Lessons #407 and 408
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Exposition of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:26-34)
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
We are continuing our study of the doctrine of death because of the second evidence of divine discipline/judgment due to improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper is the death of some in Corinth as stated in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 11:30 and a number of you have fallen asleep. Of course, the main message of this section of 1 Corinthians 11:26-34 that we have been considering for some time now is: You must approach the Lord’s Supper with awe since there are consequences for failing to do so correctly. We ended our study of the doctrine of death by stating that we need to consider what we referred to as temporary spiritual death. It is with this we begin our study today.
Temporary Spiritual death (Lacking fellowship with God)
Our use of the phrase “temporary spiritual death” may be problematic to many because the usual understanding of spiritual death is alienation from God because of sin and generally applies to unbelievers. However, if spiritual death is recognized as alienation from God because of sin, then when a believer sins that individual is alienated from God although temporarily. The Scripture is clear that God’s people could be alienated from Him because of sin. This we can recognize from God’s communication to Israel, His covenant people, about their alienation from Him because of their sin as He communicated through Prophet Isaiah recorded in Isaiah 59:2:
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
This passage leaves no doubt that sin would alienate believer from God although it may be temporary. Since we as believers still sin then it would be necessary to describe our state the moment we sin. Of course, we know that as believers we have escape God’s condemnation because of faith in Christ as the Holy Spirit tells us through Apostle Paul in Romans 8:1–2:
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
The condemnation that no longer exists for believers is the penalty that is attached to being lost and eternally separated from God. However, since we would no longer be permanently separated from God because of our sin, it is important to still recognize the state of separation that is caused by sin. It is for this reason that we use the phrase “temporary spiritual death.” Alternatively, we could describe our state the moment we sin with the phrase “lacking fellowship with God” in time. The problem with using the word “fellowship” is that most believers would understand the word as that association of believers based on sharing of together the blessings, we have in Christ that should be evident in concern and commitment to one another. Fellowship as a term refers to association based upon sharing something in common. This being the case, fellowship with God requires sharing something in common with Him in the sense of sharing in His holiness and righteousness that will be evident when we are free of sin of any kind. If we sin in any form, we could not have fellowship with God as implied in 1 John 1:5–6:
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
The point is that because of sins believers commit after salvation, it is necessary to speak of temporary spiritual death or lacking fellowship with God. Anyway, there are three references in the Scripture that warrant the use of the phrase “temporary spiritual death” or “lacking fellowship with God.”
A first reference is in the parable of our Lord Jesus that is popularly known as the parable of the Prodigal Son although we have argued in our exposition of the gospel of Luke that the parable should better be designated the parable of the Compassionate Father. That aside, the parable begins with a young man called a son as we may gather from Luke 15:11–12:
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
The son in the parable after receiving his inheritance set out to living sinful life in a foreign land as stated in Luke 15:13:
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
As the parable went, the young man exhausted his resources that he was reduced to such dire poverty that he recognized he would be better off if he returned to his father as per his determination according to Luke 15:18–19:
I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’
When the young man came back his father welcomed him with open arms, throwing a party on his behalf to celebrate his return. The father described the son as one who was once dead as we read in Luke 15:24:
For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
We should note that when the parable began the young man was a son as he set out to the life of sin and when he returned, he was still a son. Thus, the father could say that the son was once dead but now alive. It is because the man described his son as “dead” that we have the concept of temporary spiritual death in the sense that the son was alienated from his father because of sin. In effect, the word “dead” is an important one in the parable.
The word “dead” is translated from a Greek word (nekros) that is used both literally and physically in the Bible to describe lifelessness. It is used in a physical sense to describe a person who has lost his life but then it is also used in a spiritual sense to describe a person that has no spiritual life in him. Both of these senses are used by our Lord Jesus’ statement to a would-be disciple as recorded in Matthew 8:22:
But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
The dead that will carry out the burial of the dead are those who are spiritually dead but physically alive while the dead to be buried are those who have no physical life or those who are lifeless. In the parable of prodigal son/compassionate father, the word is used in the sense of being morally or spiritually deficient. This moral or spiritual deficiency resulted in alienation of the son from the father. Although the young man was physically alive, he was separated from his father because of his sinful conduct. Thus, based on this parable of the Lord, we see that a believer who sins is still a believer but one that is alienated from God. Such a person should be described as either lacking fellowship with God or as being spiritually dead although temporarily.
