But in the following instructions, I do not commend you. Because when you come together, it is not for the better, but for the worse. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you, in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What? Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread. 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. In the same way, also he took the cup after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for judgment. About the other things, I will give directions when I come." Bow your heads, let's pray together. Lord, as we come to this passage this morning, We have a desire to learn, to understand, for you to open our eyes to the meaning of the words as you wrote them for the original audience in Corinth, the church there that was struggling in ways, disobeying. But we also pray, I pray, God, for each one of us here that we would see that our eyes be opened to our own attitudes, our own actions, the ways that we are not living in the way you'd have us to live, but in sin and clinging to it. And Lord, we admit sometimes it's not that difficult to understand the message you have for us, but to accept it and to truly act on it, that is difficult and we need your help. So we pray for all these things this morning in the name of our Lord Jesus, amen. You may be seated. So again, good morning and welcome back to our sermon series in 1 Corinthians. Today, as we've just read, we'll be looking at the second half of chapter 11. Last week we covered the first half, and if we were to look back at last week, we would see the Apostle Paul opening chapter 11 by commending the Corinthians on maintaining the good traditions that he handed down to them. because there is an order, a design that God has for the church when gathered. And Paul encourages them to keep practicing this. Paul is setting a great example for all of us in first drawing their attention to the good and then taking a hard look at the bad. Great leadership requires both. We need leaders in our lives, even friends, to reflect back to us the good and encourage us so that we won't give up, but also to reflect back to us the bad and encourage us to give that up. So in verse one of chapter 11, Paul opened with, now I commend you, but in verse 17, he does the opposite and opens the section with, but in the following instructions, I do not commend you. This is a clear heads up that a rebuke is coming. You know, when your boss tells you, but in the following instructions that I gave you, I have nothing good to say. That's when you swallow hard, isn't it? Buckle up, you already know something's coming. And it feels really bad to be in trouble and called out, doesn't it? But as bad as it feels to be the person in trouble for some sick reason, it's fascinating to watch. We're curious as onlookers what's gonna happen. It's almost entertainment for us, which is why those live cop shows are so popular. but it would be tempting to dive right into our passage. Ooh, the Corinthians are busted. I wonder what they were doing. How will Paul drop the hammer? But it would be foolish for us to try to understand this section regarding the practice of the Lord's Supper if we only came in with our modern context, if we only came in with how we at Orchard do the Lord's Supper. Well, what does the Lord's Supper look like at Orchard? Well, the whole church gathers inside a church building, or as we've been doing more recently, outside. But we're still at a church building, and we take the Lord's Supper every week. Every believer sits in chairs in a row. We're handed a plate with a broken loaf, or maybe a gluten-free cracker. We take a little pinch, and we eat it, and we pray. We take a tiny plastic cup with grape juice. We drink it and we pray again, remembering the Lord's body and blood given as payment for our sins, remembering that it cost the Son of God his life to establish a new covenant. So if we read Paul's rebuke, which uses words like divisions among you, factions among you, his own meal, going hungry, getting drunk, humiliating those with nothing, It's hard to understand in our context, how could this even happen? So I'm going to invite you on a fascinating trip back in church history. What did the Lord's Supper look like in first century Corinth? But a warning, lest we get too comfortable looking down our noses at this bad church from long ago, even though our practice looks different today, there is still a rebuke from Paul to you and to me too. It's sort of like he's coming down the line and the Corinthians heard it first and then it's my turn and you're next, so be prepared. Okay, what was it like to be part of the church in Corinth 1900 years ago or so? You know, by the way, I hope that in eternity we get to experience God's version of virtual reality. We actually get to go back and see what it was like and observe it. We'll see. But here's what we know. First of all, there was no legal day off from work in the Roman Empire at that time. So people worked seven days a week, with the wealthy having more flexibility and ease in their schedules. Christians would gather in the homes of the wealthy on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. And this home normally looked like a villa, a place with more space for everyone to host. There were two primary rooms for guests. The first is the triclinium. And it was a large indoor room that was about 24 by 18 feet. And it had comfy couches. So you could recline, and you could fit maybe around 10 people into that room. It looked a lot like our living rooms today, except without the Nintendos and the big screen TVs. Then there was a large courtyard area called the