The Lord's Table

Untangling the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Table, and Communion — and rediscovering what it means to remember Him

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 11:17–34

If you’ll turn your Bibles with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 — if you recall, I said before we would start our new series, our union with Christ, due to being on vacation with only a week in between, I wanted to take a look at what is commonly known as the two ordinances of the New Testament. Baptism — usually when that is said, it’s water baptism — and then the Lord’s Table. And so we covered two Sundays ago the issue of the one baptism, and now we’re going to take a look at the Lord’s Table.

And again, I am approaching these as if to win you over. Although I believe, fairly common in our understanding of these things as a local church, I want to address them as if I’m presenting it to you for the very first time, to have you see the Scriptures, to have things progressively revealed as we look at the Scriptures, that you would come to your own persuasion, and hopefully we would join together in all of it.

So I want to start here by reading a fairly long section of 1 Corinthians 11, starting in verse 17 down to verse 34. We’ll have a word of prayer, and then we’re going to be all over the place this morning. So hopefully your fingers are warmed up.

1 Corinthians 11, starting in verse 17, Paul writes:

“Now in this that I declare unto you, I praise you not, that you come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you, and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. When ye come together, therefore, into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in eating, everyone taketh before other his own supper. And one is hungry, and another is drunken. 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. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it and said, Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you, this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, and when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood, this do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me. For as oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till ye come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause, many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home, that ye come not together unto condemnation, and the rest will I set in order when I come.”

Opening Prayer

Father, I pray that as we look at this issue, we would look at Your Word and be persuaded and convinced by what Your Word says. And that we would be mindful of tradition, and if tradition be found wanting, then we ought to ascribe to Your Word. And so, Father, we thank You for the opportunity to look at these things in the spirit of Your grace and in meekness and gentleness. It’s in Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

What Do We Call It? Confusion Over the Terms

Again, as I stated two Sundays ago, um, the common evangelical broad umbrella, there is a way in which the Lord’s Table is viewed and understood as an ordinance, as something that is ceremonially done in the church. And there’s a lot of, just like baptism, there’s oftentimes a lot of confusion that surrounds it. In fact, even in regards to what to call it. Do we call it the Lord’s Supper? Do we call it the Lord’s Table? Do we call it Communion?

There’s confusion in regards to what is the meaning and the significance behind it. Is it actually turning into the body of Jesus Christ in some mystical way when we eat it? And is the wine or the juice mystically turning into the blood of Christ? And is that the means by which we are conformed into the image of Christ? The same essential elements are presented, but the meaning and the teaching and the doctrine behind it is wholly different.

And so what is true? How are we supposed to view these things? And so I want to look at it. First of all, I want you to see that these three terms are in the Scripture: the Lord’s Table, the Lord’s Supper, Communion.

Three Terms in 1 Corinthians 11 and 10

Look here at 1 Corinthians 11 and come down to verse 20. He says, “...when ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s...” what? Now, a supper is a meal. That’s what supper is. There’s partaking of food. That’s also evident within the context.

Now, it can be confusing because, of course, as we’ll look back at the Gospels, the night in which the Lord was betrayed, they were having a Passover meal, but then they also partook in the bread and the cup. And so, oftentimes those things get conflated. They get conflated in view of what’s happening the night in which the Lord is betrayed and that Passover meal, and then the bread and the cup being brought up there. And there can be confusion in regards to this passage in 1 Corinthians 11 because he brings up the bread and the cup in the context of a meal.

But I want you to see something real quick, and we’ll touch on this a little bit later. Look what he says in the very next verse. Look at verse 20 again. He says, when ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. And what I want you to see, it’s evident that they’re having a meal together. And he says, when you gather into one place, you’re not having the Lord’s supper. You’re having a supper. It’s just not the Lord’s. And we have to ask, well, what does that even mean?

But look at the next verse. He says, “for in eating, everyone take before others his own supper.” That proposition right there tells you somewhat of what the Lord’s Supper is and what it’s not. In eating, you’re doing something that doesn’t reflect the Lord. And so he goes on to say, you’re having your own supper. It’s not the Lord’s. It’s your own. And then he says, and one is hungry and another is drunken. This meal that they’re having is not considering one another. It’s considering themselves.

So, in 1 Corinthians 11, just to highlight one, the terminology of the Lord’s Supper is there. It’s there, but it’s in the context of a meal. It’s in the context of a meal. We’ll see that more as we go on. You don’t get drunk off of a little sip like the Lord did the night in which He was betrayed, and you don’t get full off of breaking just a little piece of bread and leave others hungry. That’s why He tells them to go eat at home if you’re hungry. And so, He’s bringing up that, and we see that terminology.

Come back to one chapter, to chapter 10. Look at 1 Corinthians 10. And for time’s sake, just look at v. 16.

