“Preparing for Supper”
(1 Corinthians 11:17-34)
Lord’s Supper
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
- Take God’s Word and open to 1 Corinthians, chapter 11.
As we prepare to partake of the Lord’s Supper this morning, it has been awhile since we have studied the principal text that informs us about how to observe the Supper. 1 Corinthians 11 is the “go-to” passage that gives the most information about how we are to prepare ourselves to eat the bread and drink the cup and what it’s all about.
The context of our passage concerns a great deal of instruction that the Apostle Paul writes to the church at Corinth. You might say that he is writing this passage to “straighten out” the brothers and sisters at Corinth. They were doing some things that were not right. When it came to how they observed the Supper, they were really making a mess of things and Paul hears about it and he writes this section of the letter to inform them about what they need to do to observe the Supper correctly. So he is giving them instructions, which is why he writes as he does at verse 17, “Now in giving these instructions.”
- Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word. We’ll read the first few verses.
17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse.
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.
19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.
20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.
21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk.
22 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.
- Pray: “Father, help us to prepare rightly for the Supper. Holy Spirit show us what needs to change as we read Your Word. We ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.”
Well, you can tell Paul’s pretty “ticked off” when he writes this section of the letter. He has heard that the church at Corinth is just making a mockery of the Lord’s Supper.
One main problem is that when the church gathered together there were these distinctions among them of rich and poor, the “haves” and the “have-nots.” That’s what Paul means in verse 18 where he mentions “divisions” among the people.
The division with which Paul is concerned is not the obvious separation of believers from unbelievers, but an unbiblical division among believers; a division arising not from argumentation, but of isolation. There were groups in the church who were drawing circles around themselves, dividing up into these little factious cliques, isolating some from others. And this is not right because the Supper is a family meal.
Before the Lord’s Supper was observed, the early church first enjoyed a big meal together. It was called the “Love Feast.” Great name, right? They would share food with one another and then afterwards they would observe the Lord’s Supper together.
Some in the church were wealthier than others. They had larger resources than others and so they brought good food and a lot of it, and they would all sit together. So Paul says, “You know, I hear about these divisions among you and I’m afraid to say that I believe what I hear is true,” verse 19:
19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.
And I think the idea conveyed is rather that Paul is saying, “I hear about these divisions in the church there and it seems there must be these divisions if, after all, those who are the so-called “upper crust,” if you like, will stand out. I think Paul is speaking sort of tongue-in-cheek here, as if to say, “Of course, there must be divisions among you so everyone in the congregation can see who has ‘God’s approval!’”
So Paul says in verse 20, “When you come together in one place it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. Verse 21, “For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk.”
Now if that shocks you, imagine how it shocked the Apostle Paul. Look at how he begins verse 22, “What!” He’s like, “I can’t believe what I’ve heard about you guys! You guys are just glomming up all this food, you don’t care if some have nothing to eat, you just ignore them and some of you are even drunk!”
The Bible consistency warns believers about drunkenness. New Testament Christians lived in a time before refrigeration and in order to purify water and make it a drinkable beverage they often added fermented wine to water and mixed it unto something drinkable. Thankfully, in our day we have all kinds of drinkable beverages, our tap water is clean, we have purified water, Cokes, Diet Cokes, and God’s especially precious gift to all of His children–coffee! But it was different 2,000 years ago and Paul is just shocked when he hears that some of these Christians are even drunk.
So he says in verse 22, “Look, you’ve got houses to eat and drink in!” Do your eating and drinking at home. When you come together here it is not for eating and drinking. That is, it is not a gathering that focuses on physical nourishment, but spiritual nourishment.
Now it’s important for us to remember this as well. We gather together this morning to observe the Lord’s Supper and it is important for us to remember that what we are doing this morning is a matter of focused worship. This is an especially important point if we are to prepare rightly for the Lord’s Supper.