atrium that was outside the triclinium with a pool of water in the center. But it wasn't a swimming pool. It was for collecting water. Since there weren't any couches or chairs here, if you were hosting, you could fit maybe another 30 people squeezed into the atrium. The main meal of the day at that time was eaten in the afternoon around three o'clock when the workday was over. And the practice was for the church to gather to share a main course, sort of potluck style, everyone contributing, and then either with or following a symbolic sharing of bread. then the rest of the meal, and then the wine, similar to the Jewish Passover feast. I think it sounds pretty cool. I think it would be neat to experience the Lord's Supper that way, don't you? I'll sit by the swimming pool, just don't push me in. It's not a good Christian thing to do, you know. So at first, the setup seems pretty simple. But here's where it gets tricky. It would be very natural for the host to set things up. and then for the other wealthy members to arrive early. They've been looking forward to it. They've cleared their afternoon appointments. They've put a load of togas into the washing machine and they grab a nice couch, maybe a bite to eat and a nice beverage as others arrive. Corinth's social norm would be to have your honored guests in the nice triclinium and the lesser, the second class citizens, guests out in the atrium. This was the experience they were used to. So comfortable, they were like a fish in water. They wouldn't even feel anything. Then as poorer people finished their day of work, they would filter into the house and experience what they were used to. The couches inside were taken. So they sat their weary bodies down outside in the atrium. But they were late from working. All the good stuff was gone, had been devoured. If there was any food left at all, they would eat it outside, while the sounds of sumptuous gorging and wine-enhanced laughter filtered out from the triclinium. Their unbelieving spouse might be sitting next to them, and they'd think of the tradition of the Lord's Supper, taught by Paul, but set up by Jesus himself with his words, this is my body, which is for you. Nothing out of place for a feast in Corinth on the one hand, but the church body broken by self-centeredness on the other hand. So let's look at our first point in your outline, shocking self-centeredness. Now that we've got this historical picture in our minds, we're ready to read again, starting in verse 17. And listen for the shock in Paul's voice. You'll note that by verse 22, in exasperation and shock, he almost yells, what? He's like a parent who told their kids to clean up their room, get their pajamas on, and get right into bed, and then comes in after hearing some sounds that are unexpected, to find a Lego bin freshly poured out, and the kids fighting over something, and just absorbed with themselves, unaware even what they're doing, and just to look and say, as Paul does, what can I even say to you? That's what he asks. All right, verse 17. But in the following instructions, I do not commend you. Because when you come together, it is not for the better, but for the worse. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you, in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What? Do you not have houses to eat or drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. Tragedy. If you look again at the second half of verse 17, he says, when you come together, it's not for the better, but for the worse. This should make us want to cry. The church is gathered for the purpose of worship and remembrance. And this gathering is actually for the worse. The church. that is the people of God, spend their week as lights out in a dark land. We're strangers and aliens, we don't fit in, it's not our home, but we still live as fully as we can. We reach out and we make friendships, even if we get hurt. We're generous with those who have nothing to give back to us. We pour out our lives into the parched ground all the time praying that God will bring eternal life in the desert. And this often leaves us empty, tired, even a little beat up. and gathering each week together to share about the struggles and the victories lifts our heads. Gathering with family, those who think like you and love you unconditionally, it feels a little bit like home, doesn't it? Even though we're expats. Remembering and exalting and getting to know our Heavenly Father together refuels us and reorients us. But what? The church gathered was not for the better, but for the worse? You know, the word used here for worse is a Greek term used for comparing, and it actually means moral evil. It's possible for the body of Christ to get together and for the believers and unbelievers present to be worse off than if they hadn't come. Is it possible for moral evil to be expressed in that level of damage done? How can this be? Well, in the first place, Paul says in verses 18 and 19, it starts with divisions and factions. And this news didn't come to Paul through the letter sent by the Corinthians. Something else he had been told, maybe by Chloe's people, like we saw mentioned in the first chapter, or maybe it was by someone else. Either way, Paul believes it. In part, he says at the end of verse 18. And let's pause for a moment and note the wisdom here. This applies to all of us somewhere in life. We all hear reports of bad things, do we not? Friends, family, certainly in the news, and often here at church. Paul receives a trustworthy report, yet he believes it only in part. Maybe he thinks it was exaggerated. Maybe he just knows he's only heard one side of the story. The news could be biased. So he doesn't buy it all, but he does believe it in part. And think about it, why shouldn't he? He heard there were competitions forming around those who had the best pastor, with the best wisdom and preaching ability. They were boasting about the man they followed. Their thinking was focused on self, What was Paul's answer to this self-aggrandizement? Chapter 1, verse 26 says, and notice the contrast, hoping to get to their hearts here, not many of you were wise, according to worldly standards, but he called you. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God, and because of him, You are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God. The Corinthian believers also divided and fought viciously over their personal grievances with one another. We saw that in chapter six, to the point of filing lawsuits against each other. There's a good chance that many of these filing lawsuits were the wealthier Christians. They were taking the fight somewhere else, someplace they knew they could win because they had deeper pockets. The goal, self-interest, winning the argument getting what's yours, putting the other person in their place. Paul's answer to this self-prioritization? Work through it in the church with other Christians. And if you're worried that you'll lose that way, why not suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? So Paul has every reason, unfortunately, to believe that they once again are self-centered, this time around a meal. The Lord's Supper is a memorial that's designed to unify them, but it's tearing them apart. One body broken by self-centeredness. So in verse 20, he says, it's not the Lord's Supper that you're eating. You're not representing Christ's sacrificial death and the true character of the Lord, so you don't even get to call what you're doing the Lord's Supper. The only good, In this, that Paul can find is that it's making clear those who profess Christ and are true, genuine believers, and those who do not, as he says in verse 19. Now, if we flip that statement around, it means that there are those who profess Christ and look genuine in some ways, but their pattern of self-centeredness and divisiveness reveals the truth. They're not really saved. In Corinth, this looked like showing up early to selfishly stuff your face and satiate yourself with the wine, even to the point of drunkenness, humiliating your poor brother and sister who were there and had nothing. But what does it look like at Orchard? In what ways do we simply reflect the worldly social patterns of our day? How do we show extra attention and honor one group How do we treat others in our church as second class members of our family? Who are those we despise and we look down on? Now let me be perfectly clear. It's fine to be closer friends with some people, with some families. It's natural to develop those closer friendships. Remember, even Jesus had disciples that he was closest to. But where do we divide? and pool our love, our resources, leaving others out in the cold? What beliefs and attitudes in our hearts make sense to the world but make no sense around the Lord's Supper? Conversely, let's ask this question in the positive. What beliefs and attitudes in our hearts are good and fitting around the Lord's Supper? How should we treat each other when we gather so that we mirror the memorial? This is exactly what Paul wants to teach us in the next section, as he appeals to the picture of self-giving shown by Jesus himself when he instituted the Lord's Supper. As John MacArthur notes, this description of Christ's final supper with his disciples is one of the most beautiful in all of scripture, yet it was given in the midst of a strong rebuke of carnal selfishness. So we've looked at shocking self-centeredness, Let's look at the next point in your outline, glorious self-giving. Let's read it with fresh eyes, starting in verse 23. For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread. 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. In the same way, he also took the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Just soak it in for a minute. bicker, bicker, fight and hoard, compare and take, grasp and yank, attack and defend. And then this, God who deserves all says, my body, which is for you. No act of selfish ambition on display. no looking to his own interests, but only looking to the interests of others. Instead of using his equality with God to his own advantage, he made himself nothing. The presence of God that is too great to be fit into the vast universe, dressed himself down as a lowly human servant, a servant to us and a servant to his father, and humbled himself by becoming obedient to death. even death on a cross, even a shameful death of punishment for sins. And in lowliness, he reached out and he offers, here's my body, which is for you. Now, similar to what we've seen earlier in this letter, Paul says that he received this from the Lord. He probably learned it from early followers of Christ, maybe someone like Peter, who was actually there that night. But 1 Corinthians was written before the Gospels, and it's the first biblical record of the institution of the Lord's Supper. So it is possible that he received some direct revelation on this matter, He references this about other matters in 2 Corinthians 12 and Galatians 1, some visions of which he says he wasn't even allowed to write about. Now next week Lars is going to take us on a deep dive into what the Lord's Supper is, when, where, and how it should be done, and who it's for. So I'm not going to cover that here. Instead, let's look at how these verses contrast with the self-centeredness of our own