A second reference in the Scripture that warrants the use of the phrase “temporary spiritual death” or “lacking fellowship with God” is Holy Spirit’s description through Apostle Paul of a widow who lives in a certain way as stated in 1 Timothy 5:6:
But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
The context of this passage concerns those widows that the church would support. The woman described here is not to be supported by the church. The clause who lives for pleasure is a translation of a Greek participle from a Greek word (spatalaō) that appears twice in the Greek NT here and in verse 5 of fifth chapter of James. The word means “to live luxuriously, lead a voluptuous life, to live in self-indulgence (give oneself to pleasure).” This word is in the present tense in the Greek indicating that such a widow has formed the habit of living in luxury. We can even say that she is obsessed with luxurious living. This is important because it is easy to misunderstand what it means “to live in luxury.” Let me state first what it does not mean. The apostle is not saying that a widow should not enjoy the great things of this life. But he is describing a widow who is wasteful and obsessed with entertainment. She is more interested in entertaining people and being entertained than she is in studying the word of God. She is that woman who is more interested in her body in terms of what she eats and wears than she is of her soul. It is assumed that this type of widow has had a rich husband, if so, she is not qualified to be enlisted as those widows that the church takes care of. Considering what obtains in the ancient world, it is also likely that the apostle is speaking of women who support themselves through immoral conduct. It is known that some widows sell or prostitute their bodies in order to support themselves. Sometimes, a widow may not be promiscuous with many men but with one man; that also would disqualify such a widow. That the apostle was also thinking of such women is indicated in the clause dead even while she lives. The word “dead” is translated from Greek word (thnēskō) that means “to die,” that is, to pass from physical life but in this passage, it is used figuratively to mean “to die” in the sense of losing one’s relationship with God. Since the widow is a believer, to describe the person as losing relationship with God should be understood as a temporary alienation from God due to lifestyle. Hence, what the apostle wrote demands we recognize temporary spiritual death as alienation from God.
A third reference in the Scripture that warrants the use of the phrase “temporary spiritual death” or “lacking fellowship with God” is the Lord Jesus’ description of the church in Sardis as dead as recorded in Revelation 3:1:
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
A local church at the time of the message delivered to the church in Sardis would have consisted primarily of those who had been made alive. We say this because the Lord also addressed the church in Ephesus in the series of messages delivered through Apostle John to seven Asiatic churches. The address to the Ephesians is given in Revelation 2:1:
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands:
The local church in Ephesus consisted of those who are spiritually alive as we may gather from what the Holy Spirit stated in Apostle Paul’s epistle to this church in Ephesians 2:5:
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Thus, if the church in Ephesus consisted of those who have been made spiritually alive, we can confidently state the church in Sardis consisted of those who have been made spiritually alive. This being the case, it is surprising that the Lord Jesus charged the local church in Sardis of being dead. When the Lord indicted a local church that consists of believers as dead; it is not in a literal sense of “without life,” but in a figurative sense of being spiritually dead, that is, alienated from God because of sin. Since the church consists of believers who have been regenerated then for the church to be described as dead means that as a group, the local church is alienated from God temporarily because of its activities. The activities of this local church are such that the members were functioning without the ministry of the Holy Spirit. When anyone is without the ministry of the Holy Spirit that individual is controlled by the sinful nature; consequently, the person is in a state that we describe as being temporarily spiritually dead or lacking fellowship with God. Anyway, that the Lord described a local church of believers as dead support our use of the phrase “temporary spiritual death” or “lacking fellowship with God.”