“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”

There we see the term communion. This is translated other places. Earlier on in 1 Corinthians 1, it’s fellowship. Very similar terms, fellowship and communion. And it’s in connection with the body of Christ and the blood of Christ that is blessed and that is broken.

And then jump down to verse 21. And he says, He cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of devils. Now what is he talking about in this context? Back up to verse 14. He says, Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from what? Idolatry.

Now, a few chapters earlier, and what he’s going to go on and describe in verse 23 and following, is that the idol that is there in their midst with the Gentiles is nothing. And that the meat sacrificed to the idol is nothing. And so if you eat the meat that’s offered and sacrificed to the idol, it’s not idolatry. And so what does he mean here?

Well, he’s talking about things spiritually. He’s talking about the issue of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the broken body of the Lord that we bless, that we see, and that we highlight, and that we believe in. And that becomes very instructive to us. And that which is done outside of that, an embracing of the world where the devils are, and the wisdom of the devils, and the seducing spirits, and the doctrines of the devils — that if we operate based upon that, then we’re partaking at the table of devils, even though we belong to the Lord. It’s very graphic, grave terminology that he’s using here.

There’s no — as he’s going to bring up in 2 Corinthians, because they’re still having a problem with this — when he says, be not unequally yoked with the unbeliever. And he says, what fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness? It’s not like there’s some in-between. Light and darkness, there’s no in-between. Yeah, sure, we can say, oh, we can dim our lights and get it really close to dark, but no, there’s still light. There’s no in-between.

And so too does he maintain that sharp contrast here when he says there’s the table of devils and there’s the table of the Lord, the Lord’s table. And it’s not the issue here of eating bread or drinking wine or juice. It’s the issue of what do you believe and what are you going after. And the issue is you need to flee from idolatry. You need to flee from the things of the world that the adversary propagates and seeks to use to conform you. Otherwise, you might be one that’s in the Lord, but you’re partaking of devils.

And so he comes along and brings those things up, but nonetheless uses the Lord’s table. So we’ve seen communion, we’ve seen the Lord’s table, and we’ve seen the Lord’s supper used. And both in context to communion and the table and the supper, there’s a contrast to communion and something else. There’s another table and there’s another supper. And in these contexts, you can have communion in the same location and yet be in contrast one with another. You can be partaking — there can be a table in the same geographical location at the same event, and yet it’s two different tables. And there can be a supper that’s being had, and it’s two different suppers.

And so again, we start hopefully, start thinking outside the realm of tradition, and start seeing what is being addressed.

The Gospel Accounts: Matthew, Mark, and Luke

So let’s go back to the Gospel accounts. I want us to go through these passages really quick. Matthew 26. Matthew 26, and look at v. 26. They make ready for the Passover. In v. 19, He describes that there’s going to be one that betrays Him, in v. 21. And then in v. 26, it says:

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it and break it and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat, this is My body.”

Now is that literally His body? No, of course not. His body’s holding the bread, right? So we know there’s obviously some symbolism here, and I want you to see what I think that symbolism is. Well, one, it’s His body, right? It’s symbolizing His body. And then He breaks it. And that’s what His body is going to go through — a breaking.

And then in v. 27 it says:

“And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

Sins and the forgiveness of sins, the remission of sins, is connected with the blood of Jesus Christ and the New Testament. Verse 29 — now that’s an important verse to highlight some timing that we’ll take a look at here in a moment.

Come with me over to Mark’s Gospel. Look at Mark 14 and look at verse 22. Mark 14 and verse 22. We’re just grabbing the passages in the Gospel accounts in which Paul is referring to in 1 Corinthians 11. Mark 14, look at verse 22. The same flow — there’s a betrayal in v. 21, and then in v. 22:

“And as they did eat, Jesus took bread and blessed it and break it and gave it to them and said, take, eat, this is My body. And He took the cup and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them and they all drank of it. And He said unto them, this is My blood of the New Testament which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.

Come with me to Luke 22. Luke 22. As you’re turning to Luke 22, there’s no indication of — well, I shouldn’t say there’s no indication — you don’t have a parallel narrative in John’s Gospel of this event. And I think that that’s telling, and I think that there’s other things that John does include that helps us to understand even more of the significance of this issue.

Look at Luke 22, look at verse 14.

“And when the hour was come, he sat down and the twelve apostles with him, and he said unto them, With desire, I have desire to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup and gave thanks and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves. For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come. He took bread and gave thanks and breaking, gave it unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you, this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament of my blood which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goeth as it was determined, but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed.”

And they began to inquire among themselves which of them it was that should do this thing.

