1 Corinthians 12:1-14 Live by Faith!

1 Corinthians 12:1-14  Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.  You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.  Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.  There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.  Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.   Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

In the above focus we see the same theme as Jesus expressed to the priests, God at work.  When the Pharisees attacked Jesus about healing on the Sabbath, he told them that God is always at work.  Therefore, He too will work on the Sabbath.  In the above scriptures, we see Paul expressing this theme of God at work in his distribution of spiritual gifts.  These are not callings, but gifts, given in a supernatural way to people in the church.  They are to be operative in the church to make the body of Christ healthy and strong.  Without these gifts active in the body Christ, the church is anemic, weak, distorted, and even corrupt, depending on the view of men and not on the parameters of a holy and righteous God.  Salvation begins and ends as a gift of God, not on man’s efforts to know God.  It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works,  so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:8-10)  We see in today’s scriptures that gifts are given to men and women to manifest God’s presence on earth, to expose God to a sick world, full of sin, captives of Satan.  Satan is the ever-present Pharaoh in all ages.  The blood of Christ as with the Passover lambs on the doorpost in Egypt separates men and women from a finite world of slavery, to the freedom of life found on the other side of the Red Sea.  This freedom from slavery is a gift of God, even the presence of the Holy Spirit with them was a gift.  The children of Israel were met by the Spirit; He was present by the cloud in day and the pillar of smoke at night.  God gave them this gift; they did not earn God's presence; it was a gift to them to lead them through the wilderness and INTO the Promised Land.  Jesus told his followers before his ascension into heaven, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”  (Acts 1:4-5)  The Spirit of God was given to the early church to navigate them through the wilderness of life, not IN weakness, but IN power.  The Holy Spirit was given to the church so that Christ could be seen in them, revealing God at work on earth through the church.  Jesus always did the Father’s will, so the Spirit will do God’s work.  He will do God’s work through the church.  Therefore, special gifts by the Spirit are given to men and women to reveal God’s presence on earth, so that people will know their Creator God.  God’s spirit in humans makes them lights to be seen by the world.  Christians are lights, gifted by the spirit to do special things within the church of the living God.  These gifts given to them are for the health of the church and bring unity to the church.  But the opposite of that unity within the Corinthian church has caused Paul to tell them that they are at best immature Christians; even the gifts have been misused.  The Corinthians failed to absorb the attributes of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 in their lives: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Paul in today’s scriptures tells the Corinthian church, There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  And because the Holy Spirit is ONE, these gifts should reveal the oneness of God in operation.  No one should take a gift and distort how it is manifested for their self-grandisement.  All the gifts are equal in their presentation, for they are revealing the body of Christ.  He should be lifted up and glorified when the gifts are used within the body.

Because the body of Christ is the manifestation of Christ on earth, the spiritual gifts given to men and women are to always accentuate the glory and honor that belongs to Jesus the Christ.  He is the gift of God given to mankind for deliverance from a finite and sinful world.  Peter tells the church that the body of Christ is a spiritual house, occupied by spiritual priests who glorify and honor God by offering up spiritual sacrifices by manifesting Jesus in their lives.  The spiritual gifts given to people are used to reveal God’s goodness and love to all people, everywhere.  You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  (1 Peter 2:5)  This house is an extension of what the prophet Nathan told David about his descendants.  He told David that his kingdom, his descendants, would be a house of kings that would never end.  We see Jesus as the culmination of that prophecy for He, the Son of God, will sit on the throne of David.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,Mary; you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”  (Luke 1:30-32)  Nathan prophesied that David’s kingdom, his house, would be forever.  Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”  (2 Samuel 7:16)  This prophesy is fulfilled in Christ; He is the eternal kingdom.  His house is not full of kings that are finite; these men are the descendants of David’s flesh, but Christ's house in the lineage of David is full of eternal priests that will be sitting with Christ and in Christ in the presence of God.  No longer a house full of David’s DNA, but a house filled with God’s nature, a collection of people from all over the world.  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  (1 Peter 2:9-10)   All gifts are given to people based on God's purposes for them and his mercy and grace to them.  Everything is done by God to edify the body of Christ on earth.  God’s gifts are given for his purposes, not to lift up men or women who possess these gifts.  Every gift rightly used will strengthen the body of Christ, providing the church power to stand against the temptation of the wilderness and the schemes of the devil and his demons.  As with an individual in his or her walk, the church must manifest the full armor of God in its existence.  The church must be strong in the Lord, must have the full armor of God to stand against the devil’s schemes.  The church needs to stand its ground against the devil.  Always standing with the belt of truth buckled around its waist, with the  breastplate of righteousness in its midst, relating always the gospel of peace.  Displaying to all the shield of faith, that can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.   Expressing the helmet of salvation, under which the Spirit protects the new born, implanting the word of God deep within the the body of Christ.  (See Galatians 6)  Gifts rightly used to honor Christ and the unity of the body will steady the church, keeping the church from being carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.  For the gifts are given for the COMMON good.  Just as a body, though ONE, has many parts, but all its many parts form ONE body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by ONE Spirit so as to form ONE body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the ONE Spirit to drink.

