1 Corinthians 11:27

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Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians 11:27:

I Corinthians 11:25-29
Excerpted from: The Awesome Cost of Salvation

Notice back in verse 25, He says, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood." The word 'cup' is a metonymy—it is figurative. The cup is put for what is in the cup. What was in the cup was wine. The wine symbolized or represented His blood. So He says that, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood."

A covenant is an agreement, a contract; a pact; a treaty; a bargain between two parties. A covenant—or a treaty or a bargain or a pact—is a device that brings people into a relationship. This covenant is unusual in that it is in His blood.

[William] Barclay, in his commentary, makes a very interesting comment in regard to this. He changes the words. He paraphrases it, but I think that the paraphrase is accurate because he really did not do anything more than what is done with the word 'cup'—cup representing what was inside the cup.

What Barclay did is he changed the words into saying, "This covenant cost Me My life." The agreement was made at the cost of the most precious, the most expensive life that has ever lived on the face of the earth. It did not come cheap.

The overall sense of I Corinthians 11:25-29 has to do with people not properly discriminating what the symbols represent. I think that you understand somewhat of the background as to why the apostle Paul had to write these things. These people were making a mockery of the Passover service. They had a meal and during this some of these people were even getting drunk. Some of the people ate in a gluttonous manner. Others hardly got anything at all to eat because others were hogging all the food. It hardly served to edify the body at all. Very little of the right kind of fellowship—and they were going in exactly the opposite direction of the way of God.

So the apostle was writing to correct a very corrupt situation. This is his point: in doing what they were doing, they did not discern the body and the shed blood of Jesus Christ. If they had truly discerned it they would not had done what they did. They were not properly interpreting the meaning to their own lives. The application went awry. They were taking the Passover, but they were taking it without appreciating the reality that the symbols represented.

The word 'unworthy' means, "lacking in merit or worth." What these people were doing was they then took the Passover in an unworthy manner, that is, they really did not appreciate what they were doing. They were not discriminating. They were not really judging the character of what it was they were doing. They did not understand the act behind what they were doing. They really were profaning the body and shed blood of Jesus Christ.

The word 'profane' has its roots in a word that means "far from the temple." In other words, these people were anything but spiritual in what they were doing. They were treating the bread and the wine as something common.

It really was just common unleavened bread and common wine. There is no doubt about it. They were not looking beyond as to what these things represented—that they represented the body of the Creator of everything. They were not looking at the most precious Life that has ever been lived; had shed its blood so that they could have a relationship with God, so that the covenant might be made.

If they had understood, then they would not have done what they did to their brother. They would not have acted in a gluttonous manner! They would not have gotten drunk! But they were treating in a profane manner the shed blood and broken body of Jesus Christ.

It is not thoroughly judging the Lord's body until it forms a conviction that profoundly affects conduct. This is what we want to aim for here. If we are not thoroughly judging, then we stand a chance of profaning the sacrifice, and thus, we then eat and drink condemnation on ourselves.

I Corinthians 11:27-30
Excerpted from: The Bread and Wine of Passover

Please turn to I Corinthians 11. A large part of this letter is dedicated to a foundational ritual that was being observed incorrectly. Paul had to correct the congregation regarding the Passover, both in the details of the practice, as well as in their overall approach. If the Corinthians truly understood the Passover, it would have shaped their conduct for the better in numerous areas. But their present behavior showed Paul they weren't getting it yet.

Paul warns against participating in this annual practice in an unworthy manner, or we could say, in a manner that is not fitting or appropriate for the occasion. The manner in which we approach and observe the Passover is so important that Paul indicates that God had afflicted many in the congregation, and He had also either put many to death or at least allowed many to die. The fact that a ritual cannot justify or save does not mean it is unimportant. As this indicates, God is deadly serious about this service in particular.

The Corinthians were guilty of not fully appreciating the bread and wine, as proved by their gluttony and even drunkenness at the Passover meal. That is one way of observing the Passover in an unworthy manner. But we can similarly be guilty if we go through the Passover on autopilot - if we partake of the bread and wine without meditating on all that they stand for, such that the meaning is real, and personal, and changes us. So, today we will review the symbols of the bread and the wine so that when we observe the Passover, we can have a fitting appreciation of the depth and significance of these symbols in our minds.

Thus, even though the Passover is just a ritual, the way we approach it and observe it indicates to God what value we place on this covenantal relationship. Remember that God caused many to be sick and to die in Corinth because they were losing their appreciation for the Passover and what the symbols entail. This was manifest not only in the drunkenness, gluttony, and self-serving behavior at the Passover itself, but also throughout the year in their interactions. Our conduct and the state of our relationships in the body give evidence of what the bread and wine truly mean to us. The evidence cannot be hidden. A life in which these symbols hedge and guide every deed, word, and thought, will be quite different from a life where the relationship with God is on autopilot while other things are pursued.

Articles
An Unpayable Debt and Obligation
Are You Drinking of the Master's Cup?
Christ, Our Passover
How Do We Keep God's Festivals?
Passover, Obligation, and Love
Remaining Unleavened
The Awesome Cost of Love
The Awesome Cost of Love
You've Examined Yourself—Now What?

Bible Studies
What Must We Do When We Recognize Our Guilt?

Essays
A Worthy Manner?  (2)
Let Us Examine Ourselves
Loving the Body of Christ (Part One)
Passover and Friends United in Truth (Part One)
Remember Me (Part One)
Remember Me (Part One)
Remember Me (Part Two)
The Covenant of Blood (Part Two)
What Does 'Discerning the Lord's Body' Mean? (Part One)
What Does 'Discerning the Lord's Body' Mean? (Part Three)
Without Bitterness

Sermons
Are You Dissipating Your Own Energy?
Recognizing the Intents of the Heart
The Failure of Miracles to Produce Righteousness
Is Ignorance Truly Bliss?
Are Your Feelings Fighting Your Faith?
Hope to the End
The Ship Is Yours
Unity and Unleavened Bread
According to His Pleasure
Themes of I Corinthians (Part 5)
The Rest of the Story
God Gives Grace to the Humble
The Mystery of Goodness
Debt and Obligation
Christ's Death and the Immortality of the Soul
The Law's Purpose and Intent
The Second Passover
Christ Our Passover
A Pre-Passover Look

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