SELFISH PIGS 1 Cor. 11: 17-34
Have you ever seen someone make a pig of themselves?
· They act as though they are starving to death?
· You have plenty of food for everyone and yet they act like they are afraid that some one else will get some?
· Some times they do get so much food that others go hungry!
· Did you know that here in verses 17-34 the apostle Paul deals with some people who have made a pig of themselves?
· In fact, he is going to speak pretty boldly to these people and he is not only going to condemn what they do…but he is going to condemn the attitude and spirit behind their actions.
· Let’s study the passage. Look at verse 17.
Vs. 17: But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse.
· If you will look in verse 2 you see that Paul praised these people for holding to the “traditions” or “truths” that he had delivered to them.
· When it came to doctrinal teachings or the foundational truths about Christ these people held to those things…they believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, and that salvation was found in Him.
· But, even though they “held to the truths” their attitudes, their spirit, they way they were treating one another was wrong!”
· So in verse 2 Paul praises them for “holding to the traditions” but here there is no such praise.
· And Paul is pretty serious about this because in verse 22 he repeats his blunt rebuke!
So, what is it that Paul is so upset about? Look at verse 18: For, in the first place…”
· These words indicate that there is more than one thing that has Paul upset...but he never tells us what the “second thing” is.
For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part, I believe it.
· Here is the reason that Paul says that they gather for worse and not for better…it is because he keeps hearing that divisions exist among them.
· He doesn’t believe everything that he hears…but still from what he has heard he believes that those divisions are real.
· These people weren’t united in Christ!
· They were in conflict and fighting among themselves!
· If you go back to chapter 1 you find they were fighting over whose preacher was the best.
· If you go to chapter 6 you find they were taking one another to court.
· All their petty preferences and opinions, and personal desires and agendas were causing serious problems…and Paul says, “I won’t praise you for that!”
· “In fact, when you come together it is not for better, it only makes things worse!”
· This is another passage that speaks strongly against people who constantly cause problems, strife, and division.
And notice that Paul “heard” about this.
· You can be sure that the word…the problems will get out and if Paul has heard about it you can be sure that the enemies of the church have heard about it too!
· No wonder Paul is upset about this.
Look at verse 19: For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you.
· Here is another reason why Paul believed that the things he has heard about divisions existing among them…the leaders of these factions have become evident.
Now, verse 20: Therefore…because of these factions and divisions…when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper,
· They may have professed to be gathering to take of the Lord’s Supper…but their actions and attitudes said other wise.
· Apparently each little group had a selfish agenda…and the Lord’s Supper was just something they did…a ritual they went through.
Now, verse 21: …for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.
· The “eating” here in this verse isn’t referring to the “Lord’s Supper.”
· If you remember, the night that Christ broke the bread and drank of the cup with His disciples, He did that as they were sharing the Passover meal; Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22.
· So the supper originated in connection with a meal.
· The indication is from Acts 2: 42, Acts 20:7-11, and Jude 12 that this same practice continued in the early church…they would first eat a “fellowship meal…or a love feast” and then at the conclusion of that meal they would participate in the Lord’s Supper.
Now, these “love feasts or fellowship meals” had a double purpose:
· Primarily it was done to express Christian brotherhood…it was done to express fellowship.
· Second, those who had plenty brought food for those who had little…so it was done to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the needy; see vs. 21.
· So, what should have happened was these brothers and sisters, those who had plenty and those who didn’t, should have come together in fellowship and shared in the food brought by those who could afford to bring it; see vs. 33.
· But from verse 21, apparently what was happening is, those who had plenty, rather than waiting until all were assembled, plowed on into their own goodies…satiating themselves while others had empty bellies.
And see the word “drunk”…in the Greek that is the word “methui”…and that word means “to satiate, glut, drench, saturate.”
· Paul is not talking about someone getting “drunk” or inebriated…he is talking about someone who has made a pig of himself while others were hungry.
· So instead of this being a “love feast or a fellowship meal” what resulted was an act of total selfishness…that resulted in a further division of the church…a division of the “have’s and the have nots”…which in turn resulted in bitterness…and strife.
What was their excuse for doing this?
· They were hungry and couldn’t wait.
So, Paul scolds them in verse 22 and vs. 34, and he says, “If you are that hungry then you eat something before you come to the assembly.”
· In acting this way they were despising the church of God and shaming those who had nothing to eat.
Now, here is a side note: This passage does not forbid having a kitchen or a fellowship hall in or connected to the building.
· What Paul is condemning here is the actions and attitudes that were being displayed.
· He is condemning the selfishness…the inconsideration…the division and ill feelings…not the fellowship meal.
Now...look at verses 23-26.
