A Sacred Fellowship
October 13, 2024
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
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 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 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. 22 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!
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 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. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 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.
33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
And when I come I will give further directions.
Read 1 Corinthians 11:17-22
1. Describe the tone of verse 17. How is Paul setting up his audience to hear the rest of what he is going to say?
2. Read verse 19 out loud with as much sarcasm as you can produce. How does this affect your understanding of this verse?
3. In your own words, summarize the situation that Paul is addressing. This is important as it affects our understanding of what Paul says further down the page.
Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
1. Paul contrasts the situation in Corinth with a better picture of the Lord’s Supper. What differences do you see?
2. It’s hard to notice in English, but in Paul’s original Greek it is grammatically clear: the ‘you’ is plural, not singular. Read these verses again, replacing “you” with “you all.” Place some emphasis on the “all.” How does this help connect these verses to what Paul was talking about earlier? How does it accentuate the difference between what the Corinthians were doing and the actual purpose of the Lord’s Supper?
Read 1 Corinthians 11:27-32
1. What might Paul mean by eating the bread or drinking the cup in an ‘unworthy manner?’ What might he mean by eating and drinking without ‘discerning the body of Christ?’ How might the preceding verses help us understand what Paul means by these phrases?
2. In view of this, what would it mean for us to ‘examine ourselves’ before participating in the Lord’s Supper?
Read 1 Corinthians 11:33-34
1. Recall verse 21, which suggests that some in Corinth were having a lavish ‘pre-communion meal’ from which some (presumably ‘less-desirables’) were excluded. How does Paul instruct those who were doing that here?
2. What is the heart behind Paul’s instruction?
3. How might we apply the principles in this passage to our own context?