1 Cor. 11:23-34
June 2, 2019
Text: 1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
This verse established the LORD's Supper is ordained by the Lord for the saved. The saved will be chastened but the unsaved are condemned. And the practice of observance is to be done in a biblical way as laid out in these scriptures. Paul is writing to correct and set in order for the observance of this service.
V. 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
Paul has previously given instruction to this church on the observance of the LORD's Supper.
V 17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. This congregation was commended by Paul for some things practiced (See v2) but on the matter of the LORD's Supper he said, "..I praise you not…" Their coming together and their practice of this service created more division and did not bring worship to the LORD.
V 18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. ( I don't think Paul ever got to a second of all.) Evidently, Paul got an ear full from many members and he believed a part of all that he heard.
1:10-11 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
V 19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. Listen to what the Word is saying to us: our faith is always tested by factions, by disunion, by divisions. These things, issues man created problems are the ways we are proved. In spite, of teaching from God's Word, people will go their own way:
2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2Pe 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
"….that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.[1] 1384 (dokimos) typically refers to what is found genuine after passing the (positive) test to certify it is approved (R. Trench, 279). 1384 (dokimos) refers to "what really works" because genuine, i.e. real (qualified, fit) – and demonstrated when placed to the test through "hard experience," etc.
Think about the word approved for a bit: Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
The kingdom of God is [2]The heavenly sphere of life in which God's word and Spirit govern, and whose organ on earth is the Church" (Lange). Not the future, messianic kingdom.
It is that relationship every believer enters when they are born from above. That which Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about in John 3:3-6. There is no salvation apart from Christ. The gospel is the record of how God saved you. He made the appointment for you through Christ and His Cross and He is waiting for you to confirm the appointment; by believing Him for the Promise of Life. Joh 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Believing on Christ for eternal life is not synonymous with joining a church. You may join the church but still not possess eternal life.
Believing on Christ is not synonymous with being baptized. You may have been baptized and still not possess eternal life.
Believing on Christ is not synonymous with anything other than believing on Christ for eternal life, Isaiah 32:17, And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
This Service had lost meaning to this Church by the way it was being done.
V 20,21,22 In the days following Pentecost the practice of a meal and the LORD's Supper were combined see Acts 2:42, Acts 20:7 and 27:35.
[3]V20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's SupperI, 21 for in your eating each one takes his own supperI first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have housesI 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.
The rich had plenty, the poor had little and some had nothing, V 21 indicates that some ate without waiting on the poor to arrive. [4] one taketh before other—the rich "before" the poor, who had no supper of their own. Instead of "tarrying for one another" (1 Co 11:33); hence the precept (1 Co 12:21, 25).
Every believer in Christ has a ministry and a purpose and a place. A foot? Are you walking for Christ? Are you a hand? Are you working for Christ? Are you an ear? Are you hearing the Lord?
V 23 Paul's Authority 1Co 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
"…For I have received of the Lord…" His instructions came from the LORD. Paul saw the LORD in the matter that qualified him to be an Apostle, Gal.1:12, 1 Cor. 12:1-4. The LORD's Supper is the LORD's institution and not Paul invention. [5](Side note: since the letter to the Corinthians is earlier than the earliest of the gospels, this is actually the ?rst recorded account we possess of any word of Jesus)
The strength of Character of the Captain of our Salvation: "…the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: The strength of our Saviour. He faced His betrayer and was to faced that night: the angry mob, desertion by most of His disciples ( all but John and Peter {Peter did not desert Him – he may have failed in how he followed Him but at least he followed him}). He was to face their so-called trial, the beating, the road to Calvary, His death on the cross, but, yet He thought of His disciples and of us down thru the halls of time, even to this very hour:
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you:
He said, " this do in remembrance of me"
Remembering His Suffering, . A personal remembrance! When I read or hear of His body broken, I think of flesh being ripped and torn by the scourging, His body carrying the Cross, His body being nailed to the Cross, I think of Him being made sin for me. Carrying the weight of the judgment of God that I deserved, Psa 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. Psa 22:7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, Psa 22:8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
{In verse 25, "…when had supped…" showing that both the breaking of the bread and the cup both were done after they had eaten the meal. It's not about class warfare, social standing, what we have or don't have - the elitist attitude was condemned in verses 20,21,22. It is no such in the body of Christ.)
Remembering He shed His Own Blood V. 25 -26 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come
He shed blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, Luk 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
No doubt He shed blood at His scourging. And the same when they placed a crown of thorns on His head, He shed blood when they nailed Him to the cross and when they pierced His side.
This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
It is His blood, Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Examining our selves
1Co 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 1Co 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 1Co 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
You are to examine yourself before you partake v 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. And then partake of the bread and of that cup.
"Examine" = Approved "to prove with a view to approving. You want to approve, to have in your life, that which the LORD approves. That means the confession of where we are to where we ought to be
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. [6] "that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
The Will of God is good, acceptable and perfect. All three describe the Will if God.
Examining your self is discerning the LORD's Body, 1Co 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
Damnation" It is a judgment on the Christian see v 30 and v 32. It is not the judgment of condemnation of the unsaved.
Discerning The Lord's body we need to discern our body in the light of His body. distinguishing between what we are and what we ought to be, Do you not know you are not your own – you are bought with a price. Your body is now the LORD's, 1 Cor. 6:19-20. We don't own our body our bodies belong to the Lord's, by creation and redemption. We walked away and He redeemed us (revalued us). Your body is now the Lord's body. As He suffered in His body for us, we are to suffer in our body for Him. In our suffering, for Him, we are in identified with His suffering for us.
The warning is to us if we fail to judge our body, He will. 1Co 11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. " Many sleep " A word for Christians who died in the LORD.
1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. We are to inspect our own heart to see if we are allowing that which God has approved. Self- Judging is done with a view to correction; It is me coming to approve in my life what God approves. It is you determining by the Lord where you are in the light of where you should be.
Our lack of self-judging brings Chastening, 1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
1Co 11:33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. The idea is, that the communion service was common for each member of the Body of Christ. And the same should be remembered of the Local Church. There should be order, respect, and obedience.
[1] Discovery Bible
[2] Vincent Word Studies
[3] Discovery Bible softwars
[4] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 285). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[5] Barclay, W. (2002). The Letters to the Corinthians (3rd ed., p. 121). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.
[6] Discovery Bible Software
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