During Passover, leaven was representative of sin; this is why it, in every form they were expected to ת ֹּב ְׁש or rid leaven out of their houses.
Leaven, or yeast, is the difference between wine and grape juice. Wine would have been thrown out of a kosher house for Passover.
The church at Corinth was not discerning the Lord’s body and blood; it had become a feast to them; they might not have understood the ‘Unleavened Bread’ part, but they got the ‘Feast of’ from the name, and went with that.
When the Lord’s Supper is scripturally observed, we are taking part in the Passover. This was described by God Himself as an ordinance forever, so it is still an ordinance, just a supper, not a feast.
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The Facts About the Lord’s Supper
In a church service, we are as they were told to be in Exodus 12:11, “… with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste”.
‘In haste’ means this isn’t a party event: this isn’t a feast. It is a solemn supper partaken of soberly, not as a banquet, buffet, or social gathering. Notice how the Passover tone changed when Jesus announced “This is My body …”
1 Corinthians 11
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this
bread, and drink this cup of the Lord,
unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and
blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine
himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and
drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and
drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the
Lord's body.
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The Facts About the Lord’s Supper
As we’ve stated when we spoke of the other ordinance, believer’s baptism, there are many things Jesus did that we cannot: He is God, and we certainly are not.
But when He does something that we can do, we are most wise to emulate Him as much as is humanly possible.
He was a participant in both ordinances He established, and because nothing He did was an accident, let’s take a look at what He made sure happened, and imitate this as well.
The original church was divided into two groups: Jesus knew this as well as Judas, but the others were unaware of this division. The two groups were “those who would betray Jesus” and “those that wouldn’t”. Before the Lord began this ordinance, He rid the church of this first group, leaving a united church.
Again, this was no accident; He expects us to follow this example. A house divided against itself cannot stand, and if heresy has crept in, it must be taken care of right away.
Like an infection, it will spread throughout the whole body. One reason we have so many denominations today is because false doctrines weren’t nipped in the bud fast enough.
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The Facts About the Lord’s Supper
Apologetics have been here since Bible times; Paul was a wonderful apologetic, and it is his writings that so many of us base ours on, and rightfully so.
When a false doctrine is first heard, don’t just make fun of it and kick someone out of the church. Disprove it to them. This means learning God’s Word. We ought to all be apologists to at least some certain degree.
A church should be united in doctrine, and if they aren’t, they need to study God’s Word and pray about what they are studying. A divided church will not last, and must fix their problems before observing the Lord’s Supper.
1 Corinthians 11
16 But if any man seem to be contentious,
we have no such custom, neither the