1. 1 CORINTHIANS 11:17-34 The Lord's Supper as Worship

2. Worship More than just what happens on Sunday!  Today we worship by partaking of the Lord’s Supper  The Lord’s supper is never called “worship” in the New Testament  The gathering of the church where it happens is never called “worship” in the New Testament

3. Worship More than just what happens on Sunday!  We need to break the habit of equating worship mainly with what happens here on Sunday morning  This is worship, but we should call it “congregational worship” or “corporate worship”  The New Testament teaches something new and radical about worship!  Worshiping in spirit and truth is a matter of the heart!  Worship flows out from the heart into all of our life, not just in “worship services”

4. The Essence of Worship The inner experience of treasuring the true beauty and worth of God  Outward forms of worship  The actions that show how much we treasure the beauty and worth of God Praise Singing Prayer  God created all of life as worship  1 Corinthians 10:31 “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”

5. The Corporate Life of the Church “Corporate” life of the Church = when we are gathered  One of the outward acts we should do to worship Christ is the Lord’s Supper  v. 20 the “Lord’s Supper”  Happen in the gathered church  Different from other meals that we eat at home to meet our physical needs  The Lord’s Supper is an act of worship where we express our inner treasuring of Christ’s beauty and worth!  We express the value of Christ by “remembering,” by “proclaiming,” and by “nourishing”

6. The Historical Origin of the Lord’s Supper The Gospels of Matthew (26:26ff), Mark (14:22ff), and Luke (22:14ff)  All report the Last Supper that Jesus had with His disciples the night before He died  Each describes Jesus  Giving thanks or blessing the bread and the cup  Giving them to His disciples  Saying that the bread is His body and the cup is the blood of the covenant, or the new covenant in His blood  Luke 22:19 Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of Me”  The Gospel of John doesn’t report the eating and drinking, but rather the teachings and actions that filled the evening

7. The Historical Origin of the Lord’s Supper From the earliest records the church did what Jesus said  They reenacted that supper in remembrance of Jesus and His death  Paul’s letters are the earliest testimony that we have  1 Corinthians 11:20, he refers to “the Lord’s Supper”  It’s called “the Lord’s Supper” Because it was ordained by the Lord Jesus Because its very meaning celebrates the memory of the Lord’s death

8. The Historical Origin of the Lord’s Supper From the earliest records the church did what Jesus said  1 Corinthians 11:23-24 “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when 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.’”  “I received from the Lord...”  Paul wasn’t at the final supper as the other apostles were  But the Lord himself confirmed for Paul that what the others reported about the Last Supper really happened

9. Only Believers Partake of the Lord’s Supper The Lord’s Supper is an act of the Church  The Church is the gathered family of those who believe in Jesus  It is not an act for unbelievers  Unbelievers may be present — we welcome them to be present!  There is nothing secretive about the Lord’s Supper  It is done in public  It has a public meaning 1 Corinthians 11:26 “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”  It is not a secret ritual with magical powers  It is a public act of worship by the gathered church

10. Only Believers Partake of the Lord’s Supper 5 times in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul speaks of the church “coming together” when the Lord’s Supper is eaten  v. 17b: “When you come together it is not for the better but for the worse”  v. 18: “For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you”  v. 20: “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat”  v. 33: “When you come together to eat, wait for one another”  v. 34: “If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment”

11. Only Believers Partake of the Lord’s Supper v. 18: “when you come together as a church”  This is the body of Christ  The assembly of the followers of Jesus  Those who have turned from their sin and trusted Jesus alone  For the forgiveness of their sins  For the hope of eternal life  For the eternal salvation of their souls  Those who partake of the Lord’s Supper are believers

12. The Actions of the Lord’s Supper The physical action of the Lord’s Supper is very simple  It is eating bread and drinking the cup  1 Corinthians 11:23b-25  “He 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 also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’”

13. The Actions of the Lord’s Supper The Elements  Nothing is specified about the kind of bread or the way it is broken  But it did take place at Passover, so it had to be unleavened bread  The only statement about what was in the cup is in one verse each in Matthew, Mark, and Luke  “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18  “the fruit of the vine” We should not make a big deal over whether grape juice or wine is used There is nothing that commands or forbids the one or the other

14. The Actions of the Lord’s Supper The Elements  What we should be concerned about is casual substitutes  i.e. bagels and coke around a campfire  The Lord’s Supper is not a plaything!  We should celebrate it with a sense of holiness!

