The church consists of individuals who have been plucked out of the fallen world system to belong to Jesus Christ. Though there may be earthly distinctions that are based upon one’s vocation, education or income, in the sight of Jesus Christ we are all equal and valuable in His presence.
The early church had a beautiful custom where they would eat a dinner together before they took part in The Lord’s Supper. Everybody would come together and share food and have fellowship with one another, kind of like our agape dinners. This beautiful custom took a turn for the worst in Corinth.
As we saw in chapter one, the church there was split into various home factions that rallied around their favorite teacher. On top of that, the vast majority of the congregation were blue collar, lower income people.
Instead of all coming together in the grace and love of Jesus Christ, the home groups sat separate from one another, and the wealthier separated themselves from those who were poor and had little or nothing to bring to the feast. Paul rebukes them, and even warns them about such behavior.
What God has cleansed, we are not to call common or unclean. Nor are we to hold the faith in Jesus and have any kind of a vocational or economic caste system. In a day and age where the church is more divided and filled with discord than ever, may The Holy Spirit open our eyes and hearts to hear this powerful and much needed exhortation.