So, there we have the three accounts in Matthew, Mark, and Luke that highlight this New Testament bread and cup issue in regards to Christ identifying the bread with His body that’s broken in the midst of them and that is going to go break physically soon thereafter. And the cup, the vine, the wine, the issue of His blood that is about to be shed for them. And He says to do this — to do this in remembrance of Me.

What Does “Do This” Really Mean?

But we’ve got to ask, is he meaning to treat it as a ceremonial thing? Or is he saying, like I break my body, and like I shed my blood for forgiveness, do this. Break your body. Sacrifice. Love. Use your body for charity. And forgive others. Do this in remembrance of Me. And I would suggest to you that that is the main thrust of the matter. And that we don’t see some other things in regards to Scripture that lend to that reality.

Now how would that fit in 1 Corinthians 11? I’m jumping ahead here. But that would fit in 1 Corinthians 11 because what are they not doing at this supper that they’re having? They’re not thinking about one another. The one has a whole bunch and is bringing food, and the others have nothing. And by not distributing what they have to the others, in the church of God, they bring shame. And Paul says, I praise you not in this. And he says, do I have to remind you of that which I have received, that which was delivered to me from the Lord, in regards to the Lord’s table? The bread and the cup that are a remembrance. You’re not remembering. Here you are before the body, and it isn’t just the Corinthians, the Corinthian church. This is the Lord’s body.

And when you remember Him in this meal, Corinthians — instead of having your own supper, by virtue of your sharing these things and thinking of one another, now you enter into remembering the Lord, and you have a supper that’s not your own, but the Lord’s.

So again, oftentimes we have the imprint of tradition upon us that highlights some kind of ceremony. So you might have some churches that have a meal and they say this is the Lord’s table or this is the Lord’s Supper. You have some who will partake in the bread and the cup like us, and they’ll come along and say this is what this is, but the focus is the ceremony of it.

And yet what is often forgotten is that you can do those things and it not be the Lord’s. You can do the rite and the ritual and the ceremony and it not be the Lord’s. You can have a different understanding about it that is erroneous, and of course the outward appearance of it would just be a form, not the very heart of it. And whether form or fashion and doctrine behind it, you can completely miss, I believe, what the Lord is trying to communicate.

And this is why I’ve tried to express to you over the years, as we’ve done this and we partake in the bread and cup, to shift in our thinking — although we do it once a month — to shift in our thinking that we’re not just partaking in the Lord’s table once a month. Every time we gather together, we are to remember the Lord. We do that. How? In singing with each other. Not your praise or my praise, but the praise of the Lord.

We do that in prayer, that we corporately, before God, are submitting to the Lord in regards to Him. We open up His Word and remember the Lord Jesus Christ. And all of that is to flow out one towards another in fellowship and communion. As we are led by the Spirit, as we’re taught by the Spirit, that ought to be our fellowship and communion.

Now here’s the test of this, I think — is that if those elements are taken away, and the ceremony and the ordinance and the tradition is taken away, what is that? What would it be to you? I think that’s almost the test. Would it become a fellowship issue? Would it become a communion issue in which you can’t have fellowship anymore, can’t have communion anymore? Or do we actually see through it all and realize what the real issue is?

John 13: Washing the Disciples’ Feet

Now, I want to show you some other things before we get into the context of 1 Corinthians 11. Come with me to John’s Gospel, John 13. There’s much more that happens in the upper room than just they prepare the Passover meal, they have the Passover meal, the identification of Judas as the betrayer, and then the institution of what is commonly known as the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Table, or Communion. There’s some other things that happen, and there’s some other things that take place before they eat of the Passover.

And what I want you to see is that — I’m just going to call it the Lord’s Table right now — what happens before the Lord’s Table, the bread and the cup, that which we just read in Matthew, Mark, and Luke — is there some teaching that the Lord’s Table is in the midst of? And yet, as we look at the teaching before the Lord’s Table and after the Lord’s Table, I want you to see what I see, hopefully, a common thread that I believe is the main issue.

Look at John 13, and look at verse 1.

“Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. The supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He was come from God and went to God, He rises from supper and laid aside His garments and took a towel and girded Himself.”

I’m sorry, this is after the supper, I misspoke.

“Verse 5, After that He poureth water into the basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.”

So what you have is the Passover meal. You have the Lord’s table, and we’re going to see some things that surround that. This is one of them. After they’re done, He begins to wash their feet. Now again, oftentimes this is put in such a kind of traditional way that I think it loses its punch.

He poured water into the basin, in verse 5, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded. Then cometh He to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto Him, Lord, dost Thou wash my feet? That’s not what the Lord should do. That’s what the servants do.

“Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.”

Wait a minute. That makes no sense. I mean, think about it. If you don’t wash me, I have no part with you? Come on, Lord, we’re just talking about washing feet. This is what the servant does. Obviously, I think He’s talking a little bit more here about just the physical washing of feet.

