Talk About the Table: Part 2
Toxic Assembly: The Church that Came Together for the Worse
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
By Dave Redick
The Corinthians’ disregard for Paul’s former instructions (according to verse 23 he had given them this instruction about the Lord’s Supper before) was causing a certain toxicity in their assembly. Disregarding the instruction in this passage can do the same to assemblies of Christians today. This is a very important passage of Scripture.
Introduction
Imagine a situation where, due to some form of ground water pollution, the drinking water in our town is literally killing us. We’ve all heard stories where, say, the cancer rate is 10 times higher in a particular town that lies near an abandoned toxic waste dump or downstream from a major polluter.
Or, imagine a similar situation with food – perhaps the Mercury content of the fish in a certain coastal fishing town is critically high and the town’s inhabitants are dying or giving birth to deformed children at a greatly increased rate.
Toxic water - toxic food – Life would be very difficult in a situation where you couldn’t even trust the basic necessities of life.
Now imagine a circumstance where something similar happens in the spiritual realm. You are a Christian. You meet with the Christians in your congregation, with the desire to draw near to God. You meet with them over a period of months or even several years. Then you learn that the things you have been doing have actually taken you away from God. Like suddenly finding out that your food or water is poisoning you, you learn that your Christian assembly is toxic. It’s killing people. Could such a thing happen?
There’s no need to wonder. Such a thing did happen, in the ancient city of Corinth, in the first century, when the New Testament Scriptures were being written. The church in that city, made up of many people who were converted from idolatry, was meeting together regularly, but as it turned out, their meetings were taking them away from God. They assembled, not for the better, but for the worse. Their assemblies were doing more harm than good.
We have the letter that was written to correct the situation in the ancient Corinthian church. It’s one of the letters of the Apostle Paul. Though it is very old, because it is included in the Word of God, it has strong bearing on Christians today. The letter is the book of First Corinthians. We’re going to look at it this morning.
The members of the Corinthian church were abusing the Lord’s Supper. Their abuse was making their assemblies toxic. The memorial that Jesus left to help them stay faithful had been distorted to the point that it didn’t even resemble what the Savior had commanded for the church. It had changed so much, in fact, that Paul refused to even call it "The Lord’s Supper" anymore.(1) We’re going to read about it in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.
A lot of people today think that there should never be any correcting of someone else’s religious practice. Their view is that as long as the worshipper thinks he or she is blessed by a certain practice, that is enough. They hold that no one should or has the right to interfere. You’ll notice, as we read through this passage, that Paul the Apostle, author of two-thirds of your New Testament, didn’t hold this "don’t interfere" view. He waded right into the issue, told the people what was wrong, and also told them what they needed to do to correct it. His correction of their practice can help us examine our own.
Let’s begin by reading the passage.
(Read 1 Corinthians 11:17-34)
There is a "right way" and a "wrong way," to partake of the Lord’s Supper, or, to use Paul’s terminology from verse 27, a "worthy manner" and an "unworthy manner." We also see here that apparently there are some serious consequences associated with deviation from Christ’s original intentions for this memorial.
The Corinthians’ disregard for Paul’s former instructions (according to verse 23 he had given them this instruction about the Lord’s Supper before) was causing a certain toxicity in their assembly. Disregarding the instruction in this passage can do the same to assemblies of Christians today. This is a very important passage of Scripture.
There is a lot to look at in these verses – more than we have time to do adequately in a single sermon. I will limit our consideration to what I consider Paul’s three main points of instruction about a "worthy manner." According to Paul, to partake in a worthy manner, we must first:
1. Look Around.
Paul began with the Corinthians by telling them to have a look around at how they were treating their Christian brothers and sisters.
(Read v. 17-22)
It sort of reminds me of a family I once knew. There were seven kids of various ages. Mom would put the food on the table, slap a few hands that tried to dig in too quickly, then tell everyone to start eating. No one had or used any manners. It was "every man for himself" and "to the victor go the spoils" as everybody grabbed whatever he or she could. Some ended up with a plate full. Others ended up with little or nothing.
Many commentators believe that the Corinthians had either mingled the Lord’s supper with what was in the early Christian assemblies called the love-feast, a sort of ancient version of our potluck suppers or perhaps even worse, they had reached back into their idol-worshipping past and incorporated some of the drunkenness and gluttony they had experienced there.
Whatever the mix, when they came together for what was supposed to be the Lord’s Supper, there was little concern for each other. What they did amounted to a gluttonous, drunken feast where the wealthier members brought an abundance of food and drink which they hoarded to themselves while the poor among them were simply left out because they had nothing. This exclusion of some by others simply highlighted the self-centered divisions that existed among them.
Christianity involves more than just an individual’s relationship with God. It also involves a relationship with others who are Christians. Evidence of this important truth is all over the New Testament Scriptures. For instance,
1 John 2:9 says, "The one who says he is in the light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness…" 1 John 3:15 says, "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer…" 1 John 4:20 says, "If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." One of the things the Lord’s Supper is supposed to be to the church is an acknowledgment of unity. God wants us to come before Him as one body, not as a squabbling group of self-centered factions or schisms. Earlier in the Corinthian letter, Chapter 10, verse 17, Paul had written: "Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread." There is a correspondence between the one loaf of unleavened bread we eat together at communion and our unity.
