1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Called to Fellowship
Theological Proposition/Focus: Those who follow Christ are supposed to be united in unity.
Homiletical Proposition/Application: Unity is supposed to mark the church and so we are called to fellowship in unity.
Introduction: Memory verse Galatians 3:28
Image: Church potlucks risk and reward
When I say the phrase "Church potlucks great risk and great reward." Most people probably think I am referring to the latest green bean casserole recipe. What if I told you that I was actually talking not about green been casserole but spiritual risk and reward?
You see, as Christians we are called to unity.
Galatians 3:28 states "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
The problem is that there are times when our sin failures are more apparent than other times. This is exactly the problem that the church in Corinth faced in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. Last year we started working through 1 Corinthians and made it through the first half of chapter 11 but that was back on November 5th. Today we are going to pick up our study of 1 Corinthians again. And what I want you to see in 1 Corinthians 11 is that times of fellowship which should have been opportunities for unity had become one more opportunity for factionalism.
Setting the Stage:
The biggest problem that the Corinthian church faced seems to have been factionalism. It seems that the church had divided into factions of people who followed different leaders and proclaimed themselves to be more spiritual than others. These factions, it seems from First Corinthians, had permeated nearly every aspect of the Corinthian church and were doing great damage. In Paul's letter to the Corinthians, he attacks these factions and seeks to bring them back into the unity that should be characteristic of anyone who claims to be following Christ.
Need: As a church, we can learn from the mistakes of Cornith as we recognize that we have been called to unity in fellowship.
Preview: Today we are going to see that fellowship involves deference and inclusion, proclaims Christ, should be taken seriously, and focuses on God's glory not human consumption.
Turn in your Bibles to
Text: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 (read completely before the first point)
As you are turning in your Bibles let me set the stage.
The problem that Paul seems to be addressing is a problem that any church in our country could easily find themselves wrestling with.
The church in Corinth had a large gulf between rich and poor.
This gap found it's way into the church and in particular into arrival times at events.
A minority of well-to-do believers was present within Corinth and these individuals would have had more leisure time and flexibility in schedule. This afforded these well-to-do individuals the opportunity to arrive earlier to fellowship gatherings and to consume the finer food that was available before the less wealthy rest of the congregation arrived. In fact, the Roman government did not provide a "legal" day off as of yet in history and so the working class would only be able to come to fellowship and worship after they finished their work for the day.
This structure immediately created factions.
Church took place in wealthy patrons' houses. The houses were big, but probably not big enough for a single room to hold everyone.
So, those who didn't have required working hours could come early, eat fancy food together, and take the best seats in the house.
The rest of the people came after work, probably could not afford to bring much food, and would have been stuck in the atrium or courtyard.
While the main action was taking place nearby these individuals would have been left wanting more but unable to really participate. Then, at the conclusion of the love feast there was probably a time of preaching/teaching and a celebration of the Lord's supper.
The time of fellowship and remembrance had become yet one more way to show people that they were in fact, not equals.
It must have felt something like "Sure, the Bible says we are all equal in Christ, but don't take that too far, we each have our place and your place is back in the courtyard. To this Paul has some very strong words.
17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 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. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 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.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, 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. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
[1]
Body
Fellowship involves deference and inclusion (17-22).
Ok, let me just start by acknowledging the elephant in the room. I just used the word inclusion as a point in a sermon and that word has begun to take on political baggage.
Here is what I want to say!
Don't let politicians keep stealing our words and redefining them. Let's take it back. We should be inclusive.
Inclusive in the sense that we welcome everyone as we invite them to meet our Savior and let Jesus change them!
Our church needs to be a church that boldly proclaims come as you are and leaved changed into the image of Christ.
The Gospel transcends traditional boundaries and so should our fellowship (17-19).
I started today by looking at Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Central to the Gospel is the truth that the Gospel transcends race, class, and sex.
Yet our world is full of boundaries.
However, we live in a world where boundaries abound. If you don't believe me, just try to make friends with someone, outside the church, in a career completely different from a different racial heritage, and who makes substantially more or less than you. It is hard to do! We might not have a formal caste system in place in this country, but we have some incredibly strong class structures in place.
The same was true in Corinth. The city of Corinth had some very strong class structures in place. There were slaves, there were free. There were Jews, there were Gentiles. There were male, there were female. And all the evidence suggests that these class structures had found their way into the church. So what does Paul do? Paul attacks this head-on. I want you to look carefully at what Paul says in verse 19. Let me paraphrase.
Let me paraphrase verse 19.
So I hear that as you all are coming together there are some of you who are dividing into your own little groups and excluding people. Well, I guess that makes sense, afterall there must be some of you who are not Christ followers or at least not following Christ.
I want us to understand how strong of a statement that Paul is making in verse 19.
