What Does Communion mean to You? 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 Every 5 th Sunday, we set aside some time to partake of this supper and some don t even know why. Why do we take itty-bitty pieces of waffers and drink little bitty cups of grape juice? What s the depth and meaning of Communion? What does it mean to you? Anything special? There are four reasons revealed in our text today to help each of us understand better the dept of communion. 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. 19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. 21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 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. 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: 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. 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. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 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. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. 34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come. What does communion mean to you? Before we look at the 4 reasons in the text, we need to understand why Paul took the time to explain them. Verses 17-22 reveal that the Corinthians were having a problem with their Communion services. Some were getting drunk on the wine. Some were gorging themselves on the bread and the other fixins. Some were not able to partake at all because the others were being gluttons. Verses 33-34 reveal that Paul wanted to make sure they would truly understand its meaning and to wait for each other as they partook. The bottom line to the problem: they didn t understand the whole ordeal with Communion. Paul took time to reveal four major reasons behind Communion and I would like for all of us to look closely at them this morning. He explained that it was more than a meal, it was a memorial. It is for us too; 1 st major reason; TO REMEMBER (VV. 23-25) Paul is recalling Jesus Last Supper with His disciples. While Paul wasn t present at that supper when communion was first instituted, the Lord had revealed to Him what happened there. We know that because he said in v. 23 I received from the Lord Jesus was interpreting something OLD: the Passover meal we read about in Exodus 12. This Passover feast included a lamb Jesus is our Lamb who has been sacrificed for us. 1 Corinthians 5:7 (Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us) This Passover feast included unleavened bread. This Passover feast included wine Jesus was instituting something NEW: the Communion of believers as described in our text. This quickly became a frequent celebration in the church not just something done once per year. The whole reason God instituted the Passover feast was so that we would remember Him Exodus 12:17, And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day
have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. 24-27 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. [25] And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. [26] And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? [27] That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. The whole reason Jesus instituted the Communion was so that we would remember Him (vv. 24-25)& 2 nd reason: II. **TO REJOICE (V. 26) Paul states clearly that we should proclaim something. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew (Proclaim in some translations) the Lord's death till he come. proclaim means to announce, to declare, to make known publicly. We declare, make known publicly, announce the death of Jesus on the cross when we partake of the Lords table, communion. 1. We demonstrate in a very impressive manner, the fact that he was put to death; we exhibit the emblems of his broken body and shed blood, and our belief of the fact that he died. This ordinance is to be a proper showing forth of our belief in the death of the Savior. It is one mode of professing our relationship to the Redeemer; and its public observance often has an impressive effect on those who witness it being observed. And we can rejoice & be happy in this because it s where the perfect blood of atonement was spilt for our sins. But we also proclaim this in anticipation of his Second Coming. This demonstrates: (1) That it was the stedfast belief of the church that the Lord Jesus would return to judge the world; and (2) That it was designed that this ordinance should be observed to the end of time. Vs 26 shew the Lord's death till he come. In every generation, and in every place where there are Christians, it is to be observed, until the Son of God shall return; When we do this, we are telling the world that we believe that He has risen and that He will return for His church. This is where we can rejoice He s alive! So, The whole reason Jesus instituted the Communion was so that we would 1 st, remember, 2ndly REJOICE, & 3rdly
III. TO REPENT (VV. 27-28) 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. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. When we share in Communion, we are given the opportunity to examine our lives before God and before our brethren. It is at this point in our time together, we should ask God to show us any unclean way in us. Search me Oh God. We should allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sinfulness and seek to be restored on the basis of Christ s death on the cross & His forgiveness. The invitation after a sermon is that part of a worship service for calling people to repent. It should be at the Lord s Supper where each time we really are convicted of our sin and decide to repent. If we find ourselves unworthy to partake and we repent of our sin, we can be cleansed of those sins with the blood of Jesus, allowing us to partake in a worthy manner. Jesus instituted the Communion so that we would remember, REJOICE, REPENT & lastly IV. TO RECONCILE As we come to the Lord today in this memorial, we are given the opportunity to confess our sinfulness and our need of reconciliation. Reconcile means to restore to friendship or harmony, to SETTLE up, to RESOLVE. In the Communion, we are given the opportunity not only to repent, but also to be reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: If we are saved, we are reconciled back to God through the blood of Jesus, we should also use this opportunity to be grateful for that reconciliation & then reconcile ourselves back to our brethren with whom we are at odds. Too many times we look at Communion as simply a time between God and us. We must remember one purpose of Communion is also to allow us time to reconcile broken relationships. Text vs 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you When we do this, we should take the time to really focus on its purpose. 1. It is a time to remember. What Jesus did for us. 2. It is a time to rejoice. In that we are saved from our sin debt.
3. It is a time to repent. Examine our selves. 4. It is a time to reconcile. Ask then accept His forgiveness. Today, as we partake of the Communion together Remember what Jesus went through for you. Rejoice that He died for you and will return for you. Repent of any sin you may have willingly committed. Know that you are Reconciled back to God through Jesus shed blood and Reconcile your self back to any brother or sister with whom you have a broken relationship. Please understand that you do not HAVE to partake this. Jesus said **we should remember Him whenever we take it. If today you are out of fellowship with God and do not feel comfortable in taking due to the warning of Scripture, then pray and ask for His forgiveness before taking. Use this time to during invitation and the time while the deacons are serving to repent, pray and be reconciled and partake. If you decided not to partake, may no man judge you. This is a time for judging ourselves, not others. Communion is for the saved, the redeemed. If you are not yet saved, ask the Lord Jesus into your heart today. Receive Him by faith that he died for you on the cross of Calvary. Then partake.