So from this passage let’s draw a few implications about partaking of the Supper. First, partaking of the Supper is time of reverence.
I. It’s a Time of Reverence (17-22; 27-34)
Paul’s concern for Christians is that they come together and think about what they are doing. It’s a matter of preparing both heart and head. Paul’s concern about preparing ourselves personally for this profound worship experience picks up again down in verse 27. Look at that section with me, verses 27 and following:
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.
Partaking of the Supper is a time of reverence. The Corinthian church’s irreverence amounted to a selfish, inward focus that showed little to no concern for one another and what is more, showed little to no concern for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ died not just for us, but for others, too. The Corinthians failed to apply Christ’s others-focused atonement by not even thinking about what they are doing. These folks are not understanding the spiritual reality of why they are gathered together, that they are to be focusing on the body of Christ, His body and the body of believers who come together to worship Christ as Head of the body.
Now verses 30 and following cause me to sit up straight and pay attention. Paul says in verse 30, “For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.” The word sleep there is a metaphor for death. So Paul is saying, “Your irreverence during the Lord’s Supper has led to disciplinary action from God the Father. He has judged you and, consequently, some of you are experiencing judgment of weakness, sickness, and–in the most extreme case–even death.”
Now I don’t think that means that Christians should have an unnatural fear of being stricken dead during the Lord’s Supper. The Corinthian situation was especially unique and God’s judgment applied to the specific misconduct of these Christians at Corinth. It was an act of God’s discipline and mercy. The event is preserved in Scripture, however, to remind us of the importance of reverence before God.
See sometimes God allows some bad stuff to happen to you because of your sin. Careful here! Not always. Sometimes bad things happen to us and we don’t know why. Job is the classic example. God knows, He is sovereign, He always does what is right.
But there are other times, when you and I know full well why some particular thing has happened to us. God is getting our attention as a loving Father, disciplining His children.
I remember once in my teens riding in the car with my friend. He was later my best man at our wedding. And he was driving the car and I was riding along with him and we had just picked up a couple of young ladies and man, we thought we were hip and cool. We didn’t know what we were all going to do together but we didn’t tell our parents where we were or what we were doing and here we had just picked up these young ladies. And my buddy turned around to talk to those girls in the back seat and when he turned around, he turned the steering wheel around with him and that car immediately struck the curb, blew out two tires and bent both rims. We were obviously shaken, but we were all okay. The girls got a ride home from someone else and there were Chris and I looking at one another. He said something like, “Man, I can’t believe that happened,” and I remember saying something in response like, “I know why it happened.” God was in it. And he said, “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
Sometimes things happen to you and me as a means of God’s getting our attention. The Bible teaches that God loves His children enough to discipline them. It is a judgment of some kind.
See, Paul goes on to say in verse 31, “If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.” So if we are reverent during the Supper, we need not worry about God’s hand of discipline.
Partaking of the Supper is a time of reverence. Secondly:
II. It’s a Time of Remembrance (23-26)
The word “remembrance” occurs twice in the passage, once in verse 24 in relation to the bread and once in verse 25 in relation to the cup. Let me read verses 23-26:
23 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;
24 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.”
25 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.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
The reason the Lord’s Supper should be observed only by Christians is because only Christians can remember what Christ did for them. It is a matter of worship. Only the Christian can look back and recall Christ’s atoning death on the cross for the Christian’s sin.
If you are not a Christian, if you are not saved, or you don’t know whether you have been accepted by God, the most important thing you can do this morning is put your faith and trust in God. For unbelievers, this is not so much a time of remembrance as it is repentance. You must confess your sin and turn from your sin and your self, and turn in repentance to Jesus Christ, trusting in Him alone as Lord of your life. He must become “Number 1” in your life. You live under His Lordship.
Now, what does Jesus mean when He holds up the bread and says, “This is My body” and what does He mean when He holds up the cup and says, “This is My blood?”