hearts and those in Corinth who were making a mockery of the Lord's Supper. On the very night he was betrayed, Jesus took this bread and he broke it into pieces after giving thanks and he gave it out to his disciples saying, this is my body which is for you. Jesus is giving them a picture. of breaking himself and giving generously from his wealth of holiness and righteousness. There's more than enough to go around for all. By commanding that his followers do this in remembrance of him, he's offering the same to each of us. This is my body, which is for you. It's no different than if you were sitting right at that first table. He looks personally. and directly at you. He knows about all your sins. So he says, here, I have all the resources you need. I'm being broken. I'm experiencing suffering for you. It's a celebration of the most profound act of giving that the world will ever know. And at Corinth, the wealthy couldn't even manage to share some bread. with their poorer brothers in Christ, but we're letting them go hungry week after week. The cup symbolizes the new covenant, sealed, ratified, as covenants were all the way back to the time of Abraham with blood, this time with the precious, the unique blood of the Lamb of God, the Messiah. The Lamb without blemish, perfect in every way, acceptable to God where we are not. This blood established a covenant where only God has to keep the promises perfectly. So it's a covenant that cannot be broken. It's something that was done for us and to us. Our job and our joy is to remember. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. As you drink this wine and you taste its sweetness, remember that you will taste only good things in God's presence for all eternity. Because I tasted the bitterness of God's wrath for you. Not just tasted, I drank it to the dregs, leaving none for you. Remember the new covenant, the new promise. But they had forgotten. Many of the Corinthians weren't thinking about that. Thankfulness for an undeserved gift is not expressed in selfish overindulgence at the cost of others, is it? Instead, selfishness was being proclaimed in Corinth, and it was dividing the church into us and them and proclaiming an ugly message to the unsaved. When you take the bread in the cup in a worthy manner, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes, says the end of verse 26. As Tom Schreiner says, the Lord's Supper communicates a story to the world, a story of sacrificial love in which Jesus gave up his life for the sake of others. This preaching, this proclamation is to last until Jesus comes. Well, what are you and I proclaiming when we gather? Not just the words, of course, but what message do our actions toward other believers reveal about our hearts? Is it more shocking self-centeredness or glorious self-giving? How will we know if we're taking communion in an unworthy manner? Well, by looking at the Corinthians, we'll see a few things. First, that our friends, those who think like us and live like us, probably won't judge us. They're too used to it. And those we're despising and humiliating for being different, probably won't call us out. But God will judge us, unless we first judge ourselves through careful self-examination, repentance, and change. Let's look at the next point, true self-examination. Read with me starting in verse 27, and I'll comment as we go through these verses. Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Paul's saying here, you're not just sinning against each other. If you come ritualistically, indifferently, with an unrepentant heart, a spirit of bitterness, then you are coming with a profaning disrespect for Jesus himself. Verse 28, let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. Now there are two main understandings of without discerning the body. It could mean without understanding that the bread represents the body of Christ that was sacrificed for us. It could also mean that by discriminating against other members of the congregation, they do not perceive the unity of the body of believers. Most commentators that I read noted that either way, in either case, that these people do not recognize the spiritual reality of what's happening at the Lord's Supper, and they're acting in a way that dishonors Christ. The result, verse 30, that is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. Note that two different words are used here for many and for some. This is intentional, it's showing that a large number were suffering physical illness for their sinful attitudes and behaviors, and a smaller number had actually died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned along with the world." This makes it very clear here in this verse that Paul is saying that the Lord will judge us, and in that sense, he's talking to Christians, not the unbelievers, and that the judgment is not one of eternal punishment for sins, but a severe physical punishment to preserve the true message of the Lord's Supper, even if it meant taking a Christian's life. So then, my brothers, when you come together, eat. To eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home. so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come. Okay, you may be asking yourself a number of questions about what these verses mean. How does it apply to you? What should you be doing before you participate in the Lord's Supper? Could you be sick because of taking the bread and the cup in an unworthy manner? Is God overreacting a bit in his punishment? Well, Lars will likely cover some of this next week, but here are a couple of helpful clarifications. And you know what? If we hear him again next week, then according to the famous rule of seven, we only need five more times till we actually retain it. So I say, let's do it. First, is God being too severe? I love how Blomberg answers this question. What Christians ought to ask instead is, why aren't we punished more directly more often? In so doing, God's grace, his undeserved favor lavished on his people, becomes greatly magnified. Let's not slip into the dangerous place of asking God for what we deserve. And remember that God is zealous to protect his holiness in public worship. Uzzah touched the Ark of the Covenant on the cart to steady it, and he died on the spot. