COMING TOGETHER FOR THE BETTER – 1 Corinthians 11:17-22

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 9, 2019 under 2019 |

Bethany Bible Church Sunday Message; June 9, 2019 from 1 Corinthians 11:17-22

Theme: If we will follow our Lord’s example of self-sacrifice toward one another, we will always come together as a church for the better.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

Click HERE for the audio version of this sermon.

I placed my faith in Jesus Christ over forty-five years ago. And as soon as I fell in love with Jesus, I also fell in love with His church.

I did not grow up in church. And so, when I placed my faith in Jesus, going to church was a whole new thing for me. The sights and sounds of it where all fascinating to me. But most of all, I loved being with the people. I loved being around young people who were discovering what it meant to have faith in Jesus as I also was discovering it; and I loved being around older folks who had walked with Jesus for many years and had lots of experience in that faith. I loved and admired my pastor, and wanted to be like him in his knowledge of the Bible. And I loved being around people who read and studied and talked about God’s word. I loved the way that their love for Jesus and their anticipation of heaven was rubbing off on me. I was very eager for each Sunday to come, and for each Wednesday evening meeting; and was thrilled to be able to go again to be with the gathering of God’s people—to learn—to hear the prayers of others—to listen to the sermons—to sing the fascinating old hymns—to be gently discipled in my faith—to be loved and encouraged, in spite of my many mistakes and misunderstandings and blunders—and most of all, to encounter the Lord Jesus Christ within His church family.

Almost from the very beginning, a Bible-believing, Christ-honoring church has been—to me—a joyful, encouraging, enriching, life-giving place to be. I have experience with small congregations; and I guess as a matter of personal preference, those are the ones that I love being in the most. Not that there’s anything wrong with large congregations. They are a blessing too. But for me, a small church made the contact with other believers ‘up-close and personal’; and the one-on-one edification strong and sweet. A good, loving, Bible believing church family has been one of the greatest blessings of my life and one of the greatest helps to my walk with Jesus.

But I’d also have to say that a loving church family has not always been my experience. I’ve also been in a small congregation that was sadly characterized by ill-will, and internal fighting, and criticism. It was a very hard place to be. The atmosphere was unpleasant. The relationships were strained and bitter. The gossip was rampant. Folks were defensive and suspicious. That church experienced a split; and then a second split; and finally closed down. My wife, myself, and an older lady where the last three people at the last service of that church. Some of the saddest times in my Christian life were times spent in that church.

Now; in the long view, I don’t regret that experience. I have learned much from it. One of the things I have learned is that just as a good, loving church atmosphere can be one of the most life-giving things you can experience; an unhealthy, unloving, divisive church atmosphere can be one of the most depressing, discouraging, joy-robbing places in the world to be. Many people who have been in such unhealthy and divisive churches have left church all-together—and have never gone back. It’s hard to calculate how much damage has been done to the cause of Jesus Christ through such divisive, critical churches.

Now; I praise God that, for the majority of my Christian life, I have only been in good churches. I praise God that I’m in a very good one now—and this place gives life and joy and strength and support to me. I’d rather be here than anywhere else. But in thinking back on it all, when I try to understand what it was that made those negative church experiences so hurtful, I have concluded that the major element in it all was that people were self-serving and self-centered in their inward attitude. And that self-focused attitude spilled out into hurtful actions and words toward one another. The self-giving, self-sacrificial, others-serving, loving, caring example of our Lord Jesus had been forgotten or ignored. And it made the atmosphere in that church family a truly miserable one.

I don’t ever want to be in such a place again. And I don’t ever want this church family to become such a place. Of course, I always want our church to be real—and to deal with hard issues whenever we need to. But I want our church to always be an encouraging, life-giving, God-blessed place to be—even when we have to deal with hard things.

And that’s why I think this morning’s passage—a new section in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church—is such an important one.