We do not ascribe to the traditional Roman Catholic view or the Lutheran view of the Supper, believing that the bread and the cup become the literal body and blood of Christ or even that there is a mixture of the elements of bread and juice along with the literal body and blood of Jesus.
Rather, we believe the bread and cup are symbols, powerful symbols, memorials, reminding us of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, body broken, blood shed, for us. Jesus refers specifically to the cup as, “The new covenant” of His blood.
The new covenant is God’s commitment to save all who trust in Jesus. The cup of juice represents this covenant because the blood of Christ bought the covenant for us.
You’ll remember that the old covenant, or the Mosaic covenant, was a covenant God made with Israel. And the Israelites constantly broke that covenant because of their sin. Jesus refers now to a new covenant, a covenant in which God relates to man as the One who completely forgives all sin of those who trust in Christ—all sin past, present, and future. We remember that truth as we eat the bread and drink from the cup.
So partaking of the Supper is a time of reverence and it’s a time of remembrance. Thirdly, partaking of the Lord’s Supper is a time of resurgence.
III. It’s a Time of Resurgence
While not stated explicitly in the text, this point is implied by the very act itself. Observing the Lord’s Supper is a time of renewal, experiencing not physical nourishment, but spiritual nourishment. It is about the resurgence of our faith, a time of renewal, renewing the soul that hungers for the spiritual presence of Christ.
This is the whole point of our eating this morning. It is not physical nourishment we seek, right? I mean how many nutrients are in a tiny flake of bread no bigger than the tip of your finger? Not many. There’s also not much nutrition in a tiny swallow of grape juice. It’s not physical nourishment we are after, but spiritual nourishment.
By thinking when we eat and drink there is a spiritual feeding upon the spiritual presence of Jesus Christ, a resurgence of our faith, spiritual renewal.
This renewal does not just happen ipso facto, by the very act, as though merely eating the bread and drinking the cup automatically makes one more aware of the presence of Christ. The renewal happens to the degree we have covered Points I and II, Reverence and Remembrance. We have to use our hearts and our heads in worship. We remember the truth, the facts about Jesus, His death and burial for our sins, His rising for our justification.
But the Lord’s Supper is not just about remembering truth. “Head” alone may be nothing more than dead orthodoxy, just as “Heart” alone may be nothing more than emotional frenzy. Head and heart come together for true worship to happen.
So as we remember with our heads, we feel with our hearts. We partake of the Supper and resurgence of our faith happens as we feel deeply about what Christ did for us. We feel that truth in our hearts. When you feel in your heart what you know in your head, worship happens. You glorify God. You can’t really glorify God without head and heart.
It’s a bit like encountering the presence of Christ in the preaching of the Word. Jesus often says, “He who has ears to hear let him hear.” You can listen to preaching but not really hear. On the other hand, when you prepare your heart in focused reverence and incline your ear with a view toward really “hearing,” then you hear God speaking truth to you and you feel that truth in your heart as you encounter the presence of Christ.
So when we prepare ourselves in focused reverence and remembrance in the Supper, we experience resurgence. It’s an exciting thing to think about as we joyfully anticipate meeting with the spiritual presence of Christ in just a few moments.
If you’ll forgive the simple analogy, it’s a bit like we’re all in line for one of those thrill rides at a theme park. We’re all gathered together and we’re all looking at one another, smiles on our faces in anticipation of the euphoria that is to come. The time finally comes and the wait is over and together we experience something profoundly joyful.
In a similar way, here we come as the community of faith, Christians gathering together as the church, looking at one another in the pews, smiling in patient anticipation of experiencing the presence of the One who binds us all together. The time comes as the bread and cup are served by our deacons and together we experience something profoundly joyful, the presence of Christ. Resurgence.
There is joy and delight in the Lord’s Supper! It is for Christians a time of celebration! We find great delight in remembering who God is and what He has done for His children.
