THE SEARCHING DIAGNOSIS OF CORINTHIAN
PERSONAL ATTITUDE
1 Cor. 11:17-34
lb. The apostle is now ready to strike at the very heart of the problem in Corinth. The first half of chapter eleven deals with insubordination of women in the public service. You can be sure that this deals specifically with attitude. But the last half of the chapter is concerned with desecration of the Lord's Table. It is here that the apostle diagnosis the problem in Corinth. He prefaces the diagnosis with a severe denunciation of their conduct at the Lord's Table (17-22), and then makes a clear declaration of what the Lord had delivered to him (23-26). He is now ready to zero in on the very heart of the problem.
2b. Any
believer partaking of the Bread and cup unworthily is guilty of the body
and blood of the Lord. Don't make the mistake of reading the word
"unworthily" as though it were the adjective "Unworthy".
The word unworthy describes the actual condition of the believer. The word
unworthily describes the manner or attitude of the believer. The problem in
Corinth was that these believers were regarding themselves as worthy, and they
were performing the service in an unworthy manner. Their attitude was
that they were good, and therefore they did not hesitate to deport themselves
at the service in that sort of manner, to be gluttonous, drunken, and despising
of their brethren. This was a disgusting, nauseating display. "For this
cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep". This was God's
way of chastening them for their misconduct, so that they might not be
condemned with the world.
3b. Take a clear
look at what this means. It means that they were engaging in the communion
service and treating it as so many meaningless, religious gyrations. The performance
of these symbols pointed to nothing. They were just so many physical movements
of the body and the in gestation of bread and juice. That is pure paganism.
That carries the sense that physical manipulation commends you God. That means
that salvation is by works, not by the grace of the Lord. Worse yet, it
carries the sense that there is inherent goodness in the person. Even worse
than that, it carries the sense that Christ did not need to die for the sins of
men. This means that there is a repudiation of all that the communion service
is intended to mean.
4b. The reason
believers participate, in the communion service is because they are not
good. They are unworthy. And recognizing this fact they can partake of the
bread and cup in worthy manner. As they partake of the bread and cup they can realize
that those symbols point to what Christ suffered in order to save them. As
often as they participate in this service till the Lord comes it will be a
memorial of the death of Christ, an authoritative demonstration that they are
sinners who were saved by grace. God took upon Himself human flesh that He
might experience the breaking of His body and shed infinite blood to rescue men
from infinite loss.
5b. This will explain why the Lord's supper and the bread and cup are preceded by the feetwashing service. In that foot washing service the believer has opportunity to examine himself in his daily walk. He has been walking through a sinful world. He has been bound to contract defilement and therefore the need for cleansing. Cleansing from the penalty of sin comes from the work of Christ at the cross. The believer needs that continuous flow of efficacy from the cross to cover his sin. Self-examination will not only lead him to put that sin under the blood, but also to separate him from a continuation in that sin. Moreover, the right attitude at the Lord's Table will display itself in respect for one another and concern for the welfare of all who assemble at the Lord's Table, which is the meaning of the Lord's Supper.
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