Exploit one another???
1Co 11:26-30
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27 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.
29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
The Corinthian church was partaking of the supper in an irreverent fashion, which is why they were being judged by Paul:
1- There were divisions among them – not of one mind and thought (1 Co 1:10)
2- Not waiting for each other – selfishness, pride
3- Abuse of the service of the saints – some were stuffing themselves with the supper and leaving others with nothing - exploitation
There are serious consequences when we fail to recognize what we are a part of. Paul then proceeds to remind them of what the supper represents.
We partake of the physical bread and wine which stands for our spiritual and physical participation in the body of Christ.
Spiritual:
1- Our sins have been forgiven by His blood
2- We
have been added to the
3- We have been given an inheritance of eternal life
4- Christ lives in us through His Spirit
Physical
1- We are members of the church, His body
2- We are brethren, family, in God’s Kingdom
3- We dedicate our physical members now to the work of the Kingdom
4- The Spirit gives LIFE to this mortal body – Romans 8:11
Since these things are so now, we have to stop thinking of each other according to our former way of life:
2Co 5:16-21
16 So 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.
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Our way of life now is changed! We have new identities, new reasons to live for, new work to do, if you truly are His disciple!
New Way of Life: Spiritual/heavenly point of view
New Identity: Christ’s Ambassadors
New Reason For Living: Because we are reconciled to God!
New Work To Do: Ministry of reconciliation
Because of this we want to conduct ourselves with the ultimate regard for each other in the body. This is how we recognize this is the body of our Lord and not some man made church or organization/institution:
i. Sexual pleasure (1 Thes 4:1-9)
ii. Mammon (earthly riches: Ephe 5:3; 2 Peter 2:1-3)
iii. Mockery (Matthew 5:22)
i. Favoritism (James 2:1-4)
ii.
Prejudice (Intolerance: Rom 15:1-3;
iii.
Deference (False Humility:
iv. Arrogance (Expressions of criticism or complaints [grumbling] on disputable matters; James 5:9; Romans 14:1-13)
v. Slander (misrepresenting: 2 Peter 2:10-11; Jude)