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The apostle Paul had been writing to the Corinthian Christians about many of the problems that they were faced with. And in the course of dealing with them, he was able to praise the Christians there for the ways that they had been remembering his instructions to them and keeping true to the traditions he had passed on to them. But in 1 Corinthians 11—beginning with verse 17—he wrote this;

Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you (1 Corinthians 11:17-22).

The people in that ancient congregation were behaving in self-serving ways. They were creating divisions among themselves, and were excluding others. The church wasn’t necessarily ‘splitting’; but it was very definitely breaking up into harmful ‘cliques’. And it was even impacting the observance of the Lord’s Supper. Some people were gorging themselves, and others were being left to go hungry. The church family was not meeting together for the better. It was actually meeting together for the worse!

Now; you may read this whole section of 1 Corinthians and come away with the quick impression that it’s about observing the Lord’s Supper—the Communion Meal—in an honorable manner. That’s definitely a big part of this passage. But I don’t believe that’s the main point of it. Paul goes on to talk about the Lord’s Supper—but in doing so, he stresses to these self-focused Corinthian believers that it’s the remembrance of the self-sacrificial gift of our Lord Jesus to us. In verses 23-26, Paul went on to write;

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes (vv. 23-26).

What an example it is that the Lord’s Supper sets before us!—an example of our Lord’s own self-sacrificing attitude toward us! How can we behave in a self-serving way, or treat the Lord’s Supper in a self-serving manner, when we remember how our Lord gave His all for us at the cross?

Paul then went on to warn that it’s a very serious matter to mistreat the Lord’s Supper in the manner that they were mistreating it; and he called for clear, practical repentance on the part of the Corinthian believers in how they were treating each other. He wrote;

Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come (vv. 27-33).

Now; it’s my plan—the Lord willing—to break this section of Paul’s letter up into three messages. It’s an important passage, and it’s worth taking our time to study it carefully. This morning, I would like for us to consider verses 17-22; and how Paul exposed the selfish attitude that was prevailing in the church, and how it was causing them to meet not for the better but for the worse. Then, I would like for us to spend some time in verses 23-26; and learn what Paul teaches us about the Lord’s Supper—and how it’s a call for us to repeatedly remember the self-sacrificing love that Jesus has shown to us at the cross. And then, finally, I would like us to spend a Sunday morning together looking at the warnings Paul gives about how to take this whole matter seriously—and about what kind of changes we need to make. And the whole time long—as Paul always does in in presenting the solutions to the problems he was dealing with in the church—we’ll turn our attention to the Lord Jesus Himself, as the Savior we should trust and as the example we should follow.

And so; let’s begin by looking carefully at verses 17-22. Let’s let the Holy Spirit speak to us through it. Let’s let Him show us how ugly this whole self-serving attitude can be within a church family. And let’s learn together from it that, if we will all follow the example of our Lord Jesus in His self-sacrificial act of love toward us—if we will all learn to behave like Jesus toward one another—then we will always come together as a church for the better.

And dear brothers and sisters; as we learn from this passage, let’s even go a step further. Let’s humbly ask the Holy Spirit to show us where we ourselves are being selfish or self-serving in the ways that we gather together. Let’s ask Him to help us repent and to behave more like Jesus toward one another.

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So; let’s look first at how Paul introduced this passage. In verse 17, he began by saying, “Now in giving these instructions …” And what “instructions” were “these”? If we look back to verse 2, we see that he wrote, “Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.” He was glad that they remembered the things he taught, and held on to the traditions he passed on. He even went on to give further instructions. But he was not happy with the way they were putting those instructions into action. And so, in verse 17, he states the problem: “Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse.”

Now; this reminds us that God’s purpose for His people coming together is always for their blessedness and benefit. As it says in Psalm 133;

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.

It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore (Psalm 133).

