First Corinthians 11 Part 4 Pagan Customs Corrupt The Lord's Supper
Wrongly observing Christ's sacrifice was due to divisions in the church.
1 Corinthians 11:17-19 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18) For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 19) For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
In the context of addressing problems with observing the Lord's Supper, Paul establishes that this is a major issue causing division at Corinth.
So far, this is the third time the apostle has rebuked them for division and discord within the church.
He has rebuked them for not dealing with sexual immorality and for filing lawsuits against each other in civil courts.
He has given them instruction and principles for Christian marriage to follow because some still practiced marriage as the pagans did.
Paul taught them about proper use of Christian liberty with regard to meats offered to idols.
Liberty is not a license to sin and it is subject to the conscience of a weaker brother.
In some ways it is hard to comprehend how one church could have so many different kinds of problems.
It helps to remember that most of the converts to Christ at Corinth were save out of an idolatrous culture.
Pagan religion was nothing at all like faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, so all new believers in Christ had much to learn about their faith.
Eating a meal and remembering Christ's sacrifice were mixed together.
1 Corinthians 11:20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.
There are two problems Paul must address.
First is mingling a shared a meal together as a church family, known as a love feast, with the Lord's Supper known as communion.
These are two distinct things.
One centers around Christian fellowship and mutual ministry by sharing a meal together.
Second was the people splitting into sects because of the divisions within the church at Corinth.
One group had hard feelings toward another group because they did not follow the same man.
The early church shared meals together each day with great joy.
Acts 2:46-47 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47) Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The love feast as it is sometimes called, was first done in the early church. The first converts to Christ were happy and blessed in their salvation.
They loved each other and much mutual ministry occurred. Those who had more resources assisted those who had less.
They took great joy in meeting together as believers in Christ and sharing a meal together, going from one house to another house each day.
Thus the poor were ministered to and shared in the meal equally with the wealthy.
It was a common meal noted for selfless sharing so that the whole church family may benefit.
Matthew 26:26-29 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. 27) And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; 28) For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29) But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
The other is a sober reflection of the cost of our redemption where the bread and wine remind us of the sacrifice of Christ for us.
Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper or communion as we typically know it.
The bread He gave was a symbol of His bodily sufferings and death for us.
The cup of wine He gave them to drink was a symbol of His blood that would be shed as the payment for our sins (See Acts 20:28).
We must remember that Jesus Christ is the perfect Lamb of God (See John 1:29). He is the One who fulfills all that the Passover Lamb typified.
He was without spot according to God's law. He was slain to redeem us and His blood must be applied to each individual, or they will die in their sins.
The Corinthians had mingled both observances together and this brought some degree of corruption to remembering Christ's saving work.
It made a holy observance of Christ's sacrifice on the same level as a common meal.
Gluttony, drunkenness and selfishness marked the Corinthian feast.
1 Corinthians 11:21-22 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22) What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
Paul strongly rebukes them for acting disorderly regarding the Lord's Supper.
Some were famished and devoured their food like gluttons. Others drank too much wine and became drunk.
Such behavior is more in line with the debauchery of the pagan feasts.
Paul reprimands them, telling them to keep such unseemly conduct in the privacy of their homes, so that the church is not adversely affected.
Sober words of strong condemnation "I praise you not" from the apostle Paul.
God provides for the poor, widows, fatherless and strangers.
Leviticus 19:9-10 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10) And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.
God's law makes provision for the poor, the widows and the fatherless of the land.
His provision was a command to farmers not to reap into the corners of their fields, so that there is some grain left for the poor, widows and fatherless to harvest.
In like manner, those who grew grapes or figs or nuts or other fruits were not to harvest every single one. They were commanded to leave some on the vine or trees for the needy ones.
Deuteronomy 24:19-21 When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands. 20) When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21) When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
Again, God's law forbids a farmer going back to retrieve a sheaf of wheat, oats or barley if he forgot some. God said they must be left for the widows and fatherless and strangers.
In like manner, when they beat the olive trees to make the ripened fruit to fall, farmers were not to do it a second time. Whatever was left on the tree was for the poor and needy.
These specific heart attitudes were violated by the way that wealthy Corinthians ate their own food and drank their own wine first. It was a sin to keep the poorer Christians out while they ate.
I find the Puritan Matthew Henry's comment about this situation to be very helpful.
"Heathens used to drink plentifully at their feasts upon their sacrifices. Many of the wealthier Corinthians seem to have taken the same liberty at the Lord's table, or at least at their love-feasts, that were annexed to the supper.
They would not stay for one another; the rich despised the poor, and ate and drank up the provisions they themselves brought, before the poor were allowed to partake; and thus some wanted, while others had more than enough.
This was profaning a sacred institution, and corrupting a divine ordinance, to the last degree.
What was appointed to feed the soul was employed to feed their lusts and passions.
What should have been a bond of mutual amity and affection was made an instrument of discord and disunion.
The poor were deprived of the food prepared for them, and the rich turned a feast of charity into a debauch. This was scandalous irregularity."
Unequal treatment of believers in the church is a sin issue.
James 2:1-5 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2) For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3) And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4) Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? 5) Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
James rebuked some Christians for showing partiality toward the wealthy. Those who had nice clothing were treated with more respect than a poor person who came to worship.
This is wrong and the Corinthians who were wealthy were guilty of eating and drinking first all the food and wine that they supplied. The poor were lucky to get leftovers of inferior quality.
God calls the lowly and oppressed so that He alone receives glory.
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29) That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30) But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Paul already spoke about guarding against showing favoritism in the church.
He reminded the Corinthians that not many who were full of the world's wisdom and ways, came to faith in Christ.
Not very many of the upper classes responded to the gospel of Christ.
However, the poor, those without many resources and with little standing in the eyes of society, did respond gladly to the gospel.
This is why the apostle spoke strongly against the corrupted celebration of the Corinthians.
Reverence and respect for God is seen when we obey His Word.
Psalm 89:7 God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.
Leviticus 19:30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.
These two texts highlight what was wrong with the Corinthians love feast and Lord's Supper observances.
Pagan elements corrupted them and God's intent of all believers having equality in Christ was subverted.
This is why Paul speaks so strongly about it.
Let us hear what God is saying to us and seek to live out these precious truths.
Let us ask the Lord to protect us from having wrong attitudes like the Corinthians had.
Let us love our Lord with all of our being, and may we give Jehovah the honor due unto His name in all things.
Bob
Comments
Post a Comment