Because Christians are still in the fleshly body, they can be carried away by doctrines of ill will and selfish glorification.  The weak and immature Christian will be led astray in believing unsound doctrine.  As with the Corinthian church, they will choose what they wish to follow.  This division has been part of Christianity from the beginning.  Paul was worried about this division in his own teaching.  He desired to preach only Christ, the works of Christ and not that of men.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live BY FAITH in the Son of God, who loved me and GAVE HIMSELF for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for NOTHING!”  (Galatians 2:20-21)  Therefore, after fourteen years away from Jerusalem and the elders in the church, he went back to the pillars of faith to examine whether he was preaching the absolute truth of God’s salvation message to men and women.  Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas.  I took Titus along also.  I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.  I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain.  (Galatians 2:1-2)  He wanted his teaching to be above reproach.  If he was teaching unsound doctrine, he would be leading people to hell, not heaven.  So, he went back to Jerusalem to be with those who had walked with Jesus on earth.  They validated his teaching, but Paul also found that Judaism was still contaminating the church.  Dependence on the works of the flesh was still distorting the pure gospel, which is Christ alone and his works.  Christ is the GIFT of God.  To confuse that message with the works of the flesh will lead people to destruction, not heaven.  Because Judaism was still taught: the dependence on the works of the flesh, many Jerusalem Christians were still involved with adding something to the grace of God.  Even Peter went astray, eating only with the circumcised at Antioch after Christians from Jerusalem arrived in Antioch.  Before their arrival he ate with all Christians in Antioch.  Paul confronted him openly about his hypocrisy, telling Peter that he was standing against God’s will for all people on the face of the earth.  Peter once again was doing Satan’s work.  When Jesus was with the apostles, Peter wished to protect Jesus from those who would crucify Jesus, so he stood in opposition to God’s will.  Jesus told him, Get behind me Satan.  So we see now, many years after Jesus’ ascension, Judaism was a constant threat to the will of God: the works of men and not dependency on the works of God.  In Paul’s explanation of the dispersion of gifts to people in the church, he emphasizes this is the work of God.  No man can earn spiritual gifts through works, through efforts, through spiritual exercise or dedication.  As with salvation, gifts come from the mouth of God.  Yes, breakfast companions, pray that God’s gift to you will be evident in your life.  Allow God to dispense a gift to you.  Pray for God’s will to be done in you as you interact with the body of Christ.  And most of all, do not be fearful to use his gift in you.  Everything in the body of Christ takes faith, a belief that God is involved with your life and a willingness to use the gift He has given you.  All things should be done in order and for the benefit of the church.  Honor your leaders, for they are responsible for your spiritual health and for the church’s well being.  Pick up the banner of Christ in everything you do.  Remember, his banner over you is love.  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.  (1John 3:1) 

 

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 11:27-34 Bear Good Fruit!

1 Corinthians 11:27-34  So then, 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.  Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.  For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.  That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.  But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.  Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.  So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together.  Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.  And when I come I will give further directions.

