1 Corinthians 11
Everett1 Corinthians 11:2-14
Public Worship – Paul now turns his attention to issues regarding public worship in 1 Corinthians 11:2 to 1 Corinthians 14:40. These directives on public worship in the Church will stand in direct contrast to the heathen forms of public worship in their pagan temples, which has been dealt with in the previous passages of this Epistle. Remember in the Old Testament how the priests and Levites had to sanctify themselves before entering into the service of the Tabernacle and Temple. Therefore, Paul uses this same approach for the New Testament Church. He first discusses the order of divine authority within the church, with most of his emphasis upon the role of women (1 Corinthians 11:2-16). Paul then deals with the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper by correcting some abuses in order to bring unity among the believers at Corinth (1 Corinthians 11:17-34).
With these two areas of public worship set in order, the gifts of the Spirit are able to operate among the believers. Therefore, Paul takes a great deal of time to discuss the operation of the gifts of the Spirit during public worship (1 Corinthians 12:1 to 1 Corinthians 14:40). Outline - Note the proposed outline:
- The Order of Divine Authority — 1 Corinthians 11:2-162. The Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper — 1 Corinthians 11:17-343. Spiritual Gifts — 1 Corinthians 12:1 to 1 Corinthians 14:40
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
The Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper – In 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Paul deals with the issue of abuses of the Lord’s Supper. Such abuse was probably the result of divisions within the church. It became the custom at Corinth for members to bring their own food and drink and join some congenial group to share it with, leaving the poorer members without. Again, Paul deals with this issue immediately after his discussion on heathen forms of worship that involve fornication and foods offered to idols. In this section Paul will explain how they are abusing this ordinance (1 Corinthians 11:17-22), then explain the meaning and purpose of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and finally tell them the consequences of abusing it (1 Corinthians 11:27-34). Outline – Here is a proposed outline:
- The Abuse of the Lord’s Supper — 1 Corinthians 11:17-222. The Meaning of the Lord’s Supper — 1 Corinthians 11:23-263. The Consequences of Abusing the Lord’s Supper — 1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Paul’s Rebuke Over the Practice of the Lord’s Supper - The book of Acts gives us an indication that the Lord Supper was practiced frequently in the early Church. Acts 2:42-46, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,” Acts 20:7, “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” As they gathered weekly to break bread, the Lord’s Supper took up a portion of the mealtime. These meals were known as “love feasts.” 2 Peter 2:13, “And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;” Jude 1:12, “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;” While cultural and ethnic divisions are a normal occurrence in any society, they do not belong within the local church body. In Uganda, East Africa, there is a small group of about one hundred Filipinos, with this cultural group being divided into the rich and the poor. But when they come together for cultural events, there is no division. In contrast, there is a much larger population of Indians in this nation, again falling into two groups, the rich and the poor. In this case, the rich do not invite the poor when having cultural events, but segregate themselves from the poor. In societies, such segregation is normal. In this passage (1 Corinthians 11:17-34), Paul condemns such behavior as unworthy of a Christian. He then emphasizes the need for unity in the local church. The only segregation that Paul allows is for genuine believers to separate themselves from false Christians (1 Corinthians 11:19). Paul then warns them of God’s judgment for those who persist in such disunity.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
The Purpose of the Lord’s Supper - In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Paul will explain the purpose of the Lord’s Supper. He has just told them how they are abusing this ordinance (1 Corinthians 11:17-22), and he will finally tell them the consequences of abusing it (1 Corinthians 11:27-34). In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Paul explains the meaning of the Lord’s Supper because this sacred ordinance was being abused by the Corinthian church. It was an act of renewing a believer’s covenant with God, which one initially makes at the time of being born again by confession Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord of his life. Jesus the Passover Lamb - The Lord’ supper is similar to the Old Testament Passover meal. The Jews understood that the Passover Meal was to consist of the Passover lamb and unleavened bread. They understood that the lamb and its shed blood served as an atonement for the sins of the people. Therefore, when Jesus presented the cup and the bread as His blood and body, they could not help but relate this symbolism to the Passover lamb. Under the new covenant, Jesus is our Passover Lamb. The bread (1 Corinthians 11:24) represents Jesus’ broken body. According to 1 Peter 2:24 the bread represents Jesus’ scourging, which paid for our healing, as well representing as His death on Calvary. The cup (1 Corinthians 11:25) represents Jesus’ blood, which was shed for our sins. 1 Peter 2:24, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
- Reasons: To Renew Our Covenant with God (“this do in remembrance of me”) – We partake of the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance or as an acknowledgement that it is not by our works of righteousness that gives us forgiveness of sins and healing to our bodies, but by our faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Partaking of the Lord’s Supper is our way of taking the focus off of us and putting our faith in Him as our Saviour and Healer. This is why healing was a part of the first Passover in Egypt and is so until today. As we renew our covenant with the Lord we position ourselves to partake of His covenant blessings. Israel first made her covenant with God at Mount Sinai. We see Israel renewing her covenant under the reigns of King Solomon, Hezekiah and Josiah. After the Babylonian Captivity Ezra again renewed Israel’s covenant with God using the Passover.
