By Dan Bailey
It is good for us to study and meditate upon the memorial of the Lord's
Supper. At one time in Corinth, the apostle Paul had to rebuke the brethren for
intermingling the Lord's Supper with a common meal. God expects our worship to
be according to His Word, and to be spiritual in nature. Paul wrote the church
in Corinth saying: "When ye come together therefore into one place, this
is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other
his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not
houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them
that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise
you not" (I Corinthians 11:20-22).
Paul was not condemning Christians for partaking of a common meal
together, but he was condemning the intermingling of that meal with worship.
Paul's purpose was to keep the common meal separate and distinct from the
worship service. Sometimes Christians gather together for a common meal in a
home, a restaurant, or somewhere on the church property. There is nothing at
all sinful with this. However, it should be distinct from our worship services.
Paul went on to say, "For I have received of the Lord that which
also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was
betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take,
eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This
cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in
remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do
shew the Lord's death till he come" (I Corinthians 11:23-26).
When Jesus said of the bread, "Take eat: this is my body," He
was not saying that the bread really, that is, literally, became His body. But
rather that it was symbolic of His body, or represented or stood for, His body.
The bread brings to our memory the precious body of our Lord that was suspended
between heaven and earth upon the old rugged cross.
The cup mentioned in I Corinthians 11:25, meant the contents of the cup,
or the fruit of the vine. There are some who believe that Christ meant for His
disciples to use only one physical cup while partaking of the Lord's Supper.
This is to confuse the container with that which is in the container. Whether
we use one physical cup or many, does not effect the contents of the cup. Jesus
said, "...This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as
ye drink it, in remembrance of me" (I Corinthians 11:25). The cup is not
literally blood, but it represents, or is symbolic of the blood, of the Lamb of
God. When Jesus instituted the Lord's
Supper, He said, "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28). When we partake of the Lord's Supper we do so
in remembrance of His death. "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink
this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come" (I Corinthians 11:26).
To partake of the Lord's Supper "unworthily" has reference to
the manner or disposition of heart while partaking of the supper. Each person
is to "examine himself" and to "discern the Lord's body."
To discern the Lord's body is to make the proper separation or distinction
between the common meal, common things, and spiritual worship. If there is no
separation of the two, then Christ is not properly set apart or honored in our
hearts. Our worship needs to be as directed from God's Word. The final thought from Albert Barnes enumerates reasons why one should examine himself before taking the Lord's Supper. --
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