We see in the above focus that some in the Corinthian church were not discerning rightly the body of Christ.  These people were observing communion with the sacraments in an unworthy manner and because of that some of them were experiencing the judgment of God.  That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.  This sounds like a  judgment of their physical bodies.  Paul is addressing a Greek church; these people are still inundated with the culture of the Greek community.  For them there is nothing wrong in gathering together and eating separately without thinking about others in the church when they are remembering the Lord’s death.  But now since they have come under the authority of Jesus’ Christ's blood and body, they are to discern the needs of the whole body of Christ.  As far as we know this judgment of God has historically not been perceived much in the church.  But we do know that God wanted this nascent Gentile church to understand they are through faith in Christ’s work on the cross one body, bound to Christ and God through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, they were not free to act independently from the obligations they have to their brothers and sisters IN CHRIST.  In gathering together in remembrance of Jesus’ death on the cross, they are not there just to eat food and drink wine.  Paul reminds them of why they are together celebrating communion: when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers.  As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.  (20,21)  This separatism is an anathema to the body of Christ.  God will judge such actions of selfishness.  Of course this is a Greek church with little understanding of spiritual matters.  Paul, throughout his letter to the church of Corinth is in the teaching mode.  He explains to them that true wisdom comes from Christ, not their philosophers and wise teachers.  He expresses to them what is sin and what in their lives they should avoid, such as idol worshipping.  He tells them how dangerous sexual promiscuity is to their spiritual health.  He explains how they should act in their marriages, having fidelity to their mates.  He instructs them on their activity within the church.  Paul, as their spiritual father, is desiring them to reach maturity in their walk with Christ.  The Greeks are beginners in knowing Christ.  In the Jewish community we see this newness in knowing and discerning the body of Christ in the activity of Ananias and Sapphira.  Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.   With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.  Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?  Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold?  And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?  What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”  (Acts 5:2-4)  Ananias and Sapphira both died that day.  The Holy Spirit killed them because they did not understand what they were doing in this new life found in Jesus Christ.  Christ's body is holy and the people’s activity in the body should be pure, upright, and holy.  Their self-will brought immediate judgment on them.  Great fear fell upon the Jewish church for they now realized they were accountable to God because they were one with him.  The Corinthian church also needed to realize that their activity was being monitored by God, and that there were consequences for not serving the body of Christ in an honest and upright manner.  Paul tells them that some are sick because of not discerning the body of Christ appropriately.  As we look back into the history of the church, we can assume that many people took communion unworthily and we also can assume that many people lie to the church without outward consequences.  But the scriptures are telling us that spiritual activity within the church is a serious matter and that we who have a history of 2,000 years behind us, should be involved with the church in a serious and honest manner.

As children of the living God with the Spirit fully inside of us, we must understand that God has provided Jesus to us so that we might live eternally and be lights to a dying world.  When we corrupt our lives with dishonesty and illicit activity, we cloud the the living light of God within us, which is Jesus Christ.  Jesus alone is THE LIGHT and He is THE DRINK that provides life.  Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.  Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.  (John 7:37-39)  After Pentecost the Spirit came to present Christ to the world.  And we see in today’s focus, Christians have been charged with a great responsibility of taking care of the Body of Christ.  The self-willed Christians who do not discern the body of Christ rightly will come under judgment if they continue to ignore the needs of the whole body.  A healthy church will reveal the light of Christ clearly, but a defiled church will distort that light and be called by the secular world as hypocrites, saying one thing but not living up to their own creed.  Paul is instructing an unhealthy Corinthian church, one where a little yeast has spread to the whole lump.  They had allowed open sexual sin within their community and they were in the mode of quarreling and disputing over who they should follow as leaders.  He knows the acts and activities of their former lives are still operative within the Corinthian church:  sexual immorality,  discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, (Galatians 5:19-21)  Their willingness to take communion in a self-willed way is just part of their lack of obedience to God’s will for their lives.  They were still functioning as secular Christians, not as the body of Christ.  They lacked the willingness to be as Christ, a servant to all.  Jesus demonstrates what a mature Christian’s life should look like in washing the disciples’ feet.  When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.  “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.  Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.  (John 13:12-17)  The Corinthian church was not being blessed because some of them were not concerned about the weaker brethren in their midst.  By eating their own sumptuous supper and drinking wine until they were drunk, they were humiliating those who have nothing?  They definitely did not have a towel wrapped around their waist washing the feet of those in their midst who were poor.  God judged them for their lack of love; their unwillingness to serve others.