By the way, the description of the church in Sardis is sadly true of most of our local churches today. A local church gives the impression of being alive because they meet regularly not to study God’s word but for activities nowhere mentioned in the Scripture as part of the function of a local church. Another way a local church may give the impression of being spiritually alive is what is often described as worship praise that involves a lot of singing of songs. A church whose members do not know what it means to be controlled by the Holy Spirit but can sing to arouse people’s emotion is a church that gives the impression of being lively when it is, in fact, dead because He who gives life, so to speak, to the church has nothing to do with the members. By this I mean that the Holy Spirit does not control most of the members because they are filled with hatred of others and are involved in backbiting while giving fake smiles to others. A dead church is one that knows nothing of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is a church that is deep in customs and traditions and short on doctrine. A church may be buzzing with various activities such as men’s soft ball team, boys’ basketball teams or girls’ soft ball team and be as dead as a door nail. Activities do not define a lively church. Many confused Christians are looking for activity filled local churches not knowing that these are not what define a lively church. A lively church must be strong in doctrine and its application. A lively church is not a stagnant one that is rigid in every practice without being able to recognize that the Holy Spirit may direct its affairs in ways different from what humans are used to. The point is that because a local church could be described as dead, we are correct to use the phrase “temporary spiritual death” or “lacking fellowship with God” to describe believers who are alienated from God because of sin. As we have indicated, a believer in Christ would never enter the state of permanent spiritual death only that of temporary spiritual death since permanent death results in the third category of death we need to consider, that is, second death.
Second death
We have indicated that spiritual death means alienation from God because of sin. Second death is a term that refers to eternal separation of a sinner from God so that the sinner spends eternity in the lake of fire. The term appears only in the book of Revelation where it is used four times. Its first usage is in the promise given to believers who remain faithful to Christ in the church of Smyrna as we read in Revelation 2:11:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
The second usage is to describe the blessedness of those who are involved in the first resurrection that would not be harmed by second death as we read in Revelation 20:6:
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
The first resurrection refers to coming to life of believers to reign with Christ for a thousand years. So, anyone who is physically dead but is not part of this first resurrection would suffer second death. The third usage of the term “second death” is where it is used to indicate that being consigned to the lake of fire is the same as second death as we read in Revelation 20:14:
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.
This understanding of second death is also given in the fourth reference of the term “second death” in Revelation 21:8:
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
We have shown the various passages where the term “second death” is used but the concept contained in it as eternal separation from God in a lake of fire is presented in other passages of the Scripture. The Holy Spirit through Apostle Matthew in his gospel described the second death in terms of eternal fire prepared for Satan and those who follow him as we read in Matthew 25:41:
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
He further described the second death in terms of eternal punishment as we read in Matthew 25:46:
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
The Holy Spirit described the second death through Apostle Paul as “everlasting destruction” as we read in 2 Thessalonians 1:9:
They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.
Anyway, the second death as we have considered is eternal separation of the sinner from God so that the one who suffers it spends eternity in the lake of fire. It is difficult to conceive of the eternal suffering that would be experienced by a person who is a participant in the second death. The horror of being there may be understood from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. By this I mean that it must be so awful to be a participant in the second death that the Son of God suffered humiliation to take on a human nature in order that He could die for our sins so that anyone who believes in Him would not be part of the second death. An unbeliever’s only hope of escaping it is through faith in Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit implied through the record of the Apostle John in John 3:16:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
With this comment we have concluded our consideration of the doctrine of death as presented in the Scripture and so we return to our consideration of the second evidence of divine discipline/judgment due to improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper which is physical death of some in Corinth.