· In these verses Paul reminds these brethren of the Lord’s Supper as it was taught to him.
· How can these people eat of the Lord’s Supper while conducting themselves this way?
· Can these people who wouldn’t share a common meal with a hungry fellow disciple commune with Christ?
· The Lord’s Supper commemorated the most loving act ever manifested; how can these people eat of it while being so un-loving?
· The Lord’s Supper commemorated the most unselfish act in all of history; how can they eat of it while being so selfish themselves?
· The Lord’s Supper is a sharing…a fellowship…how can they honestly take of the Lord’s Supper when they are so divided?
· Can these people sincerely participate in the Lord’s Supper?
· Are they going to remember the Lord…and His death…and He presence…and His impending return…or are they only going to be thinking about themselves?
· Involved in eating and communing with Christ is the embracing of Him as Lord…and that involves the acceptance of His attitude and His ways.
· It involves the choosing of Christ’s spirit of self-sacrifice…and all of that was absent from the hearts of these people who wore the name of Christ.
· How can these selfish people sincerely commune with Christ?
· All they are going to do is bow their heads and mutter over a piece of cracker thinking they are communing with Christ…and that would be nothing but mockery.
· And Paul says, “You are not going to get away with that.”
Look at verse 27: Therefore…
· Because all of this other stuff is true…
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner,
· When Paul speaks of “an unworthy manner”…he isn’t speaking of an earned or unearned status.
· Many people refuse to take of the Lord’s Supper because they think they aren’t “worthy enough to take it…so they refuse in order to keep from bringing judgment on themselves.
· This isn’t speaking of an earned status…being worthy enough to take it.
· This is speaking of someone who isn’t making an honest attempt to glorify Christ; he is talking about someone who has a wrong attitude and spirit like these brethren did.
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner…who takes it with a wrong attitude…who takes it with bitterness in their heart toward their brothers…who takes it with a divisive spirit…who takes it with no regard for the One who instituted it…those individuals shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
· In other words, they despise what the body and the blood of the Lord speaks of.
But there is no reason for any one to be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord…look at verse 28: But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
· Paul says, “Let a man examine himself”: “Why am I doing this? What is my motivation? What does it mean to me? What am I remembering? Am I angry with a brother? Am I causing strife and division? Am I harboring bitterness? Is my mind and heart in the right place?”
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly.
· These brethren weren’t giving much thought at all to the Lord’s Supper.
· All they could think of was their own selfish desires and how resentful they were toward one another.
· And Paul says here, “Anyone who thoughtlessly claims to commune with Christ while abusing others…while harboring ill-feelings and animosity in his heart toward others…that person only brings judgment on himself.
And judgment here is not talking about the final judgment when they will be condemned all though that is what will happen if they don’t repent.
· If you look in verse 32 the judgment Paul speaks of here is “discipline by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world.”
Vs. 30: For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
· All of these…weak, sick, and sleep…all refer to the physical.
· Physical punishments for moral guilt is not unknown in the N.T. (James 5: 13-15; Heb. 12: 5-11.
Vs. 31: But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world.
· If these people would make examination of their own hearts…and get things right…they would have no need to worry about eating the Supper and experiencing condemnation.
· And if they are punished…the punishment is intended to get them to change…to repent.
Vs. 33: So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you may not come together for judgment. And the remaining matters I shall arrange when I come.
· When they are gathered to have a “love feast” they must not selfishly scramble to eat so they won’t have to share.
· There is no love in that.
· And if they are hungry and can’t wait…then eat something at home so the problem is taken care of.
· If they would do this the gathering would be edifying and encouraging to all…and then the apostle Paul would praise them.
This passage is not a passage that condemns having a kitchen and fellowship hall attached to the building.
· This passage is not primarily about the Lord’s Supper.
· And this passage is not about overeating.
This passage IS about division and being factious…causing strife.
· This passage condemns selfishness and the mistreating of fellow Christians.
· This passage is about loving your brothers and sisters in Christ…and providing for those of our number who are in need.
· This passage is about fellowship…and sharing.
And this passage does give additional important emphasis to the Lord’s Supper.
· The Lord’s Supper is a time for each of us to examine ourselves to see if what is in our hearts matches up with what is in Christ’s heart.
· And this passage is a warning…a warning to each of us to make sure that we do not make mockery of the Lord’s Supper.
The Bible speaks in several places of “Love Feasts.”
· We call them fellowship meals.
· They had two primary purposes: They were intended to express love and fellowship…and they were intended to provide for those who were in need.
· Let’s make sure that our “Love Feasts” do just that.
· IF we will then next week when we take the Lord’s Supper perhaps no one will bring judgment on themselves.