And He goes on, in verse 8, Peter saith unto Him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Verse 9, Simon Peter saith unto Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Do it all. Jesus said unto him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit, and ye are clean, but not all. For He knew who would betray Him. Therefore said He, Ye are not all clean.

So after He had washed their feet and had taken His garments and was set down again, He said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? So now He gives the interpretation of it. Do you know what I just did to you? You call me Master and Lord, and you say, well, for so I am. You know who I am. I’m your Master. I’m your Lord. The eleven believed in Him. They’re justified.

“If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

See the principle by which He does? He says, if I am above you and I do something and you’re below me, just to put it that way — ought you not to do it? They’re having a hard time. No, don’t wash my feet. But if He is the example, if He’s the leader in all this, then wash others’ feet.

“For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

So He washes His disciples’ feet, and He gives the interpretation of it. Do you know what I just did? He says, I’ve given you an example to follow. Not just ritualistically wash people’s feet. Again, because you can do that and not have the heart of the matter. He’s trying to get to the heart of the matter. Now, can you wash someone’s feet and do it with the right heart? Absolutely. But he can lose that. And He’s trying to show the significance of it.

A New Commandment: Love One Another

Now look further on down. He talks about the betrayal, which we’ve seen in other Gospel accounts, in verse 21, and who it is, in regards to the dipping of the sop, in verse 25–27. And then look at verse 31.

“Therefore, when Judas was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify Him in Himself and shall straightway glorify Him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You shall seek Me, and as I said unto the Jews, whither I go you cannot come, so now I say to you.”

They’re almost completely blinded from what this means. Not only by way of crucifixion, even though He’s told them that. But even after His resurrection, the fact that He’s going to depart and He’s going to go be with the Father is something that they are really in the dark about, and that it’s becoming light to them progressively throughout that short period of time in regards to where is He going. They say He’s going to go to the Gentiles. They don’t understand all this.

And so He says it again here now. But He is providing them — I’m going to go away. There’s going to be this time, as He’s already said during the Passover meal, during the Lord’s table, I’m not going to drink this again with you until I drink it with you in the kingdom. So there’s this teaching of He’s leaving, and what do you do in the meantime? What do we do in the meantime? What do they do in the meantime? Because even though there’s differences in regards to Israel’s program and what we’re being taught today, there’s similarity in the sense that we still live in that gap where He’s gone. And what do we do now?

“V. 34, A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another.”

Now look, you already have that in the Law. You already have love the Lord thy God. You already have love thy neighbor as thyself. He’s already addressed earlier in the week the religious leaders, and He’s already addressed the issue, there’s two great commandments. Love the Lord thy God and love thy neighbor as thyself, and upon these two hang all the law and the prophets. But notice now what He says. He says that you love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

You know love by loving like Christ loved. Now what has He just got done doing? He’s just got done washing their feet, giving them an example that it’s through humility. It’s through submission. It’s through condescension. It’s through esteeming others better than yourself. It’s by taking on the mess of the uncleanness of the feet of someone else, and to aid in your love them so that they are clean. Now again, some of that’s just figurative. Some of that is literal. And then He comes along and says, a new commandment I give you. Love one another, well, of course we are, as I have loved you. And that takes the issue of love to the extent in which He is the fulfillment of the law in that sense. He is. How do you love the Father? How do you love your neighbor? How do we love one another? We know because of Jesus Christ.

Now look at v. 35.

“By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

By this — by what? By them loving one another as He has loved them. The implication and the application of it, one to another, is that all men would know. All men would see it. And because of the peculiarity of this love is that as He’s loved — that’s how people know. One of the ways people know. If you do this, they’ll all know.

Now I find that fascinating in the view of 1 Corinthians 11. Because he says, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death. And I always think, who do we show it to? Yeah, there is a show to the angelic realm. But it’s not just when we gather together do we show this. It’s when we’re around each other and we’re doing life with each other. We get to show His death by loving others as He has loved us. As He has showed. And how do we see that? Well, it’s all leading up to the cross.

Look at some other things He says. Look at John 15 here, and look at v. 8. John 15 v. 8. This is all still things that He’s teaching as He transitions from the upper room to the Mount of Olives.

“Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit. So shall ye be My disciples. As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in My love.”

Nobody’s just done there. He’s just said, I love like My Father loves. If you love like I love, you love like the Father loves. It’s just this unity.

“If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. But I have called you friends for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

I made known unto you all these things. I made known how I love. And there’s no greater love than a man lay down his life for his friends. And you’re my friends. Friends. I’m telling you these things. This is about what’s going to happen. This is what I’ve done. I’ve showed you it in a very simplistic form. In one small sense regarding love, there’s no difference between the cross and the washing of the feet. Now redemptively, it’s a huge chasm. But in regards to the essence of charity, the issue of humility and servitude — is He not giving of Himself when He washes His disciples’ feet? And is He not doing it on the cross?

