For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come. 1 Corinthians 11:31-34

The context of this scripture again is in reference to taking Communion properly, with the right heart and attitude. For those Christians who don’t practice or partake in Communion, why did the Apostle Paul spend so much time teaching on it? This was a command and sacrament ordain by The Lord Jesus Christ himself (Luke 22)

For the liberal Christian who says “Don’t judge me” while repeating Matthew 7 out of context, I have bad news for you, everytime you come to The Lord’s table you are being judged by Christ. We should be examining ourselves, examining our heart and relationship with God, before we even attempt to come to The Lord’s table. But remember God disciples those who he loves (Hebrews 12:6) There is nothing wrong with rebuke or correction, as long as its done properly and we actually listen. As the Apostle Paul says “We are chastened or disciplined of The Lord”

Again the big issue here with the Church of Corinth is they were abusing The Lord’s Supper and partaking in an unworthy manner, the people are Corinth were using this as an opportunity for a free meal and to get drunk, as stated previously in the early Church Communion was known as a Agape Feast, a full meal shared among the Church, it wasn’t the Communion they we know in today’s Church with a wafer and cup of grape juice. Much like the “Pot luck” dinners we have in today’s Church , many people were just coming to The Lord’s table to eat and get drunk , rather than pay any reverence or commemorate The Lord Jesus Christ

When we come to The Lords table, when we partake in Communion, we need to examine ourselves, we need to make sure we understand why we are partaking in the elements. Understand that the body and blood of Christ is our salvation, and honor what The Lord accomplished for us through His death and resurrection. If we don’t truly understand the gospel then we shouldn’t partake in Communion because your bringing judgment upon yourself.

Christ died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again, Amen!

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 1 Corinthians 11:27-30

As we continue to look at Paul’s teachings on Communion, look at what he says here “Whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of The Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of The Lord” Wow, think about that! If you partake in Communion with a wrong heart for God, you are guilty of the death of Christ. This should be a strong warning to everyone, to take The Lord’s Table seriously!

I know many Churches have open callings for anyone to partake in Communion, and I think we shouldn’t be a stumbling block or prohibit anyone from coming to Christ, however we also must be aware that allowing non-believers to partake in Communion is bringing judgment upon their soul. 

So how do we know if we are worthy of partaking in The Lord’s Table? As the Apostle Paul says here “Let everyone examine himself” Are you Born Again in Christ? Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? Do you believe he died for your sins and was raised from the dead? These are foundational questions you must examine in your heart, are you truly a believer or just a pretender? If your not sure, don’t partake in Communion until you repent and get right with God

The Apostle Paul says “For he that eat and drinks unworthily, eat and drinks damnation to himself” Again a strong warning from the Apostle, it’s not just a sin to come to The Lord’s table in an unworthy manner, it brings damnation to your soul. We are not playing Church, we are actively participating in the sacrament ordained by The Lord himself. We must take this privilege seriously and honorably.

Paul makes an interesting statement here “For this cause , many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (die)” Another Wow statement, Paul is saying there are many bringing curses upon themselves by partaking in Communion in an unworthy manner. Now I know there will be some who would like to make a theological argument against this statement to downplay it, but heed the warning from the Apostle! 

Next time your invited to The Lord’s table, examine yourself, do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, is Christ your Lord and Savior, The Lord is worthy of all praise, Amen!

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: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.1 Corinthians 11:23-26

As I said previously , the Apostle Paul actually spent alot of time teaching on The Lord’s Supper or Communion, or if you want to call it the Eucharist. This has been a foundational sacrament since the early Church. As we talked in my previous post, Paul rebuked those who didn’t practice Communion in a Worthy Manner. When we partake in Communion, we should examine ourselves and make sure our heart is right with God

Now the question is “Should we practice Communion at all?” There are alot of Christians who neglect The Lord’s Table, the Apostle Paul repeats the commandments of Christ multiple times “Do this in remembrance of Me” When Jesus tells us to do something, we should do it, right? As Christ said “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15) 

The Apostle Paul echoes Jesus’ teaching on Communion (Luke 22) The bread is symbolic of the body of Christt, broken for our sins. The Cup is symbolic of the blood Jesus Christ shed for the atonement of our sins, and is the sign of the New Covenant. Many believe and assume baptism is the sign of the New Covenant, however I dont find scriptural support for this. I believe the blood of Christ is the sign of the New Covenant, without the blood of The Lamb there is no remission for our sins

Paul makes another statement here, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup” Now this statement would imply that Christians would be practicing this often, right? So why are there so many Christians that neglect The Lords Table? Not only did Jesus say “Do this in remembrance of me” And Paul said “As often as you partake in the bread and cup” This is a perpetual remembrance of what The Lord has done for us, until Christ returns

When we come to The Lord’s Table to partake, we should do so in a worthy manner with a clean heart to God, we will look  tomorrow at Paul’s extended teachings on this behavior! 

Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. 1 Corinthians 11:17-20

One thing that is very clear about the Apostle Paul, is that he doesn’t mince words, he was a straight shooter. Notice how he rebukes the Church of Corinth here, he says “I praise you not, that you come together not for the better , but for the worse” Most Pastors would be encouraging their people to come to Church, however these Christians at Corinth, it was better they didn’t even come! I’m sure some of us probably could relate to a Church like this we know.

What was the problem here? Isn’t  “Going to Church” a good thing? Well not if you are doing it in an unworthy manner. If you are not going to Church , with the love of God in your heart, you’re not going for the right reasons. We don’t just gather with Christians to check off a box, we go to worship and fellowship with the body of Christ.  Paul was saying when alot of these “Christians” in Corinth got together, there was actually more problems than good

So what were some of the problems, well Paul lists divisions and heresies, doesn’t that sound familiar in todays Church? Satan loves to divide the Church, Satan loves to plant new ideas in the minds of prideful people and run with it. Today we have over 40,000 different denominations of Christianity, how did we get to this point? 

One command Paul did give to these divided Christians, “therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper” Now there are a few things we can take away from this, First having Communion or the Lord’s Supper, was a common practice in the early Church. I only say this because there are many Christians today, who have seemed to abandon the sacrament all together. I think it’s a shame, if you have never broken bread with the body of Christ, it’s a powerful practice

Secondly, The Lord’s Supper is to be taken seriously and in reverence. On one hand we don’t want to forbid the children from coming to The Lord (Matthew 19:14) but on the other hand we should make sure those partaking are Christians and understand the symbolism behind the elements

The Church of Corinth was abusing The Lord’s Supper as a time to eat and get drunk. We should inject some historical context here also. Communion was not the same as we know it today in the Church, The Lord’s Supper was an actual meal together , more similar to a “pot luck dinner” most Churches have today, it was known as a Agape Feast. So many people in Corinth would just come to the Lords Supper to get a free meal, and have no reverence for The Lord Jesus Christ at all

We will continue more on this topic in my next post, but remember when coming to The Lords Table, examine yourself and make sure your heart is right with God , Amen!