The Matter of Table Manners Is What’s the Matter

The Matter of Table Manners Is What’s the Matter
A Communion Sermon
1 Corinthians 11:17-34


Introduction

Last week we looked at the meaning of the incarnation; how Jesus related it to the Jewish Passover feast. He taught his disciples that they would have to- figuratively speaking- eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to have eternal life.

Jesus was clearly not speaking literally; though many assumed that he was, because he went on to say that “…flesh profits nothing [For] it is the Spirit who gives life [And Jesus’] words are Spirit and life” (paraphrase of Jn 6:63). That makes sense when we consider his teaching in the context of John 1:1 and 1:14- that is to say, Jesus is the Word made flesh.

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Mark 4:4)

My point last week was that the bread and wine, which Jesus instituted at the last supper, were meant to be symbols of his Body and Blood which are the seals of the New Covenant. They were never meant to be exalted above Christ as though the standards for coming to Jesus were less then the Standards for coming to the lesser sign.

That would be grave idolatry; the most severe hypocrisy- it makes the Lord’s Supper into a stumbling stone to the grace of God.
I. The Unworthy Manner (Read vv. 17-22)

Paul was unimpressed by the Corinthians’ conduct in taking communion. For one thing, in verse 18 Paul wrote that there were Schismata- divisions among them. A quick overview of the divisions will help us to put this into context. The schismata were not isolated to the Lord’s Supper: Turn back to chapter 1 (read 1:10-12).

Notice that in v. 11 Paul explains that a delegation from the house of Chloe had come to Ephesus to complain about the divisions in the church. There was a party Spirit among the Corinthians and they were all claiming the authority of one person against another: some were of Paul, some were of Apollos, some of Peter and the most spiritual ones, they were of Jesus.

From Chapter 1 to the end of Chapter 6 Paul deals with the issues that were reported to him by the delegation from Chloe’s house. Those issues included:
1. False Wisdom (1:18-4:21);
2. incestuous relationship (5:1-13);
3. Christians suing each other (6:1-11);
4. visiting prostitutes- likely temple prostitutes (6:12-20).

Clearly the issues that Paul deals with in Ch. 1-6, that were reported to him by the group from Chloe’s house, indicate that some so called “Christians” in Corinth were taking their liberty in Christ to perverse excesses.

Now look at Chapter 7:1 “Now concerning the things which you wrote to me….” Having just dealt with the issues that were reported to him by the delegation from Chloe’s house in Ch. 1-6, Paul then attends to the matters that were reported in a letter that he received from another party in Corinth:
1. married people who were becoming celibate and denying their spouses their due affection (7:1-24);
2. the engaged who were deciding not to marry, but they did not have the self control to abstain from improper behaviour (7:25-40);
3. (Read 8:1) there were some in Corinth who were eating meat that had been sacrificed in temples and it was causing some Christians to stumble and fall back into idolatry (Chapter 8:1-10:33);
4. Paul digressed in chapter 9 to discuss his rights as an Apostle, but only to underline his point that Christians must sometimes forsake their rights for the sake of weaker brothers and all this is building up to chapter 13, that our motive in all things is love.

Chapter 11 begins a new section that is dealing with propriety in worship and it continues to the end of chapter 14. The problem with all the division in the church was that it was becoming a stumbling block to proper communion with the Lord as well as the proclamation of the gospel. But the people who were the problem in Chapter 11:17-34 were the same ones as in the previous ten chapters- the Christians, not unbelievers.

Look at v. 20-21 They weren’t concerned about the Lord’s Supper, but their own vanity because when they came together, it was not to eat the Lord’s Supper, but to fill their bellies and get drunk and they were doing it all before the poor Christians could arrive since they lived further from town and it took them longer to get to church.

How unlike the teaching of Jesus who said, “when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind” (Luke 14:12) Remember the King who invited the noble and the highly esteemed citizens to his wedding feast, but they refused, so the King sent his servants out to the highways and the byways to gather the poor, the maimed, the blind and the lame. None who were invited would taste his supper (Matt 22:1-14; Luke 14:17-24).

