COMMUNION, REMEMBERING THE CROSS
1 Corinthians 11:23-12:1
LOOKING BACK
V:23-24. \” For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24 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.\”
A. Paul not being a disciple at the time of Jesus death, received this information after
he became a disciple.
1. According to his statement in Galatians 1:2, he did not receive it from the apostles
but directly from the mouth of Jesus after his conversion..
B. Jesus told His disciples to remember His death.
1. Remember that He was unjustly accused.
2. Remember that He was lied on.
3. Remember that He was betrayed.
4. Remember that He was abandoned.
5. Remember that His death was voluntary.
6. Remember that His death was a substitute for our sins.
7. Remember that He was found innocence by the Romans but the
leaders of Jerusalem and chief priests demanded his
crucifixion because of envy.
8. Remember that His death was planned by the Father at the hands of
His accusers.
9. Remember that His death fulfilled all the requirements of the law.
10. Remember that His death put end to the judgment of the Law.
11. Remember that His death was because of the love of
His Father for the world.
LOOKING FORWARD
25. \” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, \”This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.\”
A. The wine represents His resurrection.
1. The wine represents redemption from sin
2. The wine represents a new life in Christ.
3. The wine represent a new covenant in His blood.
4. The wine represents the Grace of God.
5. The wine represents Christ shed blood on the cross
6. The wine represents His blood, the atonement for the
sins of the world, believers and none believers.
CONSIDERING THE PRESENT, THE DUTY OF BELIEVERS
26 \”For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord\’s death until he comes. \”
A, It is the responsibility of the believer to participate in the celebration of the
the death of Jesus.
1. The participation should be one of anticipating the immediate return of the Lord.
2. Our anticipation should be heighten to the point of being ready to enter into
heaven with Him.
B. The Church is the role model of faith to the world of the anticipated return
of Christ.
1. Our participation should be with a willing heart filled with gladness.
2. It is the responsibility of believers to continually proclaim the
return of Christ for the sake of non believers.
3. We need to continually remind ourselves that our days on earth
have been numbered by the Lord.
4. We need to continue to remind ourselves not to become attached to
what we have on earth.
LOOK WITHIN
PREPARATION OF THE MIND FOR THE CELEBRATION
V:27-28. \” Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. \”
A. We need to prepare our hearts before we participate in the Lord\’s Supper.
1. Examine ourselves to see if we have knowingly or unknowingly sinned against
another brother or sister.
2. Have we with pride considered ourselves more important than others?
3. Have we in our thoughts and actions demeaned another person?
4. If so we have sinned against another person and therefore sinned against the
body of Christ.
5. If we find any unconfessed sins we are not worthy to take the Lord\’s Supper.
a. Therefore confess your sins before taking the Lord\’s Supper.
b. Enter into the communion with a clean heart.
B. Do not become an expert at examining the sins of others.
1. Become an expert of examining your own sins.
2. Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, we all have
something to confess.
3. When we consider how we have been hurt, we may be able to determine
how we have hurt others in the same manner.
4. Confessing our own sins will be the measure we can use to forgive others.
5. When we figure out that we are imperfect, we will know to confess our sins
before we take the Lord\’s Supper.
DIVINE JUDGMENT
V:29. \” For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. \”
A. The Communion as the Lord\’s Supper has been named, is not a social
gathering, but an occasion to reverence the Lord.
1. The Communion is an occasion to remember how good God is to us.
2. The Communion is an occasion to remember the Lord\’s love
for us.
B. When we participate in the Communion service as a ritual with a
heart unconvicted of our sins we bring judgment upon ourselves.
1. In order to put ourselves in the right frame of mind we need to
view the horror of Jesus dying on the cross followed by His
glorious resurrection.
2. Second we need to view Jesus seated at the right hand of the
Father in the presence making intercessions for us.
CONSEQUENSES OF IMPROPER CELEBRATION
V:30-31. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
A. The beginning of our new life with Christ is accepting His death and
resurrection as a divine gift from Him.
1. The Spirit of the living God indwells us.
2. The Spirit must continually be stirred up with in us to be
mindful of the Lord\’s gift.
B. The weakness of the spiritual mind began when we take the
work of the Lord on the cross for granted.
1. A mind not focused on the Lord becomes sick with worldly concerns.
2. Like the prodigal son , we are not in our right mind when we
walk away from the Fathers blessings.
C. Since we are talking about believers, the phrase fallen asleep would
appear to mean the sense of the Lord\’s presence had become dull.
1. All of our spiritual blessing are activated by constant participation
in serving the Lord.
2. Being constantly reminded of the Lord\’s death and resurrection
sharpens our sense of fellowship and communion with the Lord.
DIVINE WORK WITHIN
V:32. \”When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.\”
A. God shows His love for us by His judgment and His loving discipline.
1. His judgment of us is not unto death but unto a closer relationship with Him.
2. While He judges our sins He does not execute justice.
3. Justice would mean eternal death.
B. God judges us and disciplines us according to His will.
1. His discipline is designed to get our attention and to correct us.
2. His discipline is designed to effect change in our attitude and
actions to be more like Jesus.
CORRECT CHANGE IN FELLOWSHIP
V:33-34. \” So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other.
34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions. \”
A. It is our attitude of love toward one another that God is concerned about.
1. Each of us can either positively or negatively affect the spiritual growth
of others in Christ.
2. The Communion should be viewed as an outward sign of our devotion to Christ
and our gratefulness to His work on the cross for our eternal salvation.
B. We have to have a love for Christ before we can have correct love for
brothers and sisters in Christ.
1. We show our love for Christ by following His commands and ordinances.
2. We show our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ by respecting our
fellowship together.
3. We should make it our intentions to treat every brother and sister as equal
partners with Christ.
4. We should make it our intention to fellowship as equals in Christ.
THANK GOD FOR REMINDING US OF THE WORK ON THE CROSS
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
5510 Wes Sam Houston Toll Way North
Houston, Texas 77041
For more lessons follow me on facebook and visit my
blogs, \”revmmitchell.com and goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
