August 2 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 11:29-34 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

Yesterday we looked at the believer's responsibility to not partake of the Lord's Supper in an unworthy fashion. Paul wrote that those who ignore this admonition are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, which means that they are liable for the way they have treated Jesus. The punishments for such a sin are found in verses 29-30. Paul says that the rebel is bringing damnation to himself by his eating and drinking at Communion. This does not mean that someone who participates at the Lord's Table in an unworthy manner must now go to Hell. A person isn't saved through the Lord's Supper, and he doesn't lose his salvation based upon the Lord's Supper. What it means is that this person is facing judgment. The Greek word is often translated "condemnation". In verse 30 Paul gives some potential mechanisms of this condemnation. He says that many in the Corinthian church were "weak and sickly". So the Lord chose to afflict the bodies of some of the church members because of their sinfulness at the Lord's Supper. Not only were some sick who were still in the church, some were no longer in the church because they had died as a direct result of their attitude at Communion. In fact, Paul specifically uses the word "many". The Bible certainly is not teaching that every church member who gets sick or dies does so as a result of their hypocrisy at the Lord's Table, but it is pretty clear that for many that has been the root cause.

The solution to this problem is found in verse 31. The individual believer needs to judge himself. There is an interesting play on words here. In verse 29 the sinful believer is failing to "discern" the Lord's body. This means that he is not setting the Lord's body apart, and through his attitude at the supper He is treating the Lord's sacrifice as nothing. The word "discern" is the Greek word for "judge". So Paul says that because this man has failed to judge the Lord's body properly, he must now judge himself properly, or else the Lord will judge him properly. How much better it would be to correct ourselves rather than force God to correct us! Verse 32 says that when God judges us He "chastens" us. Hebrews 12:6 indicates that chastening could include scourging, and Hebrews 12:11 says that chastening is always sorrowful ("grievous"). If the believer examines himself and realizes that he is failing in his behavior towards the Lord's Supper, he needs to confess and repent and return to the relationship that he is supposed to have with God. If this happens, God will not be forced to deal with him, because he has already dealt with himself. Albert Barnes wrote,

"The design of God's correcting His children is, that they should be 'reclaimed', and not 'destroyed'".

Paul finishes in verses 33-34 by reminding the church that when they meet for the Lord's Supper they should wait for each other rather than rushing to satisfy their own appetites. They should show compassion and reference to others rather than focusing on themselves. And those who only came to the Table for physical nourishment should just stay at home and eat, for that attitude was bringing the entire church into God's judgment. Paul then says that there were other issues, which are unknown to us, that he would deal with when he finally arrived in Corinth. I'm sure this statement was designed to get the Corinthians to pay attention to what he was saying. Paul was coming, and they needed to be ready.

Are you right with God, not just at the Lord's Supper, but all the time? Paul may not be coming, but Jesus is. Are you ready?