This sermon was preached at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cherry Log GA, on Sunday, August 5th by Rev. Paul Mims.

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

When you visit our nation’s capitol, Washington, D.C., you are reminded of the people who have contributed to our well being in some way through their service or in the giving of their lives for the country. I remember climbing to the top of the Washington Monument when I was a teenager. It was as if we were standing on holy ground in the Lincoln Memorial and read those concepts carved into the walls that were foundational in America’ greatness. All of these places helped me to understand who I am as an American.But there is another memorial that speaks even more deeply to my heart. It tells me who I am as a person. It is the memorial that Jesus instituted to himself to remind the church who we are and what he has done for us. It is the most personal of all memorials. As we observe this memorial today, there are some vital thoughts that each of us should have.

I. WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT THE LORD’S SUPPER TELLS US THAT IT IS A GREAT PRIVILEDGE TO BE A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH. (vv.17-22)

The early church had a wonderful practice called the Agape or Love Feast. It was like our covered dish dinners. The Early Christians would bring what they could and spread it on a table for all to eat of it. It was an expression of common acceptance of all as they ate together. It nurtured the fellowship.

But the church at Corinth was a problem church. They were not truly spiritual and Paul called them a carnal group. The congregation was made up of rich and poor. Some could bring much and some could bring almost nothing at all. At Corinth, the true feeling being brothers and sisters in Christ did not exist. The rich did not share their food with the poor and they ate together in their own little cliques. This caused the social differences in the congregation to be more pronounced. They also had differences about what they saw as the mission of the church. Those who disagreed with the leadership were shut out from participation. There was very little mutual love and understanding. Do you remember the lines:

He drew a circle that shut me out
Rebel, heretic, thing to flout
But Love and I had the wit to win
We drew a circle that took him in.

Some of the other early churches showed the ancient world how to solve many of the social problems of that day for the church was the one place where the barriers of race and class and sex were down. The society of that day was clearly divided into free men and slaves, Greek speaking and barbarians, Jews and Gentiles, Roman citizens and others, educated and uneducated. The church was the one place where all could meet together and be accepted.

A church historian writing about these early Christians congregations said, “Within their own limits they had solved the social problems that baffled the Romans. They lifted women to their rightful place, restored the dignity of labor, abolished beggary, and removed the sting of slavery. The secret of the revolution is that the selfishness of race and class was forgotten in the Supper of the Lord, and a new basis for society was found in love of the visible image of God in men for whom Christ died.”

These things were not true of the Corinthian church. They were a congregation where social and class distinctions not only existed but were fostered. They did not share Communion except with those of their own kind. Those who had been there a long time were not accepting of those who had more recently joined. You can see why Paul did not consider them a spiritual church. They were violating the Spirit of Christ in everything they did. This even carried over into the observance of the Lord’s Supper. They did not distinguish between this and their Love feasts. To them the Lord’s Supper became an occasion where without remembering the true meaning they overindulged and got drunk on the wine and were gluttonous with the bread. They followed their pattern of not giving any to the poor and to those who could not bring bread or wine to the service. Paul said that they brought the judgment of God upon them and that was the reason why some had become sick and some had even died as a result.

In a true church there should not be any class distinctions. Everyone should be accepted as a unique person for whom Christ died. No one has any special rights or privileges above anyone else. The church body has only one source of life and that is in Christ. The ground is level at the cross. This realization prompts in us an understanding of what the Lord expects of his church. The Lord’s Supper tells us who we are as the redeemed of the Lord. It is a special privilege to be a member of redeemed church of our Lord. Every Christian ought to prize their local church membership greatly and magnify it for the cause of Christ.

II. WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT THE LORD’S SUPPER PORTRAYS WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US IN CHRIST. (vv.23-26)

The Lord’s Supper is the single most sacred act of worship that we can offer to God. The greatest thing that God has done for us is expressed in his love demonstrated on the cross. This observance is a memorial to Christ and his redemptive sacrifice.

First Corinthians was written before the gospels and this account of the way in which they observed the memorial is the very first written record of it. It is the earliest recorded words of Jesus in the New Testament. So, no passage in the New Testament is of greater interest to us than this.

The memorial of the Lord’s Supper shows in vivid form what Christ has done for us.

“The Bread” – When Jesus took a loaf of bread and broke it into pieces to give to his disciples he gave thanks and said, “This is my body which is for you: do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus did not mean that it was his actual body or that it would become his actual body. He was then in his actual body. What he meant was, “I want the church to meet and break bread together in a memorial of the cross. This bread is to be a symbol of my body, which was broken from vitality to weakness and death for you. It is in this body that God came to you. It is in this body that God dwelt among you. It is in this body that I taught you. It is in this body that my Father was able to express his love for you by sending me. It is in this body that I will die for you. It is in this body that I will be buried for you. It is in this body that I will be resurrected for you. It is in this body that I will appear to you. It is in my resurrected body that I will ascend back to the Father. So, this bread will remind you of me and what I have done for you.”

“This Cup” – “In the same way he took the cup saying, ‘This Cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’”

A cup of wine became a memorial to Jesus. Jesus did not suggest that followers drink blood as Christians have been accused of doing. The cup of wine became a symbol of the new covenant that God was making with believers. Jesus was saying, “The old covenant that God had with man had been based on the Law of Moses. I have opened a new avenue to God that is not dependent on keeping the law, but on love and free grace. Under the old covenant all you could do was to try to please the Father by keeping the Law and you were always failing. Under the new covenant you come to God as a child to his father. As you enjoy this new relationship to the Father, I want you to know that it cost me my life. The wine in the cup will remind you of my blood that was shed for you. It will be a memorial by which you will remember me and what I have done for you.”

III. WE MUST UNDERSTAND THAT TO PARTAKE OF THE LORD’S SUPPER REQUIRES PERSONAL PREPARATION. (vv.27-34)

“Therefore anyone who 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.”

We recognize that all of us are unworthy before the holiness of the Lord. But what is addressed here is the unworthy manner and attitude with which we view Holy Communion. If we had to wait until we felt worthy we likely would never observe the memorial. Let’s look at what is unworthy of us.

It is unworthy to partake of this memorial with un-confessed sin in our lives. Communion is a time of taking stock of ourselves and confessing all known sin. If you have a sin that you are not willing to repent of and turn from – do not take communion until you do.

It is unworthy to be a part of divisions within the church. There must be no thought of class distinctions. If there is broken fellowship between you and any other person in the body of Christ, you should not take communion you have tried to make it right. Communion is a time when the church is purified. Paul said, “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the Bread and drinks of the Cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the Body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

It is unworthy to take communion without a renewal of your vows to the Lord in rededicating your life to him. If you are not willing to live for the Lord and serve him it is a mockery to pretend that you do. A cold and half-hearted response made in a perfunctory way to God is unworthy of this memorial.

Have you ever stood before the memorial to the service men and women who died in the Viet Nam war? It is a large granite wall with 58,000 names carved on it. One day I stood there and watched families and friends search for the name of their loved one. They would lovingly touch the name and some would weep. They would talk of the kind of person he was. I heard of one soldier who found the name of his friend and stood there touching his name and saying, “This man died for me. He saved my life.”

As we come to the memorial today of our Lord’s Supper, let us each remember that “He died for me.”PRAISE BE TO HIS NAME!