By now, we should understand from Paul's letter to the Corinthians that the gospel is the solution for every problem Christians face. We will see this again in today’s reading.
Please read this next section of verses and take note of the problem and how Paul addresses it:
“When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. 21 For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. 22 What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this! 23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again”
1 Corinthians 11:20-26 NLT
Question 1. What is the problem in the Corinthian church presented in 1 Corinthians 11:20-26?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
When the Corinthians gathered to participate in communion as a body of believers, some people were not eating the Lord's Supper; they were just eating supper. They hurried to get their food and drink and consumed them so quickly they ended up getting drunk. They were living according to the flesh in selfishness, lack of self-control, lack of love and concern for the poor, and most importantly, lack of recognition of the cross of Jesus Christ.
Paul asks them, "don't you have your own homes for eating and drinking?" In other words, the purpose of communion is not to feed our bodies but our hearts. It is a time to consider all that Christ suffered to save us and set us free.
Having described the problem in the church, Paul brings them to the cross to correct their misunderstanding. He describes the events that happened the night Jesus was betrayed by Judas. He reminds them that Jesus took bread and broke it in pieces, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24).
Friend, when you eat the bread of the Lord’s Supper, you are to recall Jesus purposefully giving His body to be beaten, bruised, and broken to pieces for you. You are to remember His suffering for your forgiveness, recall His painful agony of being nailed to the cross to free you from sin and guilt. It is an opportunity to pause and remember Jesus hanging on the cross, bowing His head, and giving up His Spirit to give you eternal life.
Question 2. According to 1 Corinthians 11:25, when was the New Covenant initiated?
Next, Paul describes Jesus’ taking the cup of wine and offering it to His disciples, telling them that it represents the blood He would shed to make the New Covenant. As you drink the cup, think of Jesus’ lashings, and beatings, the crown of thorns which pierced deeply into His flesh, the nails pounded into His hands and feet, and the final piercing of the sword, during which Jesus’ body poured forth atoning blood for you.
When drinking the cup, remember that Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant which condemned us (2 Corinthians 3:9-11) and instituted the New Covenant of forgiveness which gives us a new heart and a new Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27), and which guarantees our eternal life.
The Old Covenant was a “ministry of death” (2 Corinthians 3:7) and ended with the death of Jesus. Then He rose from the dead on the third day, as the New Covenant has to do with new life. Finally, He poured out His Spirit at Pentecost, as the New Covenant is a “ministry of the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:8). This New Agreement means you are wholly accepted and thoroughly loved because of Jesus’ broken body and poured out blood, and His resurrection on the third day.
Question 3. What does it do for your heart to consider the suffering Jesus endured and the blood He shed to institute the new covenant?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.