Last week we saw that the Lord's Supper is an ordinance of the Church. We drew three conclusions from that fact: it is only for believers; it is for all believers; it is obligatory for believers. Secondly, we saw that the Lord's Supper is rooted in the Passover, which gave a physical picture of the spiritual reality of deliverance by the sacrificial death of a substitute. Thirdly, we saw that the Lord's Supper was practiced weekly from the earliest days of the church. We have just begun to understand the significance of this very special ordinance. This morning we want to begin by looking at a fourth aspect of the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is an expression of Communion. We already hinted at this in the previous chapter.
1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (NKJV) "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread."
The word communion is translated from the Greek word koinonia which means sharing, partnership, participation, or fellowship. To participate in the Lord's Supper is to express our communion, fellowship, or participation in the Person and work of Christ. When a believer participates in the Lord's Supper by taking the bread he says, "I recognize that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, that He became a man through the miracle of the virgin birth so that he could die for all those who put their trust in Him. I am participating in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ that was accomplished when he gave himself in death for me." As a believer takes the cup he says, "I recognize that the blood of Jesus Christ has been shed and that blood was a payment to God for my sin. I am trusting in the precious blood of Jesus Christ shed for me as the basis of my forgiveness and my salvation before God." To take the Lord's Supper is to express one's participation, one's konenia, one's sharing in the redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ. Therefore, someone who has not trusted in Jesus Christ for his redemption has no place at the Lord's Supper. It is an insult for someone who denies His person or work to participate in the Lord's Supper. To participate is to express my positional communion, my fellowship with the Lord. Participation in the Lord's Supper promotes practical communion with the Lord. We focus on Him and His grace, and on our sinfulness and our need of His grace and mercy. To participate in the Lord's Supper is to express our communion with the Lord and His redemptive work. Participation in the Lord's Supper also expresses our communion with the Lord's people; that is the thrust of 10:17. Literally rendered this verse reads: "Since it is one bread, we the many are one body; for we are all partakers of one bread". We are not called one bread, but we are one body because we partake of one bread. Paul wanted to show that every one who comes to the Lord's Supper enters into communion with all other communicants. They form one body in virtue of their joint participation of Christ. The stress on unity in this verse is clear. As we partake in the Lord's Supper we are expressing our participation in the Spiritual body, the church of Jesus Christ. Once again there is no place for unbelievers at the Lord's Supper. They are welcome to observe but they are not to partake. How does our participation in the spiritual body practically apply to us? If a believer participates in the Lord's Supper, it would be hypocritical for him to be out of fellowship with another believer because of envy, strife, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, jealousy or anger. As a believer expresses his fellowship in the body of Christ through the Lord's Supper he should be actually in fellowship with others in the body. This is one of the reasons the Lord wants us to frequently and regularly observe this ordinance. It should perpetuate and cultivate the fellowship that exists between the people of God. The Lord's Supper is not optional: we are commanded to partake, so we must be right with fellow believers. When we are not right with other believers we are not right with God. The vertical is disrupted when the horizontal is not right. Scripture repeats this theme often.
1 Corinthians 8:12 (NKJV) "But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ." 1 John 3:14-15 (NKJV) "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
Biblical love is action, or work. We know that we are not saved by works so what does 1 John 5:14 mean? In this context passing from death to life refers to fellowship with God which is the theme of 1 John.
1 John 1:5-7 (NKJV) "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
Our love of our brothers is evidence that we are in fellowship with God. When we don't love our brothers we lose fellowship with God and we walk in darkness.
1 John 3:23 (NKJV) "And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment."
Believing on His name brings salvation, obeying his commandment to love keeps us in fellowship with Him.
1 John 4:7-8 (NKJV) "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."
The person who loves others is not only born of God, but he knows God; that is he has fellowship with Him.
1 John 4:20-21 (NKJV) "If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also."
Matthew 18:21-35 teaches that an unforgiving attitude toward another believer effects our relationship with God and brings us into chastisement. The Lord's Supper is an expression of communion. As a believer participates he expresses his communion with the Lord and with the Lord's people, the church of Jesus Christ. A fifth aspect of the Lord's Supper is its function as a memorial of his death. This brings us to our text, 1 Corinthians 11:17-25. Paul began this section with a rebuke in verses 17-22 to correct the Corinthians' misuse of the love feast.
1 Corinthians 11:17 (NKJV) "Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse."
Paul was not primarily talking about a morning service such as we have here. He was referring to the agape, the feast of love. The early church had developed special fellowship meals called love feasts. The Lord's Supper was part of the love feast. Jude refers to them also.
