1 Corinthians 11:17-34

There are two fundamental issues at the Lord ’s Table that were of concern to the Corinthian Church.  First was that covered in 1 Cor. 10:14-22, having to do with the table of demons.  A persons involvement in the idolatrous temple might indicate they were not believers at all, and for the unsaved there is no place at the Lord’s Table.  It might indicate a believer who is involved in sin, and again for this person there is no place at the table.  They must repair their relationship with Christ through confession (1 John 1:9).  To come to the table while cherishing sin in one’s heart is to despise the work of Christ on the cross.

The other issue has to do with one’s relationship with fellow-believers.  That is the issue here.  The divisions in the church had spilled over into the practice of communion.  The agape feasts that were part of communion were being abused by a great lack of love.  The rich ate well while the poor did not.  The hungry were unwilling to wait for the rest of the fellowship to arrive so the dinner could be shared in true fellowship.  These kind of things despise the church of God (v22).  As Jesus said, they needed to be reconciled to their brothers first, before coming into such a holy time of worship (Matt. 5:23-24).

There is always the possibility of minimizing the significance of the Lord’s Table because we are frequently at the table in the typical Church.  Let us take some time, both today and tomorrow, to study this observance.  And let us begin the study with some definitions.

·        Sacrament: a rite that mediates grace to the participant.

·        Eucharist: refers to the Lord’s Table, from the Greek word for thanksgiving.

·        Transubstantiation: The Catholic view that the bread and cup become the body and blood of Christ when it is blessed by the priest.  (Also called real presence.)

·        Consubstantiation: The Lutheran view (primarily) that the bread and cup are joined with the body and blood of Christ when ingested by the participant so that the worshiper actually partakes of the body and blood of Christ.  (Also called sacramental union.)

The key phrase from Christ is in remembrance of Me.  The Catholic and Lutheran views take John 6:53-58 literally, that we are to actually eat the flesh and blood of Christ.  But Jesus was describing the kind of commitment involved in one’s faith in Him.  The Lord’s Table is a reminder, not a reenactment, of His death.  In that regard we do not use the term sacrament as it indicates an approach to this (and other) rites as contributing saving grace to the participant, grace in addition to that provided through Christ’s death.  This is salvation by works, which is clearly unbiblical (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5 and many other places).

Having spoken about what the Lord’s Table is not, let us plan to spend time tomorrow concerning what it is.