Unworthy to Take the Lord's Supper

27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.

The Context

1 Corinthians 11:17–22 NLT

17 But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. 18 First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. 19 But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized! 20 When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. 21 For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. 22 What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!

The Corinthian church had departed from the simplicity of the faith and the harmony of the church

The Lord’s Supper began to be patterned after the idolatrous feasts - occasions for feasting and selfish enjoyment

It became customary to unite in a social meal before partaking of the Lord’s Supper

A distinction was made between those who had much and those who had very little

Paul rebuked the congregation for this behavior

Paul teaches how to partake in the Lord’s Supper

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NLT

23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

[Profound simplicity...]

1 Corinthians 11:27 NLT

27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

(Unworthily) - That is, without due reverence for the Lord, whose suffering and sacrifice are being commemorated. The unworthiness may be said to consist either in unbecoming conduct (see v. 21) or in a lack of vital, active faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ (6SDABC).

(Guilty) - One who fails to appreciate the incalculable debt he owes to the Saviour, and who treats with indifference the ordinance appointed to keep fresh in the minds of believers the death of Christ, is guilty of disrespect toward Him. Such an attitude is akin to that of those who condemned and crucified the Lord. One who displays such an attitude at the Lord’s Supper might well be considered as rejecting his Lord, and therefore sharing in the guilt of those who put Him to death (6SDABC).

1 Corinthians 11:28 NLT

28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.

(Examine himself) - Before taking part in the Lord’s Supper the believer should prayerfully and carefully review his experience as a Christian, and make certain that he is ready to receive the blessings that participation in this ordinance provides for all who are in right relationship with God.

He may well ask himself whether day by day he has an experience of death to sin and new birth to the Lord, whether he is gaining in the battle against besetting sins, and whether his attitude toward other men is right. Words, thoughts, and deeds should be inspected, as well as habits of personal devotion;

indeed, everything that has a bearing on progress toward the attainment of a character that reflects the image of Jesus, the Lord’s Supper represents a special occasion for public declaration of new resolves (6SDABC).

2 Corinthians 13:5 NLT

5 Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.

...self-examination and the putting away of everything that is contrary to the mind of God is an exercise in which the Christian must engage every day (6SSDABC).

Luke 9:23 NLT

23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

After having made a careful scrutiny of his life in relationship to the Lord, let the believer approach the table of the Lord with joyful thankfulness for all that the crucified Saviour means to him (6SDABC).

Review

Unworthily - Without due reverence for the Lord

Guilty - Disrespecting Christ by failing to appreciate the incalculable debt we owe to the Savior and treating the ordinance with indifference

Examine Self

Prayerfully and carefully review our experience as a Christian

Ask self whether we are daily experiencing death to sin and the new birth in the Lord

Ask self is gaining the battle against besetting sins

Ask whether my attitude toward others is right

Publicly declare our renewed resolve to live for God

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