- Reasons: To Build Peace and Unity Among the Brethren – When we eat together there is a bond that is built between one another. We see a clear example of this when Jacob and Laban made a covenant between one another in order to end their strife. Genesis 31:54, “Then Jacob offered sacrifice upon the mount, and called his brethren to eat bread: and they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mount.” 1 Corinthians 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 1 Corinthians 11:23 — “For I have received of the Lord” - Comments - Evidently, Paul received a divine visitation from the Lord, in which the Lord’s Supper was discussed and explained to him. In other words, Paul was taught about the Lord’s Supper by a revelation from Jesus. We read in other Scriptures how Paul received revelation from the Lord. Galatians 1:1, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)” Galatians 1:12, “For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” For Jesus to reveal this truth and teach it to Paul outside the Apostle’s teachings shows its importance in body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:23 — “that which also I delivered unto you” – Comments - Paul was exercising his apostolic authority over the Corinthian church by instituting certain ordinances and rules of conduct. He embedded these rules within his Epistles, thus laying down the doctrines of the New Testament Church within his eight Church Epistles, and the rules by which to ordain ministers into Christian service within his four Pastoral Epistles. Paul the apostle was given this unique task under his office as an apostle to the Gentiles. 1 Corinthians 11:23 — “That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread” – Comments - Albert Barnes suggests that the phrase “the same night in which he was betrayed” alludes to the betrayal of the Corinthians who had been “betraying the Lord” by partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner.[144] [144] Albert Barnes, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, in Barnes’ Notes, Electronic Database (Seattle, WA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1997), in P.C. Study Bible, v. 3.1 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc., 1993-2000), comments on 1 Corinthians 11:23. 1 Corinthians 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 1 Corinthians 11:24 — “this is my body, which is broken for you” – Word Study on “broken” - This Greek word êëÜù is used literally in the breaking of bread. Thayer says it is used here metaphorically in the “violent death,” or the shattering, of Jesus’ body. Comments – Jesus’ body was broken “in our behalf,” or “in our place.” Christ became our substitution (Galatians 3:13-14, Hebrews 2:9). Galatians 3:13-14, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” 1 Corinthians 11:24 — “this do in remembrance of me” - Comments – We partake of the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance, or as an acknowledgement, that it is not by our works of righteousness that gives us forgiveness of sins and healing to our bodies, but by our faith in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Partaking of the Lord’s Supper is our way of taking the focus off of us and putting our faith in Him as our Saviour and Healer. This is why healing was a part of the first Passover in Egypt and is so until today. As we renew our covenant with the Lord we position ourselves to partake of His covenant blessings. 1 Corinthians 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 1 Corinthians 11:25 — Comments - The Old Covenant is seen in Exodus 24:3-8. The New Covenant is prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34; Jeremiah 32:40. Both old and new covenants are sealed by blood (Leviticus 17:11, John 19:34, Hebrews 9:16-22). Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” John 19:34, “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.” Hebrews 9:16-22. 1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 1 Corinthians 11:26 — Comments - JFB says that we declare that Jesus died for us by partaking of the Lord’s Supper.[145] In other words, we reaffirm our covenant with God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 11:26 we are to look back at the Cross, “ye do show the Lord’s death,” and we are to look forward to His coming, “till He come,” which is our eternal hope of redemption. Albert Barnes comments that the phrase “till he come” shows that this sacrament is to be a perpetual activity of the New Testament church until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.[146] [145] Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, First Corinthians, in Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database (Seattle, WA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1997), in P.C. Study Bible, v. 3.1 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc., 1993-2000), comments on 1 Corinthians 11:26. [146] Albert Barnes, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, in Barnes’ Notes, Electronic Database (Seattle, WA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 1997), in P.C. Study Bible, v. 3.1 [CD-ROM] (Seattle, WA: Biblesoft Inc., 1993-2000), comments on 1 Corinthians 11:26.
1 Corinthians 11:27-34
The Consequences of Abusing the Lord’s Supper - In this section Paul will explain the consequences of abusing the Lord’s Supper. He has just told them how they are abusing this ordinance (1 Corinthians 11:17-22), and then explained the original meaning and purpose of this ordinance (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). He will now tell the Corinthians the consequences of the abuse of this holy sacrament. 1 Corinthians 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 11:27 — “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily” – Comments - The NIV reads, “in an unworthy manner” for “unworthily.” This refers the selfish manner in which the Corinthians were partaking of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20-22). 1 Corinthians 11:20-22, “When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.” 1 Corinthians 11:27 — “shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord” – Comments - The words, “charged with” seemed to come out of my mouth in the place of “guilty” while meditating on this passage. We are charged with the crime of scourging and crucifying Jesus, as if we had performed the evil deed ourselves. Most commentators interpret this to mean that they become guilty of treating the body and blood of the Lord with profane disrespect. Note a similar passage in Hebrews 10:26-29 that refer to a believer turning back and counting the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing. Hebrews 10:26-29, “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 1 Corinthians 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 1 Corinthians 11:28 — “But let a man examine himself” – Comments - Put yourself to the test and see if you come out approved in the faith. 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 1 Corinthians 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 1 Corinthians 11:29 — “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily” – Scripture References - Note: Exodus 32:6, “And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” 1 Corinthians 11:20-22, “When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.” 1 Corinthians 11:29 — “not discerning the Lord’s body” – Comments - Modern English translates read, “not judging the Lord’s body correctly” (NIV, KJV), “not judging the body correctly [rightly]” (RSV, NASB). Some commentators note that this means the guilty ones made no distinction between the sobriety of the Lord’s Supper and the pleasures of an ordinary feast. Kenneth Hagin explains that there are two aspects to the phrase “not discerning the Lord’s body.” First, Jesus shed His blood for our sins, but His body was broken for our healing. Thus, these Corinthian church members, who were sickly and dying prematurely, were not recognizing and applying the physical healing that Jesus provided through His atonement. Second, the “body of Christ” refers to the Church. The Corinthian believers were behaving themselves in an unworthy manner with each other, particularly when they came together to partake of the Lord’s Supper. In other words, they were not walking in love with one another, and God had no choice but to judge them because they were not judging themselves.[147] [147] Kenneth Hagin, Love the Way to Victory (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Faith Library Publications, c1994, 1995), 228-33.In 1990 Robert Tilton, pastor of Word of Faith Family Church, Dallas, Texas, organized two prayer warriors to pray in a separate room during the Sunday morning church service. On Sunday, April 22, 1990 Robert Tilton was preaching while two of us were assigned to pray throughout the service. I was taking my turn praying in the prayer room that Sunday. Tilton began to tell how through satellite God’s Word is raining down across this nation. I had been praying in tongues about one and a half hours into the service. When he said that, I began to envision souls being saved and the kingdom of God being planted everywhere and I said, “I can see the body of Christ!” Immediately, the Lord quickened to me the phrase used here in 1 Corinthians 11:29, “not discerning the Lord’s body.” I knew at that time that the term “the Lord’s body” was a reference to the church, also called the body of Christ.
We must see that God is saving souls from all walks of life, even homosexuals, prostitutes, murderers, etc. In this particular passage (1 Corinthians 11:17-34) Paul was telling the church that they were not receiving the poor into their church; but rather, they were causing divisions and divided groups within this group of believers. This was a sin against the other believers. Why so; because they were not “discerning”, or “recognizing”, the other members of Christ’s body in love and acceptance. The rich believers were not properly recognizing that the poor in the church were also a part of the body of Christ. These rich believers then become guilty (verse 27) of the body (i.e., sinning against other believers) and guilty of the blood (not remembering that Jesus’ blood cleansed them also) of the Jesus Christ.
Illustration: In October 2000 Benny Hinn received the opportunity to hold an international crusade in Dubai, of the United Arab Emirates. This is a country beside Saudi Arabia and is primarily Muslim. As is the custom of Benny Hinn in his miracle healing crusades, he allows people to come up out of the audience and testify of their healings. Therefore, the Lord spoke to Benny Hinn and said that he is not to ask the person of what religious faith that person is coming from, because “I have accepted him.”[148] God accepts anyone who comes to Him in faith through Jesus Christ, regardless of a person’s background. [148] Benny Hinn, This is Your Day (Irving, Texas), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California, October 2000), television program.1 Corinthians 11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 1 Corinthians 11:30 — Word Study on “sickly” – BDAG says the Greek word ἀ ?́ῤῥωστος literally means, “powerless,” and carries the additional meaning, “sick, ill.” Leon Morris says this word means, “feeble, sickly,” being derived from the Greek prefix ἀ and the verb ῥώνυμμι, which means, “to strengthen.” [149] [149] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, in The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 376. Comments - 1 Corinthians 11:30 describes the effects in our lives of God’s chastening, a familiar concept in the Old Testament (Psalms 38:1, Proverbs 3:11-12, Micah 6:13). Note that this verse lists the effects of God’s chastisement in a progressive order. The phrase “many are weak” refers not so much to physical weakness, but to spiritual and mental weakness. It describes a Christian who is beat down and overcome in heart and soul because of the stress of circumstances around him and the lack of peace and rest in God. “Sickly” refers to the sickness in the physical body as another aspect of divine chastisement. “Sleep” refers to the death of the saints when the Lord takes some believers home before their promised time of departure from this earth life, meaning some Christians die before their seventy-eighty years of promise are fulfilled (Psalms 90:10). We see this early death in Proverbs for those who reject God’s correction (Proverbs 5:23). Psalms 90:10, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” Proverbs 5:23, “He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” God first allows problems to come into our lives to get our attention. These problems weaken us. If we still persist, God will allow sickness to come into our lives. Finally, if we continue in sin, God will take us home early to be in heaven. Psalms 38:1, “O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.” Proverbs 3:11-12, “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Micah 6:13, “Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.” It is interesting to compare this progression of events to that found in Isaiah 1:3-9. The people hardened their hearts (1 Corinthians 1:3) and became very corrupt as a result (1 Corinthians 1:4). This led to sickness (1 Corinthians 1:5-6), then divine judgment upon their nation (1 Corinthians 1:7-8) and eventually the destruction of all but a remnant of people (1 Corinthians 1:9). This was all because God gave up on His chastisement realizing it would not do any good. Thus, He says, “Why should ye be stricken any more?” (1 Corinthians 1:3). Illustration – I have raised three children and each of them have required different degrees of discipline. Elisabeth received few spankings as a child because she trembled at my words of correction. When Victoria was three or four years old, she went through a period of hitting her sister Elisabeth. I initially spoke to Vicky and corrected her on this issue. When she persisted in hitting Elisabeth, I increased my degree of chastisement to stronger words, then a light spanking, then a heavy spanking. The day came when I took her into her bedroom and gave her five good spanks on her behind.
I then turned her over to face me and shouted at her to never, never hit her sister again. Vicky stopped hitting her sister at this degree of discipline and she received very few spankings since then. My third child Michael received greatest degree of discipline. When he was about to turn six years old, he threw a toy at Vicky and injured her. I had been dealing with him about throwing things when he was angry. This time, I took a belt and spanked him at least ten times.
I took him into the bedroom and he fell asleep. My wife and I spoke to him when he woke up and I explained to him why I had to spank him so hard on that occasion. He never threw an object since then when he was upset. Each child of God requires different degrees of chastisement as do our natural children, as explained in 1 Corinthians 11:31. 1 Corinthians 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 1 Corinthians 11:31 — Word Study on “judge” – Strong says the Greek word “judge” (διακρίνω) (G1252) literally means, “to separate thoroughly, to withdraw, and figuratively, “to discriminate, to decide.” BDAG says it means in this verse, “to judge correctly.” This is the same Greek word as used in 1 Corinthians 11:29 that is translated “discerning.” 1 Corinthians 11:31 — Comments - J. Vernon McGee says that 1 Corinthians 11:31 means if we will take the initiative to deal with and get rid of our own sins, then we will not be judged by God.[150] This verse reveals to us a fact that I have experience in my own Christian growth. It is the realization that God gives us some space to misbehave while growing up in much the same way that we patiently give our own children space to act up within a given set of bounds. Once they get out of bounds, or do not correct some bad behavior, we then inflict some form of punishment. In growing up spiritually, I have misbehaved often, and have been chastened by the Lord, as well as by my spiritual leaders. However, God is gracious, and will work with us despite our failings. He does this so that we do not become discouraged due to harshness and give up, as we can imagine our own children would do the same under harsh conditions. [150] J. Vernon McGee, The Epistle to Philemon, in Thru the Bible With J. Vernon McGee (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Pub., 1998), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), comments on 1 Corinthians 11:31.Note God’s forbearance to sin in Revelation 2:21. Revelation 2:21, “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” 1 Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:32 — Comments - If God did not correct His children who go astray, then they would be judged with the world. This keeps us out of Hell. One of the quickest ways that a Christian can bring the chastisement of God into his life is by abusing fellow believers. I have seen this happen more than once. When a fellow believer cries out to God because of abuse from a Christian, God will quickly discipline the abusive Christian. This is why Paul brings the issue of chastisement into a passage on brotherly fellowship of the Lord’s Supper. Paul knows that some of these believers at Corinth were sick because of divine chastisement. We must forgive and love the brethren. Jesse Duplantis tells the story of a friend of his calling him one day and asking him to come to his town and pray for his wife, who was dying of cancer. Jesse agreed to make the trip. While driving the Lord spoke to Jesse and instructed him to tell the wife to forgive her husband. So, when he arrived in the hospital room and met the man and his wife, he told them what the Lord had asked him to do. In an instant the woman sat up with the strength left in her body and declared that she would never forgive her husband, who committed adultery several years earlier. Needless to say, the woman was not healed and died in her sickness.[151] [151] Jesse Duplantis, Jesse Duplantis (New Orleans: Louisiana), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California).If we offence one of the brethren, God will hear their cries and judge the believer quickly for his sins. We see in the Old Testament that the poor cry out to God against the oppression of their brethren, and God quickly judged the oppressor. We note how God judged Sodom and Gomorrah because of the cry of the oppressed: Genesis 18:20, “And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;” God delivered the children of Israel out of bondage when they cried out to God because of their oppression: Exodus 3:7-9, “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.” God writes this divine principle of judgment in the Mosaic Law: Deuteronomy 15:9, “Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.” Deuteronomy 24:15, “At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.” Throughout the book of Judges, God delivers the children of Israel when they cry out to Him. God then judged the oppressive nations around Israel: Job 34:28, “So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.” David cried out to God because of those who oppressed him, and God judged the enemies: Psalms 12:5, “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.” David spoke King Saul’s judgment: 1 Samuel 24:15, “The LORD therefore be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand.” God hears the cry of the oppressed even in the New Testament: James 5:4, “Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.” 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 — Comments – Divine Judgment - Note these insightful words from Frances J. Roberts regarding these verses in 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 : “I have sent My Holy Spirit into your hearts now that He might judge your hearts daily, so that ye may be accounted worthy to escape the day of wrath. For if ye walk now in the light of My revealed truth and if ye judge yourselves, ye shall not be judged at that coming day. And if thou shalt allow the searching eye of the Holy Spirit to find thee out, then it shall not be said to thee, ‘thy sins shall find thee out’.”[152] [152] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 171.1 Corinthians 11:33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 1 Corinthians 11:33 — Comments – 1 Corinthians 11:33 refers to 1 Corinthians 11:20-22, where Paul rebukes them for the manner in which they came together to eat the Lord’s Supper.