Off the Shelf Sunday School--1 Corinthians

The Lord’s Supper (11:17-34)

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. When you some together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not! For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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, after supper he took the cup, saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this 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 will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further instructions.  

1.    God is three persons living in perfect harmony and love. Christians are to follow this example. We are to seek to have peaceful, positive and loving relationships with other Christians. Christians come to church to worship God and affirm our love for each other, not to argue and form factions. (Rom 12:17-18; 1 Jn 4:19-20)

2.    Paul rebukes the Corinthian Christians for treating the Lord’s Supper as an ordinary meal. He warns that failure to discern the spiritual significance of the bread and wine, as representing the sacrifice of Jesus, is sin. Those who do this grieve the Holy Spirit and become spiritually weak. This weakness is insensitivity to God and can lead to a sleep like unconsciousness towards him. This is like observing religious ceremonies that have no personal meaning.

3.    The Lord’s Supper is an intimate communion with God and his people. This is meant to strengthen Christians. It requires a humble and reverent spirit that appreciates the sacrifice of Jesus. It requires each person to make sure that they only partake of it if they have repented of any known sins. To refuse to do this is to decide that the sin is more important than the relationship with Jesus. This is why we must pray and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal sins and convict us so that we repent and can be cleansed of our sins. (1 Jn 1:6-10)