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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established
November 2008 Published weekly on Friday
This
is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
1 Corinthians (Lesson 35)
Welcome to HBS.
If you’ve been
studying your Bible with us for awhile, then you’ve heard me say every now and
again, “I don’t hold to any particular church group’s teachings,” which essentially
means I’m not promoting one church group over another and I’ll briefly explain
why that it is. It’s because God’s Word
doesn’t mention or support the 217+ Christian denominations currently operating
in the USA today. If you’ll take the
time to study early church history, you’ll find the leaders of the church
became hardened and corrupt.
Power struggles within the church developed by the second millennium, as
did doctrinal differences between church leaders, which caused the church to split into two parts: The Eastern Orthodox Church, headed by the
patriarch of the Church of Constantinople, and the Latin Western Church, led by
the pope, the bishop of Rome. This
church came to be known as the Roman Catholic Church.
In the 16th
century, many Reformers tried to correct the erroneous practices and teachings of
the Roman Catholic Church, calling it back to obedience to God’s Word. But the powerful and influential church
leadership had managed to suppress these attempts, often by torturing and
killing the Reformers.
I’d like to
continue with this train of thought because I find church history an
interesting subject, even more so when I compare the political and social climates
of today. But here’s the thing, before
the foundations of the earth, the
Triune Godhead predetermined there
would be one New Covenant church (Ekklesia) made up of Jewish and Gentile
Believers (Acts 2:22-24; Ephesians 1:4; Romans 8:29, 10-12; 1 Peter 1:20).
What does this book
say? “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were
called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one
baptism (the Holy Spirit baptizes us into the Body of Christ); one God and Father of all, who is
over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
Perhaps now you
have a better understanding of the principle I hold fast to: “What do the Scriptures say,” and “What do
the Scriptures not say.” Some people choose
to call this nondenominational teaching.
I prefer to call it “Keeping God’s Word in Harmony” or explaining God’s Word by Rightly Dividing the Scriptures. Most
Believers are unaware that God
commands them to study their Bible using this discipline and this is truly
unfortunate for many reasons one of which is a possible loss of reward at the
Bema Seat of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:15).
Here’s one more
reason why it’s so important to Rightly Divide
the Scriptures. This example comes from a recent encounter. I was asked a question about the four
horsemen in Revelation 6 just the other day.
This individual listened to an audio commentary on this chapter from a
gentleman; his name is unimportant. But
in his comments, he told his audience the four horsemen symbolized four Christian
church organizations in the last days; He went on to name each one of them and
why he believed this was so. I don’t
intend to get into the details of what he said because none of it is true to
God’s Word; it’s merely his opinion. Why
speak of opinions when we can discuss the Truths Jesus Christ and the Holy
Spirit have revealed to us in the Bible.
What Do the
Scriptures Say?
The four horsemen
are mentioned in Revelation 6: 1-8. They
are symbolic descriptions of different end time events which will take place on
this planet prior to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The White Horse -
Revelation 6:2; the rider of this horse is the counterfeit christ, a.k.a. the
anti-chirst, making his appearance in the last days; he will be given authority
and will conquer all who oppose him for a time.
(Daniel 7:25; Matthew 24:1-5; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)
The Red Horse –
Revelation 6:4 its rider was given power
to take peace from the earth.
The second horseman
refers to terrible warfare that will break out all over the earth in the end
times. (Matthew 24:6-7a)
The Black Horse –
Revelation 6:5-6; this rider represents famine that will increase around the
world as the end draws near. Famines are
the result of severe droughts and wars.
(Matthew 24:7b)
The Pale Horse –
Revelation 6:7-8; this rider symbolizes world-wide pestilence (disease on a
large-scale, i.e. epidemics and pandemics) increases around the globe. Wars and famines contribute to world-wide
pestilence. (Matthew 24:7c)
It’s important to
note once a seal is opened it remains opened its effects don’t wane. In other words, each seal is added to the
seals previously opened, continuing to take their toll on the inhabitants of
planet earth and the planet itself – and they all greatly intensify as the end
of the world draws near – TRAVAIL! (Matthew
24:8)
These comments may
have been a bit “off course” from our Corinthian study, but remain consistent to
the nature of our Bible study for this reason:
“Let’s be careful in our search
for biblical truth and understanding in this present age. For the very first thing Jesus Christ told His
disciples when asked, “What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of
the age,” He offered them this warning, – ‘Do not
be deceived.’” Deception is Satan’s chief weapon
against mankind; always has been, and for good reason; it works! So, be alert; be in the Word daily (1 Peter
5:8); and always Rightly Divide the Scriptures.