Jude 12 (NKJV) "These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;"
The church at Corinth followed the custom of the love feasts, but like those whom Jude condemned, they had turned the meals into gluttonous, drunken revelry. When the meal was connected to the bread and cup remembrance, it desecrated the holy ordinance. Paul said he was giving instructions. The Greek word for instructions is paraggello which means to command. It was used for the order given by a military commander and passed along the line by his subordinates. Paul was clearly not giving personal advice. It was apostolic instruction that his readers were commanded to accept and follow. He told the Corinthians, "You come together not for the better but for the worse." The word he uses for worse is the Greek word hetton which is a comparative of kakos which represent moral evil. Their abuse of the love feast was doing more harm than good to the church. One of the harmful things that was happening was that they were dividing into very destructive cliques, according to 11:18: 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.
"When ye come together as a church" is literally "when you come together in an assembly." Paul was speaking of a church meeting for the agape rather than going to a church building. The word divisions is the Greek word schisms which means divisions both of opinion (1:10; 8:1) and thoughtless behavior (11:21). Of these discouraging reports Paul said, "I believe it, in part." The cliques and divisions that Paul mentioned earlier in this letter had ruined the church gathering. When the Corinthians gathered for the love feasts, which were supposed to express their unity, they were broken into sects, parties, divisions. They injured one another and destroyed the character of the church by their conduct at the love feasts which concluded in the celebration of the Lord's Table. What causes divisions among believes? Carnality! 1 Cor. 3:3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
The carnality at the church of Corinth led to divisions in the church. Paul referred to the divisions in the church in chapter one; those divisions were due to envying and strife. In chapter three he traced the envying and strife to their common root; they were carnal, controlled by the flesh. Divisiveness is the most easily detected symptom of carnality. A carnal Christian is divisive because he is out of fellowship with God and therefore out of step with everyone else, which results in strife and divisions. Keep in mind how God feels about division:
Proverbs 6:16-19 (NKJV) "These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren."
Paul continued rebuking the Corinthian believers in 11:19. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.
The word factions is the Greek word hairesis which means a choice, a party, disunion, sect. It is used in Galatians 5:12 to refer to a work of the flesh. It is a self-centered, factious clique. The words "there must be" come from one Greek word, dei, which means it is necessary, or it must be. The word is often used in the New Testament to represent divine necessity. Factions or heresies are necessary because God uses them in accordance with His will. Church division, ungodly and sinful as it is, nevertheless is used by the Lord to prove the worth of His faithful saints. Adversity and contention cause the qualities of leadership, godliness, and being led of the Spirit to become visible in the life of believers. Paul was not surprised by their factions. Everybody does not have the same point of view, background, or training, so there are bound to be various differences. Paul even said that differences were healthy because they highlight those who are approved or mature. Just in case you think it would be a profitable ministry to develop leaders by creating problems, consider Luke 17:1:
"Then He said to the disciples, `It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!'"
The word woe means judgement or damnation! Although factions are part of normal human existance, they are dangerous too. Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. (11:20)
To paraphrase Paul's words: "When you get together for your love feasts you cannot call that the Lord's Supper even though it terminates in the familiar ritual that we call the Lord's Table. The Lord's Supper is an expression of the unity of the church, and what you are doing has no similarity to unity. You are acting selfishly with one another." He showed them there had to be a distinct division between the Lord's Supper and the agape. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. (11:21)
The wealthy were bringing a lot of food and probably coming early since they did not have to work. They were gathering in their own little family group to eat. A literal rendering of this passage would be, "Each goes ahead with his own supper." Those who were poor came later when they got off work and were left hungry. One person had a crust of bread to chew on while another family ate steak and lobster, while another family hungrily watched. Paul said, "That is an absolute parody of what the church ought to be. Instead of caring for one another you are excluding one another; even worse, some of you are eating and drinking so much that you are coming to the Lord's Table intoxicated." The Lord's Supper should have been the remembrance of a preeminently selfless act, Christ's death on behalf of others. Instead they had turned it into a memorial of selfishness. 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. (11:22)
He did not say that church suppers were wrong. They are a good thing as long as fellowship is the goal. If eating and drinking were paramount, they could do that at home. If they wanted to have private parties they could have them in their homes. The congregation was largely made up of the poor whom "God has chosen" (James 2:5). By despising the poor and making the assemblies disruptive, they were also disgracing the church in the eyes of unbelievers. Were they so contemptuous of their poor brothers and sisters in Christ that they purposely embarrassed and shamed them? The Apostle went on to draw a sharp contrast between their practice and what he had taught them about the Lord's Table. In verses 23-26 Paul set forth the nature of the Lord's Supper. 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 (11:23).
