1 Corinthians 11:17-34

 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

You may have heard the saying, “If you can't take care of nice things, then you can't have them.” It seems that the Corinthians were ruining everything. Paul addresses their gross failure at the Lord's Supper in this passage. In the early church the Lord's Supper was associated with a common meal. It bound the church together and had the practical effect of feeding their poor. But at Corinth it became an occasion for division, this time between rich and poor. In some cases the wealthy ate to excess while snubbing the poor who had little or nothing to eat. Apparently some took their meal first and then left the assembly. We can see every abuse of the Lord's Supper at Corinth. 

Paul points out that as a result of their behavior, judgment had fallen on them; some were weak, some were sick, and some had died. We can't be sure if these are descriptions of physical or spiritual conditions or both. For our part, we can know that the Christians and the congregation that observe the Lord's Supper faithfully and sincerely will be stronger and more fit to live their lives as disciples.

There are 7 ‘tive’ words that describe the power and the impact of the Lord's Supper.

It is retrospective in that in the Lord's Supper we look back at His passion with all of its horror and beauty.

It gives us a perspective; in it, we look forward to the Lord’s coming, bringing His reward with him.

It is introspective; we examine our own hearts and lives. Jesus commanded us to love God and our neighbor. We weekly fail to do this perfectly and are therefore in need of God's great mercy.

It is commemorative; Mount Rushmore will crumble to dust before the memorial of the Lord's Supper ends. Instead of reminding us only of our failures, we are also reminded of his forgiveness. Think of it: every week for over 103,000 weeks, the victory over sin, death, and evil has been commemorated in the Lord's Supper.

It is instructive; there is here a sermon of grand simplicity and elegance. By the bread and wine we proclaim the Lord's death. One of the fads that swept through the church in the late twentieth century was the ‘drama ministry.’. That was no new thing. Rather, every Lord's Supper is a dramatic presentation,in  which we live and in which we participate.

It is corrective; if we examine ourselves faithfully, there will be a correcting effect of the Lord's Supper. If we take it seriously, it will either remove sin from us or will cause us to remove ourselves from the Lord’s Table if we are unwilling to repent.

It is separative: every activity of the church life can be faked. Taking the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner or with the correct judgment cannot be counterfeited. It will result in renewal or result in damnation. The Lord's Supper is a great dividing line.

The problem is not that we take the Lord's Supper too often; it is that we take the Lord's Supper too lightly. Some churches offer it infrequently, hoping to keep it special. It takes effort to prepare for the Lord's Supper, and that's not just putting out some crackers and juice. In some churches the whole of the Lord's Supper takes five minutes or less, almost as if it is an afterthought. In some churches it is done without any thought or preparation. Sometimes we stuff the Lord’s Supper into our busy worship schedule like it was an awkward cousin at a family reunion we can’t keep out but don’t know what to do with. Our focus has become the sermon, the song, the video, or the latest fad. It is a small wonder we participate in the Lord's Supper so poorly.

The early church focused the worship gathering on the Lord's Supper. So much so that eventually the communion table, or altar, became the very center of the church building. The Reformation added a much-needed emphasis on the word of God, study and preaching. Eventually the pulpit became the center of the church building. The seeker-driven and church growth movement wanted to connect with those outside the church so that music, light, and presentation became its hallmark, and at the center of the church there is a stage; at the center of the stage was the guitar stand. Each development was taken in reaction to their existing church. Instead, what we need to do is make Jesus the center, the person that we celebrate in the Lord's Supper. We lose much of the power of our lives as disciples when we fail to do this.

“Lord, help me to approach the worship of communion with a heart completely given to you.  AMEN”

1 Corinthians 11:1-16

 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

This passage, without a doubt, challenges us in terms of contemporary discipleship. Taken by itself this passage will lead to arguments over hats in church and the literalness of interpretation. But often these arguments are made from translations, not from the original text. So how do we avoid getting lost in the weeds and avoid arguing over whether a woman should wear a lace doily on her head? To understand this passage, we must remember the church and the culture at Corinth. The church was bitterly divided, arrogant, and proud of its knowledge. It was highly sexualized and tended toward libertarian attitudes. In short, it reflected its heathen culture more than Christ.

The city of Corinth was highly sexualized and overrun with prostitution. The references to the hair in this passage must be taken in that context. Why was it shameful for men to have long hair? Because feminization of themselves was how male prostitutes (or transvestites) plied their trade. They were attempting to be what God didn’t make them to be. In the second century the church fathers went so far as to codify haircuts so that men did not wear women’s hairstyles. Fashion in Corinth was especially driven by temple prostitutes who cut their hair distinctly or shaved it to look like a little boy. In short, Paul is saying, when you speak the word of God, when you represent the King of Heaven, don’t look like a sexual deviant. Many Corinthians came out of this sexualized, polluted world and apparently still held to some of those customs. Paul is not ordering a specific type of dress for Christians; we are indeed free. But that freedom has a limit, and that limit excludes looking as if we were committed to a different god. 

But there’s another issue here. Paul is advocating that Christians conform to their God-given roles. While asserting the equality and interdependence of men and women, husbands and wives, Paul points out that they have different roles. In the same way that God is the head of Christ, equal, loving, and united in purpose but with different roles, the man is the head of the wife or the woman. To determine if this is a statement of superiority, ask how long the head severed from its body will survive. The issue is about roles, not rules. The root issue is submission to God’s ordained order and authority, but it is manifested in appearance. Rather than gratuitous sexual anarchy where everyone determines their own sexual ethic, we are supposed to subject ourselves to God’s order. When this happens, He is glorified in our lives, and we are filled with His peace.

“Lord, let all aspects of my life reflect love, respect and most of all submission to You. AMEN”