{Break}
Again, let me refresh your mind that the second evidence of divine discipline/judgment due to improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper is the death of some in Corinth as stated in last clause of 1 Corinthians 11:30 and a number of you have fallen asleep. We have noted that the death in question is physical since a believer would never experience the second death or eternal punishment in the lake of fire. This physical death that is discipline/judgment due to improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper is brought about by God. We say this because the expression have fallen asleep is translated from a Greek passive verb implying that there must be a subject that acts on those who celebrated the Lord’s Supper improperly to cause their death. This unnamed subject is God. We are saying that God killed some of those in Corinth who improperly celebrated the Lord’s Supper although it was not explicitly stated. This should not surprise you because we know that God could and does bring instant judgment on believers through death. A good illustration of this is Uzzah that was a Levitical priest but not from the line of Aaron. God killed him instantly for touching the ark in his instinctive response to do something to Israel’s ark that the oxen carrying it stumbled as we read in 2 Samuel 6:6–7:
6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.
The sentence God struck him down indicates that God was the One that killed Uzzah. The thing described as irreverent act is the touching of the ark by Uzzah. The Lord had conveyed to Israel that only the priests in the line of Aaron could touch the holy things associated with the Tent of Meeting as per the instruction in Numbers 4:15:
“After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites are to come to do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the Tent of Meeting.
Uzzah was among the Kohathites who are not authorized to touch the holy items of the tent of Meeting. Uzzah instinctively reacted, well-meaning but that did not keep him from disobeying God’s word. Thus, the Lord brought immediate discipline of death to him. We, of course, have in the NT another illustration of God’s immediate punishment by death for two believers for acting falsely. I am referring to Ananias and the wife Sapphira that died in the early church as narrated in the fifth chapter of Acts but let us consider the death of Ananias stated in Acts 5:4–5:
4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
It was not that Ananias heard the pronouncement of Apostle Peter that caused his death. No! It was the Lord who wanted to set an example with Ananias and Sapphira that brought about their death for acting falsely. So, there should be no doubt that God can and does kill a believer as judgment/discipline for improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
Be that as it may, discipline for improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper could be avoided by participating in it correctly, that is, to approach it without being under the control of sinful nature. However, disciplinary actions of the Lord occurs only if we fail to examine our souls to ensure that we have dealt with sins in our lives. This truth is introduced in 1 Corinthians 11:32 with a Greek particle (de) that is routinely translated “but” to reflect a contrast between clauses. However, when a simple connective is desired, without contrast being clearly implied, it may be translated “and,” and in certain occurrences the particle may be left untranslated. In our verse, the 1984 edition of the NIV did not translate it but the 2011 edition of the NIV has reflected that verse 32 is concerned with contrast so the translators used the word “nevertheless” to begin the verse although majority of our English versions used the word “but” to reflect a contrast between a believer judging self in terms of dealing with sin in the life of the individual mentioned in verse 31 and the Lord doing that for the believer as stated in verse 32 that we are considering.
The Lord brings discipline on us as believers when we fail to examine our souls as we approach the Lord’s Supper or as we live our lives as believers on this planet. It is this truth that is given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 11:32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined. Literally, the Greek reads being judged by the Lord we are being disciplined. This is because the word “judged” in the NIV is translated from a Greek participle of the Greek verb (krinō) that may mean “to judge, pass judgment upon, express an opinion about” as it is used in the Lord’s instruction concerning looking down on others in a condemning way in Luke 6:37:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
The word may mean “to judge as guilty,” “to condemn” as the word is used to describe the states of those who believe in the Lord Jesus and those who do not in John 3:18:
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
The word may mean “to punish” as in Stephen’s sermon when he referred to God’s promise to Abraham of punishing those who would enslave his descendants, according to Acts 7:7:
But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:32, the sense of the word is “to be judged,” that is, to be brought to account for one’s actions and sentenced accordingly, usually by a judge.