Two factors require special attention to Paul's words. First of all, 1 Corinthians was probably written prior to any of the four gospels, so this is probably the first written account of the Lord's Supper. Secondly, Paul said he received this from the Lord. Since Paul was not present when Christ instituted the Lord's Supper and the gospels had not been written when Paul wrote these words, Paul clearly meant that Jesus Himself told him what went on in the Upper Room on that dark betrayal night. Paul used the same language in 1 Corinthians 11 that he uses later in chapter 15 where he says that he delivered unto them the gospel which he also received from the Lord. In Galatians Paul said that he did not receive the gospel from any man.
Galatians 1:11-12 (NKJV) "But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ."
Since Paul could not have read an account of the Last Supper and since he stated that he received his description of it from the Lord, 1 Corinthians contains the earliest description of the Lord's Table. Paul passed on to them what he received through direct revelation. This made Paul a prophet because a prophet is one who receives a verbal revelation directly from God. I believe that there are no prophets today because such revelation ceased with the completion of Scripture prior to 70 AD. The Lord's Supper is a sacred trust that was delivered to us through Paul by the Lord Himself. The word "betrayed" is the Greek word paradidomi, which means to surrender, to hand over, or betray. In the New Testament paradidomi refers to the Lord's death in several ways. Judas handed over our Lord or betrayed him. But the Lord Jesus Christ was the Son of God and he was not at the mercy of wicked men. The Bible says Jesus delivered himself to die.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
The word translated "gave" is the Greek word paradidomi. Jesus delivered himself over for me. Since he delivered himself over, there is a conjunction of the actions of Judas and the Lord. The Bible also says that the Father handed over the Son.
Isaiah 53:10 (NKJV) "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand."
The death of the Lord Jesus Christ resulted from the activity of the Father, and the activity of the Son in submission to the Father, and the activity of Judas and the enemies of our Lord. Peter pointed out this truth in his message in Acts:
Acts 2:23 (NKJV) "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death."
We see the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man beautifully interacting in the our Lord's death. God is in control of all the affairs of this earth including the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. As believers, we can take great comfort in knowing that God is in control. When Christ took the bread he emphasized the Incarnation (see Philippians 2 for a beautiful description of the Incarnation). 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." (11:23).
Christ broke the bread to begin to distribute it. His life was valueless for our redemption apart from His death. No one contests that the Lord said, "This is my body", but there are four major views as to what the Lord meant by that statement.
1. In the Roman Catholic view the bread actually becomes the body of Christ and the wine actually becomes the blood of Christ. This is called transubstanciation.
2. Martin Luther had some problems with the Catholic interpretation and he concluded that the bread was still bread and the wine was still wine, but Luther concluded that the body of our Lord is in, with, under, and around the bread and blood of our Lord is in, with, under, and around the wine. This view is called consubstancation and it is basically the position of the Lutheran church today.
3. John Calvin disagreed with Martin Luther and the Catholic church. He believed that the Lord was only spiritually present in the ordinance. When a person partakes of the bread or wine he is not taking part of the actual body and blood of Christ but he is taking part of him spiritually. The position of Calvin and Calvinists and Presbyterianism down through the ages has been that Christ is spiritually present in the emblems.
4. Zwingly, the Swiss reformer, said the bread simply signified the body and the wine pictured the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The elements are memorials or pictures of the body and blood of our Lord. Now which of these views is correct? The Catholic view says when the Priest pronounces the words of consecration the bread and wine are converted into the substance of the very flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. At the counsel of Trent in 1546 a curse was pronounced upon all who do not receive this teaching and also there is no salvation outside of the church which teaches this. Can this view be supported? Jesus said, "This is my body." The verb "is" is the Greek word estin. Catholics interpret the "is" to mean identity rather than representation. But "is" often does mean represent. Jesus said, "I am the door, the light, the way". Matthew 13 says, "The field is the world," meaning that the field represents the world. Revelation 1:20 says, "The seven stars are the seven churches." "Are" clearly means represents. 1 Corinthians 11:25 says, "The cup is the New Covenant." The cup represents, or symbolizes, or pictures the New Covenant. That is how I believe it is used in 11:24: "This bread is a representation of my body". Christ was in the body when he said this. No one sitting with Christ at the table would have thought he was saying that the bread was somehow a literal extension of his flesh or spirit. Rather the bread symbolized or represented his coming bodily death as an atoning sacrifice. The Catholic church forbids the cup from the laity. This is the doctrine of Concomitance- when a person eats the bread, he has also drunk the cup. Why? People might spill the blood of Jesus, so only the Priest drinks. But Christ told us to eat the bread and drink the cup. Gospel accounts say, "Drink ye all of it." The word all means everyone, and is used only in regard to the wine, as if our Lord anticipated the departure. The Catholic church also teaches the doctrine of incomplete sacrifice, which is that the Eucharist or mass completes the atoning work that Christ left uncompleted, this clearly contradicts the teaching of Scripture. "Is" in 11:24 is used to mean represents or pictures. We often use is this way. I'll show someone a picture of my wife and say, "This is my wife." The picture is not my wife, it's only a piece of paper with her image on it. When Jesus said, "This is my body and blood" he was saying it signifies my body and blood. The Lord's Supper is not a sacrifice, it is a memorial of the death of Jesus Christ, of his body given and his blood shed. Luther's view wasn't very different than the Catholic view. Since those views are incorrect, that leaves Calvin and Zwingly: who was right? Is Christ spiritually present in the elements or is it just a symbol? I land somewhere between Calvin and Zwingly because of Jesus' words. John 14:21 (NKJV) "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."