Paul used two words in this passage to refer to the disunity of the Corinthian church that was causing their time together to be toxic: the word divisions in verse 18 and the word factions in verse 19. The first word, divisions, translates a Greek word that often signified a rip or a tear. In fact, several times in the New Testament, this word is used to describe a tear in a garment.(2)
Most of us are familiar with the little (and sometimes big) rips and tears that can develop in the fellowship of a church. Somebody doesn’t like somebody else. The feeling is mutual – or perhaps it isn’t mutual, but it’s real. Somebody gets offended and the issue is never resolved – or perhaps the offended one is unwilling to forgive. "Bad blood" circulates in the body, poisoning the fellowship. Sour attitudes between members prevail and little effort is made to resolve them. That is what was going on at Corinth and it was making their observance of the Lord’s Supper toxic. Verse 30 says, "For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep." What we think about one another and how we deal with one another is important in the context of the Lord’s Supper.
The second word Paul used in these verses to refer to division is the word factions in verse 19: "For there must also be factions among you…" The word in Greek is hairesis. (You might notice that it sounds a lot like our English word "heresy.")
W.E. Vine, in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, gives this word a very specific definition. He says it is "an opinion, especially a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth."(3)
All of us have our opinions. I certainly have mine. If you ever come to me and try to talk me out of them, you’d better bring a pretty good argument from the Bible. Having opinions is not the problem. Having opinions shows we are alive and we have a brain that works. The problem comes when our opinions are driven by self-will instead of a desire for the ultimate truth. In other words, no amount of convincing proof from Scripture will cause us to change. Our mind is made up and not even an accurate presentation of the truth to the contrary will make any difference. It’s a "my way or the highway" attitude.
Galatians 5:20 calls such factions a work of the flesh. Here in 1 Corinthians 11, it is something that will make our assembling with the Christians toxic.
So when we come together for the Lord’s Supper, we should first take a look around. If we want our assembling for communion to be for the better and not the worse, we need to make sure our relationships with one another are focused toward unity and not division.
Paul next tells us that to partake in a worthy manner, we must
2. Look Back.
Our time around the table is also supposed to be the recalling of an event from the past. This event is the most important of all events for people who wish to be right with God – the death of Jesus. Paul put it this way:
(Read v. 23-27)
A "worthy manner" of partaking of the Lord’s Supper certainly includes a recalling of those events on that night so long ago when Jesus was betrayed and ultimately killed. He met with His disciples for the Passover meal on the night He was betrayed. He washed all of the disciples’ feet, including those of Judas, the man whom He knew was going to betray Him. He ate the Passover together with his disciples, then after supper He took the unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine and gave them this memorial. He told them He was going to be betrayed by one who was yet at the table with Him. He told them He was going to be crucified. Then they went with Him to Gethsemane where He prayed to His Father that if possible, the cup of suffering could be removed from Him. Yet, as we recall, He also said, "Not my will, but Thine be done."(4) Then they arrested Him and dragged Him before multiple illegal assemblies and finally before Pilate who had Him scourged in a final effort to get the Jews to feel pity on Him since the Governor could find nothing to charge Him with. Ultimately the Jewish leaders coerced Pilate into giving them permission to have Him crucified. Then there was the final trip through the streets, up to the "Place of the Skull." He was nailed to a cross between the two condemned thieves. Besides the obvious physical suffering there was the humiliation and knowledge that He was there, not for what He had done, but for the sins of others. Then finally, after the horrible, unjust suffering, He died. They didn’t break the bones in His legs to hasten His death as they did those of the two thieves because He died first. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Him down from the cross and hurriedly took him to the tomb.
Something to consider in light of Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians... Why are we commanded to remember Christ's death? Why not His birth? His birth is a much cuter story. Memorials of His birth, though never commanded in Scripture, certainly would appeal to more people. A cute baby Jesus in the manger - who can’t relate to that? Even the crustiest old codger will warm up to a baby. But an adult Jesus with lacerated body, blood everywhere, crown of thorns crammed onto His head, exposed body pinned to a rough wooden cross by nails in His hands and feet, writhing in agony? Don’t we realize that will turn people off?
You're right if you say that. It's so ugly! It is the worst example of cruelty in all of history. It’s the greatest injustice that has ever happened (if you consider that it was the capital punishment of an innocent man who was actually the Creator of the universe.) Yet Paul says here in our text, in verse 26, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes."
All four of the gospel writers give full accounts of His death. Not all of them report His birth. Not all of them report all His miracles. Why this fixation with death?
