Examination

1 Corinthians 11:28–30 “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died”.

Continuing in this interesting study on the Christian Sacraments, the next lesson states that there is one other view of the Lord’s Supper. Some have affirmed the “memorialist position”, based upon Christ’s words in Luke 22:19 “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In this view, the Lord’s Supper is simply a memorial of the death of Christ. All that happens is that we remember what Jesus did. He is not present in any special way in the sacrament.  Many Reformed theological statements, such as the Westminster Confession of Faith, affirm the real spiritual presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. Why? Remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross is part of the Lord’s Supper, but there are good reasons to believe more than remembrance takes place at the Lord’s Table.

In John 6:47-58 Jesus proclaimed, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

The language of John 6:22–59 about eating Christ’s flesh and drinking Christ’s blood seems sacramental, referring to spiritual realities. Today’s lesson’s passage also points us in the direction of affirming that glorified Jesus is really and spiritually present in the sacrament. 1 Corinthians 11:30 refers to some Corinthian Christians who took the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy manner” and then became weak or sick or died. This is hard to explain if the Lord’s Supper is only in remembrance and Jesus is not present in the Lord’s Supper. But if He is present spiritually, it makes sense that some people get sick or die by taking the supper wrongly. After all, Jesus is the incarnation of the sovereign, holy Creator God, in whose presence creatures find blessing or curse.

But what does it mean to take the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner? 1 Corinthians 11:29

tells us problems arise when we partake “without discerning the body”, so worthy partaking of the supper means that we discern the body. In context, this must refer in some way to harmony in the body of Christ, since Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 in order to correct selfishness and other communal sins connected with the Corinthians’ partaking of the Lord's Supper together. So, it seems sinning against other Christians and not repenting is a failure to discern the body. However, it goes beyond that to include all other impenitent sins as well, including the sin of unbelief.

The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament only for believers, and those who do not trust Christ as the Blessed Redeemer and atoning Savior, or who profess faith and yet are in serious, impenitent sin should not partake lest they eat and drink judgment on themselves, so examine yourselves. The Lord’s Supper is for "saved by grace" Christians, not for perfect people. That we are sinners should not keep us from taking Communion. If we come to the Lord’s Table confessing our sin and repenting for it, we may freely partake of the bread and wine. Everyone is a sinner. Only sinners need the death and resurrection of Christ, so sinners are welcomed to His table. But not all sinners may come—only those who have trusted in Jesus alone for salvation, which trust bears fruit in submission to His lordship, may come to His table in a worthy manner. If you are a repentant sinner, you may freely partake of the Lord’s Supper.