1 Corinthians Commentary Chapter 11 (2)

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1 Corinthians Commentary Chapter 11 (2)

The reason Paul does not praise the tradition of the Holy Communion in the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11:17 and below is because if the Holy Communion is not administered properly, it can cause division.

Verse 17 “Now in this that I declare to you I praise you not, that you come together in this matter which I command you, for when you come together not for the better, but for the worse.”

It is said that the reason for the division between Lutherans and Calvinists was the issue of the Holy Communion.

In fact, if you look closely, the Lutheran doctrine of transubstantiation is correct, and Calvin’s memorial doctrine is also correct.

However, the principle is important.

The system is not the problem.

The transubstantiation theory is that by eating the bread according to the Word, we actually become one body with Christ, and the memorial theory is that we remember the fact that we have become one body with Christ.

However, the claim that the material bread and cup become the actual body and blood of Jesus is far-fetched.

If, as in the Corinthian church, conflict arises due to the Holy Communion, the Holy Communion is harmful.

Because the body of Christ is being torn apart.

The first problem is the division in verse 18.

“For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it.”

In fact, factionalism in the church is inevitable.

Only then will the righteous appear. A person who is acknowledged as being right will emerge.

Now, factionalism is occurring in Christianity over the truth, and this is completely normal.

Verse 19 says, “For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.”

However, verses 20 and below are divided into factions.

If there is division, it is not beneficial because it becomes an individual activity.

The body of Christ is torn apart.

There are those who insist that we should become one in Christianity, but they have never become one in Christ, the one bread.

If we had become one bread in Christ and become one body, we wil keep our unity.

People like sand are problematic because they don't stick together, and clay is problematic because it has no foundation.

Verse 21 and below shows how each of the divisions develops into their own aspects.

“For in eating every one takes before other his own supper: and one is  hungry, and aother is drunken.”

The concept of the Holy Communion at that time was a meal.

It was not a ceremony like today.

It was a kind of buffet.

As a result, one side got drunk and the other starved.

After the Holy Spirit came and the church was formed, the most important things were gatherings and the Holy Communion.

However, if we emphasize the form, the content and center became distorted.

Even now, when I watch the Holy Communion service being conducted, I often feel sad inside.

I think it would be better not to do such a harmful ceremony.

22. By taking the the Holy Communion individually, they despised the church of God.

“What? have you not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise you 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.”

By taking the Holy Communion incorrectly, you sin against God who made you one body through the Holy Spirit.

Then, by shamefully putting the poor to shame, you sin against your brothers in the Lord.

As in Matthew 15, the result was that the word of God was trampled because of tradition.

That is why Paul did not praise it.

Even now, there are many Communion services that are not praised.

That is why Paul’s concern is, What shall I say to you?

If you say this, you will say that Paul said to do this, and if you say that, you will say that he said to do that, and so on, for your own benefit, you will conveniently claim it.

We must meditate a lot to understand God who gave the Holy Communion to the church through the Bible.

Verse 23 The true meaning of tradition is that which is received from the Lord.

“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you, That the Lord Jesus  the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:”

He explains that he gave his body through bread.

But verse 24, is it “do” or “remember”? “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."

The true meaning of the holy communion is to remind us that we have already become one body with Christ through the Holy Spirit.

The holy communion is a ceremony that reminds us of the mystery of becoming one bread, one body, and one spirit with the Lord as we think of the Lord’s words, “This is my body which is broken for you.”

Therefore, if Luther and Calvin had met in person and discussed the holy communion, it would have been simple.

There is no difference between the reality of accepting the state of becoming one body and spirit with Christ through the word and bread on the spot and commemorating the bread as one body that has already become one with Christ.

If you understand the Gospel of John, you can understand all the other gospels.

In the Gospel of John, instead of the Holy Communion, Jesus washes the feet of the disciples.

This is the Lord’s reception and the new covenant.

Doing this means that I am received in the Lord and fulfill the new covenant in which I am in the Lord and the Lord is in me.

If you commemorate the Lord’s body in the Holy Spirit, the power to act will be revealed.

Therefore, if you properly perform the Holy Communion according to the words of Christ, amazing healing works will occur.

However, those who are not one with Christ eat the bread and just blink their eyes, so this is nothing more than a ritual of pouring water on a frog’s face.

Verse 26 “For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do shew the Lord’s death til he come.”

Eat this bread and drink this cup and proclaim the Lord’s death.

Christianity is a religion of death and a religion of resurrection.

The first generation of people who left Egypt were guided and protected by the pillar of fire and cloud in the wilderness.

However, except for Joshua and Caleb, they all died in the wilderness.

The second generation carried the Ark of the Covenant (the Word) and crossed the Jordan River and entered the land of Canaan.

The Word of God permeates only those who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit in Christ, that is, those who have died and were alive with Christ. It gradually seeps in.

It gradually seeps in.

Again, God’s method of salvation is completed through the mixing (fellowship, koinonia) that makes us one with Christ in the Holy Spirit.

If we do not eat and drink the body and blood of Christ, the saying that we died and rose again becomes empty words.

Also, as the Lord said, “Eat me and live by me” (John 6:57), the words become the bread in the picture.

Therefore, we must learn through the Holy Spirit that the new covenant in which Jesus becomes our personal Lord and Christ has been fulfilled, and by remembering the body and blood of the Lord anytime and anywhere, the actual power of becoming one bread, body, and spirit with Him must be manifested.

Written by Ptr. Yohan Kim.

Translated by  Nancy Chung

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