Examine (Communion)

Examine

1 Corinthians 11:28 KJV 1900

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

The eating of the bread and drinking of the cup are done on the basis of the examination

It a bit of a If/Then statement...

If you are to eat the bread and drink the cup then you must examine yourself.

This is pretty simple, but what is involved in the examining?

I want us to see this examining through two lenses...

1- The covenant

Notice in verse 25…Paul refers to the shed blood of Christ as the new testament

The word testament should be translated covenant

I know it carries some theological baggage but it fits the context of Scripture

*You have six OT covenants

1- Adamic Covenant

2- Noahic Covenant

3-Abrahamic Covenant

4- Land Covenant

5- Mosaic Covenant

6- Jeremiah refers to what we are dealing with here in the New Covenant

Christ came to die on the Cross to fulfill the Law, forgive sin, and reconcile us to God

I believe that this is the first lense we ought to examine ourselves through

This is an unconditional covenant…in other words once we accept the gift of salvation there is nothing to do to be saved

Christ does all the work

The land covenant was conditional

Obey and abide

Disobey and be displaces

Even though this is an unconditional covenant we still have reciprocal responsibilities in the covenant

This leads us to the NT picture of the covenant we are examining

2- The marriage covenant

Ephesians 5:25–27 KJV 1900

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:25-

We are the bride of Christ

This picture in the Scriptures gives us, I believe, a glimpse into this concept of examining...

Think through it this way

Do you live out your marriage without any thought how your actions might effect your spouse

Hopefully not!!!

If you do then you have a warped picture of what marriage is

The fact of the matter is that in the marriage covenant we see healthy marriages in couples that are not self focused but others focused

Those who ask how they will effect their spouse will have a stronger marriage.

Why do we examine before we partake

*It is well to pause occasionally in life, and take an account of our standing in the sight of God.

*Because the observance of the Lord‘s Supper is a solemn act, and there will be fearful results if it is celebrated in an improper manner. (29-32)

*Because self-examination supposes seriousness and calmness, and prevents precipitation flippant observance of the Lord‘s Supper.

*Because by self-examination one may search out and remove those things that are offensive to God, and the sins which so easily beset us may be known and abandoned.

*Because as we approach this table we are approaching the Lord Himself

What are some other practical questions we can ask?

*As in the marriage covenant, am I faithful to the covenant I entered into through the blood of Christ

That is what is pictured here..the bread and juice picture the body and the blood which brought to us the New Covenant

What is pictured here ought to drive us to ask, am I being faithful to the covenant I have entered with Christ?

Have you forsaken all others…like at marriage you say I will forsake all other loves for you, have you done that with the covenant you have entered into with Christ…is He your first love?

*As in the marriage covenant, do you testify of your love for Christ and the covenant you have with him

Don’t worry, I wont belabor you about witnessing

But I want people to know that not only do I love my wife…I love being married

*As in the marriage covenant, do I look back on the covenant I have entered with thankfulness…with joy

*Have I been living submissively… describes a submission to both partners in the marriage covenant

Are we submissive to Christ?

The pictures go on and on as far as how we are to examine ourselves

The main take away

This is not about taking the list of sins in the Bible and making sure you haven’t missed the mark

It’s about assessing your relationship with the one you entered a covenant with

So as we come to the Lord’s Table tonight, please go further than checking your heart for known sin

Or even asking about unknown sin

Are you faithful to Him in all areas

Are you faithful to Him in all areas

Do you serve Him

Do you serve others because fo Him

This is done as a remembrance

So we don’t forget

Don’t let this be just another routine part of our worship

Don’t get into the rut

Take a moment and examine…test yourself against the covenant you have entered.

Then you can with boldness and confidence partake