The gathering-together of God’s people should be like the holy anointing oil that was poured out upon Aaron—the high priest in the tabernacle of God. It should be like the refreshing dew that pours down the mountain to water the valley. These are pictures of the blessing of the Holy Spirit upon His people. The gathering together of His people should bless us. It should renew us. It should refresh us. It should be something that helps us to grow in the everlasting life that we have received through Jesus.

What a horrible thing it is, then, when a church family—a family of professing believers in Jesus—ends up meeting for the worse instead of for the better; when the gathering does more harm to those who come together than good. A church that is unloving and that hurts its own members—a church that causes believers to be discouragement and embittered—is a kind of spiritual monstrosity. It’s something that should never be!

So; how was it that this problem was coming about? How was it that the Corinthians were coming together for the worse instead of the better? Paul gives two examples. First, he shows that they were forming divisions and factions. In verse18, he wrote; “For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you …” The word that is translated “divisions” here is the one from which we get the ugly English word “schism”. It didn’t mean that people were leaving the church. But though they were still in the same place together, they were not unified. They were broken up into factions.

Now; to some degree, it’s natural that people gather together with common interests or shared areas of giftedness and service. That’s not necessarily harmful; because no one is really being ‘excluded’ in such a case. But when a church family begins to divide up between ‘this’ group and ‘that’ group; and when relational ‘cliques’ are formed; and when some people are welcomed, and others are excluded, then it’s a sinful kind of division. It’s an attitude that is in complete contradiction to the fundamental unity we are to share together in Christ. It’s a horrible feeling when you know you’re not ‘welcome’ in the group—and especially when you’re made to feel that way within the very household of God!

In verses 18-19, Paul says that he heard the rumors about these ‘schisms’. He writes; “and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.” The word that is translated ‘factions’ is an interesting one. It’s the word from which we get the English word ‘heresies’. That word originally expressed the idea of ‘choices’ or ‘options’; but here, in a negative sense, it means ‘divisions’. In a sense, when there was that wrongful, sinful kind of divisiveness within the church family, the ‘factions’ that resulted over wrong attitudes showed forth those who possessed the right heart before God. But it’s a shame that such a ‘distinction’ would have to be made in the household of God at all.

Paul says that this was “first of all”. And it may be that he was saying that this first example was what stood as the basis for the second. In verses 20-21, he went on to write, “Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk.” Whatever it may have been that they thought they were eating together—even if they called it “the Lord’s Supper”—it wasn’t actually the supper that pertained to the Lord that they were eating. It couldn’t possibly have been His supper because of the way that they were treating each other in the eating of it.

Now; we’re not told exactly how this was being done. It may have been that Paul was speaking strictly of the way that they were observing the Communion Meal together—the ordinance that the Lord Jesus gave His church by which His sacrifices was to be remembered and honored. Another possibility is that Paul was speaking of what was called “the Love Feast” in the church family. This was a tradition that had formed in the early church by which the church family gathered regularly to share food together—so that all ate in common. Some folks in the church were prosperous and had plenty; and other folks were poor and in need. These feasts gave the church family an opportunity to share a meal together so that all could enjoy God’s blessings and be fed. It’s a little like the ‘refreshment time’ we have after church; or a little like our potluck meals. And very likely, when the ancient church met together for this meal, they also took the time to observe the Communion Meal together—remembering together the body and blood of our Lord.

But whatever the actual nature of the meal was, the division with in the church was being shown forth in the way that some folks came early to take his or her own supper ahead of the others. They were operating out of self-interest and selfish-ambition; and as a result, some of the poor folks were left hungry and had nothing, while others were gorging themselves. Paul even says that some were “drunk”. Could it be possible that some were literally making themselves drunk in the household of faith in this way? Well; it’s certainly possible. We have to remember that this is Corinth, after all; and a lot of cultural practices where slipping into the life of the church family. What a shameful thing the situation already was! How much more shameful if literal drunkenness was occurring!