=He is telling the Corinthians that their failure to overcome societal class structures is evidence of a serious problem in their walk with Christ.
I have to admit, this passage has been eating at me a little because it is a very strong statement. I am left asking myself, do I allow the Gospel to defeat my participation in societal class structures? I have to admit, it scare me a little to thin about times when I have fallen into the trap of societal structures! We need to defer to one another and include one-another.
Let's keep looking at more verses.
Fellowship should not be an opportunity for gluttony and overindulgence (20-22).
Fellowship is first and foremost an opportunity to declare the existence of a covenant community joined together by the inauguration of the New Covenant under the blessings secured by the death and resurrection of Christ.
When we have fellowship time I want us to remember this important fact.
The purpose of fellowship is not primarily to deepen friendships (that certainly can and should happen).
The purpose of fellowship is to display unnatural unity that comes through Christ.
The problem that the Corinthians were dealing with was the problem that some were overindulging to the point that some were even getting drunk at the Lord's Supper. Moreover, in the race to the top the elite were shaming fellow believers. Paul's argument is incredibly strong. You have homes to eat in, to throw your parties in, and to participate in the rat race of society where everyone is jockeying for position. Don't bring that into the church. Oh, and as a note: they met in people's homes so in fact Paul is saying something stronger. When you come together as a church in your home your home is first and foremost the church not you personal home. As such, your focus should be on showing deference to others and including them.
The irony of typical church fellowship is that often someone feels excluded.
I want for us to take some time and really consider fellowship. Baptist churches are known for their fellowship meals but I want us to go further. I want us to make sure that our fellowship is inclusive. The irony of so much fellowship is that it is often exclusive. If you are thinking "what do you mean, I always feel included, then you might be part of the problem." Think about it, there are a whole bunch of people at a fellowship meal who have friends and family around them. Then there are those who are new, those who don't have any family, or those who maybe just don't fit into any of the groups. I want to challenge you, we need to be inclusive.
Here, let me go a step further. Think about this. Imagine you are fairly new and walk into the worship service. You look around and see families sitting together and think this is nice. I can just slip in here and participate. After all, this is a worship service, I am not supposed to be talking I am supposed to be listening and worshipping. Maybe you do this for a couple of years and think nothing of it. You come, worship and leave. A couple of people greet you and that is fine. Then one day you hear that the church is having a fellowship meal. So you come. Now there are round tables and everyone is encouraged to talk themselves instead of listening. Immediately, you realize you don't have family here, you don't have friendships here, you are an outsider.
In worship, you didn't feel like an outsider but once fellowship begins you realize that you are an outsider. Want to know the problem, this happens at churches all over the place, and it even happens here. We are to fellowship, it is an important part of following Christ but let's not let fellowship in our church be a means of excluding.
MTR: Look for an opportunity to make your fellowship inclusive and demonstrate deference.
How: VBS Meals this week.
All this week, in VBS, we are going to have the opportunity to eat together before we start. Can I challenge you to make your fellowship inclusive and a demonstration of deference?
Fellowship should proclaim Christ (23-26).
I need to take a brief detour to talk about some theology because theological confusion abounds in this passage. In verse 24 Jesus says τοῦτό ⸉μού ἐστιν⸊ τὸ σῶμα. A whole lot of theological debate has been generated as people try to understand what it means that the bread "is" the body of Christ. But the Greek word ἐστιν cannot really bear the weight of that debate. The word can simply mean represents. The views of transubstantiation and consubstantiation simply cannot be supported by this text. So moving on from the deeper theological issues let's look at the events from the perspective of the church.
What I see here is that
The Corinthians church seems to have had a tradition whereby they concluded a fellowship meal with the Lord's Supper.
Think about how cool of an idea this is. The church, after fellowshipping and probably participating in worship concluded their time with a proclamation of the death, resurrection, and promised return of Christ.
The Last Supper Jesus celebrated was during Passover Week. During that week Jesus took the Passover meal, which was already a time for remembering, and transformed it into a time for remembering his gift of Salvation. The Passover as described in Exodus 12:14 focussed on memorializing "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance." In fact, within the text Jesus calls his followers to remember him not once but twice.
But the Lord's Supper is more than remembrance. The Lord's Supper is a proclamation (see verse 26).
Verse 26 makes explicit the reality that Jesus died to pay for our sins and shed his blood inaugurating a New Covenant whereby Jesus has secured every spiritual blessing for His followers. When the community of believers comes together to participate in the Lord's Supper they boldly proclaim Christ until He comes.
When fellowship proclaims Christ it properly focuses on that which brings us truly together.
So let me ask a question. Does this mean that every fellowship meal, event, we have should conclude with the Lord's Supper? I don't think so.