These divided, idolatrous, proud and self contented Corinthians were gathering together and gorging themselves at the Lord’s Supper all for the sake of mocking the poor and they sought praise from Paul for it “One is hungry and another is drunk… do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? (v. 21b-22).”
Beware of the scribes who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the market places, and the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at the feasts, who devour widows houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation (Lk 20:46-47).

Paul called them on their religious hypocrisy because he counted himself not among the rich, but among the poor: Some were Hungry and the full were proud of it as though they were shaming him because of his poverty (see 4:11).

II. The Instructions to Put Things in Order
So to cure this shocking state of affairs, Paul gives instructions on how to take the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner. Verses 23 and 25 are familiar verses because I read them every communion, but I rarely put them into context and that can be dangerous.

Remember when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper? What was he doing? He was eating a meal! You see, the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament always took place in the context of a meal, not at the altar.

I have to confess here that I fear that if Paul were to walk into our church and see how we took communion, he might have no idea what we were doing. He might even accuse us of idolatry if we were not able to explain to him that it was the Lord’s Supper. I say this to keep us humble and remind you that a lot of what we assume about the Lord’s Supper comes more from tradition then from revelation. (Read vv. 23-25)

This is simple, the bread which is torn represents the broken body of Christ and the wine, which is the juice of squeezed grapes represents the crushed body of Jesus.

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till he comes” (V. 26). This is the whole meaning of the Lord’s Supper. It’s not a disciplinary tool, or the judgment seat for separating the sheep from the goats- only Christ can do that. It is first of all a remembrance of his sacrifice and secondly it is a proclamation that he is coming again.

Why would we ever prevent anyone from being reminded of the broken and crushed sacrifice of our Lord and his promise that he will return again?

But there is a severe warning of chastisement and instruction on how to avoid it and let us not take this lightly: (read V. 27-32).

First of all there is a warning that taking the Lord’s supper in an unworthy manner can lead to serious health problems and even death (27,29,30,32)
But what is the unworthy manner that is being spoken of? Is he talking about the sin life of the individual taking the communion? If that were so, could anyone here claim to be worthy of the body and blood of Christ? “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But God demonstrates His love for us in that while we were still dead in sin, Christ died so that we could have life in him” (Romans 3:23).

The meaning of the phrase “unworthy manner” in verse 27 has to be interpreted by the context, otherwise it is open to all sorts of sundry interpretations. And the context is determined in vv. 17-22: the divisions, the self sufficiency, the gluttony, the arrogance, and the exclusion of the poor- that is the unworthy manner that Paul is referring.

If Paul meant that communion could not be taken by people who are unworthy, he would have used an adjective, but he didn’t he used the adverb “unworthy” in reference to the action- not the person.

This is not just some obscure grammatical matter- it has immense implications because a serious abuse hangs in the balance in the case of its misinterpretation. Yes church discipline must happen- that’s what chapters 1- to 10 are all about. But discipline should never get to the place where it has to happen at the Lord’s Table.

Greek Scholar Gordon Fee, who is probably one of the foremost textual scholars of our time, says this, “Because this passage is read so often in the church outside of Paul’s original context, it is frequently misinterpreted. The wrong interpretation is most unfortunate in this case. It needlessly brings people under condemnation at the Lord’s table, the very place where by faith they should once again be experiencing God’s acceptance!”

Fee explains that the Corinthians manner in taking the meal was unworthy of the Lord’s memory and the proclamation of his return. It was disorderly, selfish, divisive and exclusive. It is a sinful thing to abuse the Lord’s Table that way.

What is the remedy? How do we avoid the chastisement of being made weak, sick or, in some cases, dying? “Let a man examine himself” (v. 28).
3 For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. 5 For each one shall bear his own load. (Gal 6:3-5).

Once we have examined ourselves, confessed our sins and committed to walk in obedience to Christ then we are fit to then take the bread and the cup in the worthy manner which Paul is about to prescribe in vv. 33-34 (Read).

Let’s take this time in silence to examine ourselves and pray with the Psalmist:
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. (Ps 139:23-24).

O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
How pale Thou art with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish, which once was bright as morn!
What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.
What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee.
My Shepherd, now receive me; my Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me, O source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me with words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me to heavenly joys above.