Useful Bible Studies > 1 Corinthians Commentary > chapter 11
Some things are holy. That is, they belong to God in a special way. If people do not respect those holy things they offend God.
The bread and wine at church are holy because of their connection with the death of Christ. Many Christians in Corinth had not recognised that fact. They thought that they were eating together merely in order to enjoy themselves. So, they ate too much food and they drank too much wine. They sent poor Christians away without enough to eat (11:21-22).
It was not just Paul who was angry about this. They had offended God and they had caused themselves illness and troubles (11:29-30).
Because of this, Paul advised the Christians in Corinth not to eat meals together (11:34). They should just share a little bread and wine together to remember Christ’s death (11:26). That is what most Christian churches do today. But still, some people do not really recognise the sacred nature of that ceremony.
For example, some people accept the bread and wine although they have never invited Christ into their lives. Perhaps they imagine that, by their own efforts, they can earn a right relationship with God. But that attitude offends God. Christ died to save them. They must put their trust completely in him.
Even some Christians do not recognise the holy nature of the bread and wine. They are guilty of wrong behaviour, but they do not want to confess it to God. But we must confess our wrong deeds to God if we want him to forgive us (1 John 1:9). God wants to deal with the wrong things in our lives. It is wrong for us to accept the bread and wine if we will not allow him to do that.
Next part: Test yourself: are you serving God properly? (1 Corinthians 11:28)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.