Therefore, 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 (1 Corinthians 15:27).
This verse hits like an unexpected punch in the gut.
In the prior verses, Paul has been instructing the wayward Corinthians on the proper understanding and observance of the Breaking of Bread service, when the church comes together primarily to worship Christ for Who He is and what He’s done.
The Apostle explained the historical context of the Last Supper and how the Saviour infused new meaning into the bread and wine – no longer looking back 15 centuries to the Exodus, but looking ahead to the central events of the Gospel beginning with the next day: His substitutionary sacrifice for our sin as the Lamb of God.
The conclusion of that section is verse 26: For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
And then Paul strikes the sobering blow: participating in eating and drinking the symbols of His body and blood, but doing so in an unworthy manner.
Such renders one guilty.
And not guilty of any minor peccadillo; but wickedness against the body and blood of the Lord.
Paul calls for serious, deliberate, thoughtful, objective self-examination: A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup (v.28).
And that is because in our culture – as in the Corinthian context – where the profane is the norm and holy reverence is foreign, the stakes are so very high: For anyone who eats and drinks without recognising the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself (v.29).
In the framework of this epistle, Paul has been in the prior chapters thundering like an Old Testament prophet against the various evidences in this local church, of gross sin against the unity of Christ’s Body; incidents and attitudes promoting division, disunity, and self-serving independence.
The Body of Christ – His physical representation on earth today through the corporate assembling of His people – is to be a picture of diversity but interdependence, much like our human bodies.
Takeaway: There is much in our antagonistic world to foster disconnection and disjuncture in every true Gospel faith community.
To possess a Gospel worldview demands that we value highly what the Lord Jesus values: His Body, His church, His Gospel.
Each member of His Body is a person of immeasurable value because the Saviour redeemed that one at the cost of His blood.
May we make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).
This is an expression of obedience, at Bethel, to the Master.
graphic from freebibleimages.org
...a version of this post originally appeared in autumn 2020
