Come to the Table: Communion That Unites Us

Paul opens 1 Corinthians 11 with hard words: “I do not commend you.” The text brings rich theology, but it also brings very relational theology, because the Lord’s Supper has everything to do with the believer’s vertical relationship with God and, at the same time, everything to do with the person sitting nearby.

The Lord’s Supper is not simple bread and wine only. Christ gives his very body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of faith. God dispenses his gifts at the altar, restores relationship with sinners, and gives forgiveness that can be tasted with the lips and received in the body.

Paul names the problem in Corinth as division, separation, and distance. The church in Corinth reflected the sin of society by dividing over differences and creating camps around things that were irrelevant at best and idols at worst. The text does not deny that some division can be necessary, especially where truth or safety is at stake, but Paul brings the hammer when division grows out of selfishness, pride, and disregard for brothers and sisters in Christ.

The agape meal, the love meal, was meant for fellowship, community, and shared life. The Lord’s Supper was a different meal, a highly specific sacred meal where Christ gives his body and blood. In Corinth, the wealthy arrived early, ate their own food, drank their own wine, and left the poor, the slaves, and the day laborers hungry. Paul says such a gathering is “not the Lord’s Supper” because the meal of unity was being joined to a practice of humiliation.

Communion communicates unity. The bread and wine are united with Christ’s body and blood by God’s word, and the communicant is united with God through the forgiveness Christ gives. This gift is “extra nos,” outside of the self, so the believer does not leave wondering whether enough has been done. God has done the work, and God gives the assurance.

That vertical unity cannot stay isolated. Communion also communicates unity with those who share the meal. The Lord’s Supper calls the church away from treating spouses, children, fellow believers, or neighbors as enemies, problems, or projects. When sin wants to divide, the text calls the repentant to come to the table, receive Christ’s grace, and reflect that same grace in the relationships closest to home.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Division makes the table incoherent. Paul refuses to commend a gathering where one person goes hungry and another gets drunk. The agape meal was meant to foster fellowship, but selfishness turned it into a public display of separation. The Lord’s Supper cannot be treated as holy while brothers and sisters are being humiliated at the same table. [43:01]
• 2. Communion communicates real unity. The Lord’s Supper joins bread and wine with Christ’s body and blood because Christ’s word says so. That mystery is not mastered by human comprehension, but received by faith. The same meal that unites the believer to God also refuses to leave relationships untouched. [44:10]
• 3. Forgiveness comes from outside oneself. God gives forgiveness as “extra nos,” outside of the self, so assurance does not depend on personal performance. The communicant receives grace that can be tasted, not merely imagined or earned. The altar gives rest because God has done all the work. [47:59]
• 4. The altar reaches the living room. Communion does not only aim at unity with the global church in some vague way. The meal presses into marriage, parenting, family, and the people who will sit on the couch later in the day. Christ’s grace reorders the way the nearest people are seen and treated.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [28:22] - Paul Says “I Do Not Commend You”
• [29:26] - Jesus’ Words at the Lord’s Supper
• [31:00] - Come to the Table, Come to the Altar
• [32:01] - Communion and the Person Nearby
• [33:30] - Necessary Division and Sinful Division
• [35:13] - Division Over Inconsequential Things
• [37:17] - Paul Brings the Hammer
• [39:24] - The Agape Meal Explained
• [42:14] - Wealth, Hunger, and Humiliation in Corinth
• [44:10] - Communion Communicates Unity
• [46:18] - The Institution of the Lord’s Supper
• [47:23] - Forgiveness Outside of Ourselves
• [49:34] - Unity With Those Sharing the Meal
• [52:36] - Communion Changes Home Relationships

Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 11:17-22
"But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not." [28:22] [28:41] [28:43] [28:45] [28:55]

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when 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 also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." [29:26]

1 Corinthians 10:17
"Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread."

Observation questions

1. In 1 Corinthians 11:17-22, what specific behaviors in Corinth led Paul to say, “I do not commend you”? [43:01]
2. What difference is shown between the agape meal and the Lord’s Supper, and why does that difference matter in this passage? [39:24]
3. According to 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, what words of Jesus does Paul repeat when he explains the Lord’s Supper? [46:37]
4. What kinds of divisions were named as sinful and unnecessary, and what examples were given of people creating camps around lesser things? [35:13]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul says, “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.” How can a church go through the motions of communion and yet make the meal say the opposite of what Christ intends? [43:28]
2. Paul does not treat every kind of separation as wrong. What helps a church tell the difference between a necessary division and a selfish one? [33:30]
3. Jesus says, “This is my body” and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” How does receiving forgiveness from outside of oneself bring real assurance to a burdened conscience? [47:59]
4. If communion communicates unity with God and with others, what does that suggest about the way believers are meant to view the people sharing the meal with them? [49:34]

Application questions

1. Where is division or distance most tempting right now—in marriage, family, friendships, church relationships, or somewhere else? What usually fuels that distance: hurt, pride, impatience, fear, or something else? [52:36]
2. The table exposes the habit of treating people as enemies, problems, or projects. Is there a particular person who has started to feel like that in the heart? What would it look like to begin seeing that person through Christ’s grace again? [54:41]
3. The Corinthians sinned by going ahead with their own meal and not caring that others were left hungry. In ordinary life, what are the quieter ways a person can still “go ahead” of others and ignore them? [42:14]
4. Forgiveness is given extra nos, outside of the self. When guilt rises up, is there a tendency to look inward and ask, “Have I done enough?” What changes when the heart is directed back to what Christ gives instead? [47:59]
5. When sin wants to divide, Christ invites the repentant to come to the table. What does repentance look like in a strained relationship before, during, or after receiving communion? [51:17]
6. Communion reaches into the living room, the couch, the dinner table, and the everyday conversations of home. What is one relationship closest to home where Christ’s grace needs to reshape words, tone, or patience this week? [52:47]
7. Because “we who are many are one body,” unity is not just a nice idea but a shared reality in Christ. What is one simple step that could help move toward peace with another believer rather than settling for distance?