1 CORINTHIANS 11: 17 - 34
OBSERVING THE LORD'S SUPPER
17) Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
The early church would come together to share meals and fellowship and would end the meal with the observance of Communion. That was the plan, but the Corinthians didn't quite hit the mark.
18) For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
Rather than getting together for loving fellowship and spiritual enrichment, the congregation used this time to draw attention to themselves, shaming the poor brethren, arguing; generally making a mockery of the Lord's sacrificial death and scandalizing the church to the whole world.
19) For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
When you have those in your midst that are not of you, you will be better able to recognize those who ARE of you. There are many examples I could cite here, but just look at our politicians: some know what The Constitution says/means and others want to interpret it to bend to how they WANT it to read. It doesn't take long to know who to trust on the issue.
20) When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.
Asking for clarification on what they came together to celebrate.
21) For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry and another is drunken.
The church is not practicing sharing, but selfishness and gluttony.
22) What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? what shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
Paul gave instructions to eat before meeting up with the church if you are hungry. That way, there will be enough to share and no one will over do it. "All things in moderation." We are to be pure in heart, without prejudices, pride, bitterness, feelings of superiority, etc. Let us come together as one, loving each other and loving our God, which honors Him.
23) For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread:
Let us review how we are to observe the Lord's Supper in a way that honors Him:
24) And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me.
We are to remember His life, His sacrifice, and His death.
25) After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.
26) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He come.
Keeping Jesus forever before our eyes, as we anticipate His return for us.
Do you know my Jesus? Click here to learn more: https://omaswisdom.blogspot.com/p/path-to-salvation.html'
27) Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
You don't want to be guilty of the body and blood of Jesus Christ (His death).
28) But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.
We are to participate in Communion with reverence, in awe of Jesus, with thanksgiving, and praise; focusing on Jesus.
29) For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30) For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
Here we go again: are we sick and weak because we are disobeying God? As we study His Word, we find little tidbits of what we are to be doing and how we are to do it to His glory. To this, I say, "Keep studying." When we dishonor Jesus (which the Lord's Supper represents), we will be chastised....and even killed. It is serious business.
31) For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
Therefore, let us search our own hearts when we participate in The Lord's Supper, and repent of our unrighteousness. Let us love our Brethren, as God Himself loves them.
32) But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Christians are chastised. We are not condemned with the world, because we have been adopted into The Royal Family, and are thus sons of God. This also confirms "once saved, always saved". We do NOT lose our salvation due to something we do. Likewise, we did not gain salvation due to something we did.
33) Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
When we sit down at God's table, let us wait on one another and meet their needs first.
34) And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
The Apostle obviously had other matters to discuss with the church he was mentoring and would address them when he saw the church leaders.
We had a request to post the commentary after each verse, so here it is. Would you prefer it posted this way or do you prefer the way we have been posting all of the verses we will be studying followed by the commentary for all of the verses? Leave us a comment. We love to hear from you.
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