Remembering Jesus - The Lord's Supper
COMMON MEAL PRACTICE
Remembering Jesus - The Lord's Supper
COMMON MEAL PRACTICE
In this phase of our study of the Lord’s Supper, Paul shows how a beautiful trait or practice in our lives may have far- reaching benefits. This truism is expanded greatly when an entire congregation properly partakes of the Lord’s Supper. He points out that although the primary purpose of the Lord’s Supper observance is not to guard us against immorality, a side benefit of properly partaking will indeed purge the congregation of this sin. What a blessing! What a benefit!
How desperately the church at Corinth needed to learn this lesson. They were allowing sexual practice among them that was so gross that even pagans did not endorse it. They not only condoned it, they were arrogant and boastfully proud of their tolerance. Paul said, “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” Paul uses Passover and Lord’s Supper imagery to emphasize his demand (1 Cor. 5:1-8).
In this lesson we will also learn how the proper partaking of the Lord’s Supper would purge the congregation of idolatry (1 Cor. 10:14-22). We are led to see that the proper partaking of the Lord’s Supper by a congregation is testimony that impurities of life and idolatrous practices have been forsaken. This is not to say that observing the Lord’s Supper will remove these stains; rather, it demonstrates to the world that the one taking the Supper has already taken the necessary steps to be clean. Hence, two great benefits accrue when we partake properly of the Lord’s Supper. We partake in a state of purity and freedom from idolatry.
This lesson also brings to our attention that the Lord’s Supper was thought of by the Corinthian Christians as being in connection with a common fellowship meal. This is the strong inference of 1 Corinthians 11:21-22. This is the meal that is called the “love feast” in Jude 12, and probably in 2 Peter 2:13. It is difficult to ascertain if there was a fixed order in regard to when the “love feast” and Lord’s Supper were eaten. Some scholars believe that the Lord’s Supper preceded the common meal. F.F. Bruce thought the Lord’s Supper appeared to have formed a part of an ordinary meal. Although one cannot speak dogmatically about the order of eating, it is logical to assume Jesus’ last Passover with His apostles provided the order.
At the time the church at Corinth was falling into practices and activities that became the focus of Paul’s corrective teaching, the congregation was no doubt functioning as a “house church.” The lesson today will utilize the findings of archaeology in Corinth to help us visualize a common arrangement for church gatherings. Gaius is described by Paul as a “host to me and the whole church” when he writes from Corinth to the church in Rome (Rom. 16:23).
Archaeology findings show that in wealthy Corinth a Typical house such as that of Gaius would have a courtyard and a dining room where guests could gather. Capacity would normally be about fifty. Such houses provided a formal room for dining in the aristocratic style while the courtyard would house the guests of lower status. If the “whole church” (1 Cor. 14:23) met in this arrangement, the setting would contribute to separations and divisions based on social status, economic standing, and Roman custom. These divisions would be in addition to those Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 1:10-14, where Paul also mentions Gaius. It is obvious that this setting, with its unchristian features, could lead to the breakdown of Christian thought and conduct so vividly demonstrated by their pathetic and sad behavior concerning the Lord’s Supper.
