I Corinthians 11:17-34
Does anyone know what God’s favorite kind of tea
is?
Majesty
Do you know how He makes it?
Hebrews it of course
Today we are going to observe the Lord’s Supper. We are
going to look at Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth as
our text.
Let’s start by praying and asking God to speak to us and
reveal Himself to us as we read and study His word this
morning.
Let’s also ask Him to remove any distractions and help us
keep our focus on Him.
I Corinthians 11:17-22
Paul Chides the Corinthians for not observing the
Lord’s Supper properly.
In the first chapter of this first letter to the Corinthian
church, Paul appealed to them to be united and avoid
divisions.
Some claimed to follow Paul, other Apollos, others Christ.
The point is, there is no place for division in God’s
church.
Avoid Divisions
Here in chapter 11 Paul says he does not commend them
because there are divisions among them once more.
Here there seems to be a division between the wealthy
and the poor in the church.
It was customary to have a meal as a church body and
then finish by observing the Lord’s Supper.
The wealthy had been bringing the majority of the food
and the most appealing food, so they were not sharing it
with the others.
Avoid Selfishness
Paul could hardly believe that the church was allowing
this to happen. Some folks were getting full while others
were going hungry. Some were getting drunk while
others had nothing.
Paul reminds them that the church meal is about
fellowship.
He tells them they are despising the church of God and
humiliating the poor.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Paul Reminds the Corinthians of the Proper way to
Observe the Lord’s Supper
There should have been no confusion. Paul delivered to
them what he received from the Lord. He explained to
them how Jesus observed the first Lord’s Supper with His
disciples.
Now the church was supposed to continue that ordinance
until the return of Christ.
Paul gives them two actions to properly observe the
Lord’s Supper.
Contemplate the Sacrifice of Christ
Paul reminds the Corinthians of Jesus’ words to His
disciples about the bread representing His body and the
cup representing His blood of the new covenant.
It’s good for us to remember the incredible sacrifice that
Christ endured on our behalf.
His head was pierced by the thorn of crowns.
His side was pierced by the spear of the Roman soldier.
His hands and feet were nailed to the cross.
His blood was shed on the hill at Calvary for the
forgiveness of sin.
His life was not taken from Him. He gave it up so that we
could be reconciled to the Father.
Anticipate the Future Coming of Christ
Paul told the Corinthians that when they observed the
Lord’s Supper they proclaim the Lord’s death until He
comes back.
Jesus told His disciples that He was going to prepare a
place for us that where He is we may also be. He was
going to heaven, but the Bible teaches that He is coming
back one day.
We should proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes!
I Corinthians 11:27-34
Paul Describes the Personal and Corporate Aspects
of the Lord’s Supper
Personal Responsibility
Self examination – Do I have anything against a
brother/sister in Christ? Have I considered Christ’s
Sacrifice, His body and blood?
What does Paul mean by eating the bread and drinking
the cup in an unworthy manner?
This is an attitude check
We must not Eat/drink the supper in an unworthy manner
A Believer taking the supper with a flippant/unrepentant
attitude.
A Believer who has a grudge against another church
member or another believer.
If we have anything against our brother, we should go
make it right before we partake of the Lord’s Supper.
Corporate Responsibility
In a similar way to how we sing together and pray
together in a corporate setting, Paul is telling the
Corinthians that they must observe the Lord’s Supper
corporately.
Unity in the Body of Christ
The Lord’s Supper table is no place for factions or cliques.
In fact the body of Christ is no place for that.
Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
no male and female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus.”
Sharing the Lord’s table together is a reminder that none
of us earned our salvation. There is not one who is
righteous, only Christ.
And He is the one who paid our ransom and set us free
from our sin.
Because of the death and resurrection of Christ we have
received our inheritance. Because of Jesus we have
eternal life with God in Heaven.
Paul writes “For anyone who eats and drinks without
discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on
himself.”
The body is referring to the church.
Paul heard that some of the Corinthians were eating all
the food and not sharing with the other folks. Remember
verse 20, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s
supper that you eat.
The body should take care of itself.
We are to consider others better than ourselves.
Every member of the body of Christ is important.
We all have a gift to be used for God’s glory.
When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper together as a
church we are recognizing that Christ set us free and
saved us by His amazing grace and incredible sacrifice.
Paul closes this section with some guidance for the
believers at Corinth.
He tells them to wait for one another when they come
together for the Lord’s Supper. It’s something that should
be done as a group. They should all eat at the same time
and drink at the same time.
They should all be considering Christ’s sacrifice at the
same time.
APPLICATION
Since we observe the Lord’s Supper as a church body, we
must consider not only our own personal attitude toward
Christ and His sacrifice, but also our attitude toward the
church body.
Consider our Attitude toward Christ
Consider our Attitude toward the body of Christ
We must be uniters and encouragers.
The Lord’s Supper is a wonderful time to consider all that
Christ has done on our behalf.
We should build each other up and encourage one
another daily to continue in our walk with Christ.
We should hold one another accountable and even be
ready to gently restore one another when we are caught
up in sin.