Grace Christian Fellowship: Christian Teachings from 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 11 "For the Better"

Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. (1Corinthians 11:17-22)

The church of God is a gathering together of those who are called by His Son's name, Jesus Christ. When we come together with other Christians we are the church. The Greek word for church, means "a gathering". In the church that I grew up in there was a high steeple and in the top of the steeple a bell. Every Sunday morning we would ring that bell to call people to worship and everyone in our town could hear it. The ones who answer the call and come together to worship God are the church. Of course in the early days of Christianity they did not have any beautiful buildings or chapels or cathedrals. They simply gathered wherever they could. They could worship God in any place where two or three could meet. Can you worship God by yourself? Of course you can, there are prisoners who have worshiped in isolation for years. It is possible to be a Christian all by yourself without any others to support you. But it is not possible to be a church by yourself. What is a church? Why do we keep coming week after week? What is so important about all these people? Why can’t I just have a private relationship between Jesus and myself and forget about the church? Let’s use Paul’s criticism of the Corinthian churches’ shortcomings to show us what a church really should be.

Paul was disappointed with the Corinthian church because when they gathered together it was not for better but for worse. This gives us another clue as to what the church should be doing when it meets. Not only do we worship God but there is another purpose for meeting together. When we gather it is a time to build each other up in faith. Paul teaches later on in his letter, "Whenever you come together (have church) each of you has psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. (building each other up) (1Cor. 14:26) God has designed His church in a marvelous way. No one person has everything that a Christian needs to fully experience God. Some are able to sing beautifully but others cannot. Some are able to teach profoundly but for others it would be torture to stand up and speak in front of people. Some speak in tongues but for others it is quite unnatural. And yet each of these things done in the right way builds up those who listen as well as those who are taking part. The simple fact is that if we are to be fully worshipping God in spirit and in truth, we need each other!

Paul takes it even further when he calls the church, the body of Christ. We are all connected to the head, which is Christ and then "joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Eph 4:16) Each joint, each part, supplies something. Every member of the church doing his or her share is what causes everyone in the church to grow, both in size and in strength. As we go through the next few chapters of 1st Corinthians together we are going to look at how this works in greater detail. Each one of us has special gifts from the Lord to share with everyone else. These gifts are incredibly diverse. It could be a special ability that you have, or something like a great love for children, or a unique experience in your life. It can be a great smile that brightens other’s day for them or it could be a willingness to serve. It doesn’t really matter as long as you use what God has given to you to build up His church.

Now what could be worse in a body than to have divisions? That is what Paul heard was happening in Corinth. Some people no longer wanted to have anything to do with other people. Now we learned before that someone who calls themselves a Christian but is walking totally contrary to God’s way should not be allowed to just keep playing games. They have to make a choice, either to repent and walk away from sin or lose fellowship with other believers. But that is not what Paul is talking about here. He is not talking about the difference between genuine followers of Christ and those who are just pretending. What made Paul so frustrated was that these were Christians who refused to be with other Christians, not because they were heretical or teaching false doctrines or living in sin, but simply because they weren’t like them. It was at its worst when the different groups in Corinth would get together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Like our love feasts once in a while they would all come together and each person would bring something to share with the rest and sometime during the meal they would eat of the bread and drink of the cup in remembrance of what Jesus did on the cross. However, something terrible was happening. You see one of the groups that attended was from the wealthier part of town. They enjoyed the choice cuts of meat and finer wines and fruit and of course these things cost more money. So someone came up with the bright idea that they could show up to the supper early. They would start and finish the good food with their little group before the rest of the rabble showed up with their common food. Well, after one time of this the other groups caught on and each group started thinking that they better eat what they brought or else they might not get any. In the end it turned out that there were some poorer people who did not have anything to bring who ended up going hungry because no one was willing to share. To add insult to injury there were even some people who had so much that they were drunk when others had none at all. And then after all of this selfishness, each group would line up to take of bread and the cup in communion with Jesus Christ. Paul puts it very bluntly, "What you are doing is not communion!" You might be going through the motions but you don’t even understand what it means!

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. (1Corinthians 11:23-26)

When we eat of the bread and drink of the cup, we proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. We proclaim to the world that Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross and killed as a criminal even though He did nothing wrong. We proclaim that He did this for us, to pay the price for our sins and to set us free so that we can walk in newness of life. We proclaim that He did this not only for us but for the sins of everyone in the world. We do this in remembrance of what He gave and how He forgives. How can we do this if we are not willing to give? How can we do this if we are not willing to forgive? Jesus told the story of a man who owed a mountain of debt and was to be thrown in prison because he could not pay it back. In a final last chance attempt he went to the man he owed and begged for forgiveness and that man had mercy on him and released him from his whole debt. However, later on that same day the same man went and found another man who owed him money and demanded to have it back, threatening to have that man thrown in prison, even though the amount was nothing compared to what he himself had owed. What has anyone done to you compared to the weight of sin that Jesus has forgiven you? If Jesus has shown that much grace to you, why can’t you show more grace to others?

I think there are two kinds of Christians who don’t go to church. The first are those who don’t want to give. They think that the church is just after their money, or they don’t want to give up their other activities or they are afraid that they might have to do something to help out. It only shows that they don’t understand the cross. I have never given more to God than I have received. God has never once been in my debt. The trade imbalance between the kingdom of heaven and my personal estate is so one-sided that I would be ashamed to have the records examined. The more you give of the good gifts that God has given you, the more you will be built up along with everyone else.

The second kind of Christians who won’t go to church are those who are not willing to forgive. Somewhere, they got hurt because someone at church did not treat them well. They think that if the church were only more like what the Bible says and if people really did what Jesus taught then they would go, but since church is full of hypocrites then they are better off just staying at home. Of course they are absolutely right about Christians not doing what the Bible says and not doing what Jesus taught. The church is full of imperfect people who are only there by the grace of God. If you come regularly to church I guarantee that someday you will be hurt. It is just a matter of time. But then you have the choice to either forgive that person, as Jesus forgave you, or to hold onto that hurt and allow it to become bitterness in your heart and eventually drive you away from God and His people.

God has designed His church in such a way that if you want to be a part of it you need to act like Jesus. You have to give. You cannot only come to church thinking what you can get out of it for yourself. You have to sacrifice your own comfort for that of others. If you don’t then even though you might come to the building and go through the motions, even though you might eat the bread and drink of the cup, you are not really in church. You also have to forgive. God designed it so that the only way you can grow as a Christian is to be forced to be with all those other imperfect people. At church you will be given plenty of opportunities to forgive. Each one is a chance for you to become more like Christ who forgave us all.

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat that bread and drink of that cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come. (1 Corinthians 11:25-34)

Each month we celebrate the Lord’s death on the cross by taking communion together. We eat of the bread that Jesus said, "This is My body which is broken for you;" and drink of the cup of which He said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood." We do it in remembrance of Him. Paul gives each Christian a serious warning here. "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat that bread and drink of that cup." We each need to examine our conduct as compared with what Jesus did on the cross. Are we giving to our brothers and sisters in Christ or are we more interested in what we can get from them? Are we forgiving of those who offend us, or do we hold onto our hurts and become bitter? If you find that you are not acting as Jesus did, then there is only one thing to do. There is only one worthy way to come to the cross. Drop to your knees and repent of your sin and learn once again firsthand how much He has given you and the miracle of His amazing grace.

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