The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 1:17-34 gives us great insight into the Lord's Supper. Jesus had commanded the apostles to keep the Supper and we see that they passed on the directive to churches as they established them. In Acts 2:42, we see that the first church, established on Pentecost in Jerusalem, "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers". So from the very beginning, the Lord's Supper figured front and center in the assembly of the saints.

In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul corrects some abuses that had entered into the fellowship about the Supper. Beginning in verse 17, he tells them that their meetings (Sunday assemblies) do more harm than good. Not a good commentary on their worship service! He points out that they had divisions among them. This is not hard to understand as we see this today in many churches. People want things their way and will divide based on many things: socioeconomic, racial, age, opinion, ethnic, etc. I guess this will always be true as long as people put their wants ahead of others needs.

Next Paul addresses the issue of the Lord's Supper. He tells them that when they come together each week that it is "not the Lord's Supper that they eat." (verse 20) They are eating the Supper without waiting on others to arrive, leaving nothing for them. The Supper had become a time of gluttony and they had forgotten that it was a time of remembrance. They had forgotten that it was a time of self-examination, a time of unity of the body. Paul makes it clear that we can, by our actions distort the Supper to the point that it no longer has the meaning that Jesus intended. (read the chapter) He reminds them of Jesus' words as He gave them and us this special time of unity that we partake of each week. We call it communion; think about that word and what it communicates.

On the doctrine side of things, it is clear from these verses as well as several others (and history), that the early church made the Lord's Supper a weekly celebration. Many today do it quarterly or even annually. Many today make the "Christmas" celebration a much bigger deal; even though it is clearly a manmade "holiday". Jesus asked us to remember Him and His death by taking the supper each Lord's Day. He never asked us to celebrate His birth. Now understand, I have no issue with remembering His birth, (His birth is recorded in the Bible) I just have a big issue with not remembering Him the way He commanded.

I would encourage us to think about these things next Sunday. Are we dealing with our brothers and sisters in a way that makes the Supper something other than what Jesus intended? Are we keeping the Supper each Sunday? Are we divided or united as we break the bread and share the cup? If we are struggling with any of these issues, may we reconsider our conduct and refocus on our Savior as share in His body and blood.