DAY #257: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

When people in a church allow their own self-willed opinions to carry the day, the church is in trouble. These are destructive to the congregation. That is why we must dies to ourselves each and every day. (Luke 9:23) Today, we see yet another division that had reared it's ugly head in the Corinthian Church. This time it had to do with communion.

The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Jesus before he died (Matthew 26:26-29). Jesus and his disciples ate a meal, sang psalms, read Scripture, and prayed. Then Jesus took two traditional parts of the Passover meal, the passing of bread and the drinking of wine, and gave them new meaning as representations of his body and blood.

He used the bread and wine to explain the significance of what he was about to do on the cross. Some in the Corinthian church had turned the fellowship meal into a gluttonous feast where some ate too much and others got nothing. This had made a mockery of the Lord’s Supper.

So, Paul gives instructions to them about what the Lord himself said regarding the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Because the Lord’s Supper is commemorated in remembrance of the body and blood of Jesus given for the redemption of sinful people, it must never be taken lightly. Hence, Paul’s instructions in the remainder of the chapter.

The cup represented the new covenant between God and people, sealed by the shedding of his blood. What is this new covenant? In the old covenant (the promise of God with his people before Christ came), people could approach God only through the priests and the sacrificial system. God would forgive people’s sins if they would bring animals for the priests to sacrifice.

When this sacrificial system was begun, the agreement between God and human beings was sealed with the blood of animals. The people of Israel first entered into this agreement after the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 24). But animal blood did not in itself remove sin (only God can forgive sin), and animal sacrifices had to be repeated day by day and year after year.

Jesus’ death on the cross ushered in the new covenant (or agreement) between God and humanity. This concept is key to all New Testament theology. Under this new covenant, Jesus died in the place of sinners. Unlike the blood of animals, Jesus’ blood truly removed the sins of all who put their faith in him. And Jesus’ sacrifice will never have to be repeated; it is good for all eternity (Hebrews 9:23-28).

The eating of the bread and drinking of the cup are to be done on a continual basis in the churches until Jesus comes again. The solemn occasion of the Lord’s Supper was to be celebrated carefully and entered into with spiritual readiness. When Paul said that no one should take the Lord’s Supper unworthily, he was speaking to church members who were rushing into it without thinking of its meaning or with unconfessed sin in their life.

Believers are to take time to examine themselves before taking the Lord’s Supper and come to it with humble and repentant hearts.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

I am reminded today from this passage of the ever present capacity of people to sin. We can become so self-willed, so self-seeking, we miss completely the heart of God and the purposes of God. How sad. The Corinthians were such carnal people. And yet that same capacity for evil and sin exists within each of us.

The next time your tempted to complain about what you don't like in your spouse, or your marriage or your children or your job or your neighbors or your church, remember life in not about you. It's not about making sure you're all warm and cozy and your every whim and preference is met. That's how babies see the world. We are to grow up and be mature though.

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." Ephesians 4:11-15 (NIV)