Dwell in the Word 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Consider these questions as you dwell in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34:

1. How does Paul emphasize the seriousness and importance of observing the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11? What are the consequences he warns about for those who partake without discernment?

2. Paul underscores the need for self-examination before participating in the Lord's Supper. What practical steps can individuals take to engage in meaningful self-reflection and preparation for this sacrament?

3. The discipline of God is presented as a positive and corrective force in the lives of believers. How can we view God's discipline as an expression of His love and desire for our spiritual growth and holiness? How does this perspective impact our approach to the Lord's Supper?

Transcript:

 Boy, this, this church in Corinth has more issues than, than we can keep track of here, right? Now, all of a sudden, Paul is having to set them straight on the Lord's Supper. And notice what he says. I didn't highlight it here for those of you watching on video, but, but verse 20, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat.

In other words, Paul is saying, what you're doing here when you partake in the Lord's Supper, Makes it so that you're, you're dishonoring what is being done. It's not, it's not even the important thing that you are called to do in remembrance of Christ. It's not even the same thing because somebody's going hungry, somebody else is getting drunk.

And you gotta love, love what he says here. Do you not have houses to eat in, eat and drink in? Don't you people have homes? Uh.  This is a very serious issue for Paul. And so, he's going to make sure that they understand the correct way to observe the Lord's Supper. And so, he gives them the words of institution here.

And we know these. We hear them when we partake of the Lord's Supper. 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 it in remembrance of me.

Same with the cup. New covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. And then the important Uh line here that I really want us to focus on I’ll go back to what I just said But verse 26 for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the lord's death until he comes  This is obviously important.

If, if when we observe the Lord's Supper, we are proclaiming Christ's death until he comes, this is an important thing and we should understand the gravity that happens when we, when we take the Lord's Supper. This isn't a flippant meal. This, this is something that is important and Paul wants them to get it right.

And so, we should think about this should. About how we can get it right because it is a testimony To what Jesus has done for us. We proclaim his death when we partake in it And so what does Paul say verse 28 let a person examine himself them and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup  We need to examine ourselves before we take the Lord's Supper and we try to do that And you know and before we take it  We examine ourselves in, in the prayer of confession, but we should be thinking about when the Lord's Supper is coming up.

Um, are we taking it rightly? Is there something that we need to take care of in our lives? Before we partake in the Lord's Supper. And notice what it says, and this, this is heavy. Verse 29. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. It's not me drinking judgment on you if I'm Doing something and I'm partaking it.

It's all about ourselves. We need to examine ourselves. This is important. Do we understand what we are doing here? We need to be truly taking this to heart Because it matters where our lives are at a while. We take the Lord's Supper. We should be examining ourselves and Desiring to conform our lives to God's law to God's will for our lives and notice what it says that Paul says that hey Some people among you are weak and ill, some have died, all because they have mishandled the way they partake in the Lord's Supper.

And that's pretty serious. Now, we can say, oh, that doesn't happen. Now, we should remember that if Paul says that this is the case, That this can be, if things don't happen to us, this is an act of God's mercy towards us. That God is restraining this from us. He, He used it then and He may still use it now, I'm not saying He does not.

But the fact that if we incorrectly observe the Lord's Supper, to not be judged is an act of mercy on God's behalf, and we should not take that lightly.  We should be thinking, how then can I change my life? How can I conform my life to God's will? How can I pursue holiness? Because, verse 32, but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

Now you and I, we hear the word disciplined and we think, go into the principal's office because we got in trouble. Or, uh, we think our parents disciplining us for, for being naughty.  But. How is this used here? Think about this for a minute. Paul is saying, it is a good thing to be disciplined. You know, you may have, um, told uh, someone else, or you may have told your own children, look, it's a good thing the coach is yelling at you.

That means, that means that they, they want you, they think that you can improve. If they stop yelling at you, then that's, that's a problem, they've given up on you. Well, the discipline that God gives us.  This discipline, Paul sees as a good thing, that if God disciplines us, it is driving us to repentance, so that, so that we won't be condemned along with the world.

And so may we be taking this seriously. That's, that's the application for us today. How seriously do we take the eating and drinking that we do in the Lord's Supper? Are we considering our lives truly? Are we desiring to repent? Are we pursuing holiness? And as I always say, we don't have a category for holiness, um, in, uh, very well in our culture.

Um, it's hard for us to know what we do. We, we like to instead think about the things that we're doing better than other people. And so, we're doing okay in God's book because we're not as bad as other people. But the call in our lives isn't to do better than somebody else. The call in our lives is holiness, and that's a humbling thing.

We need to be thinking about that. And so, may God use our observance of the Lord's Supper.  May he use the observance of the Lord's Supper to give us a reminder and to work his himself in us because we believe that God works through the means of grace that is the sacrament.  And so may God use that to drive us to holiness, to help us to understand that and to pursue it.

Because we know that God loves us and he wants us to be there. He wants us to grow in holiness and in faith. So, as we prepare to take the Lord's Supper, we're going to be participating in it this Sunday, but whenever you might listen to this, next time you come to observe the Lord's Supper, may you truly think about these words.

May we examine ourselves and then eat the bread and drink the cup, trusting that God will be at work in it through his word and the power of the Holy Spirit.