Paul has great love for the Gentiles and he has paid a high price to minister to the Gentile world.  The Jews have the law to help them know God’s will for their lives, but the Gentiles had nothing like that but social mores that they had constructed their lives by and philosophers and learned men.  But to know God’s holiness and his righteousness was far beyond their conception.  But now the Christian Greeks contain the holy God within them through the works of the Holy Spirit.  To be containers of a holy God, they must alter the way they have constructed their lives within their culture.  No more serving other gods, idol worshipping, sexual promiscuity, anger, self-willedness, or license to self-indulgence.  The darkness of their society should be put aside.  Jesus has come to show God to the world.  He has come to bring the Creator into everyone’s life.  Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.  The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.  I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.  (John 12:44-46)  Jesus is the perfect representation of God, to see Jesus is to see God, the Creator of all things.  Now, the Corinthians who have taken the name of Jesus by faith as their Lord are to be representatives of Jesus Christ and God. To take communion unworthily, to be selfish in remembering the death of Christ is not representative of the love of Christ for all humanity.  Quarrels, dissension, battles, wars, and rumors of war are the characteristics of those who do not love others, but Paul is telling the Corinthian church to grow up, to mature, and to put on the mantle of Christ, which is love.  Not discerning the body of Christ rightly is not an act of love.  Jesus tells his disciples their hope of life rests in him, Because I live, you also will live.  On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.  Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.  The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”  (John 14:19-21)  What are Jesus’ commands?  There are two of them: love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and secondly, love others as you love yourself; do good to all people.  We see the Corinthian church violating that second royal law.  The communion table reveals that; they are allowing some to starve as they participate within this sacred activity.  They are violating what the Holy Spirit is revealing to them about God.  They are willing to not show the love of God to others in the church and outside of the Christian community.  But for all Christians everywhere today, we should not follow this immature church in their attitude and activities.  We are to love everyone in and outside of our community.  We are to live as Christ lived, as a servant to the world. The Spirit has come to us in his fulness so let us live by the Spirit.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  (Galatians 5:25-26)  Instead, let us yield to the world: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (22-23)  May the Lord bless you as you bear fruit for him today.

 

1 Corinthians 11:17-26 Raise the Banner of Love!

1 Corinthians 11:17-26  In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.  In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.  No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.  So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers.  As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk.  Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in?  Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing?  What shall I say to you?  Shall I praise you?  Certainly not in this matter!  

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.”  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.”  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

In the above focus, Paul is concerned about the spiritual health of the Corinthian church.  He cannot commend them for the way they act and their attitude when they gather together as one body.  These meetings do more harm than good.  He criticizes them for their divisions; their willingness to damage the unity of the body of Christ on the basis of whom they follow in their religious lives.  He knows some of this division originates out of spiritual pride, believing one leader understands better THE WAY than other apostles or leaders.  Sarcastically, he says, No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.  Choosing different leaders to follow has affected their love for others outside of their religious clique.  They are squabbling over what person they should follow in their spiritual lives, probably over who has the right theological positions in living as a Christian.  They are proud about how they came to Christ, who baptized them, who first taught them the way to Christ.  We see that some of them claim they follow Christ, but what Christ?  Are they following the Christ of works, his lifestyle or the redemptive Christ?  We do not know that, but we do know that Paul states that he desires not to know Christ in his fleshly walk but as the Redeemer:  from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.  Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.  (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)  The worldly or fleshly man or woman will always land on division, exalting themselves and their opinions.  This division from the beginning of time have spawned arguments, battles, and even wars.  Disagreements bring bitterness and hatred to the souls of people, finally cropping out in actual combat or separation.  Therefore, Paul appeals to the Corinthian church to put their lack of unity aside, instead, coming together in the binding power of love for their brother and sister IN CHRIST.   I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.  My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.  What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 1:10-12)  This pernicious lack of love for others in the church was not part of the church from the beginning.  After Peter finished his first sermon to the Jerusalem people, three thousand people stepped forward to follow the Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  What is recorded of those new converts is amazing, All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people, the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.  (Acts 2:44-47)  The best way to destroy the gathering together of believers and their testimony to the world is division, disgruntledness hidden in the hearts of those who claim salvation, a new life.  But the joy of gathering together and the happiness of unity of the congregants is attractive to the worldly, for this is not the scene of their own lives or the ones around them.  Seeing people lifting their hands in praises to God and the joy on their faces is attractive to the world, for they have a desperate hunger for that kind of unity with the God of Creation.  So, the early church exploded in size and fervency in serving the Lord.  We also see in the early church God manifesting himself through signs and wonders.  Where joy is, the power of God is manifested in full measure.  The joy of the Lord is our strength.