I do think it means that we should think of the Lord's Supper as an important part of proclaiming Christ but I don't think it means we must conclude every event with the Lord's Supper. That being said, I do that there is a principle at play here. Our fellowship should proclaim Christ. Here is the deal, we do not need to proclaim Christ by the same means evrey time but we do need to proclaim Christ. When we fellowship you may get some good time with friends or family and that is great but make sure that no matter what your fellowship time certainly proclaims Christ.
How is this possible? Let me tell you about
Image: The best question on my pastor interview questionnaire, "Describe a friendship you have that, at first glance, doesn’t make sense?"
When I applied to be the pastor at Southview the search committee sent me a list of questions for me to answer, really, essays to write. There were a lot but there was one question that stood out to me as one of the best questions I have ever been asked. "Describe a friendship you have that, at first glance, doesn’t make sense?" I am pretty sure I know what they were looking for when they asked me this question and it is something wonderful. The committee wanted to know. "Do your relationships with others transcend the usual social boundaries in a way that proclaims the transcendence of the Gospel?" Wow! Best question ever.
MTR: Consider your participation in fellowship, does it proclaim Christ?
How: Sit with someone you don't know, talk about what Jesus is doing in your life, pray for the people around you, ask good spiritual questions.
Fellowship should be taken seriously (27-32).
The "so then" (Ὥστε ) is important. What Paul is about to argue is the direct result of what he has already argued. The Lord's Supper is a proclamation of the Gospel and therefore, to treat the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner is to treat the very Gospel itself in an unworthy manner!
Hence
Partaking of the Lord's Supper in a flippant manner risks great judgement.
The word for unworthy (ἀναξίως) is a hapax legomenon, that is the word is not used anywhere else in the New Testament.
The word cannot possibly mean unworthy in a simple understanding of the word "We are all 'unworthy'—'unworthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under Christ’s table;' yet not one of us need eat or drink unworthily, that is, in a careless, irreverent, defiant spirit. Guilty" [2]
I have seen so many misuse this idea here and insist that partaking in a worthy manner means confessing a bunch of sin right before partaking.
Confessing sin is a good idea but not because it suddenly makes you worthy but rather as an expression of love and dedication to the Savior.
The idea here is not so much free from any unconfessed sin but rather understanding one's position and salvation in Christ.
In celebrating the Lord's Supper we are proclaiming a new state, one in which we all participate as equals.
Within the broader context, I think Paul is telling the Corinthians that they need to remember all are unworthy but the cross makes all worthy and in that all are equally worthy. In celebrating the Lord's Supper we are proclaiming a new state, one in which we all participate as equals. So, when we partake of the Lord's supper we must do so in a way that proclaims the Gospel.
What does it mean to discern the body of Christ?
The bread and wine signify the death of Jesus and all that it means for us.
When we turn the Lords super into anything other than a communal event in which we all remember what Christ has done for us we are in danger of misrepresenting the Gospel itself!
The Lord's Super is special and needs to be greatly honored.
But don't let the specific case keep us from the general principle, God should be taken seriously.
The Bible emphasizes the importance of taking God seriously in various ways:
Reverence and Fear: Proverbs 9:10 states,
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." This suggests that acknowledging God's authority and sovereignty is foundational to gaining wisdom.
Commandments and Obedience: Throughout the Old Testament, particularly in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17),
God outlines guidelines for righteous living. Taking God seriously involves obeying His commandments and following His teachings.
Seeking God's Kingdom First: In Matthew 6:33,
Jesus instructs His followers,
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
This verse underscores the importance of prioritizing God's will and kingdom above earthly concerns.
Faith and Trust: Hebrews 11:6 says
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Taking God seriously involves having faith in Him and trusting His promises.
Repentance and Forgiveness: Acts 2:38
highlights the importance of repentance for the forgiveness of sins:
"Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"
Taking God seriously involves acknowledging one's sins, repenting, and seeking forgiveness.
Overall, the Bible teaches that taking God seriously encompasses reverence, obedience, prioritizing His will, faith, repentance, and seeking forgiveness. It's about acknowledging God's sovereignty, following His commandments, and aligning one's life with His teachings.
The reality is that sometimes bad things happen in order to catch our attention.
Every bad thing that happens to you is not necessarily judgment, punishment, or an attempt to get your attention. We need to realize this. But there is another side of the scale. Some bad things are God's attempt to get your attention. In the case of Corinth bad things were happening because people were not taking the Lord's Supper seriously.
MTR: Ask yourself, am I treating the sacred flippantly?
The true purpose of fellowship should be God's glory not human consumption (33-34).
Paul concludes with a board statement, when you join make sure to emphasize the word "together".
Make a point of including everyone when you are engaged in fellowship.
This might mean you eat a little at home before coming. Maybe you need to have a snack before the fellowship meal so that you can focus on the fellowship part not just the food.
