The Lord’s Supper

The Lord’s Supper

Shelby G. Floyd

September 14, 2008

The Lord’s Supper is a very important part of Christian worship, but teaching regarding it has been generally neglected. Therefore, in many places the church is falling into many errors regarding the proper observance of this wonderful memorial to our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul had to deal with the perversions of the Lord’s Supper in the church at Corinth, and therefore, his teaching to them is the same teaching which the church needs today to properly observe the Lord’s Supper. When God’s people come together in a solemn assembly it should be to worship the Lord, and to learn his will, and to be drawn closer to God. But this is not always the case, and many times when people come together, it is not for the better, but for the worse.

When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, he could not praise them concerning the Lord’s Supper, because when they came together, it was not for the better, but for the worse:

“Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.” (1 Corinthians 1:17.)

The phrase, “coming together” refers to their solemn assemblies on the first day of each week to worship the God of heaven in spirit and. in truth. However, what they were doing in these assemblies was for the worse, and not for the better

It is sad that people can come together and not be made any better for their having come together, but are actually made worse. We should do some serious and sober thinking, lest our coming together will make us worse instead of better. The phrase, “come together” is used five times in our context concerning the Lord’s Supper. (1 Corinthians 11: 17, 18, 20, 33, 34.) If one will take the time to examine these occurrences of the phrase, “come together” one will notice several reasons why the Corinthian Christians were coming together, not for the better, but for the worse.