1 Corinthians 11:23-34
23: For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24: and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25: In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
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.
Paul corrected their thinking about what the Lord’s Supper really is. It was not meant to be a common festival but rather a time to remember the Lord’s death. It was something to be participated in together—in unity as one body. The bread was to be broken and distributed to all, not each one eating a plate of food at various times. Common meals were to be separated from the Lord’s Supper. Paul encouraged them to eat ahead of time at home if they were hungry and couldn’t wait for everyone else to eat, so as to not confuse the Lord’s Supper with a common meal.
Paul received directly from the Lord what happened the night Jesus was betrayed which was the first Lord’s Supper (we call the Last Supper). He broke the bread, representing His body, which would be sacrificed for the sins of mankind. Afterwards, He took the cup saying it was the new covenant in His blood. Whenever we eat and drink the bread and the cup we are announcing and professing our personal acceptance and participation in the Lord’s death—saying that He died for you personally, you are a part of His body, cleansed by His blood. We do this regularly until He returns as an act of remembering Him and His sacrifice.
Then Paul moved on to properly judging themselves before they partook so they would do so in a worthy, respectful manner. We must examine ourselves, each one individually, while partaking of communion. We must rightly judge the body—the body of Christ. This would include both the Lord’s body, who suffered and died for us, and the body of Christ on earth today made up of all those who believe in Him. (1 Corinthians 12:27).
When we don’t properly judge the body of Christ, we open ourselves for judgement—discipline—from the Lord. Paul said this lack of judgement on their part was why many among them were weak, sick, or had died. He again said to eat at home if hungry so as not to improperly observe the Lord’s Supper as a feast or common meal bringing judgement to the church. Paul said there was more he would address when he came in person.
24: and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25: In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
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.
***
Paul corrected their thinking about what the Lord’s Supper really is. It was not meant to be a common festival but rather a time to remember the Lord’s death. It was something to be participated in together—in unity as one body. The bread was to be broken and distributed to all, not each one eating a plate of food at various times. Common meals were to be separated from the Lord’s Supper. Paul encouraged them to eat ahead of time at home if they were hungry and couldn’t wait for everyone else to eat, so as to not confuse the Lord’s Supper with a common meal.
Paul received directly from the Lord what happened the night Jesus was betrayed which was the first Lord’s Supper (we call the Last Supper). He broke the bread, representing His body, which would be sacrificed for the sins of mankind. Afterwards, He took the cup saying it was the new covenant in His blood. Whenever we eat and drink the bread and the cup we are announcing and professing our personal acceptance and participation in the Lord’s death—saying that He died for you personally, you are a part of His body, cleansed by His blood. We do this regularly until He returns as an act of remembering Him and His sacrifice.
Then Paul moved on to properly judging themselves before they partook so they would do so in a worthy, respectful manner. We must examine ourselves, each one individually, while partaking of communion. We must rightly judge the body—the body of Christ. This would include both the Lord’s body, who suffered and died for us, and the body of Christ on earth today made up of all those who believe in Him. (1 Corinthians 12:27).
When we don’t properly judge the body of Christ, we open ourselves for judgement—discipline—from the Lord. Paul said this lack of judgement on their part was why many among them were weak, sick, or had died. He again said to eat at home if hungry so as not to improperly observe the Lord’s Supper as a feast or common meal bringing judgement to the church. Paul said there was more he would address when he came in person.
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