And so, in verse 22, Paul rebukes this situation. In the translation that I’m using, it has Paul exclaiming, “What?!” It’s not a word that appears in the original language; but the translators have included it in order to show the way that Paul—in the feel of the original language—expressed a sense of incredulity over it all. “Really; you dear Corinthians? Is this so? You’ve got to be kidding! This behavior is outrageous!” And truly it would be outrageous for the church of Jesus Christ to behave in such a way toward its own members.

Paul asks, “Do you not have houses to eat and drink in?” It’s as if he was saying, “If you’re going to behave so selfishly in—of all things—the “love” feast; and if you’re going to gorge yourself in—of all things—the Lord’s Supper; then you’re truly not coming together for the better! It would be better if you stayed home, and stuffed yourself and gotten yourself drunk within your own four walls than to come to the household of God and do it!” And it’s not just the eating and the drinking that was the problem. It’s the manner in which people were treating one another in the process. “Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?” To do as they were doing to one another was treating the sacred assembly of God’s redeemed people with selfish contempt; and was resulting in their brothers or sisters in Christ being put to humiliation.

No wonder Paul closes by saying, “What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.” Whatever praise he had wanted to give them for keeping the traditions and for doing the other things they were doing, he absolutely could not praise this!

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Now; when I read this, I think to myself, “I sure would hate to get a letter like that from the apostle Paul!” What a grievous thing that must have been! But I believe that these Corinthian Christians were sent a letter like this so that we wouldn’t have to receive such a rebuke from the Lord.

Stop and think; dear brothers and sisters. Are there ways that we come together for the worse and not for the better? Are there ways that we bring our own self-interests and selfish motivations into the household of faith with us? Are there ways that we are self-serving in our attitude toward one another—and thus, bring harm to one another in the church family? What about gossip—even gossip that we disguise as ‘prayer concerns’ for others’? Do we share things with each other about someone else that—truth be told—is really designed to build ourselves up at their expense? What about criticism? That’s often an open form of the same kind of thing as gossip—not really intended to help someone grow, but rather instead to elevate ourselves above them. What about ‘favoritism’? That’s when we actually go so far as to think that this person is ‘more worthy’ than that one; and when we show personal preference toward one person over another. What about a ‘controlling’ attitude—where we try to manipulate others and bring about the results that we insist on—sometimes leading to horrible situations of ‘spiritual abuse’? And what about plain ol’ ‘pride’? That’s usually the sin from which all the others flow.

And are there ways that these self-serving attitudes harm the sacred things of God in His household? Could there be ways that we use the sacred things of God to bring benefit to ourselves over others? It may not be that we try to be the first one in line to get the refreshments before anyone else; and it may not be that we stuff ourselves in the Communion Meal. But are there ways that we have lost a sense of service and ministry to the needs of one another in God’s household?

It may be hard to define the exact ways we ourselves are behaving selfishly in God’s house; but it’s certainly not hard to define the cure. And perhaps, rather than trying to define the ways we’ve done it all wrong, we should simply turn to the One who can teach us how to do it right! We need to turn our eyes once more on the Lord Jesus, and consider carefully how He has given Himself in service to us. We need to keep always before us the way that He gave His own sinless body on the cross in order to take our place under God’s wrath; and the way that He shed His own precious blood to wash away our sins. We should turn our gaze upon the Lord Jesus as He hung on the cross—where He gave everything He had to save us—and let that gaze transform our own hearts toward one another.

The way that the apostle Paul put it in Philippians 2 is like this;

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:1-11).

If we will—with the Holy Spirit’s help—faithfully come together in this way, then we will always come together to genuinely minister to one another, and encourage one another, and build one another up, and give to one another what each one needs. We will find that our church will be a blessed place—a life-giving, enriching church home that helps all of us grow together in our love for Jesus and for one another. We will find that we are becoming a witness together to the rest of the world; demonstrating that Jesus is real, and that He changes the life of anyone who trusts Him.

In short, we will truly come together for the better.

EA