Now we also see that there’s no greater love. Now we see also there’s degrees of love. And I would say that there’s even a greater love manifest in view of Romans 5, that He commended His love toward us while we were yet enemies, while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. That extent of that love, the quality of that love, is greater not only because of who He is, but also who He’s extended to — not just as friends, but sinners. And that’s of course what they are too. But He’s teaching them about this issue of love.

Luke 22: Who Is the Greatest?

Now come back with me to Luke’s Gospel, Luke 22. Now I want you to see one more thing that He’s teaching around this time, that hopefully we can see the common thread. That if we insert tradition and elevate the Lord’s table above these other things, then we would hold it above it all. But if we put it in the same thread, we see actually something that is focal. That is the issue.

Look at Luke 22 and look at v. 23. Again, He’s bringing out the issue of their inquiring in v. 23. We read that already, of who is going to betray Him. And see what it leads into with the rest of the disciples.

“V. 24, And there was also strife among them, which of them should be accounted the” — what?

He had encountered this one other time when they were headed up to Jerusalem. Remember, James and John’s mom comes and says, hey, when you enter your kingdom, have them sit on your right and left. And He says, it’s not mine to give. And then the ten hear it. And this is what they’re arguing. And He teaches them essentially the same exact thing that He teaches them here. But look what He says in verse 25.

“He said to them...”

Now this is the night when He, as the King of kings and Lord of lords, is going to stoop to wash their feet. He’s going to stoop to die for them. And here they are, and He is the greatest of them all, and here they want to know who can be the greatest. And so hence the education that they need, and the repetition of this.

What is the focal issue?

“The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But He shall not be so.”

But He that is greatest among you — now, He doesn’t say it isn’t that there isn’t going to be great and the greatest. But the exercising of lordship and greatness as the world does it amongst the Gentiles and the benefactors, that’s not what it’s going to be among you.

May I insert 1 Corinthians 10 at this point. The table that you’re going to be a part of is the Lord’s table, not the table of devils. A table, but two vastly different tables. Greatest, by the definition of that greatness, is prescribed by the Lord.

“But ye shall not be so. But he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he that is chief as he that doth serve.”

Can you imagine the night in which He was betrayed if you were just listening? Just the repetition of the same thing from like five different angles. Wash each other’s feet. I’ve just made an example for you. Oh no, we don’t wash each other’s feet. What is that operating upon? I’m greater than you. You’ve got to be the servant. The equality — hey, the servant is greater than the master. If the master serves, then the servant ought to serve. And when the servant serves like his master, he serves like the master. You’re like him. You’re abiding in his love.

“He says, for whether is greater, verse 27, he that sitteth at meat or he that serveth. It is not he that sitteth at meat, but I am among you as he that serveth.”

What makes the difference? He does. He gets to make the difference. I sitteth among you — which is greater, the one that sits or serves? Well, I am among you, and I am one that comes as serving. In one sense here, the same table, but what are you doing at that table? Are you sitting or serving?

“Verse 28, Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

There’s a table and there’s thrones. But how are you going to sit and how are you going to be in His kingdom? Are you going to try to take in with you the devils and the table of devils and the Gentiles’ lordship and the benefactors’ way of doing things? Or is it not just a translation into another realm? It’s a translation into another life. A translation into another way of doing things altogether.

The corruption of the adversary goes into all the divine institutions of God and just starts utilizing man’s flesh and sin against them to corrupt it all. And God comes along, and Christ comes along, and says, there are those institutions and there is a kingdom. There is glory. There are seats. There is sitting. But the way in which you do that is not how you’ve learned it. Learn from me. I’m the example. I break and I give and I serve. And I deal with your uncleanness. And now He’s calling us into that fellowship. Fellowship. He’s calling us into that communion. That life that He had, that He’s giving, that He tells them to give, that He got from the Father, and He says, if you do what I say to you, you’re doing what I’m doing, and you’re doing what the Father’s doing. And then in John 17, He says, and I pray for them, Father, that they come where I am. We can just all be together.

And we have that same principle as the Apostle Paul teaches it.

Back to 1 Corinthians 11: Gathering for the Worse

Now come back with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Look at what the Apostle Paul says here in verse 17.

“Now in this I declare unto you, I praise you not, that you come together not for the better, but for the worse.”