That aside, the literal Greek reading of the participle of our Greek verb is being judged. Because Apostle Paul used a Greek participle, what he wrote is subject to at least two interpretations of how the word “judged” relates to the action of the Lord stated in our passage. A first interpretation takes it that the word “judged” should be seen as taking place at the time of the action of the Lord in our verse and so leads to the translation we have in the NIV, that is, When we are judged by the Lord. Another interpretation is to take the participle as stating a condition that must be met before the action of the Lord stated occurs. This will lead to the translation reflected in the LEB, that is, if we are judged by the Lord. Majority of our English versions adopted the first interpretation, but it seems to me that it is the second interpretation that the apostle had in mind when he wrote the participle we are considering. We say this because the apostle does not intend to say that the action of the Lord specified in the verse would automatically take place but that it is conditioned on what the believer does. In effect, it is only if a believer fails to evaluate self as mentioned in verse 31 that the Lord would then evaluate the believer which is then followed by the action stated in verse 32. Furthermore, there is also an element of time involved in interpreting the participle as reflecting condition for the Lord’s action. Anyway, the Lord would take the action specified only if and when a believer fails to evaluate self. By the way, Lord here refers to Jesus Christ since when the Apostle uses the word Lord without it involving a quotation from the OT, he usually means the Lord Jesus. Besides, it makes sense that the risen Lord would inflict this punishment since He is the member of the Godhead responsible for judgment in keeping with John 5:22:
Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
The action the Lord would take against a believer who improperly participates in the Lord’s Supper without self-evaluation is divine discipline or punishment that is given in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:32 we are being disciplined.
The word “disciplined” is translated from a Greek word (paideuō) that means “to discipline.” It may mean “to educate,” that is, to provide instruction for responsible living. It is in this sense that the word is used to describe Moses’ education in Egypt in Acts 7:22:
Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
The word may also mean “to punish” for the purpose of improving behavior as it is used to describe divine discipline towards erring believers in Hebrews 12:6:
because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.
It is also used for parental discipline as we read in Hebrews 12:10:
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:32, the word means “to discipline” in the negative sense that involves infliction of pain on someone because of disobedience, especially with the intention of correction or inducing a change in behavior.
Divine discipline is usually painful as we may gather from the declaration of the Holy Spirit through the human author of Hebrews in Hebrews 12:11:
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
In the context of the improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper, we have already noted the discipline in the form of sickness or even death. Thus, anyway we look at discipline, it is painful. However, divine discipline is an assurance that a believer is a child of God as well as a sign of God’s love for the believer as we read in Hebrews 12:6:
because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
It is not only that divine discipline assures us we are God’s children, but it is good for us as in the passage we cited previously, that is, Hebrews 12:10:
Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
A reason divine discipline is good for us is that it leads us to obedience to God’s word as implied in Hebrews 12:9:
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
The Holy Spirit conveyed this benefit of divine discipline to the psalmist, so he stated that it led him into obedience of God’s word as we read in Psalm 119:67, 71:
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.
71It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.
Hence, there is no doubt divine discipline is beneficial to us as believers. However, in the passage of 1 Corinthians 11:32 that we are considering, we are given a purpose for divine discipline.
The purpose of divine discipline that the Holy Spirit provides us through Apostle Paul is that it is to ensure we do not experience the same kind of condemnation that God would bring on unbelievers. It is this that is given in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 11:32 so that we will not be condemned with the world.
The word “condemned” is translated from a Greek word (katakrinō) that means “to pronounce a sentence after determination of guilt” so means “to pronounce a sentence on someone” or “to condemn” as Apostle Paul used it to describe those who are hypocritical in that they do what they judge others of being guilt as we read in Romans 2:1:
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.
It is in the sense of condemning by being subject to punishment that the word is used to describe God’s action towards Sodom and Gomorrah as we read in 2 Peter 2:6:
if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:32, the word means “to condemn” in the sense of “to become subject to a pronouncement of guilt and a punitive sentence.” So, when we are disciplined, we will not be subject to the pronouncement of guilt and punitive sentence as would come to unbelievers described as the world in the clause of 1 Corinthians 11:32 so that we will not be condemned with the world.
