Dear Brothers and Sisters,

You are invited to come to the Wednesday evening prayer meeting and pray for the church (and other things -- 7:00 PM Wed., LHF time).

In writing about the Church, I skipped over a lot of what Paul had to say about the Church in 1 Corinthians. I am convicted to go back again to 1 Corinthians and say something about chapter 11 verses 17 through 34. I'll just quote part of it here:

"Therefore whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats the bread and drinks the cup. For anyone who eats and drink without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. If we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."

"So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment" (1 Cor. 11:27-34a)

In 1 Cor. 11:17-34 (the entire passage), Paul rebuked the Corinthians for the way they were conducting their meetings. There were divisions among them (v18), as he had already pointed out repeatedly in his letter. When they observed the Lord's supper, they completely forgot that they were the Church, the Body of Christ. Instead, they acted as very selfish and self-centered individuals. They ate without waiting for anyone else. One would go hungry and another get drunk. Paul said that they were despising the church of God and humiliating those who had nothing. He had no praise for them.

In verse 17, Paul told the Corinthians that their meetings were doing more harm than good. How would you feel if someone -- someone with the authority of an apostle -- told you that Living Hope Fellowship meetings did more harm than good -- that it would be better if we would completely stop meeting together, because by meeting together we were causing harm?

I'm not talking about this passage because I think that we are causing harm by meeting together, but because Paul gave such a strong warning that I think that we need to consider it also. Paul says that if you eat the bread and drink the cup in an unworthy (or inappropriate) manner, that is, with the attitude that some of the Corinthian believers had, you are guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Literally, you are accountable for the body and blood of the Lord. You are in the same situation as the people who heard Peter's preaching at Pentecost when he told them that they, with help of sinful men, had put Jesus to death (Acts 2:23) -- "You broke his body; you shed his blood; you killed him."

Paul implies that the Corinthians were eating and drinking without recognizing the body of the Lord (29). In this case, the body of the Lord is the Church. (I think that the body of the Lord refers to the Church in verse 29 because Paul referred only to the "body" rather than to the "body and blood".) The Corinthians were certainly forgetting that they were the Church. And the result was God's judgment: "...many of you are weak and sick and a number of you have fallen asleep." (vv29,30).

Now I want you guys to notice how Paul words verses 31 and 32: "But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."

In these verses, Paul switches from the singular, that is from referring to individuals, to the plural, "we". In this present day, and in the English language, we use the word "we" (as I just did) to refer to a generic individual. A few years ago we might have said, "If you judged yourself..." or in an even earlier time, "If one judged himself..." But I don't think that is what Paul meant in his use of the word "we". When he said "we" he was referring not to a generic individual, but rather to the whole group, himself included -- that is, to the Church. When God disciplines one member of the Church, he is disciplining the entire Church. When one member suffers, every other part suffers with it (1 Cor. 12:26a). The whole body suffers. When God punished a member of the Corinthian church, Paul suffered too. If I am spanked, not just the part that receives the punishment suffers, but I myself suffer. It's the same with the Church.

Now, I want you also to notice this. When we are disciplined, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world (v32). When I say "we", I am speaking collectively of the Church as, I believe, Paul also was. Before God we stand or fall together as a body -- and our Lord and God and Savior who suffered and died for us and who rose from the dead and is reigning over all creation, will certainly in no way, shape or form let us fall. He will make us stand. -- and he is coming for the Church, his Bride (v26). Amen. Come Lord Jesus.

Come on Wednesday and pray for the Church. The Church is the overflowing abundance, the wealth beyond measure and the full and perfect nature of God who fulfills and completes everything in every way.

Grace and peace,
Dean Svoboda

PS: You can also bring you own prayer requests and pray for them with your brothers and sisters in Christ (i.e., with the Church). Bring your requests to God with thanksgiving and receive his peace.

PPS: Pass this invitation along to others in your household or to someone who doesn't have an e-mail address in the LHF directory