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, got creative with their censors and their fire, and they strayed from what they had been told in God's directions, and fire came out from his presence and consumed them. We should be thankful that when we gather to worship, instead of layers and layers and layers of specific worship instructions that are there to keep us safe from God's judgment, we have the blood of Jesus. And all he asks is that when we're celebrating the sacrifice he made, we do it in a worthy manner. Well, what is a worthy manner? The first step is to examine ourselves truly and humbly. What if we've sinned this week? What if we've sinned many times or in some huge way? What if we've sinned in that same way? What if we've been selfish? Unforgiving, mean. Does that mean we should not take the bread and the cup? Well, are you repentant? Are you ready to ask God to forgive your selfishness and to begin giving generously to others because Jesus gave so generously to you? Or is your hand still tightly gripping that cash or that time, whatever it is that's rightfully yours? Are you ready to let go of bitterness and to forgive the person who really did wrong you because you really wronged Jesus and he has forgiven you? Or is your heart still tightly gripping that hurt and anger and the control over being the one to bring retribution? Are you ready to go to the person that you lashed out at to ask for forgiveness because you see that every lash was laid into the back of the Savior for you? Or do you still feel justified? Pretty good about your wrath. Well, there's your answer. If your actions and your attitude show that you're clinging to sin in your life, then do not pretend to honor Christ by taking the bread and the cup. Let it pass until you're ready. The Lord knows, and he would rather you deal with your sin first. If, however, you're grieving your sin, even as you come to the Lord's Supper, then confess and lay all your sin before the Lord. and then partake and show that your confession was real by taking the necessary actions afterward. Be generous, be forgiving, ask for forgiveness. You won't be perfect, but treat others as a sinner who's been saved by nothing but sheer grace. How would that person treat a fellow sinner also saved by grace? If you do that, then you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Let's review together here as we close. We should be shocked at the open self-centeredness and the factions on display while the church at Corinth was together, especially as they took the Lord's Supper. Their gathering together was not for the better, but actually for the worse. Jesus commanded that we share the bread and the cup as a unique and powerful memorial of the new covenant, a remembrance of his glorious self-giving. We can do this in a worthy manner, by true self-examination, repentance, and change. Or we can pretend that all is well with the Lord, and with our Christian relationships, and in so doing eat and drink judgment on ourselves. To show the Lord, even right now, that we take this seriously, I'd like us to pause and do this individually right now. Why would we wait another minute? So please bow your heads with me. This is a time for you to be completely vulnerable before the Lord. It could be that you've never admitted your sins to God before and asked him to search you, to know you, and to forgive you. Do it today. Accept his forgiveness and follow him. That is what it means to be a Christian. Maybe you've done this many times before, but as you look at your heart, there's something you're holding onto. I don't know what you're holding, But pray these words, have the courage to pray these words of David with me silently from Psalm 139. O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me. and know my thoughts, and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Lord, forgive us for thinking that we can hide our sins and our secrets from you. Forgive us for making an outward show of accepting your body, which is for us, while despising our fellow brother and sister with our thoughts, words, and actions. Help us to truly self-examine ourselves each week, as painful as it may be, We want to gather around one body which is for us, being joined together in unity with you and with each other, that we might all together offer ourselves as one body which is for you and for each other. Thank you, Lord, for giving us the Lord's Supper. What a wonderful remembrance. What a wonderful thing for you to institute and leave for us, to gather around Remind us of what your heart is, what your heart is for us and how we are to treat each other in a way that accords with this memorial. And I pray that we would each do what we need to do so that we can come together and experience the joy of unity with you and unity with each other in this special time of the Lord's Supper. I pray that as we go, we would take this to heart be more in line with your glorious self-giving to your glory and our good. We pray in our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ's name. Amen.