Awestruck by the Sovereign LORD

A few points about the Lord’s supper: The problem at Corinth with regard to the Lord’s supper was probably that one group ate before the other group (cf. 1 Cor. 11:21-22). However, the root problem was that of division. Moreover, Paul was not a moralist. In approaching the solution, he did not want people merely to change their behavior. He wanted the divisions to dissolve because of a deeper understanding of the work of Christ. Communing with each other is not about getting a full belly. You can do that on your own (1 Cor. 11:34). In communion, we are to serve each other as Christ has served us. (1 Cor. 11:33, cf. John 13) In communion, we remember who we are in relation to each other. (1 Cor. 11:28-29) The Lord’s supper is not about the bread and wine. The bread and wine serve as a vivid reminder, an object lesson, directing our affections to God and to each other because of what Christ has accomplished. T...

In part 1 and part 2 of this series, we saw that the church at Corinth was divided when it came together to observe the Lord’s supper. The very nature of the Lord’s supper as a remembrance of the sacrificial work of Christ is opposed to such division. In this post, we examine Paul’s warning for the church: Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another-- if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home--so that when yo...

In the last post , we saw that the Corinthian church was coming together to eat the Lord’s upper with divisions among them. Because of this, they’re not actually partaking of the Lord’s supper. Their eating of the Lord’s supper is actually mocking Christ’s work. The work of Christ on the on the cross is about reconciliation. Think of it this way: How great is the divide between Jew and Gentile or a math nerd and police officer? Then how vast is the chasm between the sinner and God? If Christ cannot bring the Jew and Gentile together or the math nerd and police officer together, he cannot bridge the greater trench between the sinner and God. For there to be a division in the church of God slanders the work of Christ. He has bridged the smaller gaps and the largest chasm! Paul writes to them: 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 bod...