So as we prepare for this Supper, here are three things to delight in as you hold the cup and bread, waiting for all to be served, singing and making melody in your heart. Here are three things to delight in. First:
1) Delighting in His Pardon
Use your head to think of the sins God has pardoned and forgiven in Christ and feel that forgiveness in your heart. Think of one or two in particular. God says that the Christian’s sins are entirely forgiven–all sin past, present, and future.
1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
Have you done something you deeply regretted? Have you sinned? This morning confess and repent, and delight in God’s pardon of that sin through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Jesus died for that sin. Think it and feel it. Delight in His Pardon.
You can also allow God to renew your soul by:
2) Delighting in His Provision
The Bible says in Philippians 4:19, “God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
As you partake of the Supper, delight with head and heart that God has met your every need–maybe not all of your wants, but all of your needs. He has provided for you. You have received food, drink, and last night you had a place to sleep. You have physical life and you have spiritual life in Christ. Count your many blessings, delighting in God’s provision for you.
Allow God to renew your soul by delighting in His pardon, delighting in His provision, and:
3) Delight in His Purposes
Romans 8:28-29 says, “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,”
Whatever happened to you in the last week or last weeks, remember that God is at work. He works all things together for good, for His glory and for your good. His purposes through your difficulties—including when He disciplines—are to grow you and draw you closer to His precious side, conforming you to Christ’s likeness and thus, bringing glory to Himself.
He is working out His perfect purposes in your life. Believe that with your head and feel it in your heart.
- Bow for prayer. “God, we thank You that we may now enter into this special time together—a time of reverence, remembrance, and resurgence. As we gather our thoughts we ask you to give us grace right now to delight in Your pardon, Your provision, and your purposes. Give us grace to worship you as we think with our heads and feel with our hearts, in Jesus’ name, amen.”
Our deacons will be serving you the bread and cup. The deacons serve you because that’s what their name means; deacon. It’s a title. It means to serve. These men are good men, godly men, servant leaders of the church. They serve primarily through the deacon family ministry, serving you by being your family’s deacon, on call, ready to visit and pray. So they are serving you this morning.
While the deacons serve you we will be singing. We’re going to sing this great hymn about God’s throne above and what He did for us through Christ Jesus.
After we sing and everyone is served, I’ll lead you in taking the elements, eating the bread, drinking the cup. Let’s sing together.
1
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea
A great High Priest whose name is love
Who ever lives and pleads for me
My name is graven on His hands
My name is written on His heart
I know that while in heav’n He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart
No tongue can bid me thence depart
2
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me
“The Bible says that on the same night in which Jesus was betrayed, that He took bread; 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” (1 Corinthians 11:23-24).
[Eat bread]
“Then the Bible says that in the same manner, Jesus 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.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians 11:25-26).
[Drink cup]
Amen. Stand now and let’s sing the final verse as we “Behold Him there, the risen Lamb…
3
Behold Him there, the risen Lamb
My perfect, spotless Righteousness
The great unchangeable I AM
The King of glory and of grace
One with Himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
One with Himself, I cannot die
My soul is purchased by His blood
My life is hid with Christ on high
With Christ my Savior and my God
With Christ my Savior and my God
Amen!
If you need to talk to someone about salvation, baptism, or membership—stop by the Response Room right out these doors. Look for the sign. Response Room. We have volunteers after each service to meet with you and pray for you.
When you return tonight at six, we are having our prayer gathering. Prayer gathering occurs every last Sunday evening of the month. We are a church who believes in prayer so we have a time of meaningfully-led prayer. Tonight at 6.
Now remember, we are taking up a special offering for the Gideons Ministry. I believe in this ministry—getting the Word out, getting the Bible out to as many as possible. I will be giving and I invite you to give, as well. Just put your gift into the offering plate as our ushers are at the doors.
And as you go, greet the folks around you. Make sure everyone around you gets a “hello” and “good to see you.” Alright? God bless you, church family, love you and will see you later.
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