We stated that believers are disciplined so that we will not be subject to the pronouncement of guilt and punitive sentence as would come to unbelievers because of the word “world.” This word is translated from a Greek word (kosmos) that may mean “earth, world” in contrast to heaven as the Lord Jesus used the word to describe His mission in John 18:37:
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
The word may refer to the system of practices and standards associated with secular society (that is, without reference to any demands or requirements of God) hence means “world system, world’s standards, world.” It is in this sense that Apostle Paul used it in Galatians 6:14:
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
It is this sense of a world characterized by sin and practices contrary to God’s word that the apostle used our Greek word translated “world” in Ephesians 2:2:
in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
The Greek word translated “world” may mean “the universe,” that is, creation in its totality as in Philippians 2:15:
so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
The word may mean “the world “as the habitation of humanity, as in 1 Timothy 6:7:
For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
The word may mean that which serves to beautify through decoration, hence means “adornment, adorning” as it is used in the instruction given to believing ladies regarding proper beautification in 1 Peter 3:3:
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.
The word may mean “the world” as a reference to humanity in general as in 1 John 4:14:
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
Jesus Christ came to save humanity not the planet earth so that the word “world” in this passage refers to “humanity.” In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:32, the Greek word is used in the sense of “world system,” that is, the people constituting the world whose values, beliefs, and morals are in distinction and in rebellion to God’s. In short, the word refers to unbelievers hence our use of the word “unbelievers” to describe those believers would not be condemned with.
It is fitting that believers who celebrate the Lord’s Supper improperly or who sin without confessing it be punished by the Lord on this planet since believers would not face any punishment from God once they leave this planet. God being a just God must punish sin that a believer commits after salvation. We know that after this planet there can be no punishment or declaring of any believer guilty of sin. This is because God has declared believers to be in God standing with Him permanently through faith in Christ and our Lord Jesus continually pleads on our behalf. These two actions of God are described in Romans 8:33–34:
33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Anyway, we maintain that it is fitting that the Lord would punish believers who sin and do not confess it because once death occurs a believer will not face any punishment because of what God has accomplished on behalf of believers.
Be that as it may, Apostle Paul concluded his teaching on the celebration of the Lord’s Supper by promising to provide more help to the Corinthians regarding some of their other concerns probably not only about the Lord’s Supper but also other concerns that he did not address fully in this epistle. However, he would provide such helps in person as we read in the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 11:34 And when I come I will give further directions. Literally, the Greek reads And the other matters I will give instructions when I come. This is because firstly, the apostle used a Greek word (loipos) that may mean “the rest of” but in our passage the Greek construction demands we translate the Greek phrase as “the other things” or “the rest.” Secondly, the apostle used a Greek verb (diatassō) that has two general meanings. A first meaning is “to make arrangements” as it is used for a previous arrangement of Apostle Paul with his team members regarding how they will meet up as he traveled through land while his team traveled by sea, as Luke narrated in Acts 20:13:
We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot.
A second meaning is to give detailed instructions as to what must be done hence it has several nuances. The word may mean “to instruct” as it is used in Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 11:1:
After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.
The word may mean “to order” as the word is used in the expulsion of the Jews from Rome by Emperor Claudius as stated in Acts 18:2:
There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them,
The word may mean “to direct” as the word is used in the instruction of Apostle Paul to Titus regarding appointment of spiritual leaders in Titus 1:5:
The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:34, the word is used in the sense of “to give detailed instructions as to what must be done.” Because the Greek verb is associated with the Greek phrase, we indicated means either “the other things” or “the rest,” it is possible to take our Greek word to have the sense of “to take care of.” That aside, we do not know what the apostle had in mind to handle when he comes to the Corinthians. It is probably that there are other issues related to the Lord’s Supper that were unique to the Corinthians that the Holy Spirit did not see the need for the universal church to know. This being the case, the apostle would take care of that when he comes to them. Of course, it is also possible that there are other issues not limited to the Lord’s Supper that were unique to the church in Corinth the apostle would deal with when he comes to them. Anyway, the apostle ends his treatment of the Lord’s Supper with a promise to deal with matters not given in his epistle when he comes to the Corinthians. So, as we end this study of Apostle Paul’s exposition of the Lord’s Supper, let me remind you once more of the message we have expounded which is You must approach the Lord’s Supper with awe since there are consequences for failing to do so correctly.