1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. Let’s go!
1 Corinthians 11:17-22 (NIV)
17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.
18 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.
19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.
20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat,
21 for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
22 Don’t you have homes 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 praise you for this? Certainly not!
On verses 17-22: Here Paul tackles the next problem he notices in his church in Corinth. It’s that when people ate the Lord’s Supper (also known as communion), they would do it for the wrong reasons. Instead of treating communion as a time to solemnly and thankfully remember Christ’s death on the cross, they treated it as an all you can eat food and drink fest. Instead of waiting for one another and making sure that everyone had a chance to participate, some in the Corinthian church would rush to consume as much of the bread and wine as they could, leaving nothing left over for people who came after them (v21-22).
What can we learn from this? God cares not just that we participate in communion. He also cares about how we participate in it. Your attitude in worship and in church is just as important as your actions. The way we treat others in church is as much a part of how we worship God as the songs we sing, the prayers we pray, the offerings we give and the sacraments (like communion and baptism) that we observe.
1 Corinthians 11:23-28 (NIV)
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24 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.”
25 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.”
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 Therefore, 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.
28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.
On verses 23-28: Paul reminds his readers about the origins and the purpose of communion. He reminds us that it was the Lord Jesus Himself who instituted the sacrament called communion (v23). He reminds us that the purpose of communion is to remember how Christ sacrificed His body (represented by the bread) and shed His blood (represented by the wine) for our sins (v24-25). He reminds us that when we take communion, we are making a statement, proclaiming Jesus’ death and looking forward to His return (v26). When we take communion but forget the purpose behind communion, we sin against Christ’s body and blood (v27). Thus it is important that when we take communion, we examine ourselves to make sure that we are taking communion with the true purposes of communion in mind (v28).
1 Corinthians 11:29-30 (NIV)
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
On verses 29-30: What does it mean to eat and drink “without recognizing the body of the Lord” (v29)? It means to eat the communion elements (the bread and the wine) for the wrong reasons, that is, without having in mind the sacrifice Jesus made of his body and his blood. Paul says that we cut ourselves from God’s blessings when we take communion for the wrong reasons. For example, in verse 30, Paul seems to think that the reason some of the Christians in Corinth had gotten sick and even died is because they did not take communion properly.
1 Corinthians 11:31-32 (NIV)
31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
On verses 31-32: If we examined ourselves a little more and took the initiative to recognize the ways we go astray, confess those sins to God and repent of those sins, we would save ourselves from having to be judged by the Lord for those sins. Keep in mind that the judgment that Paul is talking about in verses 31-32 seems to be about being disciplined as saved children of God rather than about condemned to hell as an unbeliever.
1 Corinthians 11:33-34 (NIV)
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.
34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
On verses 33-34: One of the ongoing themes in 1 Corinthians is the idea that “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” (1 Corinthians 10:24) Whether it’s in how we eat a regular meal (1 Corinthians 10:25-33) or how we behave during communion (as discussed in 1 Corinthians 11), it’s about looking not only to our own interests but the interests of others.
While different churches observe communion differently, the same principle remains: when you take communion, be considerate of one another. See communion as a chance to remember both aspects of the body of Christ: that is, both Christ’s physical body and His body today the church. When you take communion, thank God for sacrificing His body on the cross so that you could be forgiven. At the same time, thank God for making you a part of His body (the church) and adopting you into His family along with other brothers and sisters in Christ.
Holy Spirit, thank You for showing me through Your Word that worship and communion are not just about my actions but also my attitude. May I remember Your body often, both the one you sacrificed on the cross, and the one You let me be a part of today, that is, Your church. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
