The Lord and the Lord’s Supper Were Both Handed Over

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“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)

The Basket Case Chronicles #134

“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread . . .” (1 Cor. 11: 23).

In the verses to follow, we will discuss the administration of the Lord’s Supper itself. Here we should begin by noting where Paul got what he is about to pass on to the Corinthians. Paul was not present when the Lord instituted the Supper, and yet he says here that he received what he is about to say from the Lord. He received it from the Lord directly—he says I received it.

When he received it, he handed over, delivered what he had received. The word used for delivered here was paradidomi. This is striking because it is the same word that he uses in the very next phrase when he describes how Jesus was betrayed, or handed over.

Now what this means that when the Lord was getting the apostle Paul “up to speed” —for he was like one untimely born (1 Cor. 15:8)—one of the topics the Lord covered with Paul was the subject of the Lord’s Supper. Paul makes a point of insisting that he did not get the message he preached from the other apostles (Gal. 1:15-17). That means that the resurrected and ascended Lord included this subject on the syllabus He was covering with Paul. Jesus, teaching Paul, remembered what He had done for His disciples the night He was betrayed. And Paul handed this remembrance over to the Corinthians, just as Judas had handed Jesus over to the chief priests.

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Eric Stampher
Eric Stampher
10 years ago

Maybe … kinda sorta.  You are implying that Paul says he received some historical data directly from Jesus to Paul.  No intermediaries.  I don’t hear Paul saying that.  But I bet we agree that from whomever he heard the story, Paul knows that Jesus gave him the correct way to see it, both in content and meaning.  So the story is …?  We’re one big family – just like under Moses.  We’re all in this together.  Even Jesus defers to the Father.  So if you’re going at it all independent like a lady brash without her man (head uncovered) or… Read more »

Eric Stampher
Eric Stampher
10 years ago

Meant to say most UNcommunally.  A la leaving the kiddos behind on the bank while we march proudly through sea all self-examined like and with tip-top mental aquity.

J
J
10 years ago

Gal. 1:11-12 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

J
J
10 years ago

Eric if you take this statement with the explanation of it in the following verses either you must accept that he received it in the way Doug is pointing out or he preached for at least 3 years and possibly 17 without teaching the sacrament of communion. And since when he finally did get around to checking with the elders in Jerusalem they “added nothing to him” it seems to indicate that he already knew about the sacraments. Just my $.02

Eric Stampher
Eric Stampher
10 years ago

Hi J — pleasure to meet you.  Being a persecutor of the brothers, he maybe was all too familiar with the “distortions” their “imposter” prophet promulgated.  He may have used this supper business against them.  What was revelation indeed, you and I both agree, is the right way to understand the history.