It’s just like His disciples the night in which He was betrayed. When they’re having that argument of who’s the greatest, that’s not for the better, that’s for the worse. That would attach Jesus Christ on the world system. And that’s not what He’s looking to do. He created all authority, but the whole thing is that the — in that is changed. The way in which it’s done is changed from the inside out. Not by having better programs and policies. Not by just having behavior modification. Not by just putting a law upon it and which man have to abide by, but that the life of Jesus Christ would impact the mind and the heart of individuals that would change all of the operation of it. That’s what you need. That’s why governments fail. That’s why people fail.

You know, and when you know that, one of the greatest heartbreaks — it’s one thing for man to go to those things, you know, the behavior modifications and just change this and just change this and just change this. It’s one thing for man to do that. But when the church starts embracing that stuff, they start partaking in the table of devils. And they still bear the name of Christ if they’re true believers. And it deserves the same reproof and correction that the Apostle Paul is giving. Amen.

Stop partaking in that stuff, and none of it addresses the heart. And if it does address the heart, it’s for the fulfillment of any desire, affection, that you have. That’s true life. That’s not my Savior.

What’s in the heart of my Savior — because that’s who He is — is to give Himself. He washes, He becomes a servant. He lifts others up. He’s constantly the doormat of people. He’s constantly at the feet of people, literally, figuratively, physically, to the spiritual nth degree. He’s dying on the cross. To draw men to Himself, that if they believe He could be with them, He is taking their death. That which we could never enter into, He does. And all in the process, He’s being reviled and He reviles not. All in the process, He’s the just one, and yet He’s doing it for the unjust.

All the while, He’s teaching them. Men do it to be liked by other men who believe the same thing they do. He says, don’t be like that. Be like your Father in Heaven, who even gives rain and sun to His enemies. It’s completely different than the world. It’s just vastly different. It comes along and it sees, oh, the servant washes the feet. Well, I’m the Master. I’m going to come wash your feet. No one does that. He does. No one would die for sinners. Yet He does.

The night in which He was betrayed, the twelve, they were gathering for the worse. And so are the Corinthians here.

And he says in verse 18, “for first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you, and I partly believe it.” He’s already addressed this in chapter 1. Some are of Apollos, some are of Paul, some are of Cephas, some are of Christ. And then he says, “for there must also be heresies among you,” part of the works of the flesh. When you have conduct and behavior that isn’t reflective of the Lord, you are holding to a doctrine that doesn’t produce the life of Christ. That’s a heresy. It’s one way to view heresy.

There’s a common thinking oftentimes under grace is, hey, we can just live the way we want. That’s a heresy. Because we know in Romans 6, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Who forbids it? God Himself does. Now, that doesn’t mean that we’re not going to sin. We’re going to sin. But to teach as if God’s indifferent to it, you’ve got to be reading the different scriptures because it’s everywhere.

And here, for them to be conducting themselves the way they are in this supper, they must be holding to some heresies that lead to selfishness, to lead to pride, to lead to not thinking about others, to just following the table of devils.

“That they which are approved may be manifest among you.”

You know how that works on a supper like this? When you’ve got those that have, and those that have not, and those that have come, and they don’t give to any of those that have not, and there are those that have some, and they come and they give to those that have not — guess who’s going to be approved? Guess who’s going to be made manifest? Manifest. Now whether they’re doing that from the right heart or not, I don’t know, but in regards to this, this is how it would be made evident. Because he’s saying if the opposite of what this was taking place, you’d be having the Lord’s Supper. It would be a supper that reflected the Lord.

Verse 20, “when you come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.” He’s reproving them. Why is it that they’re not eating the Lord’s Supper? Because in v. 21, for further explanation and amplification, “in eating, everyone taketh before other his own supper.” If you’re taking before other your own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunken, that is not the Lord’s Supper. It’s a supper, but it’s not the Lord’s.

Verse 22. “What?” It’s a rhetorical question of reproof. “Have you 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?” In this supper that you’ve made your own, that you’re not considering anyone else, do I praise you in this? I praise you not.

Then, verse 23, he further explains, how do you go from having your own supper to the Lord’s Supper? You remember the Lord’s table. You remember what the Lord instituted the night in which He is betrayed, in regards to His broken body. And now we know that He fulfilled that in sacrifice of Himself. And he brings that up in verses 23–25.

And then he says in verse 26, “for as often as ye eat this bread...” He’s talking about Jesus Christ. I don’t have time to get into it, but in John 6, John 6, verse 66, when the disciples leave Him, because He says, in order to take part in the kingdom and eternal life, you’ve got to eat His bread and drink His blood, and they start thinking cannibalistically. And then He gives the verse of interpretation. He says, “the flesh profiteth nothing but the Spirit.” You have to think about that spiritually. And He even says it’s the issue of believing on Him. So He equates believing on Him with eating and drinking Him. That’s the spiritual relation, not the flesh, as if I’ve got to eat His flesh and make up some mystical doctrine in which it becomes that within me, to get past the cannibalism. It’s not even about that. It’s about communion in life with one another and how we esteem one another.

