1 CORINTHIANS LESSON 18


     We will begin this lesson in I Corinthians 11:17 "Now in this
that I declare [unto you] I praise [you] not, that ye come together
not for the better, but for the worse."

     It seems from this, that the church gathering was in error in a
number of ways. A person must go to church for the right reasons and
conduct themselves while they are there to make themselves better
Christians. If they are practicing things that are not right in the
sight of God, it would be better if they did not assemble.

     I Corinthians 11:18 "For first of all, when ye come together in
the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly
believe it."

     This is nothing exclusive to just that day. Even today nearly
every church is divided. You remember on the day of Pentecost that
they were of one accord. Little things are what separate a church.
Whoever had written to Paul had written of the division. They were
probably trying to get Paul to side in with them. Paul is saying, I
believe it must even be true.

     I Corinthians 11:19 "For there must be also heresies among you,
that they which are approved may be made manifest among you."

     "Heresies" mean disunion and, also, sect. This, then, is still
speaking of different groups in the church separating themselves off
from the others, because of some little minor difference. At least,
they had not left the church.

     I Corinthians 11:20 "When ye come together therefore into one
place, [this] is not to eat the Lord's supper."

     One of the worst problems was, that they had been taking
communion daily, and it had become such a routine thing, that much of
the meaning had been lost in the practice. The Lord's supper was being
eaten every time they came together in homes, or wherever they met. It
had become habit, and not a true remembrance of what the Lord had done
for them. Paul is saying, that the reason to come together in one
place is not just to take communion.

     I Corinthians 11:21 "For in eating every one taketh before
[other] his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken."

     The abuse seems to be that they had come together to eat and not
really to take of the communion supper. Possibly, at this time they
were using fermented wine, since it speaks of being drunken.

     I Corinthians 11:22 "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."
     They were gathering together for the wrong reasons. All of this
had nothing to do with worshipping God.  They had forgotten that the
real reason to come to church, is to fellowship with God and learn of
His ways. They had made a party out of going to church. It sounds
pretty familiar, doesn't it? We hear that we must have all kinds of
parties and recreation at the church, or no one wants to come.

     I Corinthians 11:23 "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:"

     Now, Paul is giving them what the true communion is all about.
Since Paul was not there at the last supper, this had to be a
revelation from God. It could, however, been related to him by the
apostles that were present at the Last Supper. Paul is saying, that
this came from the Lord Himself. To read more on this same thing, you
could read Matthew chapter 26, verses 26 through 29; Mark chapter 14
verses 22 through 25, and Luke chapter 22 verses 19 and 20. We know
that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus.

     I Corinthians 11:24 "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."

     Since they had been taking the communion table so lightly, Paul
is reminding them that the bread that they take in this communion
symbolizes the very body of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is, also, saying
that they must remember His great sacrifice for all of mankind each
time that they take communion.

     I Corinthians 11:25 "After the same manner also [he took] the
cup, 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."

     The fruit of the vine that they took in the communion symbolized
the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The life was in the blood.
The fact that they were handling the communion cup in a manner
displeasing unto God, was what had really upset Paul. He is reminding
them of the seriousness associated with the communion cup.

     I Corinthians 11:26 "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink
this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come."

     My own personal belief is, that the Lord should be remember
ed several times a year, or even more often, if you are doing exactly
what this says, remembering Him in the communion. We find that to
become repetitious about the communion, can cause us to overlook the
true meaning of communion. We start doing this systematically, as
these people did here, and forget why we are doing this. When we do
this from obligation, we have lost the total meaning of it. Communion
should be very special. The Bread symbolizes the very body of the Lord
which He gave for the salvation of mankind. The cup of the vine
symbolizes the very blood of the Lord which was shed to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. Without the shedding of blood, there is no
remission of sin.

     I Corinthians 11:27 "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."

     This shows the seriousness of the taking of communion. Without
true recognition of what the elements are, means that a person does
not believe that they are, in fact, representing the body and blood of
Christ. That person would be classifying them as just food for his
body. You can see why this would be so dangerous. The Lord Jesus is
the Saviour of those who believe, not those who doubt.

