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Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 11:27-29 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

Paul is concluding his teaching on the Lord's supper with some stern admonitions. He begins by warning the believers that they should not participate in Communion in an "unworthy manner". This expression does not mean that the believer needs to be sinless to take Communion, for no believer can achieve that (I John 1:10). The word "unworthy" is not an adjective describing the Christian. It is an adverb describing the manner in which the believer participates in the ordinance. Some look at this as being an indictment against the general carnality of the church that was taking place during the Lord's Supper itself, which is spelled out in verses 18-21. This is certainly applicable. However, there is more to the "unworthiness" than that. Verse 28 states that each believer needs to examine "himself". The Christian is responsible for himself, not for the actions of the church as a whole. So it was not just the church body that was partaking in an unworthy manner, but the individual Christian who was doing so.

There are several ways in which this could be done. First, if an unsaved person participated in the Lord's Supper he would certainly be unworthy. How can you commemorate the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and choose to reject it at the same time? In addition, since the Lord's Supper is a church ordinance the participants should be obedient to the Lord in the area of believer's baptism and church membership. Again, how can someone participate in a ceremony that remembers the death of the Savior Who "loved the church, and gave himself for it" (Ephesians 5:25) and at the same time refuse to obey the Bible's teaching concerning baptism and the church? Next, the believer should be in a right relationship with God. We understand that none of us are "worthy", for we are only sinners saved by grace. However, we dare not come to the Lord's Table and at the same time be in rebellion against Him. If we have sin in our lives, we should confess it, Finally, the believer should be in a right relationship with his brothers and sisters in Christ, which is the major issue that Paul has been dealing with in this chapter. If these conditions are met, it seems that an individual would be "worthy" to partake of the Lord's Supper.

Verse 28 says that a man is to "examine himself, and so let him eat". He is to put himself to the test to see if he is genuine or not. The Lord's Supper is not something to be taken lightly. It is not simply a ritual that churches do periodically. It is so serious that each individual needs to conduct a thorough examination of himself before he participates. However, the assumption of verse 28 is that once a man examines himself he will make the necessary corrections so that he can join in. The goal is not "examine yourself and leave", it is "examine yourself, get yourself right, and partake". Believers should desire to participate in the Lord's Supper as it shows their relationship with Christ and also with each other. They ought to desire it enough that they would prepare themselves to be able to be a participant in it.

In verse 27 Paul says that the unworthy participant is "guilty of the body and blood of the Lord". The word "guilty" means to be liable for judgment and punishment. He is guilty for his treatment of Christ Himself. Charles Hodge wrote,

"If the Lord’s Supper be a proclamation of the death of Christ, it follows that those who attend upon it in an irreverent manner, or for any other purpose than that for which it was appointed, are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. They contract guilt in reference to the body and blood of Christ. The man who tramples on the flag of his country, insults his country; and he who treats with indignity the representative of a sovereign, thereby offends the sovereign himself. In like manner, he who treats the symbols of Christ’s body and blood irreverently is guilty of irreverence towards Christ."

We will conclude these thoughts tomorrow.