1 Cor 10:16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

One bread – one body! The bread and wine unite each one of us to Christ – and they also unite us to each other!

Solemn warning in 1 Corinthians 11 for everybody who ever takes communion, the Lord’s Supper.
1 Cor 11:26 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 recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

What does eating or drinking “in an unworthy manner (NIV)” “in a way that dishonours him (GNB)” mean?
Some people are afraid to take the bread and wine because they are very conscious of their own sinfulness. This is NOT the sin Paul is warning us all about. People who are conscious of their need of forgiveness are the very people who SHOULD take the bread and wine. People are most aware of their need are those who will gain the greatest benefit from communion. We come NOT because we are righteous but precisely because we acknowledge that we are sinners standing in need of God’s mercy.

The sin some Corinthians were committing here is something very different. As earlier on in 1 Cor 12 vv 17-22 their sin was irreverence, failing to see the spiritual importance of what they were doing at the Lord’s Table. This sin of eating and drinking “without recognising the body of the Lord”, can take two forms.

(1) Failing to discern the spiritual significance of the elements. Failing to recognise the body of Christ in the bread. Failing to see that the bread and wine represent the body and blood of Christ. Taking the bread and wine without realising their significance – without reverence and awe and wonder. We usually avoid this sin.

(2) The sin we can more easily fall into – failing to recognise the body of Christ in the church. Failing to recognise the gathered church as the body of Christ. Failing to recognise and affirm other people around us as Christians. Failing to see that because we share in the one bread and drink the common cup we are one body. Becoming so absorbed in our own individual receiving of the blessings which Christ died to give us that we ignore or shut out the other Christians for whom Christ also died.

17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
One bread – one body. 1 Corinthians 11 warns us that failing to acknowledge this corporate dimension of our salvation is indeed a sin!

We are saved by God’s grace and we receive that salvation through the channel of faith which much be individual and personal. That individual and personal faith unites us to Christ in his saving death and resurrection life. In John 15:5 Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;”
A Christian is a person who is joined to Jesus. But we must never forget that being united to Christ also unites us to other Christians. We are all branches of the SAME vine. Because each of us is joined to Jesus, we are all joined to each other in Christ’s body, the Church.

1 Corinthians 12 ¶ The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
22 Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honour to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

This is the consequence of being united to Christ – one bread, one body. So we should be concerned for other Christians. We should have concern for the other Christians in our own church, for their needs and problems. We should have concern for Christians in other churches in our town, and seek worship and witness and to work together with them when we can. We should have concern for other churches in our land. And we should have concern for our brothers and sisters around the world in every place – because they are joined to Jesus exactly as we are. They are as precious to God as we are. They are as much a part of the body of Christ as we are!

But that’s just impossible, you will tell me! We are delighted to welcome more and more new folk to North Springfield Baptist Church. How can we know all of them? There are around 45 churches in Chelmsford. We can’t know them all. Just the Baptist family in England is made up of more than two thousand churches. There are tens of thousands of churches in Britain! And around the world there are more than a BILLION Christians! How can I have concern for them all?

This is true. The challenge of showing true Christian love to SO MANY brothers and sisters is daunting. The problem is that, because the challenge to show concern seems so overwhelming, some Christians don’t bother to try! They settle for a very personal faith, letting our light shine “you in your small corner and I in mine. “Small corner syndrome.” Other Christians honestly do try their best to care for every need that comes to their attention, but many give up exhausted with so many appeals for secular good causes on TV as well as all the Christian agencies competing for our support. It’s called “compassion fatigue”.

Don’t worry. God doesn’t demand that we achieve the impossible. He knows the limits of our humanity. There is an old Russian proverb.
“If you live next to the cemetery you can’t weep for everybody!”

God understands the limits we have. He doesn’t ask each of us to shoulder the burdens of the whole church. Jesus Christ has already done that. But he DOES expect each of us to have concern for brothers and sisters. One bread – one body! And in practice for most of us here I do think there is a minimum that God would like us to be doing, unless there are special circumstances to prevent it.

Each Christian should have a real and meaningful concern for a dozen or so other people in our own church, caring for them and supporting them in prayer and in practical ways. In the midst of the demands of his busy public ministry Jesus could care for a dozen disciples. We should be able to follow His example. This is where Home Groups are so valuable. Small Groups where we can know each other and grow in our faith. Where we can care for one another and share together and bear one another’s burdens. Home Groups where the church is most a family. One bread – one body!

Then each of us should have a concern for at least one other church in our town. To know about them and be praying for them. Maybe even worshipping with them occasionally. All Saints Church on Springfield Green, or Church of our Saviour in Chelmer Village maybe. But any church in Chelmsford would welcome our prayers and our fellowship. We all share the same one bread and the same cup! They are part of the Body of Christ in Chelmsford just as much as we are!!

Then I believe it is good for every one of us to have concern for at least one other church elsewhere in Britain. From Christmas until Easter I served as Moderator of Braintree Baptist Church and helped them call their new minister Barry Cheeseman. We have a link with the Baptist church at Sible Hedingham led by Paul Corson because I have visited them three times in connection with Baptist Home Mission. In February I have accepted an invitation to preach at Mayland Baptist Church, a little group of six or seven people who are the only gospel witness in their village. As part of the Council of the Eastern Baptist Association I am in contact with a number of churches around the area and will try to keep you informed of things going on. There may well be other churches in other parts of the country you personally take a prayerful interest in, or support, perhaps because you used to belong there. The church where you grew up, or found faith, perhaps. Different kinds of churches in all kinds of denominations. All drinking the same cup and breaking the same bread – one bread, one body.

Finally I believe that every Christian ought to have a real concern for at least one church or one missionary situation somewhere else in the world. To be supporting that church or those missionaries in prayer. Supporting them with letters or phone calls or emails. Maybe supporting by making a visit. The world is not that big and travel is cheaper and easier than ever before! Jerry and Ruth Clewett are home for six weeks from Nepal. Naomi’s sister Esther is still serving the Lord in Zambia. Heather and Naomi have their links with Bulgaria through Marbles. Lynn Middleton is making the final preparations for her visit to Peru. You have met our friend Lyn Cooke working in Arua in Uganda with Africa Inland Mission. And I still have contacts in Bulgaria. But it is would be wonderful if every Christian could have a meaningful link with a church or a missionary somewhere else around the world. One cup, one bread, one body.

We serve the God who is the Holy Trinity, Father Son and Holy Spirit. Our God is three in one and one in three. Unity in diversity. Unity in community. And that Unity in community is God’s pattern for His church. Not countless identical congregations which are all identical clones, but a glorious variety of traditions and perspectives which together make up the Body of Christ.

25 .. there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.

As we take the bread and the wine today, let us not fall into that sin the apostle Paul warns us about. Let us make sure that we recognise the Body of Christ. As we remember Christ dying on the cross for us, let us be sure to remember that his death and resurrection unite us all into His Body here on earth. One bread – one body.

A dozen folk in our own church. One other church in our town. Another church in Britain. At least one church or city or missionary in another part of the world. Not that impossible a task really. No need to fall into small corner syndrome. No need for compassion fatigue. But this concern for our brothers and sisters is not an optional extra in our Christian lives.

17 Because there is one bread, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.