1 Corinthians 11:27-34 - Lord’s Supper - Part 2

27 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.
28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 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.

Communion - Be Worthy

V. 27 - “Therefore” - The “therefore” points us back to verse 26.

“whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner,” - Communion is not just a ritual you do every Sunday. Communion is a statement that your life has been saved by Christ’s life, death and resurrection. You should not be flippant, or disrespectful, with casual disdain.

“shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.” - If you are disrespectful of the sacrifice Jesus made, you must re-examine what you believe. Ponder this: You are proclaiming His death as yours in taking communion. Does this mean you are showing as little respect for His death as did the Romans. They put a sarcastic label on His cross - “King of the Jews”. (Matt 27:37) They had no respect for the Jewish people, for the Jews were bothersome, cantankerous subjects, powerless in the face of Rome’s might. They had no respect for the man Jesus - he was no more important than a common thief to them. (Matt 27:38-39) I am not saying that you can be saved by taking communion, nor can you send yourself to Hell by disrespecting the Lord’s Table.

However, being disrespectful - taking communion in an unworthy manner - indicates you may not be taking this - Jesus’ death and resurrection to pay for your sin -  seriously. You may be denigrating His sacrifice! This may be due to ignorance on your part - you do not fully comprehend the significance of these symbols. You haven’t connected in mind and heart the beard to Christ’s physical, humiliating death; you can’t yet ‘see’ the blood of his sacrifice for you. Blood was significant in Israel’s worship from the time of the Exodus. Blood was ‘painted’ on the doorposts so the Angel of death would pass over the house. The blood of the sacrifice was painted on altar. We no longer need the blood of a sacrifice - Christ did that for us. We can use a representative symbol. On the other hand, I hope it is not deliberate - for mocking the communion is mocking Jesus’ death on the cross.

V. 28 - “But a man must examine himself” - Are you approaching communion with the reverent and humble attitude? Take time to do so.

V. 29 - “eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly.” - In other words - Take this seriously. Communion is different than other Christian practices. Taking communion gives us the opportunity to join the past and the future right now. The Lord’s Table brings Christ’s death directly to your consciousness. The bread - His body and life sacrificed - and the cup - His blood shed for you, is an immediate and physical reminder of the price paid for your soul. His death and burial, almost 2000 years ago, is symbolized and brought to your attention. Christ Died for You! The bread and cup takes you to Christ’s triumphal return. He will return, collect His flock to spend eternity with Him, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. The past - his death and resurrection - is joined with His eternal life for you right now as you partake of the Table.

V. 30 - “ For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.” - They are sick and suffering because of disrespect. Some have died! I do not think this is a ‘wellness doctrine’ - i.e., if you obey the Lord and remain faithful to Him you will not get sick. Or, conversely, if you are rebellious and mocking of the Lord you will be afflicted as a judgement against you. I am not sure I can support either viewpoint with Bible verses. I believe we cannot have peace with the Lord if we are disobedient and obstinate. Does that separation, caused by my sin, lead to illness and death? Hmmmm. A lot of people will be sick and dying!

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. “ - Paul is stating in this sentence that very premise: If we do not judge ourselves rightly, He will discipline us. The discipline is not to make us sick but to correct our behavior so the world we live in will see that we are the Lord’s own people. The world will not be turned against God because our behavior contradicts what we say we believe. Our life must match our faith statements.

We know that we will face Christ for judgement. Note there are two (2) judgements that come at the end of time -

1. The judgement seat of Christ (1 Cor 3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:10) at which believers will be faced with their failures, but will not lose their salvation as a punishment; 
2. The Great White Throne Judgment (Rev 20:11-15) where it will be announced whether each person facing the Lord has his name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. 

I envision this is a formality, of sorts, because all of those whose name is in the Book of Life have already been judged and found to be children of God, Jesus’ own believers. It is a final accounting, in which each person sees they had the opportunity to believe and be saved, but rejected Jesus Christ. There is no second chance at this point. It is settled, and the verdict is pronounced.

V. 33 - “So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. “ - Instructions on celebrating the Lord’s Table. Take it as a group, together. Don’t use this as a chance to grab a quick meal. Come to acknowledge what has been done for you. You are Christ’s. He is yours. You have been saved from eternal separation from the Lord by His sacrifice. Celebrate that together with other believers. Rejoice that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice to save the world.

V. 34 - “If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment.” - This is not a meal for sustenance, but for celebration.

“The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.” - Obviously there are other fish to fry… Paul will deal with those other issues the next time he sees the Corinthian church.

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