Paul answers the question for us elsewhere in this 1 Corinthian letter, in 1:18, where he says, "For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
The Living Bible Paraphrase renders that this way: "I know very well how foolish it sounds to those who are lost, when they hear that Jesus died to save them. But we who are saved recognize this message as the very power of God."(5)
Christians focus on the death of Christ because we know that it is His death that saved us. We know that all of us, because of our sin, are under the death penalty ourselves. If we die without forgiveness, we will experience eternal punishment. But we also know what Paul said so clearly in Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
That God-man hanging there on the cross, writhing in anguish, is our redemption! He is our salvation! He’s dying for us. He’s dying in our place. His death is the means by which we are saved from death ourselves. And we dare never forget it. If we do forget it, we lose everything, so… we have this memorial to exercise our memory.
A worthy manner then, means that we take a look around at our relationships with one another. Are we together or are we divided? In spite of our differences, do we strive to maintain unity? Do we love one another more than we love our pet opinions and our self-will? Also we take a look back at the death of our Savior and what it means to us. Finally, to partake of the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner, we should:
3. Look Inside.
(Read v. 28-32)
"Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup."
What sort of self-examination is Paul referring to? The word "examine" that Paul chose is surely more than just a quick glance. Paul chose a word that was used in the refining of metals. Raw ore was heated to its melting point, then stirred. This allowed the impurities to float to the top. These were skimmed off and more stirring was done, along with more skimming until the refiner could see a clear picture of his own image reflecting back as he gazed into the molten metal.
When we examine ourselves we are looking for and removing impurities. We are looking for a reflection of the truth about ourselves. We are considering our lives, exposing what remains of wickedness, confessing it to God, and working to remove it.
As we have gone through this passage, have you noticed that you really can’t properly partake of the Lord’s Supper without some conscious effort? Yet, how easy it is to come here with our minds on something entirely different, go through the motions of eating the bread and drinking the cup, never having considered much of anything very seriously.
"Oh well, surely God understands. He knows I’m sincere. He knows I have a short attention span. He knows I’m busy and have lots on my mind. He’s a God of love and all that."
Yes, you’re certainly right about that. He is a God of love and He knows all of us better than we do ourselves. But do you think it would be the loving thing to do for Him to allow us to treat this important observation of unity, this important time of remembrance, this time of self-examination as though it were unimportant?
Let’s look more closely at verse 29: "For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly."
Whatever we may believe about God’s love, this verse shows us that God means business about the Lord’s Supper. In fact, the next verse makes that point even clearer. Verse 30 says, "For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep."
I know of only two possible meanings for Paul’s words here. He may have meant it in the spiritual sense. He may have meant, "Because of your unwillingness to look around, look back, and look inside, some of you are on the spiritual "sick list." In fact, some of you are spiritually dead." If that is what he meant, then perhaps we can see the seriousness of abusing the Lord’s Supper.
He may also have meant it in the literal sense. In other words, "Because of your unwillingness to partake in a worthy manner, some of you are physically weak, physically sick, and physically dead." Those who take this literally believe that God was disciplining the Corinthians with some kind of physical sickness and even death because they had drifted so far from Him.
Which is it? Actually, the subsequent verses seem to bear out the latter, physical application, though I’m not ready to build a case on it. Take a quick look at verse 31-32: "But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world." The idea is, if we do the self-examination ourselves, we won’t be judged by God, but if we end up being judged (because we didn’t do it ourselves) then the Lord will discipline us so that we won’t ultimately be condemned.
So, is the meaning here spiritual or physical? Frankly folks, I don’t know for sure and if the only way to know is to incur judgment, I surely don’t want to find out! It makes a whole lot more sense to me to make sure that we have our act together when we partake of the Lord’s Supper. Wouldn’t you agree?
And what does a "worthy manner" include? It includes a look around, a look back, and a look inside. If you are a Christian and you do these things when you partake, you won’t be judged by the Lord.
Conclusion
In the washroom of his London club, British newspaper publisher and politician William Beverbrook happened to meet Edward Heath, then a young member of Parliament, about whom Beverbrook had printed an insulting editorial a few days earlier. "My dear chap," said the publisher, embarrassed by the encounter. "I’ve been thinking it over, and I was wrong. Here and now, I wish to apologize."
"Very well," grunted Heath. "But the next time, I wish you’d insult me in the washroom and apologize in your newspaper."(6)
When I first read that story, it occurred to me that the Lord’s supper is just the opposite. It’s the opportunity to apologize (actually, to confess) in the washroom (privately) so things don’t have to be reported later in the newspaper (at judgment). If, after facing the truth in self-examination, we deal with what isn’t right in our lives, we won’t have to face it in judgment.
So, when you partake, I encourage you to take a look around, take a look back, and take an honest look inside.
Footnotes: Use your "back" button to return to your place.
1. 1 Corinthians 11:20
2. Matthew 9:16; Mark 2:21
3. From Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright
(c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.
4. Luke 22:42
5. 1 Corinthians 1:18, TLB
6. Today in the Word, October 1, 1993
Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.
Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Preacher's Study. Permission is granted to subscribers to use this document in total or in sermon preparation in the context of the local congregation only. Publishing it in a book, on the Internet, or anyplace beyond the local congregation is prohibited.
All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.
