What was going on that caused Paul to say I have no praise for you?

meetings do more harm than good

divisions--to show who has God's approval

If we meet with divisions, what does Paul say our meetings accomplish?--more harm than good.

What function do divisions have--to show who has God's approval.

What false picture of God did the Corinthians have that led to divisions. The assumed God could approve of some of us more than other!

What were some of the evidences in Corinth that some people thought God approved of them more than others? They went ahead eating without waiting; some remained hungry; some got drunk.

Along what lines were the divisions in the church drawn?

Financial/social? What lines do we draw in our churches today? Emotional/social. Financial? Racial/cultural?

How does eating in this way despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?

Why does he ask the rhetorical question, "Don't you have homes to eat in?"

How does Paul characterize this kind of a meal? It is not the Lord's supper.

What does it mean to sin against the body and blood of the Lord?

What does in mean to eat and drink without recognizing the body of the Lord? What is the body of the Lord?--the church!!

How can one avoid it? Examine oneself first.

What is the examiner looking for?

Why do we--the members of the church--come under judgment? We have not examined ourselves. Thus we have eaten without recognition, and eaten judgment on ourselves.

In what ways did they eat and drink in an unworthy manner?

Going first, leaving some hungry, getting drunk.

These were a sign that they believed what about God?

He has favorites.

What then does it mean to not recognize the body of the Lord?

Not to recognize the church--which should have no divisions because God does not play favorites!

Is this all about table manners? Have you ever eaten a meal in which one part of your body got nourished more than another? Is that possible in a human body? What sort of body is it in which that happens? A diseased body, not one created by Christ. That's why we can't be eating the Lord's supper if we do not share. Is the food really the issue? No, it's the division that it represents, it's the way some come together but not as one.

What purpose does Paul give for God's judgments?--discipline, so that we will not be condemned with the world?

What do we usually say when judgments come upon us or others? God isn't happy with me or God likes me better than you because judgments have come on you, but not on me.

It's implied here that judgment is unpleasant and unneccessary. If we were examining ourselves before participating in what is sacred we would not undergo judgment. But another side of judgment is revealed as well. It is for our good that God sends it, so we won't be condemned!

What judgments have come on this church? Weak and sick? Fallen asleep? Does this hint at our ability to hasten Jesus' coming?

What Paul received, he passed on. Thus we can infer that part of Paul's preaching and teaching when he started a church was instruction about the Lord's supper. It was a tradition followed from the earliest days, not merely among jews.