I Corinthians 11:17-34
17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together NOT FOR THE BETTER, BUT FOR THE WORSE.
18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions (schisms, cliques) among you; and I partly believe it.
20 When ye come together therefore into one place, THIS is NOT to eat the LORD’S supper.
21 For in eating every one taketh before (in the prescence of) others his OWN supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken (gorged, overfull) .
22 …(do you…WOULD YOU) shame the church of God, and SHAME THEM THAT HAVE NOT? …
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you…the Lord Jesus in the same night in which he was betrayed took bread;
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said (to all), “Take, eat; this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me.”
25 After the same manner also he took THE (single) cup, when he had supped (of it) saying, “This cup is the new testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup (single), ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread (shared loaf), and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine HIMSELF, and so let him eat of THAT bread, and drink of THAT cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, NOT DISCERNING THE LORD’S BODY.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, (so) that WE SHOULD NOT BE CONDEMNED WITH THE WORLD.
33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, TARRY ONE FOR ANOTHER.
34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation.
These people were coming together for what they termed communion…but the rich man ate his fine fare in the prescence of the poor man, who had plain food…even bread and water. They were not partaking of a single cup…they weren’t sharing/communing. Their ‘unworthiness’ in Paul’s words was NOT CONSIDERING OTHERS AS PART OF THE SAME BODY…THE BODY OF THE LORD.
Acts 2:44 ,45 says, “And all that believed WERE TOGETHER, and HAD ALL THINGS COMMON; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” Verse 46 continues: “And they, continuing daily WITH ONE ACCORD in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.”
I love the formal ‘communion’ we share in the church; it is a public testimony, and I would not be in favor of stopping it. However, ‘communion’ is not just a pretty moment in church. Our most important ‘communion’ is when the father gathers his flock at the table; they eat, and (hopefully) COMMUNE with each other. The church is only as strong as the family communion, and most of us know that there are serious flaws there today.
The second most important communion is when the fathers gather their families in the church where the pastor leads them to corporate fellowship/communion. ”Com” is a prefix meaning ‘together, ‘with’, and or ‘very ‘. “-ion” is a suffix meaning ‘action’. The Latin ‘munus’, or the root of ‘communion’ (also community and municipality) means ‘duty, or service’. Our word means a church/city working together for a common good. Thus true ‘communion’ cannot be had unless there is a ‘together’ action/sharing of the church ( city,family); each person recognizing/discerning all other parts of the body…themselves being one part of it. This serves to protect us from ‘cliques’/divisions.
It is worldly to judge whether another is ‘worthy’ to receive the Cup of His Communion. I Cor. 11:28 admonishes us to “examine OURSELVES”. We were taught for years that a Christian was one who didn’t drink, chew, wear skimpy clothes or make-up. Now it is wonderful when people dress modestly and protect their bodies from destructive things…but there is a higher calling…and that is to “The FELLOWSHIP of the brethren.” Jesus did not condemn even those who nailed Him to the cross, but prayed for their forgiveness, and acknowledged that they did not know what they were doing.
Psa. 133 explains it. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell TOGETHER IN UNITY!…THERE the Lord commanded the blessing, EVEN LIFE FOREVERMORE (eternal life).” How much plainer can it get? I John 4:12b…If we love one another God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us. Vs. 13 “Hereby (love of one another) know we that we dwell in Him, AND HE IN US, BECAUSE He has given us of His Spirit (LOVE).
He came here for the purpose of COMMUNION with us…our Brother. I John1:6- ” If we say that we have fellowship (communion) with Him, and walk in darkness, WE LIE, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, AS He is in the light, we have fellowship (communion) ONE WITH ANOTHER, and (in that process) the blood of Jesus Christ CLEANSES us from ALL sin!”
The perfection of fellowship/communion in the Body of Christ is one of the Christians greatest challenges. Loving people can mean pain; Jesus met with crucifixion in His efforts to ‘commune’ with those He loved. He said that those who wished to follow Him must “deny themselves, TAKE UP THEIR CROSS, and follow Him. The N.T. epistles say this process will “mortify” (put to death) the body of flesh.
To truly commune with His Body, one must remember His suffering. I Cor. 12:12, 24,25 ”For as the Body is ONE, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. …God hath tempered the body together…that there should be no schism (division, clique) in the body; but that the members should HAVE THE SAME CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER.”
The whole Bible bears out this ‘fellowship’ IN CHRIST. It does away with the “who’s the greatest” mentality…and promotes harmony/fellowship/communion.
-Bertha Rogers
*This also addresses the fact that we don’t only go to Church for ourselves – we are the Body of Christ and as such are to be there for each other.