********
Please
open your Bible at 1 Corinthians 11:23.
The Lord’s Supper
Last
week we learned the Corinthian Believers had mistaken the nature of the Lord’s Supper or the “Love Feast”
specifically, which was a lead-in to the commemorative service. Instead of respecting it as a solemn
occasion, they treated it as a common
festival, mimicking the behavior of
the pagan supper clubs that were held regularly throughout the city, only
worse; their conduct was considered more disgraceful than the pagans. Paul said he could not praise them for this and rightly so.
Paul
stated: For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you –
(v23). Paul was not present at the last supper of the Lord; there’s no
question about this. But we have this
from our Apostle Paul in Galatians 1:11-20:
For I would have you know,
brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to
man. For I neither received it from man,
nor was I taught it, but I received
it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
The
account of the Lord’s Supper is recorded for us in these three gospels Matthew
26:20-30; Mark 14:12-26; and Luke 22:1-38.
The Apostle John writes from the standpoint that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God, so his account of the last supper is remarkably different from his
fellow apostles (See John 13, 14,15,16,17, 18:1). It’s also good to know the gospels were not completed
when Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians, around 55 AD.
- The book of Mark was likely the first gospel written by John Mark, cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:3), and completed before or after the death of Peter in Rome in the mid to late 60s AD.
- The book of Matthew is the subject of much debate as to whether or not it was completed before or after the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD. Many conservative scholars suggest a completion date somewhere in the mid 60s AD.
- The book of Luke provides the strongest evidence re: its completion date. Luke and Acts were written as two parts of a single work (Acts 1:1-3). Since Acts concludes with Paul under arrest in Rome in approximately 62 AD, many believe Luke-Acts was written during this general time period. Other scholars suggest 60-65 AD.
As
our Apostle Paul said, He received the
instructions re: the Lord’s Supper directly from the risen Lord by revelation and
he delivered this teaching to the
Corinthians (Acts 18): that the Lord Jesus (Christ) in the night in which He was betrayed took (a
single loaf of) 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 cup is the new covenant
in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (v24-25).
I
find it interesting Jesus’ comment, “do this in
remembrance of Me” is not included in Matthew or Mark’s record. Luke is the only one who records these words for
us at Luke 22:19. We don’t see it again until
Paul pens his letter to the Corinthians (11:24-25).
Let’s
go to verse 26.
1 Corinthians 11
26: For as often as
you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He
comes (for
His Church in the air at the Rapture event).
You can search Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s record for this information, but
I can save you some time – it’s not there.
Why? This was a special revelation for these Gentiles in the
flesh (1 Corinthians 12:2). This commemorative
event was not a continuation of the Jewish Passover Feast. Paul delivered
these instructions as he received them
from the risen Lord who was now glorified in heaven (Psalm 110:1).
It’s
worth mentioning at this point this is not an ordinance; it is both a joyful
celebration and a solemn remembrance of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us
on Calvary. Paul had this to say regarding
the ordinances of Judaism: having cancelled out the certificate of
debt consisting of decrees (ordinances) against us, which was hostile to us; and He (Jesus Christ) has taken it out of the way, having nailed
it to the cross (Colossians 2:14).
And
in Ephesians 2:15 Paul said: by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in (what) ordinances, so that in Himself He
might make the two into one new man, thus
establishing peace…
Ordinances in Scripture are
consistently “things ordained,” by
God i.e., in order for an individual to be considered in “right standing” or
acceptable with God. This isn’t the case
with the Lord’s Supper. Paul doesn’t even command his readers to
observe it. Instead, he leaves it all to
grace as he naturally assumes those who
have been redeemed will want to celebrate and remember the great
sacrifice of their Redeemer.
Furthermore,
not only doesn’t Paul command Believers
to observe this practice, he doesn’t even suggest when or how often this
celebration should be held. Again, it’s
all left up to grace. All Paul said
was: For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup (v26). In other words, the decision rests with the
church pastor and its members. Today the
church elders, your minister, pastor, priest, the church members themselves may
decide how often to hold communion service.
There is no set schedule.
Paul Discusses the Sanctity of the Lord’s Supper
1 Corinthians 11
27: Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks
the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body
and the blood of the Lord.
28: But a man (and a woman) must examine himself (and herself), and in so doing he (or she) is to eat of the bread and drink of the
cup.
29: For he (or she) who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment
to himself (or herself) if he (or
she) does not judge the body rightly.
