1 Corinthians 11:27-34 says...
Today's verses are 1 Corinthians 11:27-34, which read,
v.27, 28 - Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
Paul continues his instruction to the church in Corinth about how we are to approach the time in service when we include the Lord's Supper. There is a way to take the bread and the cup in an unworthy manner. When we do so, it is not just trivializing the procedure and importance of the reverence of the event in the church setting but it is also a direct defiance against what Christ did on the cross. Just going through the motions of taking the bread and the cup is more than just going through the motions. It is treating Christ's death on the cross as nothing and something we can dismiss as an act that we can walk through without being cut to the core.
Therefore, Paul instructs us and the Christians in Corinth to examine ourselves. We are to continue to examine ourselves through the words of God in His Holy Scriptures but also the time that we set aside to take the bread and the cup. It is another time to individually and corporately examine ourselves before God. In light of what Jesus did for us on the cross, how are we doing in light of standing before Him?
v.29, 30 - For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
I have had times prior to offering the table of the elements of the bread and the cup to instruct people not to take it. We are usually wanting all to be able to partake in it but if you are not right with the Lord then you need a warning to take care of something else before approaching the table. If I approach the table in an unholy manner, it will affect my life before God and I will suffer consequences for treating God and His Son so lightly. Sin has consequences and approaching the table without a repentant heart is sin.
It is extreme in our eyes but God has taken out people who have continuously snubbed their noses at God's words and God's ways. It is only by His mercy than any of us are still here. In the book of Acts we have the event of Ananias and Sapphira who openly lied to the church and God attacked swiftly to this offense. Could that happen today? I think this passage is saying so and therefore we need to take very seriously the act of participating in the Lord's Supper in a way that is worthy.
v.31, 32 - But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
When we take the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner, we examine ourselves in light of Jesus. We will not be judged for doing the right thing by examining ourselves. As we examine ourselves, the Lord will discipline us on areas and issues in our lives that need to be put under submission. He will open up areas where repentance and restitution is needed. He will lay out what we are to do and all of this is a good and great thing to be disciplined by the Lord. If we do not allow ourselves to be disciplined and directed by the Lord then we will be condemned along with the world. Discipline is no fun but it is the avenue for us having a deeper walk with the Lord and not wandering from His path.
v.33, 34 - So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.
Paul wraps up this issue with a summary statement. When you come together for fellowship and the partaking of the Lord's Supper, think of others. In that group of others is your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and think of them first and their needs. Also in that group of others is your Lord Jesus Christ who loved You before you loved Him. When we gather together and don't think of others then we bring judgment upon ourselves because we sin in the gathering of the saints. That sin manifests itself in the divisions and factions of the church that focus with an "us and them" mentality and it manifests itself in a taking of the bread and the cup as just a ritual or religious activity that we go through without any apparent transformation in our own lives in light of Jesus' life and death and resurrection.
Apparently there are other things in the service or the gathering of the saints that Paul needs to address but he is holding those instructions until he is with them. Probably those instructions would mean nothing unless this first instruction is followed. Tomorrow we go onto another issue that Paul will address with the Christians of the church in Corinth that deal with spiritual gifts.
"Lord, it is so easy to walk through the motions on any given Sunday. It is easy to come into this house dedicated to the worship of You and make it all about the worship of me through selfishness. We shy away from discipline but help us to see that discipline from You is what we need. Help us to examine ourselves before any gathering of Your people so that we can be used by You instead of discrediting Your sacrifice. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.27, 28 - Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
Paul continues his instruction to the church in Corinth about how we are to approach the time in service when we include the Lord's Supper. There is a way to take the bread and the cup in an unworthy manner. When we do so, it is not just trivializing the procedure and importance of the reverence of the event in the church setting but it is also a direct defiance against what Christ did on the cross. Just going through the motions of taking the bread and the cup is more than just going through the motions. It is treating Christ's death on the cross as nothing and something we can dismiss as an act that we can walk through without being cut to the core.
Therefore, Paul instructs us and the Christians in Corinth to examine ourselves. We are to continue to examine ourselves through the words of God in His Holy Scriptures but also the time that we set aside to take the bread and the cup. It is another time to individually and corporately examine ourselves before God. In light of what Jesus did for us on the cross, how are we doing in light of standing before Him?
v.29, 30 - For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
I have had times prior to offering the table of the elements of the bread and the cup to instruct people not to take it. We are usually wanting all to be able to partake in it but if you are not right with the Lord then you need a warning to take care of something else before approaching the table. If I approach the table in an unholy manner, it will affect my life before God and I will suffer consequences for treating God and His Son so lightly. Sin has consequences and approaching the table without a repentant heart is sin.
It is extreme in our eyes but God has taken out people who have continuously snubbed their noses at God's words and God's ways. It is only by His mercy than any of us are still here. In the book of Acts we have the event of Ananias and Sapphira who openly lied to the church and God attacked swiftly to this offense. Could that happen today? I think this passage is saying so and therefore we need to take very seriously the act of participating in the Lord's Supper in a way that is worthy.
v.31, 32 - But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
When we take the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner, we examine ourselves in light of Jesus. We will not be judged for doing the right thing by examining ourselves. As we examine ourselves, the Lord will discipline us on areas and issues in our lives that need to be put under submission. He will open up areas where repentance and restitution is needed. He will lay out what we are to do and all of this is a good and great thing to be disciplined by the Lord. If we do not allow ourselves to be disciplined and directed by the Lord then we will be condemned along with the world. Discipline is no fun but it is the avenue for us having a deeper walk with the Lord and not wandering from His path.
v.33, 34 - So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.
Paul wraps up this issue with a summary statement. When you come together for fellowship and the partaking of the Lord's Supper, think of others. In that group of others is your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and think of them first and their needs. Also in that group of others is your Lord Jesus Christ who loved You before you loved Him. When we gather together and don't think of others then we bring judgment upon ourselves because we sin in the gathering of the saints. That sin manifests itself in the divisions and factions of the church that focus with an "us and them" mentality and it manifests itself in a taking of the bread and the cup as just a ritual or religious activity that we go through without any apparent transformation in our own lives in light of Jesus' life and death and resurrection.
Apparently there are other things in the service or the gathering of the saints that Paul needs to address but he is holding those instructions until he is with them. Probably those instructions would mean nothing unless this first instruction is followed. Tomorrow we go onto another issue that Paul will address with the Christians of the church in Corinth that deal with spiritual gifts.
"Lord, it is so easy to walk through the motions on any given Sunday. It is easy to come into this house dedicated to the worship of You and make it all about the worship of me through selfishness. We shy away from discipline but help us to see that discipline from You is what we need. Help us to examine ourselves before any gathering of Your people so that we can be used by You instead of discrediting Your sacrifice. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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