Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: July 22, 2007
“EATING IN THE CHURCH BUILDING”
A Review of a Study on Fellowship (Part 3)
Ben Justice
Paul declared to the Corinthians, “What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in?
or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to
you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not” (I Cor. 11:22). Those of the no-
eating-in-the-church-building mentality say this verse is proof-positive that it is
sinful to eat in the church building. As was pointed out in last week’s article,
this is a clear case of reading something into the text that is not there. What is
there? In order to understand what the apostle was saying is to consider the
immediate context of the verse. The immediate context clearly reveals that Paul
was addressing their abuse of the Lord’s Supper in particular and the worship in
general. Two things are condemned: (1) Mixing the Lord’s Supper with a common
meal, (2) Neglecting the poor. The immediate context begins in v. 17 and
continues through verse 34. We wish now to explore these passages.
Verse 17 — “Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together
not for the better, but for the worse.” The phrase “come together” is an important
phrase in this context. It used several times and it becomes crystal clear as to
what it is referring to (see v. 18, 20, 33, 34).
As Paul explicitly stated, the Corinthians were not coming together “for the
better, but for the worse.” Thus, they were not worthy of praise from the apostle.
Verse 18 — “For first of all, when come together in the church, I hear that there be
divisions among you; and I partly believe it.” This verse makes it clear that the
Corinthians were coming together “in the church.” The word “church” is from the
Greek word ekklesia. It is a compound word from ek meaning “out of” and klesis
meaning “a calling.” Hence, it refers to the called out. This Greek word is found
a total of 115 times in the NT. In every instance, with the exception of 3 times,
the word refers to the Lord’s church. The 3 exceptions are found in Acts 19:32,
39, 41, where the word is translated “assembly.” In fact, these are the only 3
places in which the word is translated “assembly” in the KJV. The rest of the
time the word is translated as “church(es).” The word ekklesia never refers to the
structure or building in which God’s people gathered to worship. It carries two
major connotations in the NT:
1.) To the universal church (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:47).
2.) To individual congregations (I Cor. 16:2; Gal. 1:2; I Thess. 1:1).
The word also refers to the worship assemblies. That is the way the word is
obviously used in this context. The word “church” is used an additional 2 times.
When Paul said, “when ye come together in the church,” he obviously meant,
“when ye come together in the worship.”
As v. 18 reveals, there were “divisions” among the Corinthians. This is from the
Greek word schisma. It is the same word used in I Cor. 12:25, translated
“schism.”
Verse 19 — “For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved
may be made manifest among you.” This verse begins with the explanatory word
“for.” Thus, Paul provides further explanation concerning what he said in v. 18.
Even though this verse almost functions like a parenthetical statement, it is
nonetheless a very revealing passage.
“Heresies” is from hairesis. It literally denotes, “a choosing, choice” that results
in the formation of parties or factions. “Heresies” is listed as a work of the flesh
in Gal. 5:20. The Greek word is also translated “sect” (Acts 5:17; 15:5; 26:5; 28:
22). What is the difference between “divisions” (v. 18) and “heresies” (v. 19)?
Perhaps, Paul was using the two terms interchangeable. But, it seems that the
divisions among the Corinthians were leading to the formation of heresies or
parties (see I Cor. 1:11-12; 3:3-4).
It is interesting to note that Paul said, “For there must be also heresies among
you.” There must be heresies? The sense is that it is necessary. But why?
Paul explicitly stated, “that they which are approved may be made manifest among
you.” Thus, heresies or divisions serve a purpose. It is not that divisions are
the will of God; it does not mean that divisions are the design and intent of
Christianity; it is not that divisions are the nature of Christianity; it is not that
divisions are impossible. Barnes explains, “. . . such is human nature, such are
the corrupt passions of men, the propensity to ambition and strifes, that they
are to be expected” (Barnes’ Notes — “I Corinthians,” Pg. 210).
Who are those “which are approved?” The Greek word literally denotes those
who have been proved. They are the proved ones. As Thayer notes, “in the NT
one who is of tried faith and integrity” (# 1384, Pg. 155). The original word is
used 7 times in the NT and every time in a good sense. Note the following
passages in which this word is used
Rom. 14:18 — “For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and
approved of men.”
Rom. 16:10 — “Salute Appelles approved in Christ.”
2 Tim. 2:15 — “Study to show thyself approved unto God, . . .”
What was the purpose of certain ones being approved? It was for the purpose of
being “made manifest among you.” The word “manifest” means to make known or
to reveal. Thus, those who were approved were made known to everyone else.
Thus, we see the purpose of these divisions. Divisions have a way of revealing
who the faithful are in contrast to the unfaithful. As Barnes said, “they serve
the purpose of showing who are, and who are not, the true friends of God”
(Ibid.). Heresies manifest the approved of God. As one writer very aptly stated,
“These haireseis are a magnet attracting unsound and unsettled minds” (A.T.
Robertson, “Word Pictures,” Pg. 163).
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