Lord's Supper Abuses

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat,  for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter! I Corinthians 11:17-22

Wow. It looks like these Gentile Christians couldn’t get anything right. They even managed to make a mess out of the Lord’s Supper. It is one of the two ordinances of the Church, and is really simple in its symbolism and presentation. These gluttonous drunkards, however, were making a party of the whole thing. Paul wasn't into pious platitudes or feel-good pep talks. This needed correction. He said they should do that at home, not at church.

They were a contentious lot, and there were factions in the congregation, arguing over policies and procedures. They had a customary love feast in connection with the Lord’s Supper, shared a “fellowship” meal, read and wrote communications to other local churches, and collected money for the widows and orphans. Well, the Baptists weren’t the first to turn every church occasion into a party. Christian folks love to eat, and will not pass up an excuse.

People have old sin natures, however, and some of these wealthier folks were eating their meal selfishly and not sharing with the poorer brethren who didn’t have as much. So, essentially, they were tacking the Lord’s Supper onto the end of their pot-luck food fest. Paul didn’t even want to discuss their reasons for this, he just said stop it. Eat your meals at home. The Lord’s Supper is the holiest expression of Christian worship. All four gospel writers recorded it in detail. Paul had received direct instruction, and had taught the Corinthians what it represented.

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. I Corinthians 11:23-26

The symbolism of the elements of the Lord’s Supper teaches deep doctrine.

The bread represents His perfect human body—unleavened—without sin. That perfect body was broken for us in His act of atonement on the cross. The symbolic eating of that body signifies our total faith in His atoning work in that perfect human flesh.

The cup (wine) represents His blood, shed for us as complete payment for our sins. It means His spiritual death on the cross. His atoning death for us was spiritual, and was accomplished before he dismissed His spirit to die physically (It is finished!). He took all our sins in that perfect body, He was separated from the Father (My God!) and the Holy Spirit (My God!) and he screamed in agony over that separation. God cannot have anything to do with sin. The Son had become our sin. Drinking the cup signifies our receiving unto ourselves His atoning blood, which paid the full penalty for our sins.

Jesus’ own order was “do this in remembrance of Me.” We are thereby proclaiming the Lord’s death (the cross!) until He returns. We are not proclaiming that He was a good man, or a fine teacher. We proclaim His Cross! This is heavy stuff, brethren, and must not be entered into lightly or routinely, as an afterthought to a gluttonous meal. We need to examine our own souls for unconfessed sin and make sure we are in fellowship with God before we partake of these precious elements. If we are not taking this ordinance seriously, and practicing it with reverence, we bring discipline on ourselves. Perhaps even sickness or death.

So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.  Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.  But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. I Corinthians 11:27-34

And when I come I will give further directions.

I’m sure they could hardly wait.