Although
we celebrate the Lord’s Supper as a
joyous event, it’s also true this is a solemn occasion. It’s a solemn event because we are to remind
ourselves that Jesus Christ died, His blood was shed, and He rose from the dead
for our sins. It could be said the Lord’s Supper is a backwards look at
the Lord’s sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). But it is also a look forward to His coming in the air for His Church at
the Rapture; and we wait for this experience with joyous expectation for it is
imminent (2 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
It
is in light of the special revelation
given to our Apostle Paul about the Lord’s
Supper that he now dwells at some length on the sacredness of this
memorial. But we must be careful not to
read into Paul’s words more than he is actually saying, remember the principle,
“What do the Scriptures not say.” I
mention this here because many sincere Believers hesitate to partake of
communion, being wary of the warning in verses 27-29. They sit in their church pew or seat carefully
considering their personal unworthiness, thinking to themselves: “If I
participate in the communion now, based on my recent behavior, I will be guilty
of doing so in an unworthy manner and
will face eternal judgment. I need
to square things with so-and-so before I proceed…”
If
that’s the case, you’re missing it. This
isn’t what Paul is saying. This passage
doesn’t say anything about eternal damnation. This is an old English word for condemnation, (Krima) and is rendered “judgment”
and “condemnation” 21 times in the King James Bible. If you study this passage closely, you’ll see
Paul doesn’t mention our unworthiness once,
but speaks of partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner, which he described for us in verses 20-22.
Remember,
the Corinthian saints were too careless concerning their attitude and their behavior
during the Lord’s Supper. Paul’s not referring to their acts of
gluttony or drunkenness here, which many people suggest. It was their divisive spirit, which became
more apparent when they came together as a church because they chose to dine separately
and some people were deprived of food and drink intentionally. So little respect did they have, as they
combined their so called “Love Feasts”
with the Lord’s Supper, that the
Paul reprimanded them saying, “this is not the Lord’s Supper.”
In
verses 27-29 Paul is saying, if we participate in the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy
manner we condemn ourselves as “guilty,” not
of personal unworthiness, but of
demonstrating a lack of appreciation of our Lord’s precious body, which was
sacrificed for us, and for His blood, our Lord’s own life’s blood, which was holy
and shed for our sins. An individual’s
disrespectful attitude or behavior towards the Lord’s Supper robs this memorial
of its sacredness.
Let’s
go to verse 30.
30: For this reason
many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep (or have died
prematurely in Christ Jesus).
My
opening remarks become applicable here. If
you study this letter carefully, you’ll notice Paul places a lot of emphasis on
the bread. In chapter 5, Paul spoke of the bread in its development stage as
one lump of dough which will be
corrupted by the sinner who is not disciplined (5:6-8). In chapter 10, Paul speaks of the bread as “one bread” (10:16-17), so that all who partake of it are “one body.”
The
single loaf of bread, which was
broken by the Lord at the last supper and divided among His disciples, and
which we share in communion as a remembrance as well, represents the physical “Body of Christ.” The bread represents the actual Body of Christ, in which our Lord came
to the earth, endured all the temptations and trials we face daily, and yet was
without sin, and suffered and died in our place (1 Peter 2:24).
By
partaking of the bread at communion,
we symbolize that we have, by faith,
partaken of the work of Christ on our behalf at the cross, by which we are
cleansed from our sin and guilt and justified with His righteousness. This is what Jesus is teaching His disciples
in John 6, but no what catches on to what He’s saying until after His death and
resurrection (John 6:41-58; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
The
single loaf of bread, or one large cracker from which all those
little pieces come from that are in the plate that is passed around, and we all
partake of at communion, also represents Christ’s spiritual body, the one church. Communion is not
a private celebration, but one which is observed by the entire church body, when it gathers to observe the Lord’s Supper (v17-18). By participating in this commemoration, we
proclaim the unity of the church,
the Body of Christ, and our
communion or fellowship with the rest of the saints, who have also partaken of
the work of Christ Jesus (10:17).
This
is the point Paul is making, when we all share of the “one loaf,” even if it’s
a piece of a cracker, as a gathered assembly, we not only symbolize our union
with Christ in His atoning work, but our union with His “body,” the church in this dispensation. We demonstrate that we all together make up
the Body of Christ, and that we are
all equal sharers in the saving work
of our Savior; Christ died for all
(2 Corinthians 5:15). Paul’s saying, not
only to we profess our unity but our
equality. Since we are all “one body” and we have equal standing
before the Lord, in that body, by
virtue of His finished work at Calvary, we all
are saved – no one is more saved or less saved than anyone else in His body.