Paul is concerned about the lack of love for others of some in the Corinthian congregation.  When they come together supposedly to commemorate the death and resurrection of the Lord for their salvation, they do not share their food and drink with the less fortunate believers among them.  When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers.  These people gather together in a selfish and self-willed way, maybe even showing off how prosperous they are.  In doing so they bring shame on the less fortunate.  Do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing?  This depiction by Paul of a greedy and self-willed people within the Corinthian church exposes the worldly nature of some people.  He instructs them that their gathering together should be done in order, discerning the body of Christ and the unity of the church.  Taking the elements of communion should be done in order and in thoughtful reflection of what Jesus has done as the Redeemer of their souls.  

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.”  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.”  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.  This is a reenactment of the salvation experience, for no one can become a new creature without participating in eating and drinking of the body of Christ.  

Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.  For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.  Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven.  Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”  (John 6:53-59)  Jesus told the rabbi Nicodemus, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”  (John 3:3)  To be born again comes from eating the bread of life and drinking of Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Therefore, communion is a very solemn activity, a time of deep gratitude to Christ for bringing new life; it is not a time to fill your stomach with food and drink.  It is not a time of not discerning the full body of Christ.  All who are participating in communion with deep gratitude are part of the Living Body of Christ.  All have been commissioned to serve Christ within his body.  Therefore no one is more or less important in the kingdom of God.  The name of Christ is imprinted on the new-born lives of Christians.  Christians are followers of Christ, He in them and they in Him.  Consequently, Christians are to emulate God’s love for all people.  Their unity under the banner of love should be seen by all people in the world and in the church.  

Christians are recognized by the world as followers of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is loved by many, but also hated by many in the world.  His name is used often as an expletive, a word used to curse someone or something.  Peter and John were arrested by the Sanhedrin after the crippled man at the Temple gate was healed.  The authorities were upset with Peter and John because they did this miracle in the name of Jesus.  They had killed Jesus, so they wanted Jesus’ name to be forgotten in Jerusalem, but now because of this healing, Jesus’ name and notoriety was being spread once again throughout Jerusalem.  So, the Sanhedrin brought Peter and John before them and told them not to speak of the name of Jesus anywhere in Israel.  Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him?  You be the judges!   As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”  (Acts 4:18-20)  Because of the threat of the authorities in Israel, the church of the living God was now being pressed to keep the name of Jesus hidden, away from the ears of the people.  Peter and John revealed this threat of the authorities to the church, knowing that the church was in great danger of a violent action against them if they testified about Jesus’ power and redeeming work.  But the believers, instead of gathering in fear and anxiety, gathered in prayer, lifting their voices to heaven in thanksgiving to Jesus’ wonderful intervention in their lives.  While they were doing this, quoting the scriptures and in prayer, a mighty power hit their building, the place they were meeting was shaken.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.  (Acts 4:31)  Rather than back off in speaking the name of Jesus, they came forward within their communities, speaking about the salvation of God through the name of Jesus.  Peter in his first sermon, capitalizes this boldness when he tells a large crowd about the name of Jesus.  “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.  (Acts 2:22-24).  In the forefront of the believers ministry about Jesus was the fact of the resurrection in and through Jesus.  They were bold in teaching that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, that new life, forever life, was accessible to all people who put their trust in Jesus and his work on the cross.  They were expressing communion to the world; in and through Jesus you can be born again.  Paul is reminding the church in Corinth that their ideas of whom they should follow in their faith are a waste of time, for they are embedded in the body of Christ which is one of unity and peace.  He tells them that they should take seriously the elements of communion, for life comes from eating and drinking of Jesus, not in whom they are following.  He is telling them that self-indulgence and separatism are not of God but of the world.  We who now live two thousand years from that time should also take seriously the elements of communion.  We should speak boldly the name of Jesus and his redeeming work.  The name of Jesus ought not to be hidden from view.  We often attempt to demonstrate God through love and kindness to others in and out of the church.  That is good but it is no substitute for the name of Jesus.  Do people know we are Jesus-people, or do they know only that we are kind and somewhat different from others.  Let us pray as the early church did, “Lord, stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through your holy servant Jesus.”  (Acts 4:30)  If that is to happen, we must be bold in proclaiming the name of Jesus.  May each of us walk in that boldness today.