He says, “for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup” — not the cup of the table of devils, which Paul has warned a chapter earlier, wherefore flee, because that’s idolatry, which is essentially the worship of self — he says, “ye do show the Lord’s death till He come.” We get to show His death till He come. That’s what we’re doing. When we love like He loves, in the context in which we live in, we get to show His death.

You enter into — you hear the world, and I hear myself a lot of times, in regards to sacrifice for others, excuse, excuse, excuse, excuse, excuse, all these different ways of thinking about it so that I don’t need to do that. And yet here’s a verse that comes along and says, when you enter into that, you enter into showing the Lord’s death. That’s beautiful. That gives you motivation to do what the world doesn’t do. That gives you motivation to live like Jesus Christ.

And by the way, when Christ did that all the way to the extent of the cross, how did God respond to that? Wherefore, He highly exalted Him. He exalts those that abase themselves. Those that make the conscious choice that we now have, by way of the Lord Jesus Christ, to abase ourselves — because it’s not the issue of some religion or vain humility, although we have to be careful of that — but if there’s a pure heart and sincerity that I’m going to enter into this by faith in what He’s done and what He’s taught, guess what He’s going to do with that? Just like what He did with His Son. I’ll never be exalted above His Son, but that’s what He’s going to recognize and glorify. That’s what’s going to be in the realm of this kingdom in heaven and earth. Those that constantly live and sacrifice one toward another, because that’s the union amongst the Godhead. Manifest in the sacrifice of our Savior. Stamp of approval in that He rises again from the dead. Glorified in that He is exalted at the right hand of the Father. This is not only who we believe, this is the life of Jesus Christ that we pursue.

And here in this ordinary event of having a meal, whether the Corinthians know it or not, the seemingly insignificant thing God cares about. He cares about whether it is marked as our own or it’s marked as His.

Examine Yourself: Verses 27–34

So He says in v. 27, “wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” If you’ve ever wondered about the issue, the judgment seat of Christ and Paul’s exhortation to the believers that there would be no blame there — there’s this, there’s this one context of positionally we are holy and without blame, but then there’s another context of coming out of that judgment seat of Christ that way, and that we understand that there’s judgment of things done in the body, whether they be good or bad. Here’s a verse to look at in regards to being — doing things that are guilty of Christ’s body and blood. Doing things unworthily. It has nothing to do with our eternal salvation. It has to do in understanding that. How do we respond to that in the corporate gathering of the church?

So he says in v. 28, “let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.” Eat of that bread and drink of that cup worthily — you got to examine yourself, you got to examine him. Am I doing things that would be identified as my own or as the Lord’s?

Verse 29, “for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” Again, this isn’t damnation in the eternal damnation sense that which others might interpret it as such, but he’s addressing believers here. This is like what Paul does in other places. We don’t do certain things that the world does, because God’s wrath is against what the world does. He uses God’s wrath, even though we’ll never experience it, but identifies it with those that do those things, so that we would come along and see what our identity is, and that we’re not identified with them. Therefore, our life ought to reflect that.

Same thing here. If we discern that who we’re around is not the poor or the rich, or not what we look like or economic status, or not even sin that impacts relationships, but we understand what the Lord has done to each and every one of us as individuals, and we discern such that the body that we’re gathered with is the Lord’s body, then we can have a supper that is not our own, but that is the Lord’s.

V. 30, I believe, is literal. “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” They’re getting drunk. And what do you do when you get drunk? You sleep. There’s many weak and sickly. And they’re not addressing their needs. They come and they see the weak and they see the sickly. And instead of addressing their weakness and their sickness, they get drunk or full, and they fall asleep.

“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord.” We want that. “That we should not be condemned with the world.” That’s the way the world does things. Not even giving the care.

“Wherefore, my brother, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.” Wait for one another. If you’re going to fight over something, who goes first? You go first. No, you go first. No, you go first. Someone’s eventually got to go first, but go first. And when you come to have a meal, Corinthians, come and bring food for others. Tarry one for another. You brought food, don’t go to eat it. Let someone who’s weak and sickly or someone else go and eat it. If you’re hungry, go eat at home. Bring something. That’s the sacrifice He’s talking about. Bring something for those that are in need. If there’s not enough for you, don’t grumble and murmur and complain about it — I’m hungry, eat at home, and wait.

That would make it so that, by virtue of eating and drinking at a meal, would make it that there would be none weak, none sickly. And it would make it that none would be sleeping. Now if you have an overabundance, all those needs might be met and you still might sleep. That’s our day and age. We sleep not because we haven’t given in sacrifice, we sleep just because we have an overabundance of things. Maybe he ate too much, but everyone got to eat too much and we had to go take a nap. Of course, we don’t want the drunkenness issue.

