1 Corinthians 8

Chapter 8. The Ordinances of the ChurchFor I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)In his comprehensive manual of the Christian Church, the apostle next takes up the ordinances of the Church, more especially the sacred ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. He calls attention first to the prevalent abuses among them with respect to this ordinance; next, he unfolds with deep tenderness and fullness the nature and design of this beautiful rite, the true spirit of its observance.

Section I: Abuses in Connection with the Lord’s Supper

Section I—Abuses in Connection with the Lord’s SupperThe Spirit of Division The first of these was the spirit of division in the Church. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. (1 Corinthians 11:18-19) The Lord’s Supper is a beautiful type of the unity of the Church of Christ. Speaking of it in the 10th chapter, he says, Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17) We are to discern the Lord’s body in this ordinance; and that does not mean merely His personal body, but His mystical body, the Church, which is one in Him. It is therefore a sin against the Head, and an abuse of this symbolical ordinance, to come to the communion table with divisions, strifes or alienations. We are to sit here as brethren, and every wrong should be righted, and every grievance healed, before we partake of the same bread and the same cup. To this, more than to any other spiritual service, does the command of the Savior apply: Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24) The Indulgence of Appetites 2. The next abuse was the coarse and sensual indulgence of their appetites by turning this sacred rite into a common feast, eating and drinking in gross and shameful sensuality. The apostle condemns this in unmeasured terms, and it is scarcely necessary that we should emphasize or dwell upon this part of the subject. It is utterly removed from the very idea of the worldly feast or heathen banquet; the elements in it are purely symbolic of higher spiritual things and the earthly and physical are only meant to be a steppingstone to the spiritual and divine. Discerning the Lord’s Body 3. The next abuse is one in which we are more likely to share. He defines it as not discerning the Lord’s body. It is a failure to understand and enter into the deep spiritual meaning of this holy ordinance, or spiritual apathy and indifference. We are to engage in this service with mind and heart intent upon its great central object, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. We are to meet with Him, and recognize Him in His personal presence, His suffering love, and especially the great fact here commemorated, His atoning death for us upon the cross. Our abuse of the Lord’s Supper is a very serious matter, and we are here taught that it is certain to bring upon us God’s marked and severe chastenings. “That is why,” he tells them, “many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 11:30). Disease comes in consequence of such irreverent and sacrilegious conduct, and even life is prematurely shortened, and untimely death is often the penalty of such sin. There is no doubt, on the one hand, that the Lord’s Supper is very intimately connected with our physical life, and it brings to us the actual bodily strength of the Lord Jesus Christ if we rightly partake. And so, on the other hand, it brings to us sickness and death if we abuse it. The two-edged sword cuts both ways, either in blessing or in judgment as we meet it. There is no doubt that many Christians are suffering from sickness, and perhaps their very lives have been shortened because they have sat down at this holy table cherishing willfully unholy resentments and knowingly indulging in the forbidden things. These judgments are not penal and permanent. The word “damnation”, used in the 29th verse, is most unfortunate. Its proper translation is simply judgment, and these judgments are explained in a later verse as the gracious chastenings of the Lord to bring us to repentance so that we will not “be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32). The way to avert such judgments is by the self-examination here prescribed: “But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment” (1 Corinthians 11:31). The moment we see our fault, and penitently and obediently turn from it, the judgment is immediately turned away. “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28).

Section II: The True Nature and Right Observance of the Lord’s Supper

Section II—The True Nature and Right Observance of the Lord’s SupperIts Institution

