The Lord's Supper

In verse 2, Paul praised the Corinthians for following the traditions that he had given. Now, he does not praise them. They were still holding to the traditions, but they were doing it in the wrong way.

Paul had established the tradition of the Lord’s Supper as a part of the meeting of the church. The Corinthians had been following this tradition ever since. However, they had neglected the meaning behind the tradition. They held to the tradition, but they ignored the truth taught by the tradition.

This is always a danger for Christians. We have traditions in our church. We have certain things that we do that we have always done. There is nothing wrong with traditions unless they lose their meaning. When our traditions lose their meaning, there is a danger that we might continue in the ritual thinking we pleasing God. The result is that, instead of moving closer to God, we move further away from Him. This is what happened to the Corinthians, when they came together to worship, they did not come closer to God. They drew further away from Him. Their coming together had the opposite effect the coming together was intended to accomplish, worship the Lord, edify the body, and manifest faith, love, and hope.

Paul has addressed the problem of divisions within the church. The meeting of the church in Corinth was marked with dissention and petty jealousy. At the time when the church should have been united in Christ, the people were divided. Paul knew there are times when division cannot be avoided. When there is sin in the church, those who are righteous need to separate from those who refused to repent. This separation will result in division. If there is sin in the church and there is no division, then it means that sin is being accepted and condoned within the church. Paul proceeds to describe the Corinthian worship service. The service was much different from what Paul expected it to be, the church would come together to pray, to sing praises, to hear exhortations and teachings, and to eat a meal together. This meal had come to be known as the "love feast" (Jude 1:14).

As the church observed such a corporate supper, it was a time of close fellowship. The central part of this feast was when bread would be broken and a cup passed around in observance of the Lord’s Supper. This should have been a time of great unity and holiness. Instead, the time that should have been a manifestation of the unity of the church was a time of division. Paul’s solution to the problem involves remembering the purpose of the Lord’s Supper.

The problem with Christians is not that we do not know enough doctrine. Our problem is not that we have not been to enough Bible studies or listened to enough sermons. The problem with Christians is that we forget. Because we forget, we need to be reminded that God is good and that He has done mighty things for us.

Our reminders are in the bread and the wine. They serve as the reminder of what our Priest-King has done for us.

Having described what the Corinthians should have been doing, Paul now proceeds to show the consequences they will incur if they do not start doing it.

Like the Corinthians, We need reminded that the God whom we worship is the God of the universe. We need reminded the God whom we worship is not an impersonal force. He is the God who struck down His people for complaining. He is the God of judgment and He is not to be trifled with.

In verse 27, Paul describes what an “unworthy manner.” is, it is eating the Lord’s Supper in a way that denies the unity of the body. It is eating the Lord’s Supper in a way that ignores the meaning behind the ritual. It is eating the Lord’s Supper while not recognizing that Christ is present. If we partake of the Lord’s Supper in a mere ritual manner, counting it as merely another religious activity, we bring judgment upon ourselves. We side with the unbelievers when they say that the death of Christ had no effect.

The dishonoring of the Lord’s Supper is not merely the dishonoring of a potluck supper. It is the dishonoring of the Lord Himself. It is saying that Jesus died for no reason. It is making a mockery of the cross. That is dangerous. It is dangerous because God will hold such a man guilty of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Paul tells the Corinthians to take a cold, hard look inside, look at your motives, and your attitude toward the Lord, His table and the other believers around the table. It is by means of such self-examination that you can come to the table in faith and repentance. This will result in the Lord’s Table being a time of unity.

In verse 30, Paul describes the punishment for disobedience. This reference to sleeping is a description of those who have died. There were people who were going through hard times, some who were sick, and some who had even died because of their blatant disrespect for the Lord’s Supper.

God wants us to confront our sin and to deal with it. If we will do this on our own, then He will not have to do it for you. If we will correct ourselves in repentance, then He will not have to correct us.

The Lord’s Supper can be a means of grace or it can be a means of judgment. Why is this, because it is the gospel in physical form? It is the gospel acted out in a visible manner. You can either partake of the Lord’s Supper in faith, or else you can experience the judgment of God.

Note, if you will there is a measure of grace amidst the threat of judgment. Paul says that the very fact that you might undergo discipline today is so that you will not undergo condemnation tomorrow. Discipline is God’s means of moving you to the cross. God spanks in order to save. His discipline is to drive you to repentance so that you might be saved from His ultimate wrath.

“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 may not come together for judgment. And the remaining matters I shall arrange when I come. (1 Corinthians 11:33-34).

There were other things wrong in the church in Corinth, but Paul is not going to deal with them here. This tells us something about Paul. He had a sense of priorities. He knew not to make mountains out of molehills when there were still mountains to be conquered. He deals with the major problems now and he leaves the minor problems for later. He does not say he will ignore the minor problems.. He will eventually deal with them. Now is not the time.

This is a lesson that we need to learn. We who are older in the Lord often come across an immature believer who has quite a bit that is wrong with him. Instead of recognizing the principle of priorities, we want to straighten everything that is wrong with him right now. Instead of helping him, we overwhelm him and leave him lying dazed in the dust as we go off to "help" some other poor unsuspecting believer.

We can learn a lesson from Paul’s example. He dealt with the major issues and left the minor issues for later. Make certain that you make the main thing the main thing.