1 Corinthians 11:27-29 – 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
Are any of us worthy? When we examine ourselves, wouldn’t humility tell us that we are not worthy for anything we receive from God, including participating in the Lord’s Supper? I think it would. That would preclude all of us from celebrating communion together honestly. I don’t think that is the “unworthy manner” that Paul has in mind. We are not left to guess at Paul’s meaning, since the context (“…not discerning the Lord’s body…”) shows us that Paul is talking about unity within the church. He is admonishing the church at Corinth for partaking of the Lord’s Supper in a self-centered way, which doesn’t bring glory to Christ. They have factions and cliques. Instead of living unselfishly for Christ and for His church, they live for themselves. Their whole world centers around their own agenda and priorities and not around what builds up the body of Christ. This is what Paul has against them and this is the unworthy manner in which they are living.
When you examine your life, is it centered around you? God has done and continues to do wonderful, transforming work in His church here at Lower Burrell. By His grace, we will continue to grow in unity and love within this body. Growing in unselfishness, Christ-centeredness, and a life lived for others are impossible for us to do apart from Jesus Christ. We need the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to purge the selfishness from us and fill us with a heart and actions for others. Something to think about…
How can we learn from the mistakes of the Corinthian church to help us grow in unity here at LBBC?