     I Corinthians 11:28 "But let a man examine himself, and so let
him eat of [that] bread, and drink of [that] cup."

     When you examine yourself, then you do not need to be judged of
the Lord for this. If we try our own motives, then we will not take
the communion so lightly.

     I Corinthians 11:29 "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily,
eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's
body."

     The unworthiness here, is speaking of someone taking communion
not really believing. It would be as if you were mocking the
communion.

     I Corinthians 11:30 "For this cause many [are] weak and sickly
among you, and many sleep."

     This is speaking of the damnation that comes upon those who
reject the Lord. The eating and drinking this would be to please man,
and not to remember God. Sometimes sin causes sickness in our body,
and this would be one of those times. If you did not believe in the
shed blood of Jesus, how could you call on that blood to protect you
from the evil one?

     I Corinthians 11:31 "For if we would judge ourselves, we should
not be judged."

     He is just saying, consider what you are doing, before you sin
against God. If we judge ourself, then we will do the correct thing
and not need to be judged of others.

     I Corinthians 11:32 "But when we are judged, we are chastened of
the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."

     Paul is speaking, here, to those who have made commitments to
God. He says, even the judgement of God is for your own good to
straighten you out before judgement falls on you from the world. Paul
is saying, straighten this out in the church, before you are judged by
an evil world.

     I Corinthians 11:33 "Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come
together to eat, tarry one for another."

     Christians should not be like the world which is trying to push
to the head of the line. Christians have a meek spirit which is
patient and allows others to go first, if they wish to. It seems that
Paul is having to teach basic Christian principles to these who should
already be aware of all this. Why do they have to bring this up to
Paul? Why could they not have determined these things themselves? They
do not need someone from the outside to determine something that their
own consciences should have taken care of.

     I Corinthians 11:34 "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."

     If you are coming just to eat, don't do it. Eat at home before
you come, so that your greediness will not be apparent to all the
people. It seems that the communion had been mixed in with the eating
of meals which would have been really bad. We do know, that they had
started taking communion every time they met. To mix communion with a
regular meal would be to discredit the communion. They had even begun
to use bread that was leavened at this point which discredits the
sinless nature of the body of Christ. Paul tells them here, that he
will try to straighten out the other things of lesser importance when
he comes. It would actually be a sin to eat leavened bread, and
declare it to symbolize the body of Christ.



























                      1 Corinthians 18 Questions



1.  They were coming together not for the ________, but for the
    ______.
2.  What would be a reason that would be better, if they did not
    assemble?
3.  What had Paul heard that was one of their problems?
4.  How did this differ from the day of Pentecost?
5.  What does "heresies" in verse 19, mean?
6.  What had they been doing that had made them take the communion too
    lightly?
7.  Instead of a true remembrance of Christ, it had become a ________.
8.  What makes the author believe the wine was possibly fermented that
    they were using for communion?
9.  What? have ye not houses to eat and drink in? or _________ ye the
    church of God, and shame them that have not?
10. They had made a ________ out of going to church.
11. What does Paul tell them all over again to make them realize what
    communion is?
12. Since Paul was not at the last supper with Jesus, this has to be a
    ____________.
13. Where can you find some more Scriptures on the communion?
14. What symbolized the body of Jesus?
15. What symbolized the shed blood of Jesus?
16. When Jesus took the cup of communion, what did He say?
17. As oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup,  ye do shew the
    _________ __________ till he come.
18. What can repetitious taking of the communion cause?
19. What is wrong with taking communion from obligation?
20. What happens to you, if you eat the bread and drink the cup
    unworthily?
21. What should we do before we take communion?
22. What causes us to drink damnation unto ourselves?
23. For this cause many are ______ and _________.
24. Quote 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 32.
25. What is verse 33 trying to teach about the difference in the
    Christian and the world?
26. If a man hunger, let him ____ at _______.