Gathering Separately

Introduction:
Ever been told to do something, but you didn’t want to do it  In fact you didn’t do it, but you acted like you did?  We like the Andy Griffith show at our house.  There is a first season episode where Opie fakes brushing his teeth; he just wets the brush and all.  Ever do that as a kid?  I’m guilty; not any more, but I did that as a kid.

Jesus told a parable with a situation kind of like that…  It was after Triumphal entry, during that last week before Jesus went to the Cross.  The setup is in Matthew 21:23-27 where the chief priests and elders come to challenge Jesus by asking what authority He has to do and say the things He did and said.  Part of Jesus’ response is the parable recorded in Matthew 21:28-31.  In this parable, a father told two of his sons to go work in his vineyard.  One son told dad “no”, but then felt remorse and went and did it.  The other son said “okay dad” but didn’t do it; he just wet the toothbrush. 

This week we are in 1 Corinthians 11:17-22.  The Holy Spirit continues His transition to a new, yet related topic.  So far, through Paul, the Spirit has rebuked the church at Corinth over division, pride, etc (1 Cor 1-7).  He has rebuked them for idolatry (1 Cor 8-10).  He also rebuked their disrespect of Godly authority (1 Cor 11:1-16).  Today we will see the Spirit’s rebuke the church’s “gathering separately.”  What in the world is “gathering separately,” right?  And you’re probably wondering what this has to do with Jesus’ parable of the 2 sons, right?  Well, we’re about to tackle all of that. So let’s see what the Spirit has to say to the Churches…

Title this morning is…
Gathering Separately

Gathering Separately to Their Shame (11:17-19)
We start in 11:17 with some hard words for the church at Corinth.  God was not well pleased with them and it says they, “came together not for the better, but for the worse.”  Remember that beginning back in 1 Cor 7:1, questions previously asked by the church at Corinth are being answered: 7:1 – relating to marriage, 8:1 – relating to idols, 12:1 – relating to spiritual gifts, and 16:1 – relating to the collection for the saints in Jerusalem.  This discussion in 1 Cor 11 is still relating back to the question about idols in 8:1.  Until now, the Spirit has been rebuking their idolatry and their abuse of liberty, but now He turns to proper worship, the Worship of Christ. 

Now, I find The Word of God to be amazing…amen?  The Word, that is Scripture, given by the Holy Spirit, reveals a pattern in the idolatrous and divided church at Corinth.  It is the same pattern the Word Made Flesh, that is Jesus, addressed in the idolatrous/divisive chief priests.  So lets compare Matthew 21:23-31 and 1 Cor 11:17-22 for a moment.  In Matthew, the chief priests / elders questioned, even challenged Jesus’ authority.  In Corinth, everything from division over leaders, to demanding their own liberty, to rebellion against God’s natural order with hair length, the church in Corinth was questioning, even challenging God’s authority as well.  Also, in Matthew Jesus responds with a parable about one son, who represents the tax collectors and harlots, says he will not obey his father, but later regrets it and obeys.  Meanwhile the other son, who represents the religious people, says he will obey but he does not.  In 1 Corinthians, you’ve got this church that is following the path of the chief priests, saying they obey God, but not doing it!  The church at Corinth was full of religious people who were not obeying God and now in their gathering together, they were divided, separated, due to all the selfishness, pride and other sins, bringing shame upon Christ’s church. 

The Spirit begins by having Paul issue the rebuke of 11:17, saying that the church was not “coming together” or “gathering” for good, but for worse.  How can that be, the church is commanded to assemble together, right?  Hebrews 10:25 commands us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves.  So, NOT gathering is sin.  Yet the Spirit says that obeying God’s command in the way they were was worse than breaking that command about gathering together.  Ah…that sounds like a problem don’t you think?  So what were they doing that was so heinous, so repulsive to God?  Just read the next two verses.

In 1 Corinthians 11:18 we see that it’s that same problem that’s been addressed throughout the letter…division.  That division was evident in so many ways and the impact was being felt in all areas.  It was certainly being felt in their poor attempts at worship.  After all, you cannot go on praising, giving thanks, and worshipping when divided, self-centered, and prideful?  There were obviously divisions among them.  The Greek word used in 11:19 that’s translated “factions” is the same Greek work used in Galatians 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions…  Such factions, division, and contentions are serious offences to God.  Contention in the church at Corinth was enough to make their gathering worse than not gathering…when gathering is commanded by God!  One thing for sure, that division did reveal who among them was “approved.”

Remember the account of the nation of Israel standing on the boarder of the Promised Land not long after they left Egypt and then Mount Sinai?  Together the whole crowd of them decided not to trust and obey God; they decided to follow the 10 spies who said that God was wrong…that they’d loose if they tried to take the Land from those giants.  They decided to reject the 2 spies who trusted God and insisted that He was able to deliver the giants into their hands.  Those two men, Joshua and Caleb, were “approved by God” and were the only two of that entire company over the age of 20 to enter the Promised Land.  The division at Corinth would also reveal who was approved in God’s eyes. 

So the church in Corinth gathered separately to their shame.  But, as we will see, they were also…
Gathering Separately to Their Harm (1 Cor 11:20-22)

Here in lies a BIG problem with division within the church: worship time is a façade, and a disgrace, and never more so then when sharing the Lord’s Supper, otherwise known as Communion.  Communion is all about our unity with Christ and thus with each other.  The Spirit says to them, “when you gather together, it’s not Communion.”  They had made the Lord’s Supper into a fiasco where some of them hogged all the food, leaving nothing for others.  Everyone made sure they got theirs first and they didn’t care if others got nothing.  Talk about being self-centered!  It’s the same attitude that makes us care nothing about what our liberty does to someone else.  It’s the same attitude were we get when we’re offended if things go the other guys’ way.  It’s the same attitude as “I don’t like him or her, I’ll just stay away from them.”  Communion is not about getting your fill; this isn’t Burger King!...it’s not about “having it your way.”  Communion, and any gathering of the church is about fellowship with Christ and each other.  Fellowship is not about you; it’s not about having your needs met. 

Communion, and all worship, is about gathering together, giving praise to the Holy God.

Conclusion:

Fellowship and unity were major ingredients of worshiping God in Israel.  Jesus rebuked the chief priests and elders for ignoring that.  Fellowship and unity are major ingredients of worshiping God in the church.  The Spirit rebuked the church at Corinth for ignoring that.  When our self-centered living leads us into idolatry, we may gather together, but we’re separated, divided, and our worship is displeasing to God.  My challenge to you this week: READ 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 everyday, and pray that God will reveal any ways you may be “gathering separately.”