1. Attention is first called to its institution. This is very marked and definite. “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you” (1 Corinthians 11:23). This seems to have been a special revelation given to Paul for the Gentile churches, lest they should be tempted to think that it was merely a Jewish rite. Thinking of us all through the coming ages, our blessed Master gave this special revelation to Paul, the apostle, for the Gentiles, that we might know that down to the end of time He was thinking of us and lovingly assuring us of His personal remembrance. The Associations
2. The associations of this institution are also very touching. “On the night he was betrayed” (1 Corinthians 11:23) is the dark background. Surely He had enough trouble to absorb His attention to Himself, but He was only thinking of us and providing for our comfort in the future ages. Over against that dark background of betrayal, it is not hard to read the lines that tell of His faithful love and the thought in His heart that would call for our love and faithfulness in return. The Emblems
3. The emblems used are full of beautiful fitness and significance. The bread is a whole parable of suffering love. First, the seed was planted, and had to die before it could spring into life and become the living grain. Then the grain had to be crushed before it could become material for bread. Then the very meal had to be kneaded, beaten and exposed to intense heat in the fiery oven before it could become bread. All this lies back of the heavenly Bread on which we feed today. Then, the wine is crushed from the grape and flows like the living blood, and tells of life poured out and life poured in. It is the most perfect type of the Savior’s very life given for us and given to us. The Words
4. The words of the institution are a whole theology. “This is my body” (1 Corinthians 11:24) is a figurative statement of the doctrine of the incarnation. It tells us of Bethlehem and the manger, of the Son of God becoming the Son of man, of the oneness of our Kinsman-redeemer with our very nature. He who meets us today is our Brother forevermore, flesh of our flesh, heart of our heart, life of our life, very Man as well as very God. Next, “broken” (1 Corinthians 11:24). How it tells of the nails, and the spear, the drooping head and the dying agony, the atoning death, the shameful cross, the doctrine of the great Sacrifice. The theologies may go wrong, and the standards of the Church may change, but the Lord’s Supper forever will bear witness of the true cross and the blood-marked way of life. “For you” (1 Corinthians 11:24). This is the great truth of substitution. It was a vicarious sacrifice. It was for others that He died. It was for us. It was for me. Next, the appeal, “Take, eat” (1 Corinthians 11:24), expresses the whole truth of appropriating faith. “Take” is the first act of faith which claims our salvation. “Eat” is the deeper experience which enters into, realizes and enjoys the blessing which we claim, the Christ whom we receive. Next, we have the life of consecration and obedience in the sweet verse, “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). It becomes a watchword for every day and every act, a loving reminder saying to us every moment, “This do, and this, and this for My sake, for love of Me.” And finally, the blessed hope of His coming shines out clearly and gloriously in the last words, “until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). Out across the gulf of sorrow, the cross, the grave, the changes that lie between time’s rolling flood, our lives with their changes and their sorrows, away across time He was looking; and we are to look this day and from this place, to the sunlit heights of glory, to the blessed morning of His return, to the unspeakable meaning of those three little monosyllables, “Till he come” (1 Corinthians 11:26). What a theology! What a Christology! What an alphabet of truth stands out in vivid characters of light and love from this memorial table with its elemental signs and suggestive words of redeeming love! The Names
5. The names that have been given to this sacred ordinance are also suggestive of precious and profitable things. One of its latest names is the Eucharist. This means a service of thanksgiving and praise. It is an expression of our gratitude for the unspeakable blessings of redemption, and it is suggested by the first act of the Lord Jesus Christ in the ordinance, “When he had given thanks, he broke it” (1 Corinthians 11:24). It ought to be a season of deep thankfulness and holy joy. Another traditional name is the Sacrament. This is derived from an old Latin word, sacramentum, meaning an oath. It was the oath of enlistment which the Roman soldier took when he entered the services of the state. It expresses, therefore, the idea of our dedication to God, and engagement in His service to be loyal and true to our Master. It is thus connected with the idea of a profession of faith and consecration of life. It is not a scriptural expression, but it represents a scriptural idea. The word communion is very frequently applied to this service. This is a scriptural word, and it denotes our fellowship with the Lord Jesus and with one another at this sacred table. The Lord’s Supper is the more scriptural and comprehensive term for this ordinance. This expression denotes spiritual nourishment and heavenly sustenance. Briefly summing up the purpose of the Lord’s Supper we may say: a. That it is a service of commemoration, not only recalling to our minds, but signalizing and publicly honoring the memory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and especially of His death for us—the supreme act of His life and love. b. It is a service of communion, not only bringing the remembrance of the Lord, but bringing His own personal presence in living communion with us and loving fellowship with one another. c. It is the means not only for communion, but of communication of His life and grace to us. It is thus a means of grace and channel of actual spiritual impartation from Him to those who are in living fellowship with Him. We strike here the great Roman Catholic heresy of transubstantiation. This is an honest and sincere attempt of the human heart to find something true after which it is feeling. That something is the real presence and the physical presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. The Romanist has tried to explain this as the literal flesh of the Lord Jesus in the wafer of which he partakes; but it would be of little use to us to partake of the flesh of Christ even if it were present. Back of this error lies the real truth that has been overlooked by the Church of God, that is, the truth expressed in the sixth chapter of John, I am the bread of life…. I am the living bread…. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world…. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:35, John 6:51, John 6:54) Here He promises us not only spiritual life, but physical life from His own body. This is the blessed truth which our faith has learned to apprehend in the Lord’s Supper. It is the truth commonly known as divine healing. It is deeper than mere healing; it is the actual participation in the physical strength, vitality and energy of our risen Lord. It is again and again referred to in the writings of Paul as the Lord’s Supper, and is especially to us glorious and vivid, simple and expressive. d. One more truth in connection with this ordinance is expressed in the word, covenant. It is the milestone on life’s way. It is a time and a place to take blessings for days to come, and looking back to where we have failed, and forward to all we may meet, renew afresh our covenant with Him for His all-sufficient grace for spirit, soul and body, home and business, circumstances and service, time and eternity, and go forth with His blessed assurance, “I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). “Your strength will equal your days” (Deuteronomy 33:25).

Section III: Conclusion

Section III—ConclusionAnd now, in conclusion, it remains only to sum up in practical application the precious lessons of this subject. How shall we prepare for the Lord’s table? How shall we partake of this holy feast? First, let us do so with honest self-examination, not to know if we are Christians—that ought to have been settled long ago—but to know that we are in actual and habitual exercise of all that belongs to a true Christian life, and to know the needs that we are to bring and the grace that we are to claim at His blessed feet. Next, we are to exercise our minds and memories in intelligent recollection and realization of His love to us in His life and death of sacrifice, and in the personal story of our own salvation and all the providences of our life. We are to think of the way that He has led us, and remember all His love until our hearts shall bring Him an oblation of grateful praise. Next, we are to meet with Him to touch Him, to listen to His voice, to rest upon His bosom and to take His loving promises as we go forth as they went from the mountains in Galilee and the upper chamber in Jerusalem. Then we are to reach out to a larger love and a closer fellowship with our brethren. We are to enter into the communion of saints, and take His blessing for the whole family in heaven and on the earth, for the gathering and preparation of the Bride and for the completing of the whole body of Christ. It is to be a radiating as well as a rallying point from which we shall go forth with a love as large as His to bless the whole world. Finally, we are to look out from this watch tower to the morning star, to the rising day, to the advent glory, to the millennial age, and go forth looking for and hastening forward the coming of our precious Lord.