The Significance of The Communion:
READ: 1 Corinthians 10:14-21
CHALLENGE: Examine yourself before you eat and drink.
My challenge for you is to make sure we are examining ourselves and checking our heart before you take part
in communion.
10:14-15 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I
say.
Whenever you see the words “my dear friends” or “my beloved” Paul is talking directly to believers. We should
be as Paul and have a heart for one another which is why He gives us a Command to “flee from idolatry”.
Which brings us to our first point.
A. Throw Away Your Idols
Now as Paul was willing to speak up because he doesn’t want to see these people derail. Similar to a parent
and a child. We have to care for one another especially when we clearly see an issue. Now what is Idolatry? I
asked this exact question before in Jr. Church and answers that I got was A STORE! and I said no… then they
said convenient shop No… Then it clicked, they thought I said what is a Dollar Tree…
What idolatry is, is not some store, well it could be for some but idolatry in Corinth during this time was a
major expression of religion in this city. They would make statues of wood or stone, and these were not evil in
themselves. But people would give credit to these, even though only God could provide these. Examples are
good weather, their harvest, and their kids. Now today Idols still exist, but they have transformed into many
different forms. People now don’t put their trust in statues of wood or stone but more in terms of their
money, their phone, politics, entertainment (music, actors, athletes) I’m amazed by how many can name all
the players on a football team but can’t name the twelve disciples’. The first two commandments tell us to not
have any other gods before him, and do not make yourself an idol. For idolatry is putting anything or anyone
before or above God and trusting or relying on that instead of Him for our purpose, security or fulfillment. So,
check your heart and throw away any of the idols that you are trusting or putting before God.
10:16-18 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is
not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are
many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the
sacrifices participate in the altar?
This leads us to the essential need to:
B. Participate In the Body of Christ
“The cup of thanksgiving” was a lot of times the last cup of wine to drink at the end of the meal. This is when
they would give a final testimony of thanks for all that God has done. In this room the night before his
crucifixion He uses this last cup as a symbol of His blood that He was going to shed for sin. Jesus then uses this
cup as a special thanksgiving before passing it to His disciples. For us as Christians whenever we partake, we
are partaking in this cup of blessing that we are thankful for His death each time we do it in remembrance of
Jesus.
Paul’s words assume that regular participation in the Lord’s Supper is a practice for faithful Christians,
commanded by Christ (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24-25) to remind us of His sacrifice and our unity with Him and
fellow believers. We are not just doing this to remember as in recall something of the past, now look closely at
verse 16
10:16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a PARTICIPATION in the blood of Christ? And is
not the bread that we break a PARTICIPATION in the body of Christ?
For we are sharing and participating and by partaking in this, we share in His body and blood, communing with
the Lord and His people. He is saying he wants you to PARTICIPATE based on this thing of the past with
something in the present. For he wants you to be a sharer or participant in. For it celebrates our shared
salvation and eternal life, reflecting the perfect fellowship we will experience in heaven.
If I were to ask you to go out to lunch with me and you say yes, we are not just going for food and drinks. For
the purpose of this is not food, the purpose of this “get together” is for fellowship with each other. For the
moment you bring up gathering it’s not about the food. Yea food is good, and especially coming in after
thanksgiving, MAN that food was good but that’s not what it’s about. What you are bringing up is another
level of what matters more and that is the intimate conversations, communication, and attachment to one
another. For you are now sharing and participating in each other. What Communion is designed to do is to
bring you into a deeper level of intimate relationship with the Lord on the spiritual level.
Now in regard to Christ’s body, His body symbolizes our unity in Jesus Christ. I don’t care if you are black,
white, yellow, brown, pink, Lutheran, Baptist, Nazarene, etc. if you are a believer in Jesus Christ when we
come together as a body of believers, we are one in Christ.
10:17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
For that loaf that we are going to break and share is Jesus… Obviously this is a metaphor Jesus is said to be the
bread, symbolizing that He is essential for spiritual nourishment and life, just as bread is a basic and essential
food for physical nourishment. The metaphor highlights the idea that, like bread sustains the body, Jesus
sustains the soul. Because we are one with Christ, we are one with each other. As we come into fellowship
with Christ through Communion, we come into fellowship with each other in a unique and deep way. For
1 Corinthians 6:17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
All believers stand on the same ground at the foot of the cross, as forgiven sinners who possess the eternal life
value inside them.
It is important to confront and address our sins, but it is also to be the foundation of our deliverance because
of our union with Christ established with baptism it is renewed through communion. There is no time where
intimacy with Christ is at its peak or It’s at its most dynamic exciting moment being around the bread and the
cup. I want to warn you though.
1 Corinthians 11:29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment
on themselves.
If you are just taking communion because everyone else is or are not a believer and you are just here just out
of curiosity and learning about who Jesus is, and that is great but please don’t Participate in communion or as
many parents I was one of them at time until God opened my eyes to this truth. Your children, unless they
have professed their faith and have grasped the significance of communion, they should not participate in
communion, don’t worry about what others say or may think, for this is between you and the Lord. Now
moving on to
10:18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?
When Israelites sacrificed to the Lord all involved played parts. The person’s Sacrifice was burned for God,
then part of it was eaten by the priests, and part was eaten by the offeror, uniting all in worship. Similarly, idol sacrifices connect worshipers with the idol and each other. Worship, whether Christian or pagan, unites
participants with their object of devotion. Therefore, believers must avoid worship that opposes their Lord.
