23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (1 Cor. 11:23,24)
Now these words were not found in the midst of a manual on church order. No, instead they were found essentially in the middle of a weighty rebuke to the Corinthian church for their blatant disregard for the Lord’s Supper. Instead of demonstrating Christ-centered unity, their love feasts – the meal which comprised the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper – manifested division (1 Cor. 11:18b), selfishness (vs.21a), insensitivity (cf. vs.21b), and drunkenness (vs.21c). They had essentially and practically forgotten the purpose for which Jesus instituted this ordinance. So here, in the midst of a rebuke, Paul reminded them.
