Honouring Christ

Posted on by korgrocker

“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. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honouring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.”
1 Corinthians 11:27-30 NLT

I don’t think people realise how important and significant the Lord’s Supper really is. The Corinthian Christians seemed to think that it was just another opportunity for a fellowship meal, as we read earlier in this chapter. “When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk” (1 Corinthians 11:20-21). Paul, therefore, went to great pains to point out to them the error of their ways, and his teaching has been there for all to read ever since. But when was the last time we heard a sermon on the verses we are considering today? In churches today, it is expected that the congregation will know what the Communion service is all about and how it affects them personally. I’m sure many a pastor, knowing what is going on in people’s lives and understanding the issues these same people have shared with them in times of confidence, will despair as they watch the congregation eating the Communion emblems. Paul certainly did, and his warning has to be seriously reflected upon. 

Paul made a connection between judgment, sickness, weakness, and even death for those who fail to honour the body of Christ. Considering the emblems, the cup represents Christ’s blood, and the bread represents His body. The purpose of taking communion is to commemorate and reflect on the sacrificial death of Jesus. To do so without “honouring the body of Christ” brings judgment on the participant. So, to turn it around, by failing to examine ourselves before we share the Lord’s Supper, we effectively insult Christ’s body. To examine ourselves commonly means confessing our sins and receiving forgiveness through God’s grace. In the Corinthian context, perhaps we should include how we treat our fellow believers. There may be sins that we confess that require some remediation, for example, putting things right with someone we know. And this is why it is so important that we pause for a few moments before we take Communion. In some instances, we might find it better not to take Communion at all because of the seriousness of a particular situation in which we find ourselves. But whatever, we need to examine ourselves. 

The Psalmist, David, began Psalm 139 with, “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me”. So it is no good pretending that God won’t know about something we would rather hide. David continued in the following two verses, “You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do”. As we continue to read this Psalm, we find that there is no escape from God’s gaze, even if we wanted to. This insight is probably one of the reasons why so many people deny the existence of God, because they know the consequences of believing in God, and the impact it will have on their lives of sin. A human being deserves punishment for their sins, but thanks to God’s grace and forgiveness through Jesus, we have a way into His presence.

But perhaps the essence of Psalm 139 is distilled within the last two verses, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life”. This is the self-examination required before we take the Communion emblems, and if God points out anything that needs to be addressed before we proceed, we must be obedient to Him. 

Dear Father God. We understand today the importance of having a right relationship with You, and at our times of Communion we remember what Jesus did for us at Calvary. Please forgive us for the times when our minds have wandered off into irrelevancy instead of focusing on You. Amen.

Examine Yourself

Posted on by korgrocker

“When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. … 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. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.”
1 Corinthians 11:20-21, 27-28 NLT

Jesus said to His disciples the following: “He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Jesus commanded them to remember Him during subsequent Passover meals, and at other times as well, by inference. Paul continued the Lord’s command in 1 Corinthians 11:25-26, “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.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again”. But what is the purpose of celebrating this act of remembrance? We surely can think of Jesus at other times without sharing in the Lord’s Supper. 

Christians everywhere share the Lord’s Supper because Jesus commanded it —and for good reason. Over the centuries since that first Supper, the sharing of bread and wine has become ubiquitous in churches all over the world, and at every occasion, Jesus has been remembered. It has become a special way to remember His life, His death, and His resurrection, but not just in a detached and objective way. This celebration gives us the opportunity to personally remember all that Jesus did for us and, most importantly, how we must respond. Concerning that, Scriptures that include what Jesus taught, and those that the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance, pop into our minds and sometimes bring conviction of sin. For example, Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount, “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” (Matthew 5:23-24). In a sense, the Lord’s Supper parallels these verses about the altar in the Temple, because we are making an offering, a sacrifice, to God through the Communion emblems. I remember, as a young Christian, becoming very upset about the behaviour of another church member at a church business meeting, to the point that I could not share in the communion service the following Sunday. I lacked the maturity to deal with the issue at that time, but it was right not to take communion until I had. Believers have a special command from Jesus that cannot be ignored, and Paul brought to the Corinthians’ attention that their approach to the Lord’s Supper was all wrong. It wasn’t about sharing a meal together or eating and drinking. Paul wrote to the Romans, “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). So, regardless of the origin of the emblems, the important fact is based on why we share them.

Through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we must examine ourselves, as the Scriptures say, because the last thing that we want to do is to be “guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord”. The Lord’s Supper is a solemn occasion, but too often it is taken far too lightly by people in the congregation without consideration of its importance. I can remember in one church I attended that two young men in the seats behind me were discussing the previous day’s football match during the Communion service, that is, until my wife turned around and asked them to be quiet. 

So, in the moments of quiet before taking the emblems, we sit and ask God to point out anything we need to deal with. Sometimes He will answer our prayer, so that we can repent. He may also point out something we must deal with and stop procrastinating. But in these precious moments, we touch base with Jesus through the emblems of His Body and Blood. And in the end, we look to Jesus, because it is all about Him. With grateful hearts, we truly do remember Him and give Him all our worship, all our praise, and all the glory.

Dear Lord Jesus. Thank You for the memories of Your life, death, and resurrection, because once again it brings us to a place where we understand why You came to this world and the consequences it has for every person who has ever lived. We worship You today as we look forward to the next opportunity to share the Lord’s Supper. Amen.