This
is key; it’s is why Paul finds it so important for the Corinthians to wait for one another when they come
together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. It is so they can all eat (share) the meal together, as “one body” and so that each one who eats can receive an equal share at the Lord’s Table. We know this
is what he means to say because of what he said in verse 33: So
then, my brethren, when you come together to eat (the Lord’s Supper you are to),
wait for one another.
Here
is why failing to wait for one another
is such a serious sin in the eyes of God.
The symbolism of the Lord’s
Supper is not limited just to the bread and the wine, but it extends to the
entire meal (Love Feast) as
well. Some wealthy Corinthians were
arriving earlier than others. This is
easily done when you own the business and are free to come and go as you please. When they arrived, they refused to wait for
the poorer brethren. They ate the food
they had prepared and brought with them in haste so they could enjoy it without
sharing it with the poorer members or the less fortunate members of the
church. Those that “had” plenty received
more than they needed, and the “have-nots” did not get enough. This was blatant inequality at the Lord’s Supper.
Contrastingly,
Christ’s finished work at Calvary, commemorated in the Lord’s Supper, made all Believers equal in Him.
- How could one commemorate Christ’s equalizing work of atonement by eating the meal in a way that exhibited inequality?
- How could those who proclaimed their unity with their fellow Believers ignore the physical needs of those who came with little or no food?
- How could a church which was “one body” begin to celebrate the Lord’s Supper with only a partial “body” present?
In
effect, what the Corinthians were doing at the Lord’s Supper denied the very things the occasion was intended to
symbolize. It’s no wonder Paul could not
praise them.
Paul
had exposed a serious problem in the Corinthians’ observance of the Lord’s Supper and links this problem to
the sickness and death many in the church were
experiencing saying: For this reason many among you are weak
and sick, and a number sleep (or have died prematurely in
Christ Jesus).
The
context implies some of the Corinthians were experiencing bouts of weakness, sickness, and sleep due to the disrupted unity of the church caused by factious
groups’ arrogance and pride; they are manifestations of God’s
divine discipline because of the improper manner in which they viewed and celebrated
the Lord’s Supper.
It
wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, in those days, for God to express His extreme
displeasure by punishing people with calamity,
sickness and even death because of their sin. When Ananias and Saphira lied to Peter about
the proceeds from the sale of their property, they also lied to God. Because of their wicked behavior God caused
them to die on the spot. They were saved
individuals so they weren’t cast into the pit of hell to be sure. Because they were Believers, the Lord took
them right then to be with Himself; He could not allow such wicked behavior to
plant seeds of corruption in the “Jewish
Kingdom church” (Daniel 2:44; Zechariah 14:9). But their deaths or the life-lesson wasn’t
lost on those left behind for Scripture reveals great fear came over the whole church; people took notice: “And
great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these
things” - Acts 5:1-11. (See also Acts
13:11, and 1Timothy 1:20)
Let’s
go to verses 31-32:
31: But if we
judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.
32: But when we are
judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along
with the world.
Paul
states quite clearly that they were chastised, i.e. disciplined by the Lord for their irresponsibility, which
they unashamedly displayed at the Lord’s
Supper towards God and their fellow saints (why) so that we (Paul includes himself and every Believer here for no
one is above reproach – 10:12) will not
be condemned along with the (unbelieving) world.
This
brings a Bible passage to mind. Please
turn to the book of Hebrews at 12:6 - FOR
THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON (and
daughter) WHOM HE RECEIVES.”
There
are other Bible passages that parallel this subject. Please turn to Proverbs 3:12.
For whom the LORD
loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects
the son in whom he delights.
Then
at Proverbs 13:24 King Solomon writes: He
who withholds the rod hates his son (or daughter), But he who loves him (or her) disciplines him (or her) diligently.
Let’s
go to verses 33-34.
33: So then, my
brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34: If anyone is
hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for
judgment. The remaining matters I will
arrange when I come.
In
closing, Paul wants these Believers to know neither the Lord’s Supper nor the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is a “common” thing, so they are not to treat
either as some common festival where
a person comes to satisfy his or her worldly
“appetites.” It is a memorial. If any
man (or woman) is hungry, let him
eat at home was written to correct their views of the “Love Feast.” Simply said,
Paul wants them to remember Jesus Christ died for all of them and not just for some of them and they are all equal sharers of the blessings of
the cross.
Paul’s
statement, The remaining matters I will
arrange when I come, probably refers to other church concerns outlined in
the “lost” letter, and it’s evident Paul purposed to go to Corinth at some
later date to help them with their spiritual walk (1:15-16).
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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Rights Reserved
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