Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the worldPaul explains to the members of the church that whoever participates in communion in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. Paul’s point here is that every person will be required to give an account to Christ for the sin that they have committed against Him by participating in communion in an unworthy manner. And because of this reality, Paul commands the members of the church to examine themselves before participating in communion. But this morning, what are we to examine? And how do we participate in communion in an unworthy manner that results in sin against Christ?
Paul answers these questions for us when he states that he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself is he does not judge the body rightly. If Paul was sending this message to us in a text message or email, this verse would sound something like this; whoever participates in communion condemns themselves to punishment if they do not evaluate and pay careful attention to their lives in communion with God and community with one another.
You see, so often we read these verses and view the idea of examining ourselves as a time of taking inventory of any sin that I may have vertically with God. And while we need to examine ourselves on a vertical level with God, we are also called to examine ourselves in terms of our relationships with one another on a horizontal level as well. When Paul uses the body here, he is referring to the body of Christ, the church. And when there is division and disunity in the body, as was evident in the church at Corinth, we risk taking communion in an unworthy manner. When we are involved relational sin and unresolved conflict that threatens the unity within the church, we risk participating in communion in an unworthy manner.
Paul is revealing for us the reality that when we worship with division, we risk receiving the Lord’s discipline. That is how important unity and community is to the Lord. And that is why we celebrate communion the way we do here at City Bible Church. We desire to create the space and the environment where God can speak into our lives and reveal any areas where there is unresolved sin vertically with God or unresolved conflict and sin horizontally in community with one another. We desire to create the space and environment where people can ask forgiveness of God and one another in order to be able to take communion in a worthy manner. We want to create the space where fathers can lead their families in prayer and where friends can pray together in small groups and experience loving community as they respond to what Jesus did to rescue us from our selfishness and sin.
Paul then reveals for us the reality that when we participate in communion in an unworthy manner, the discipline that God provides can be physical as well as spiritual. People in Corinth were not sleeping as in taking a nap because they were tired; they were experiencing serious physical consequences including a loss of physical life. Paul then explains that when we evaluate and pay careful attention to our lives in communion with God and community with one another, we will respond in a way that results in repentance and spiritual growth instead of condemnation and punishment.
Paul’s point is that the purpose of God’s discipline is to refine us and bring us to a place where our priorities line up with God’s priorities. And as we have seen, God desires that His body the church, reflect and reveal the love, the unity, and the community that the members of the trinity experience. Paul then concludes this section of his letter with a practical solution to the disturbing problem that was occurring at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11:33-34:
So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.Paul’s response is simple and yet at the same time as relevant for us today as it was in the first century. First, Paul commands the members of the church to participate in worship and communion together. On a practical level, when the body of Christ worships together in a community without ethnic, social or economic distinctions, a powerful image of the unity of the body of Christ is portrayed.
Second, Paul commands the members of the church to prepare themselves for worship. When we come together in community to respond to who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do, we are to be focused and have an expectation to encounter God and hear from Him. Christians who act unchristian however, often come to worship with focus on talking to God and about others in terms of what they are doing, what they are wearing, and who they are sitting next to instead of focusing on hearing from God.
What consequences have you see to individuals and churches when there is division? And what can you do do best reflect the message of the gospel as an individual and as a church?
No comments:
Post a Comment