15. The Actions of the Lord’s Supper Frequency  There is nothing in the New Testament about the frequency of the Lord’s Supper  Some practice it weekly, others quarterly  Some every time the church comes together  We celebrate it on every 7 th Sunday starting at Easter each year  The question is  What frequency corresponds to its proper importance in relation to the ministry of the Word of God?  What frequency helps us feel its value rather than becoming routine about it?  Those are not easy judgments, and different churches make them in different ways

16. The Focus of the Lord’s Supper The focus of the Lord’s Supper is our Lord Jesus Christ  Especially His work in dying for our sins  1 Corinthians 11:24 and 25: “Do this in remembrance of Me”  As we do the physical act of eating and drinking, we are to do the mental act of remembering  Consciously call to mind  The person of Jesus as He once lived  The work of Jesus as He once died and rose again  What His work means in the forgiveness for our sins!

17. The Focus of the Lord’s Supper The focus of the Lord’s Supper is our Lord Jesus Christ  The Lord’s Supper is a reminder, time after time, that Christ Jesus lived and died and rose again  He had a body that experienced pain and a heart that pumped blood and flesh that was wounded and bled  He died publicly on a Roman cross in the place of sinners so that anyone who believes on Him might be rescued from the wrath of God  That happened once and for all in history  So we are to remember our Lord and what He did for us on the cross

18. The Spiritual Aspects of the Lord’s Supper This is truly important!  Unbelievers could do everything we do physically  Eat, drink, and remember  There is nothing inherently spiritual about that  For the Lord’s Supper to be what Jesus means for it to be, something more must be happening than only eating, drinking, and remembering  Something that unbelievers and the devil cannot do!  It is an act of worship!

19. The Spiritual Aspects of the Lord’s Supper We partake of Christ’s body and blood, spiritually, by faith  What does this participation/sharing mean?  v. 18 gives us a clue because it uses a similar word  It compares to what happens in the Jewish sacrifices “Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?”  What does sharer/participant/partner in the altar mean?  They are sharing in or benefiting from what happened on the altar  They are enjoying forgiveness and restored fellowship with God

20. The Spiritual Aspects of the Lord’s Supper We partake of Christ’s body and blood, spiritually, by faith  So verses 16 & 17 mean that when believers eat the bread and drink the cup physically we do another kind of eating and drinking spiritually  We eat and drink — we take into our lives — what happened on the cross!  By faith — by trusting in all that God is for us in Jesus — we nourish ourselves with the benefits that Jesus obtained for us when he bled and died on the cross

21. The Spiritual Aspects of the Lord’s Supper We partake of Christ’s body and blood, spiritually, by faith  What are the benefits that Jesus obtained for us when he bled and died on the cross?  Peace with God and joy in Christ  Hope for the future and freedom from fear  Security in adversity and guidance in perplexity  Healing from sickness and victory in temptation

22. The Spiritual Aspects of the Lord’s Supper We partake of Christ’s body and blood, spiritually, by faith  When Jesus died, His shed blood and broken body, offered up in His death on our behalf, purchased all the promises of God!  2 Corinthians 1:20 “All the promises of God find their Yes in Him”  Every gift of God, and all our joyful fellowship with God, was obtained by the blood of Jesus!

23. The Spiritual Aspects of the Lord’s Supper We partake of Christ’s body and blood, spiritually, by faith  1 Corinthians 10:16 “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”  “communion” can also be translated “participation” or “sharing”  “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation (sharing) in the blood of Christ?  The bread that we break, is it not a participation (sharing) in the body of Christ?”

24. The Spiritual Aspects of the Lord’s Supper We partake of Christ’s body and blood, spiritually, by faith  At the Lord’s Supper table, we spiritually, by faith, receive every spiritual blessing bought by the body and blood of Christ!  No unbeliever can do that  The devil can’t do it  It is a gift only for the family of believers  When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we feast spiritually by faith on all the promises of God bought by the blood of Jesus!

25. The Sacredness of the Lord’s Supper The Warning  If you come to the Lord’s Supper in a careless way and do not understand the seriousness of what happened on the cross, you may, if you are a believer, become weak and sick, even to the point of losing your life!  Not because of God’s wrath, but as an act of God’s chastening or fatherly discipline

26. The Sacredness of the Lord’s Supper 1 Corinthians 11:27-32 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

27. The Sacredness of the Lord’s Supper Don’t take the Lord’s Supper lightly!  It is one of the most precious gifts Christ has given to His church  As we eat the bread and drink the cup, our souls are nourished by faith on the reality of Christ’s presence  When we remember and proclaim His death, He manifests Himself to us as infinitely precious  He shows us all that God’s promises are fulfilled for us in Christ  This nourishes our souls and we can find strength to live as Christians

28. The Sacredness of the Lord’s Supper The Lord’s Supper is worship because it expresses the infinite worth of Christ  No one is more worthy to be remembered  No one is more worthy to be proclaimed  No one can nourish our souls with eternal life but Christ So let us come and remember, and proclaim and partake

29. The Lord’s Supper Luke 22:19-20 19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.