by insisting that we do so with thoroughness. If we judged ourselves rightly, he says, we would not be judged. This idea of judging the body harkens back to that admonition in verse 28, to examine oneself. And Paul hereby equates examining oneself with judging the body. They are one and the same thing. To examine oneself is to judge the body.

And I have to point out here that, at least with regard to the new American standard, the word rightly is not an independent word in the Greek text. It’s woven into the meaning of the verb diakrino, to judge, as translated. Such judging involves rendering a decision after a thorough examination. To examine thoroughly so as to discern and distinguish and to accurately come before the Lord in prayer. The whole purpose in this kind of examination is to accurately and correctly assess our heart and our readiness. We want to carefully evaluate our lives with the Spirit’s guidance and prayer. so that we may confess any discoveries that the Lord provides, praying for God’s transforming grace in those areas that we confess.

To judge the body rightly or thoroughly is a serious, sobering, and humbling process. We implore the Holy Spirit of God to search our hearts and lives, to patiently wait on him and to yield ourselves to that which he reveals. We respond in confession by acknowledging the sinfulness of these things that the Spirit brings to mind. And we acknowledge that Jesus too died for these sins. We appeal for a fresh supply of God’s grace to overcome them.

We judge the body thoroughly. We judge the body rightly. Paul elaborates on that thought in verse 31. Glanced there, he says that if we judge ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. Do you catch the simplicity of that statement? If we do the one, we will not endure the other. Literally, it’s judge or be judged. If we judge ourselves rightly, if we examine ourselves humbly, prayerfully, before we partake of the Lord’s table, if we judge the body rightly, verse 29, if we judge ourselves rightly, we will not be judged. It’s that simple.

The second of these three words translated as judged, as I said, it’s a different Greek word than the original. This one refers to a judge’s opinion. And Paul’s use of this word here points not to God’s eternal divine judgment, but it has more the idea of corrective discipline. If we don’t deal with our sin ourselves, God is going to correct us.

in all three places in which it’s used. In this particular section, it speaks of God’s act of judging. Here in verse 29, he who eats and drinks, drinks judgment to himself. Verse 31, we would not be judged. Verse 32, when we are judged. Those references all point to God’s judicial act. not to God’s final judgment, but to temporal judgments, designed to seize a person’s attention, and we might well call it chastisement by the Lord.

But Paul says, when we are judged, when, not if, this corrective judgment is commonplace. It’s not a rare thing. This kind of thing occurs with great regularity, and when it occurs, it has a very gracious purpose. It’s an exercise of God’s mercy towards us. Paul says, when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord. And that word discipline refers to a different kind of, rather, it refers to the same kind of instruction that a parent gives to a child.

God has a good purpose in this kind of discipline. It’s part of the child of God’s training. It’s not empty or vindictive punishment by an angry God. We are wayward. And just like a child, we too need correction. And God as a loving heavenly father steps in just like an earthly father does with well-aimed chastisement.

So Paul closes in a conclusion with a very interesting piece of advice. What profound counsel does he leave them with? Would you look at verse 31? Very simple, one word, wait. This is a fellowship meal capped off with the Lord’s Table communion. Its purpose was spiritual, not physical. Not there to fill your tummies. It’s about addressing spiritual needs and growth, not satisfying your physical hunger. And by its very nature, it’s supposed to be a unified celebration. Wait, he says. Be patient. Don’t act like a bunch of selfish animals. And in the same context, Paul addresses the issue that prompted the misbehavior in the first place. Glance at verse 34, if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home. And you say, that’s the worst that we have to examine ourselves for as we judge ourselves?

I would suggest to you that gluttony and the selfish greed that they were exhibiting, that’s the bare minimum. It’s all the rest of the sins that Paul doesn’t mention. This is the very minimum. All the rest of it is up to us to confess when the Holy Spirit brings it to mind. I would suggest to you there’s five areas by which to examine yourselves this morning. factiousness or division. And you don’t have to be a heretic to be factious, to cause division over some unique approach or opinion you have of theology or doctrine. Worshiping with false motives, playing church, And to a degree, we’ve all done this. We all put on our smiles when we walk in the door, and when we walk out, we revert back to being a different person. Third, selfishness instead of selflessness. That’s true of every one of us in measure. We all want what we want. We all want to have things our way. exercise selfishness in various degrees.

The most comprehensive thing, number four, unworthy living. You know your own heart and so does the Holy Spirit. He will bring it to mind. And when he brings it to mind, we should confess it. And when we confess it, we should cry out for God’s grace to change. Lastly, a poor witness to a watching world. If we’re living in such a way to undermine the very verbal testimony that we give, if our lives don’t match, we should repent of it. The Lord will bring it to mind and we should confess it. And we should go to Him in prayer.

Let’s do that now. Our merciful God, we know that not one of us deserves to come to this table with the exception of what Jesus Christ has done for us in paying for our sin on the cross. Lord, we thank you for this reminder that even something that probably would be acceptable in our own church, Greed, selfishness, gluttony. Lord, that was enough to render Paul’s rebuke for partaking of the table unworthily. How much more such other sins? Lord, we pray for your grace as we draw near to this table. We pray that with every believer in the room, that your Holy Spirit would already be at work, bringing to mind those areas of sin that we have not confessed.

Lord, grant us the grace to acknowledge your perspective of these things and to call out for the grace that enables us to change. Lord, Pray that if there are any here who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, they would be foolhardy to engage in the Lord’s table. It will not save them. Instead, it will only bring judgment, even if only temporal. Lord, we Thank you for those of us who have placed our faith in Christ. We thank you for this reminder. A giant roadblock, flashing lights, cautioning us not to continue in the course that we’re on, calling us to repentance, offering to us grace.

Father, we thank you for this table. We pray that we would partake of it. in a worthy manner, worthy of the Savior who ordained it. We thank you and praise you in Jesus’ name, amen.