We are commanded to partake of the Lord's Supper. When we obey Him He reveals Himself to us. I believe the elements are just symbolic but when we partake out of loving obedience, the Lord is spiritually present with us, and he manifests himself to us. The latest innovation in the practice of the Lord's Supper gives the church something else to fight about. It's a small pack that contains a communion wafer and grape juice. It looks like nondairy creamer with a wafer on top, wrapped in adhesive plastic. It's being both hailed as God-inspired and dismissed as religious kitsch -- "McCommunion" -- for a throwaway culture. "It comes across as religious fast food," said Ralph Van Loon, a Lutheran minister. Some find the concept of a mass-marketed sacrament irreverent or impersonal, but Johnson told Christianity Today, "It's more important that you do it than how you do it." 1 Corinthians 11:24 says "which is for you." Although the word broken appears in some translations, it is not found in the better manuscripts. Psalm 34:30 says of Christ, "a bone of him shall not be broken." His body was given for you. He gave his life as the incarnate Son of God for you! He became a man for you. For you he suffered and for you he died. What a magnanimous act of divine love! Even though you did not deserved it, he gave himself for you. 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." (11:25)
The Old Covenant was ratified by the blood of animals; the New Covenant was ratified by the blood of Christ. Jeremiah prophesied the coming of the New Covenant that contained the forgiveness of sins and the writing of God's law on the heart of men and women. By the death of Jesus Christ, God would be propitiated and we would be forgiven and accepted by him. The bread, his body given, the cup, his blood shed, provided redemption to all who will by faith receive him. This memorial was certified by the Lord's words, "this do," which is the Greek present tense: "this keep on doing." It is also an imperative in the Greek which means it is a command. When you love the Lord you'll want to remember Him often. My father died 20 years ago. I remember him often and in many ways, but I never look at a picture of him without remembering him. You and I can go through our lives remembering the Lord many ways and at many times but you'll never observe the Lord's Supper without calling to mind the fact that he died for you. Remembrance of the person and work of Jesus Christ is the one major goal of the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is a Memorial, a structure or custom which serves to honor or keep alive a memory. It is a commemoration. We are prone to forget even the things that are very important to us, things that had a great impact on us. This is why God gives memorials throughout the scriptures:
Joshua 4:5-7 (NKJV) "and Joshua said to them: "Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, 'What do these stones mean to you?' Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever."
As a society we have memorials to help us remember things that we don't want to forget. There is a monument in Washington, D.C., in honor of persons in the American armed services who died in the Vietnam War. The memorial is a large black marble wall at the Washington mall. The names of the dead are inscribed in the wall. As families we should have memorials to remind us of what God has done in our lives. (Finger-nail clipper-- God's chastening for sin.) A sad verse in Jeremiah reminds us how forgetful we really are:
Jeremiah 2:32 (NKJV) "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number."
Lest we forget, the Lord's Supper is a weekly memorial that will remind us of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our weekly observance of the Lord's Supper will make Jesus Christ the center of our corporate worship. This memorial is not morbid; we are not having a funeral service. We are remembering a triumph. It's not a time for morbid melancholy retrospection. It's rather a time for rejoicing and thanksgiving for God's love and sacrificial death on our behalf. It's a joyous memorial in remembrance of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said do this in remembrance of Him. It's a personal remembrance. We are to focus our thoughts upon the person of Jesus Christ. It's more than simply a commemorative: it's also a confession. When you partake of the bread and wine you are saying, "His death was for me. I am trusting Him for my eternal salvation."
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