A Word from 1 Corinthians 11

Depending on the churches of which you’ve been a part and the teachers who’ve influenced you, you might’ve been told somewhere along the way that you’d better not celebrate the Lord’s Supper with any unconfessed sin in your life. Because God will judge you harshly if you do. And in today’s word from 1 Corinthians 11 (verses 17-34), we find the verses that provide a foundation for that idea:

“So then,” Paul says, “whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.” (11:27-29)

Naturally, I think it’s always a good idea to examine ourselves and confess our sin. And if refraining from the Lord’s Supper helps us remember how serious our sin is, that’s probably a good thing! And yet, it’s important to know that Paul wasn’t addressing sin “in general.” No, he was talking about our sin against each other—about our failure to love and serve one another as members in the family of God.

After all, if you back up a few verses, you find that Paul is talking the failure of the Corinthians to care for each other and to maintain a spirit of unity. And so, when he talks about “eating and drinking in an unworthy manner,” or “those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ,” he’s talking about believers who don’t realize that we’re called to be one—and who, therefore, are wounding the body through which Jesus continues to work in the world.

Of course, the good news is that every day offers us new opportunities to strengthen that body! Today, we can encourage one another and pray for one another. We can give grace to one another, and carry one another’s burdens.

So, even if you don’t celebrate the Lord’s Supper today, will you “discern the body” today?

May Christ be honored by the way embody him. Amen.