DIVISION OVER THE LORD'S SUPPER [1 Cor. 11]
The most tragic problem that plagued the church at Corinth was their division over the Lord's Supper (ch. 11). I say this was the most "tragic" because nothing is more core to the message of the gospel than the death of Christ, and nothing should unite Christians more than the observance of the feast that commemorates that great sacrifice.
The saints at Corinth were coming together in division (v. 18), the very opposite for which they were to meet: to break bread together to remember Jesus' death, burial, & resurrection (vv. 20, 33; cp. Acts 20:7). To make matters worse, they were bringing their food from home, thus perverting a sacred meal and turning it into a common meal (v. 21). They wouldn't even share what they brought. Paul rebukes them for this, stating such eating is to be done at home (v. 22).
Consequently, the Corinthian Christians were not discerning (evaluating, appreciating, assigning proper value to) the body of the Lord (v. 29). This resulted in them being spiritually sick and asleep (v. 30). It also subjected them to the judgment of God (v. 32).
The solution to this problem offered by the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul was for the saints to "tarry" or "wait" for one another so that they would eat this great feast together (v. 33). After all, a "communion" is to be shared with others.
We still suffer "plagues" in our local churches today over this issue. Most notably, churches are dividing over the Sunday evening offering of the supper. Some brethren feel the need to partake in the evening if they missed the morning assembly. Some brethren do not partake if they were absent earlier. My judgment is if a brother feels compelled to partake, the supper should be offered. To preclude him from doing so would be to put a stumbling block in front of him. Equally dangerous is to condemn others who do not feel the need to partake when they cannot do so of faith. Both are extreme positions that should be avoided. It seems to me these brethren can worship together as long as each does not bind his view on the other. To do so "plagues" the church and makes us no different than Corinth.
