Remembering the Covenant

November 26, 2017 Background Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11; Jude 3 Lesson Passage: 1 Corinthians 11:23 – 34 The Lord’s Supper observance is a time of remembrance to reflect on and celebrate the New Covenant that was put into effect and secured by Jesus’ death. Great care should be taken to ensure that all who participate in this observance do so with biblical understanding so as to not offend God. This sacred ritual should never be taken lightly. The New Covenant is a one-sided arrangement that is of great value to its beneficiaries. All of the provisions for the covenant have been provided by God. The beneficiaries have only to receive the benefits as a gift from God. Christians are the beneficiaries of the New Covenant. Some of the members of the church at Corinth were guilty of abuse and misuse of the celebration of the covenant. The Lord established this ritual using the simple elements of unleavened bread and wine—which he also referred to as the fruit of the vine. Rather than accept the simple elements described by the Lord for celebrating, some of them were bringing what in essence were potluck meals to the assembly. To this was added the transgression of eating in the presence of the poor who had nothing. People who have been welcomed into the New Covenant are undergoing a change of heart and should exhibit benevolence towards those who are lacking. They also went beyond the observance as a solemn assembly and made it a party for satisfying the desires of their flesh. Many of them drank wine to the point of inebriation. This was not a celebration of the New Covenant as they advertised but was rather a flesh-gratifying behavior that showed no respect or regard for the New Covenant. Their behavior prompted the Apostle Paul’s rebuke of them. It should be noted that some churches reportedly engaged in fellowship meals that came to be known as “Love Feasts” without intending for those meals to represent the Lord’s Supper observance as the Corinthians were apparently attempting to do. But apparently some “Love Feasts” had moved beyond a sincere fellowship where all shared everything to a selfish display of piety. This feast started in the Jerusalem church where all members shared everything in common and no one owned anything individually. This made sense for a group that was expecting Jesus to return for them within their lifetime. As local churches began to develop outside of Jerusalem, Judea, and Palestine, those local churches struggled to define themselves as a body of believers. All were expected to observe the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Autonomous congregations made it tempting for the groups to not adhere to the apostles’ doctrine. False teachers became prevalent and the local churches began to stray from the apostolic teachings that established them. Even today, local churches have many practices that are preferences of those congregations. However, as Paul instructed the church at Corinth, how we observe the Lord’s Supper is not left up to local preferences. Jesus gave the instructions for that observance and those instructions have been preserved and passed on by the apostles so that local churches need not error concerning this ordinance. Jesus taught that baptism is a ritual that the church should continue to practice and he also instructed his followers to observe the Lord’s Supper until he returns for his church. We should reverently remember the covenant. Robert C. Hudson October 26, 2017