Verse 34, “if any man hunger, let him eat at home, that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.”

The gravity of these verses in regards to what happens when the local church gathers is very descriptive. It’s even uncomfortable, a lot of times, for us who are under God’s grace, where positionally and eternally there’s no condemnation, there’s no damnation, there’s no worse. We have everything in Christ Jesus, and yet we still have a context practically that, by virtue of all those things, that’s what should be coming out of it, right? What should be coming out of us being identified in Jesus Christ is that which is better.

Yet when we walk after the flesh, we can come together for the worse. When we walk after the flesh, we can end up having a meal that is our own. But when we walk after the Spirit, and that who we are in Christ, and we’re beholding Him, and that He sacrificed for us, and we learn from that — that’s our instruction, the sacrifice for one another — now the supper is the Lord’s.

And so we don’t want to come together for the worse. We don’t want to come together for condemnation and damnation. Even though the chastening of the Lord is a good thing, I don’t want to be chastened by Him. We don’t want to come together to walk unworthily. Which, by the way, again, you have to be a part of it to walk of it unworthily. Get that right? If you’re not a part of it, you can’t walk even unworthily. But this is what we’re a part of. And the exhortation is walk worthy of this.

Remembering the Lord Every Time We Gather

So, this is not an examination time simply when we take part of the bread and the cup. This is an examination time of any time we gather together. When we partake in the bread and the cup, in one sense we’re doing it in remembrance of what we should always be remembering when we gather together. And how do we remember the Lord? By His Word. By His Word we understand His sacrifice. By His Word we understand His shed blood. By His Word we understand the instructions given to us in light of that. And so we feast, and we partake of His table.

There has been devils that have set up their tables in churches. Not just simply by their change and twist of doctrine concerning the ceremony, but by their doctrine as a whole, that leads to a certain way of life within that church. And it was usually the way of life in the world that they wanted anyways, that they just wanted the church to give license to. And it’s not remembering the Lord anymore. And you need to know that. It’s not remembering the Lord. It’s not remembering His teachings.

We come together to remember the Lord by virtue of sound doctrine, and that sound doctrine producing a soundness in your mind and your heart, in which you live out of one toward another. And that when there needs to be a correction of it, we go back to the doctrine. That’s not who you are. That’s not who we are. Therefore, we live this way.

Closing Thoughts: Symbol, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation

So, my last comment is — do I think that even the partaking in the bread and cup needs to be done? No. Is it wrong to do it? No. Is it wrong to do it if you do it in such a way that misses what’s really behind the whole issue? Yes. And that’s what we need to be careful about.

As long as we as the board decide to do it in the way that we do it once a month, is for you not to get ceremony in your mind, not to get rite and ritual in your mind, but to understand that this is a symbol of what we do every time we gather together. You are a part of that broken piece of bread that, when put together, makes the whole, but is broken in sacrifice in view of our Savior’s body being broken and sacrificed to us, that is instructive in how we love one another.

And to the extent of bloodshed — not that we need to shed our blood, but that that is the forgiveness of our sins, that we go in and we forgive one another. You can be in church, not partaking in the table this way, and yet if we’re not extending forgiveness to one another, what is that? That’s not the table of the Lord. Does that mean it’s easy? No. Can it be difficult? Yes. But when we look to Him, and when both parties can stop looking at each other and both can look at Him, forgiveness and reconciliation could be had. Listen, as hard as it can be, it could be had in any and in all situations and circumstances. Maybe not without parameters and boundaries in regards to some things, but in the large percentages of sins that we commit to one another, against one another, they can be dealt with. They can be addressed.

If you have any questions, I’d love to field them for you. Let’s end.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for this time to get into Your Word. I pray that provided some clarity in regards to this issue. Hopefully an emphasis on whatever way in which it’s done, a meal or the bread in the cup, that the focal point is the reflection of Christ one towards another. And that is our fellowship. That is our communion. And when we take away from that, we end up making something more than You ever intended it to make, and we miss the point.

Father, I thank You for this body of believers. Although imperfect, although we still have our flesh, a desire in so many, if not all, to pursue You, to pursue our Savior, not only to the point of knowledge, but that which passes it into the realm of life one with another in wisdom and in understanding. So, Father, I thank You for all of them. And I can’t wait to see the glory in which You glorify them with, not only all of us together, but in regards to their service, like their Master which is in heaven, that You’ll glorify them with. For as Paul said to the Thessalonians, they are my crown of rejoicing, and so too are all those here. May we rejoice in our fellowship and our communion in Jesus Christ, for that is what You’ve called us into, the fellowship of Your dear Son. We give You all the thanks and praise, in Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Look Up,

—Josh Strelecki, Pastor-Teacher