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August 18 – 1 Corinthians 11:17-33
Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 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. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? 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 do not praise you.
23 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; 24 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.” 25 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.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In this section of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth he deals with the disorderly conduct that the Lord’s Supper aka the Communion Service had become. Christ had taught the apostles to remember his blood and broken body for our salvation. He modeled this for them right after they had shared a meal together. Church history teaches us that the early Christians many times would share a meal together called an Agape meal aka a love feast followed by taking the Lords Supper together. However, these believers at Corinth lost the reverent worshipful attitude that should be the tone when celebrating this holy tradition. Some were bringing their dinner to eat separate from the rest and not offering any to those that had nothing and came to the meeting hungry. They were eating your meal in front of hungry people in the church. What a great witness of the love of God! The Lord was not pleased and was using Paul to correct this issue and bring them back to the central purpose which was to worship the Lord by remembering his sufferings for us and take inventory of our own lives.
This is why Paul writes that we should examine our own selves and repent of anything that is not right. This was to be a time to drink from the cup receive by faith the forgiveness of the blood of Christ and eat the bread representing the broken body of Christ and be healed in our bodies. These Corinthians had turned what was supposed to be a very meaningful and deep spiritual time to connect with the Lord into a fiasco and were totally forgetting the main reasons for taking the Lord’s supper in the first place. Paul told them that if they partook of the bread and body of Christ in an unworthy manner they would be judged and in fact he said for this reason many were weak, sick and died.
What about us today? How do we approach the Lords Supper? God wants us to remember all that Jesus did for us and worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth. It’s also to be a point where we can release our faith to receive the benefits of the New Covenant blessings that Jesus purchased for us with his own redemptive sufferings bringing us forgiveness and healing by his stripes.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) The Lord’s Supper or Communion is to be a time of reflecting on what Jesus has done for us through his blood to forgive us and his broken body to heal us.
2) We should also use communion as a time to reflect on our personal relationship with God and judge anything wrong in our lives and repent so we’re not condemned with the world.
3) Christians enjoy fellowship around food and even take communion together as a group but if you do follow the tradition of the Agape Meal make sure that there is enough food for everyone!
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ONLINE COURSES
For more Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today and get access to our free and pay as you go courses. http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
ORDINATION
Remember, if you’re looking for Ministry Credentials and Ordination visit our website Diamond Institute to apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 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. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? 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 do not praise you.
23 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; 24 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.” 25 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.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In this section of Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth he deals with the disorderly conduct that the Lord’s Supper aka the Communion Service had become. Christ had taught the apostles to remember his blood and broken body for our salvation. He modeled this for them right after they had shared a meal together. Church history teaches us that the early Christians many times would share a meal together called an Agape meal aka a love feast followed by taking the Lords Supper together. However, these believers at Corinth lost the reverent worshipful attitude that should be the tone when celebrating this holy tradition. Some were bringing their dinner to eat separate from the rest and not offering any to those that had nothing and came to the meeting hungry. They were eating your meal in front of hungry people in the church. What a great witness of the love of God! The Lord was not pleased and was using Paul to correct this issue and bring them back to the central purpose which was to worship the Lord by remembering his sufferings for us and take inventory of our own lives.
This is why Paul writes that we should examine our own selves and repent of anything that is not right. This was to be a time to drink from the cup receive by faith the forgiveness of the blood of Christ and eat the bread representing the broken body of Christ and be healed in our bodies. These Corinthians had turned what was supposed to be a very meaningful and deep spiritual time to connect with the Lord into a fiasco and were totally forgetting the main reasons for taking the Lord’s supper in the first place. Paul told them that if they partook of the bread and body of Christ in an unworthy manner they would be judged and in fact he said for this reason many were weak, sick and died.
What about us today? How do we approach the Lords Supper? God wants us to remember all that Jesus did for us and worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth. It’s also to be a point where we can release our faith to receive the benefits of the New Covenant blessings that Jesus purchased for us with his own redemptive sufferings bringing us forgiveness and healing by his stripes.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) The Lord’s Supper or Communion is to be a time of reflecting on what Jesus has done for us through his blood to forgive us and his broken body to heal us.
2) We should also use communion as a time to reflect on our personal relationship with God and judge anything wrong in our lives and repent so we’re not condemned with the world.
3) Christians enjoy fellowship around food and even take communion together as a group but if you do follow the tradition of the Agape Meal make sure that there is enough food for everyone!
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ONLINE COURSES
For more Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today and get access to our free and pay as you go courses. http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
ORDINATION
Remember, if you’re looking for Ministry Credentials and Ordination visit our website Diamond Institute to apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination