In last week's lesson, on I Corinthians 11:1-16, the apostle Paul introduced a whole new series of teachings on the "propriety of public worship"--first addressing an issue which had become an area of great controversy within the church of Corinth: women "praying and prophesying" with their heads uncovered! The church had apparently been influenced by a "feminist movement" in the social culture of that day, just as it has in our day! Constable speculates that a group of "liberated woman" who had come into the church had decided to cut their hair and stop wearing head coverings while participating in church services, and appearing in the public square, to "make a statement"--in effect, repudiating their origin as women, and therefore their calling and duty as well to function under the authority of their husbands! And so the apostle Paul used the occasion not only to renounce their actions but to make a clear statement of the "divine order," and basic principle, that God had established, from the beginning, concerning the role and relationship of a man and a woman!
"I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ," Paul wrote! And he referenced back to Genesis to remind them that "man did not originate from woman, but woman from man...for indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake; therefore, a woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels"! The Phillips translation says "...as an outward sign of man's authority for all the angels to see"! (Did you know that angels watch over what's going on in the church?)
And so the apostle Paul goes on to write that, "Every man ought not to have his head covered (while praying and prophesying) since he is the image and glory of God! But every woman ought to have her head covered in similar circumstances!
And yet, as Paul notes in verse 11, "In the Lord, neither is the woman independent of the man, nor is the man independent of the woman; for as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God!" And, as MacArthur notes, it's important for all of us to recognize that the Bible makes no distinction between men and woman as far as personal worth, abilities, intellect, or spirituality are concerned; and that God established the principle of male authority and female subordination for the purpose of order and complementation, not based on the superiority of the male!
And we noted that if the idea of God's divine order "rubs one the wrong way," he (or she!) needs only to look at the relationship between God the Father and God the Son! A whole lot of Scripture makes it abundantly clear that Christ "submitted Himself to His Father's will" in everything, including by going to the Cross! Jesus said, in John 6:38, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me!" And, as MacArthur further notes, "he has never been--before, during, or after His resurrection--in any way inferior, in essence, to the Father"! And so, as Christ is submissive to the Father, and Christians are to be submissive to Christ, so a wife is to be to her husband!
And we closed our lesson last week by referring to a number of verses which reflect this basic principle of how the husband and wife are to live together in unity, peace, and harmony, where the main ingredient that makes it all work is love! The "agape" love of the Bible!
There's another issue prevalent in our culture today that's related to this lesson but one that we didn't address last week, and that concerns those who are caught up with the LGBTQ agenda! Constable wrote in this regard that one of the main points Paul is making in this passage is that Christians, in particular, need to accept, and appreciate, the sexual identity in which they were born, whether male or female, and "abide in it" rather than seeking to change it, and live like a member of the opposite sex! In Corinth, the fact that women were not willing to cover their heads indicated to everyone that they wanted to be treated like men! Earlier, in I Corinthians 7:24, you'll remember, Paul wrote, "Brothers and sisters, each one of you is to remain with God in the condition in which he (or she!) was called"! This instruction, Constable notes, could just as well have been included in last week's text, addressing the LGBTQ controversy!
And so, all the above set the tone for last night's lesson on I Corinthians 11:17-34, where Paul deals with another "impropriety" in the Corinthians church--another highly important issue that Paul became aware of and felt was necessary to address! And that concerned the Corinthian believers' remembrance of, and participation in, the Lord's Supper!
But first, a little background! The early church had developed the tradition when they "came together" to worship of sharing a meal together, somewhat like the "pot-luck dinners" served in present day churches. The meals provided for a special time of fellowship and mutual support among the people, and was followed by the celebration of the "Lord's Supper"! It was a cultural thing in both Jewish and Greek communities, and so in the church of Corinth as well! And it became known as "love feasts" because it symbolized Christ-like love and solidarity among the believers, with an emphasis on communal sharing and the practice of hospitality as an essential part of Christian conduct! Constable writes that "the early church was one place in all the ancient world where social and class distinctions didn't exist and where men and women were united to each other because they were all united in Christ!
Acts 2:44-47 probably speaks for the Corinthian church as well, when it records how "all those who had believed (in the early church) were together and had all things in common...and day by day (were) continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people; and the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved"!
But apparently things changed rather quickly in the church of Corinth! And it all began, it seems, beginning in chapter 3, where Paul noted "jealousy and strife, and factions among them," and so while he once had praised them for their walk with the Lord, he wrote (in verse 17) that he could no longer do that because the divisions and schisms and other disorders had become so atrocious that "coming together was not for the better but for the worse"! And that they weren't really coming together "to eat the Lord's Supper," but to satisfy their own appetites, with the wealthier people eating and drinking all the food they brought for themselves and not sharing it with the poorer people who had nothing! And so "one is hungry and another is drunk"! MacArthur writes that "they had turned the meals into gluttonous, drunken revelry; and since the meal was connected with the bread and cup remembrance, it was a flagrant desecration of the holy ordinance"!
And so, as John Neal noted, instead of the celebration being times of loving fellowship and spiritual enrichment, it led, as John Neal noted, to selfish indulgence, shaming of the poorer brethren, mocking the Lord's sacrificial death, and scandalizing the church before a watching, and unbelieving, world!
Paul, in verses 23-26--in the midst of highlighting all this disorder, and perversion that was taking place in the Corinthian church--then used the occasion to explains what the Lord's Supper was really all about and how it should be celebrated--by reciting the words of Jesus, which he says he received directly from the Lord when He instituted the Lord's Supper! (Many scholars believe the epistle of I Corinthians was written before any of the gospels which, if true, makes this the first instructions given in the Bible on the Lord's Supper!) MacArthur notes that "the description of Christ's institution of the Lord's Supper is one of the most beautiful portrayals in all of Scripture, yet given in the midst of one of the strongest rebukes of carnal selfishness--like a 'diamond dropped in a muddy road"!
And here it is again--for us to ponder!
Paul writes, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which 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 He took the cup also after supper, saying, 'This is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me,' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes!"
Note that Jesus said that "the cup is the new covenant in My blood"! Jesus thus transformed the Old Covenant (which required the "blood of bulls and goats" to be offered repeatedly as a sacrifice for sin), to the coming of Christ and the New Covenant with His "once for all sacrifice on the Cross for the forgiveness of sin! (Hebrews 8:6-13 says, "But now He (Christ) has obtained for us a more excellent ministry, which has been enacted on better promises...making the Old Covenant obsolete!")
Then He says (twice!), "Do this in remembrance of Me! MacArthur calls this "the heart of Christian worship"!
And so, when we do it, we're "proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes"! Every time we participate in the Lord's Supper we're recognizing and affirming what Christ accomplished for us by His sacrificial, atoning death on the Cross! (MacArthur says, "it's the clearest proclamation of the gospel of redemption"!) And it's a renewing of our commitment to following the Lord, and of our faith in His coming back for us! And so, it's also "eschatological"!
And how beautiful! Like a "diamond dropped on a muddy road"!
But Paul's not done and, in verses 27-34, adds words (words "delivered to him as well from the Lord," but not included in the gospel accounts), which are certainly important reminders for the Corinthians, and certainly for all believers in our day)! "Therefore whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord! But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat the bread and drink the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge rightly! For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep! But if we judged ourselves, we will not be judged! But when we judge ourselves, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned with the world!
Constable notes that "the divisions and schisms, and selfish behavior of the Corinthians" constituted the "unworthy manner" in which they came to the Lord's Table! But MacArthur adds that "if a believer comes to the table with anything less than the loftiest thoughts of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and anything less than total love for his brothers and sisters in Christ, he (or she!) is coming unworthily"! And thus we could be guilty of dishonoring the body and blood of Christ"!
And so, we must "examine ourselves...and judge ourselves rightly"! MacArthur says, "Before we partake, we are to give ourselves a thorough self-examination, looking honestly at our hearts for anything that should not be there, and sifting out all evil! Our motives, and our attitudes toward the Lord and His Word, toward His people, and toward the Communion service itself should come under private scrutiny before the Lord. The table thus becomes a special place for the purifying of ourselves, and of the church!" And we certainly don't want to "come together for judgment"!
Paul ends with another "one another" reminder in verse 33! Reminding us that it's important "to the Lord" that we "put the needs of others before our own needs"!
Philippians 2:3-11, I discovered (to my surprise!), not only is a reminder of how we should treat others but doing it in the context (would you believe) as a reminder as well of "Christ's death on the Cross"! And it's an appropriate closing, I believe, for this important lesson! "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who though He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, and being made in the likeness of man. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself (and here it is!!!) by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (which we celebrate by our participation at the Lord's Table!). For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!"
And so, fellow MOBsters, let's remember to "come together to remember the Lord's death until He comes"!
Lowell