This Brings us to our next topic and final point.
C. Make Sure You Are at the Right Table.
10:19-21 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the
sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s
table and the table of demons.
Now obviously the thing “food” sacrificed has no spiritual power nor does the actual idol itself. But behind all
idolatry is demonic presence and we should have no participation with a demon. I want to focus mainly on
that last verse.
10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the
Lord’s table and the table of demons.
Paul is not advising you; He is giving you straight raw truth for you can not be at the Lord’s table and the table
of demons. For Jesus tells us
Matthew 6:24a No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be
devoted to the one and despise the other.
In the words of John MacArthur 1 “It is not simply that we should not but that we cannot. It is impossible to do
both at the same time. It must be one or the other. We will “hate the one and love the other,” or we will “hold
to the one and despise the other.” When we fellowship with the Lord we cannot also fellowship with demons,
and vice versa. Some attempted it in Corinth, but they were not truly fellowshipping with the Lord. Their
worship was hypocrisy.
Christians are not immune from the influence of demons. When We willingly ignore the Lord’s way and flirt
with the things of Satan by setting up idols of any kind, we open ourselves up to demonic influence.”
Christ & Change:
INTRODUCTION: When cold air comes across the warmer water of Lake Erie, it creates a snow machine and deposits it all over us. Arctic cold air across warmish Lake Erie water equals white stuff. There is no other thing that can happen – it’s going to cause an effect!
God moves in people’s lives and that work is as undeniable as Lake Effect snow. When God is moving, things are happening.
READ: Act 16
CHALLENGE: Demonstrate Faith Through Change
- GOD IS MOVING
Acts 16:22-34 – The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Two men came to the prison to be guarded that night. They were stripped, beaten, bloodied, and in physical pain. What was the difference between them and any number of criminals that had come across their path? They must have done something. They deserved it, right? They weren’t to be pitied. It was just a normal night. Let’s meet Paul and Silas, flogged for rescuing a woman from some fortune telling demon. What did that matter to the jailer? He puts their feet in stocks!
What the jailer doesn’t realize at this moment is that his life is about to change. These two men are sent there but they are not alone. God is reaching out and touching lives.
The jailer was strictly commanded to guard them closely so he put their feet in stocks. He doesn’t attend to wounds or give any comfort. He’s just doing his job not knowing that God is doing His job as well.
V25 – About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
The jailer drifts off to sleep as they sing hymns because they’re thankful. It’s great to know that God is working even in our hardest moments. And he’s worthy to be praised in all circumstances. Paul didn’t just write about it, he lived it.
- TAKE YOUR WAKE-UP CALL
Vv26-28 – Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
About midnight. You never know when something will come up that alters your direction. Or the exact moment when God may work. In this case it was around midnight. God is about to rock their world! Sometimes God has got to rock our world to really get us to awaken to the truth.
- Physical Awakening
This dude is a guard and he’s sleeping. I don’t know that sleeping was in the job description for the main guard and especially when you’re explicitly told to guard them closely.
He’s so out of it that he doesn’t know what happened. He woke up and the prison doors were open and he assumed the prisoners escaped. He draws his sword to kill himself. Paul calls out and stops him! Don’t harm yourself. We are all here! Paul gave up his ability to run and save his own hide in order to reach out to a man who was lost. He was about the mission.
God does things in the physical side of life to awaken the spiritual side.
- Spiritual Awakening
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The jailor bolts into the room trembling and he asked, “What must I do to be saved”? This is a great question. What must I do? God uses this to awaken him to his own spiritual condition which is lost.
Biblical salvation means to have your sins forgiven and a home in heaven through faith in Jesus who died on the cross for your sins. Apparently he wasn’t ready to hear it in the form of a gentle hymn but the earthquake was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Sometimes God has to rock our world! He has to get us to a place where we can see the truth. God can use pain or any number of things to open our eyes and to awaken us to spiritual reality. It’s a wonderful thing when he does.
- BELIEVE AND COMMIT
Vv31-34 – They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
- We Need a Strong Faith
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. It’s simple as that. Believe in Jesus Christ. The invitation is open to all. Believe and be forgiven. Believe and have hope!
Belief is trust. What do you believe in? It’s not the weather man per se. My grandson loves to swing. He gets buckled in and pushed and he loves it. It’s high off the ground because the branch is high off the ground. He’s about chest height! When I released him the other day and took safety bar up he was arms up, sliding out, and trusting me to catch him. Faith.
We trust Jesus to catch us. To be there. As the Bible says, all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved!
- We Need a Commitment to Change
The jailor believers and attended wounds, he was filled with joy, he fed them. That’s a total change from how he had treated them prior! He was already showing God’s work in his life. He believed and he was baptized and he changed.
Today we baptize those who profess belief and a commitment to change. When Jesus was baptized, it didn’t erase sin because he had none. He was committing himself to following God and that’s what it was about. It was to “fulfill all righteousness”. He was determined to follow God’s will for his life.
As we lay them back, it symbolizes death to sin. As they are brought back up, that symbolizes a new life in Christ. We live a new life.
Romans 6:3-4 – Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.