1 CORINTHIANS 11

1 CORINTHIANS 11

VERSE 18:
Question:
“divisions”?
    – Cliques.

“believe to some extent”?
    – Paul must have felt the situation could not
      have been as bad as it was reported to him.

VERSE 20:
Paul agreed they were coming together to eat,
but disagreed that they were eating the Lord’s Supper.

What they were doing indicated that the Lord could
not be present no matter how much they claimed He was.

VERSE 21:
We can only guess what went on in the church meetings.

In Corinth, the practice seems to have been:
    – Each individual or family brings food for a common meal.

    – All the food was put together for the meal.

    – When everyone arrived, all would eat
      (this would allow all to have enough to eat).

    – Some were able to bring a lot of food.

    – Others, especially slaves, could only bring a little, or even nothing.

    – The slaves might arrive late due to finishing their work.

    – All who brought food went ahead and ate
      without concern for the needs of others.

    – Some went hungry while others got drunk.
      Note:
          It’s no surprise that it was not the Lord’s Supper
          they were participating in.

VERSE 22:
Paul suggested they eat at home, if their hunger
was so great they couldn’t wait for others to arrive.

Paul viewed their action as showing contempt
not only for the poor, but also for the church;
    – by dishonoring other Christians,
      they were showing dishonor toward God.

Note:
    The Corinthians were like most people today;
    they were not sensitive to their failures until
    someone points them out;
    they saw nothing wrong with what they were doing.

VERSE 23:
The Jews used the term “passed on”
to indicate the passing on of oral tradition.
Paul’s account was not some fabrication,
but was provided by the Lord.

“took bread”
    – The simplest element of a meal was used by Jesus.
      He knew His people would always have bread they
      could use for carrying out the ceremony He was
      beginning.

      Question:
      Is that an indication that God will
      always provide bread for His people?

VERSE 24:
The bread stood for a symbol of Jesus’ body
(the body He gave for all of us).

“in remembrance of me”
    – The Corinthians were called to put themselves
      back in the situation of Jesus’ last night on earth.
    – They were to think of Him giving His life for them.

    – They were to visualize His crucified body
      as He died for their sins.

Question:
I wonder how many of us do that when
we partake of the Lord’s Supper today?

VERSE 25:
The cup pointed to the new covenant God had promised
(Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:8-12).

The people had not kept the
first covenant God had made with them at Sinai.

Something needed to be done in order that
the people might have forgiveness for sin.

God promised the new covenant, then
brought it to reality through the death of His Son.

The blood referred to the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross.

Again we are summoned to do this in memory of Jesus.
Note:
    We are to remember Jesus, His life, and His death for us.

VERSE 26:
Paul wasn’t referring to every time the Christians had a meal,
they were referring to their observance of the Lord’s Supper.

He was saying that every time they shared in this special meal,
they proclaimed the Lord’s death until He comes again.

This proclaiming was to continue until He comes again
(this applies to us as well, since He has not come again yet).

VERSE 27:
Paul was concerned with their attitude toward the Lord’s Supper.

To eat and drink in an unworthy way
is to contradict both the purpose of Christ’s
sacrifice and the spirit in which it was made.

The Lord’s Supper should be a time of fellowship with
one another just as it is a time of fellowship with Christ.

If we fail to recognize this close personal relationship between
Christ and His church, we are participating in an unworthy way.

VERSE 28:
We are to examine ourselves to avoid
sinning against the Lord’s body and blood.

We have a tendency to see ourselves as we
wish we were and not necessarily the way we are.

Paul wanted the Corinthians
to see themselves as Christ saw them.

If we are to examine ourselves first,
we must recognize our sin as Christ would.

The barrier to fellowshipping with Christ is unconfessed sin;
how can He forgive us, if we do not first confess our sins.

In the same manner, we cannot have close personal
relationships with one another unless we recognize
our faults which separate us from other church members.

Question:
Think about one particular fault you have;
it may be:
    – selfishness
    – gossip
    – failure to be a good listener
    – finding faults with others
    – not responding to others’ needs
    – negative attitude
    – not looking for opportunities to lift others up
    – lack of prayer
    – lack of Bible study
    – unconfessed sin
    – etc.

VERSE 29:
Paul believed serious consequences occurred when
a person did not observe the Lord’s Supper properly
(could be illness and even death – Verse 30).

God wants His people to worship Him and has provided
the Lord’s Supper as a special time for worshipping
and remembering what His Son did for us.

We may be tempted to
take the occasion less seriously than we should.

These scriptures should alert us to acknowledging
the Lord’s Supper as one of the most meaningful
experiences in our Christian life.

Question:
In what ways do church members today
show the same traits as the Corinthians
(not realizing what they are doing is wrong,
until someone points it out)?
    – Assuming attitudes of ownership
      toward certain seats in the church.
    – Subtle rejection of poorer members.
    – Always grouping with the same close friends.

Question:
Can you think of a time when your worship experience
has been affected by bad relationships between members?

Question:
Let’s take inventory,
what should Christians remember during the Lord’s Supper?
    – Christ’s birth. – Meaning of it.
    – Christ’s life. – Honor Christ.
    – Christ’s death. – Christ’s resurrection.
    – Daily bread (fed every day).
    – The promise of Christ’s return.
    – Our personal relationship with Christ.

Question:
How did the Corinthians corrupt the Lord’s Supper?
    – Substituted greed and selfishness for sharing.
    – Exchanged thanksgiving for drunken revelry.
    – Overlooked the meaning of Jesus’ life and death.

Question:
Is it possible that Christians today dishonor
the Lord’s Supper through a mechanical
rather than a spiritual observance?

Question:
Wonder how God feels toward us?

Question:
How should our relationship with God
affect our Lord’s Supper experience?

Question:
How should the Lord’s Supper worship experience
affect our relationship with God?

Question:
How should our relationship with God
affect our attitudes toward other Christians?

Question:
How does our relationship with other Christians
affect our relationship with God?

Question:
How does our relationship with other Christians
affect our participation in the Lord’s Supper?

Question:
How should the Lord’s Supper
affect our relationships with other Christians?

Question:
How should we
prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper?

Question:
What results should we expect
from the observance of the Lord’s Supper?

Question:
What are some changes you would like to see
in the observance of the Lord’s Supper?

SUMMARY:
    – The church is not a place for cliques.

    – Worship should be a time to draw Christians
      together, not point out our differences.

    – The Lord’s Supper should make us aware of our
      relationship to one another within the body of Christ.

    – The Lord’s Supper should be a time for remembering
      Christ’s sacrifice and looking forward to His return.

Question:
I wonder how many of us actually
look forward to His return (with anticipation).

    – We should examine ourselves carefully
      before participating in the Lord’s Supper.
      Note:
          We should not let our self-examination
          cause us to not participate in the Lord’s Supper;
          we should correct the problem before coming
          before the Lord in worship (including the
          confession of our sins).

CHALLENGE:
    – Pray every day this week about your
      fault that you thought of earlier in this lesson.
      Ask God to help you correct it.

    – Look for opportunities this week to brighten
      the lives of others (and/or the life of a specific person).