Communion - How and Why We Participate

Communion – How and Why We Participate

One of the misunderstandings that the Holy Spirit has pointed out to me through the study of His Word is the practice of communion. I will start by saying this, communion was not meant to be a once-a-month church practice only. Much like exercise, the more you engage in communion, the greater the benefits. But also like exercise, you have the greatest gains when you do it correctly. One of the Scriptural misunderstandings of communion is found in 1 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 11:27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

If you read The WORD Says with any consistency, you will hear me say repeatedly that we must look at Scripture in its context. We must consider a myriad of circumstances like: Who wrote the book? What was the cultural background of the writer and audience? Why was it written? What were the circumstances of the letter being written? What was the purpose of the letter? Who is the audience and what is their familiarity with the contents of the letter? And so on and so on. We must look at the Scriptures with a wide lens and most importantly, we have to ask the Holy Spirit to give us clarity, understanding, wisdom and revelation to lead us into all truth. If we make a practice of simply pulling a verse out of Scripture and making an assumption about that verse without understanding the context, not only are we susceptible to misinterpretation of that passage, but we also miss out on the full benefits of His Word.

Proverbs 4:20-22; 20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; 22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.

We are going to look at the entirety of the misunderstood passage on communion together but first, let’s look at the background behind the letter. Paul was writing to the church in Corinth and the purpose of the letter was to address many concerns with the practices in the church. He specifically addresses various divisions within the church, both in beliefs and practices. Paul’s letter was both a rebuke and a plea to unify the body within the church. Let’s look at the passage together.

1 Corinthians 11:17-34; 17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

We already established that this letter was written to the church in Corinth. An assumption that many of us make that leads to a misunderstanding of this passage and others is that Paul was writing to a church, so everyone receiving the letter was a believer. Let me ask you this...is everyone in your church a born again Christian? If so, why do we have altar calls? We have altar calls because not everyone that attends church is a believer. The same applies to the early churches. Many attended because of their love for Jesus, but many also attended for social purposes only. Corinth was a very vile city engulfed in pagan practices. Verse 19 tells us that not everyone at the church was a born again believer. Paul says that he knew there were factions in the church, and it was so obvious that the “approved” were distinguishable from the heretics. The original King James version actually uses the word “heresies” in place of “factions.” Now look at the word “approved." In Greek, that word is dokimos and it means “tried and proved.” Today, we would use the term “saved” in this context. So, Paul is already stating that he knows that not everyone in the church is saved and he says that it is obvious who it is.

Now that we have established the audience, saved and unsaved, let’s look at the concern Paul is addressing. Paul says that some in the church that are participating in communion are doing so with wicked motives. In verses 21-22, he states that some are participating only to feast and get drunk; the very same practices that were rampant in Corinth in pagan temple worship and those practices had infiltrated Jesus’ church. You might say, they were participating “in an unworthy manner.” In verse 23, Paul states the authority of what he is about to describe as the purpose of communion. He says the Lord gave him the instructions, and then goes on to describe what the Lord told him. The specific intent of communion is given. What is the purpose that the Lord gave to Paul? It is to remind believers that Jesus’ body was broken, and His blood was shed for them. Jesus specifically says, “…do these things in remembrance of me…”. Jesus did not say, “Do this in remembrance of your sins or how you might be found unworthy.” Jesus said, and I’m summarizing, “Think of Me and what I did for you when you take communion.” Paul continues in verse 26 with what the purpose is. The entire purpose is to declare what Jesus did and not anything that anyone else has done.

The next three verses are the target of this blog, because I believe they have been misunderstood and that has led to erroneous teachings and practices. Paul states that every man should examine himself, because if that man participates in communion in an unworthy manner, he drinks judgement to himself. Let’s break this down.

Paul just stated that Jesus told him, that when we take communion, we are to remember what Jesus did for us. This came on the heels of Paul admonishing certain factions or heresies in the church, that were neither approved nor participating for the right purposes. And then Paul says, that every man should examine himself in order to determine his own motives for participating in communion. Up to this point, who has Paul been addressing with this rebuke? Why was this passage given in the first place? We were told that in the beginning of this passage. Paul was directing this rebuke to the factions or heretics that were participating in an unworthy manner. The entirety of this rebuke is a call to the “unsaved” in the church. He is giving warning and direction to the heretics. They are the target of this rebuke, not the approved. I will continue with additional evidence shortly, but I want to stop here and identify the incorrect teaching and practice that is so prevalent in church.

Have you heard this before? “When we partake of communion, we need to first examine ourselves to determine if we are participating in an unworthy manner. We need to look inside and see if we have any unconfessed sin, confess that sin, and then partake of the bread and wine.” I have heard that my entire life and I still hear it. Does that line up with the Word if you are already saved? No, it does not. But those that adamantly insist that this was Paul’s intention are camping out on one verse. They are camping out on “…every man should examine himself…” without considering who Paul was addressing in this passage. He was directing the entire rebuke, not to the approved, but to those that were feasting and getting drunk like the pagans. If you are going to camp out on one verse, then why not camp out on Jesus’ words “…do this in remembrance of me…”? Paul stated that the proper way to participate in communion is to do so with Jesus in mind, not us or our sins. As believers we are told that when we do so, we are proclaiming His death until He returns. Paul was essentially saying, if you are participating in communion for any other purposes, like to feast and get drunk, you are participating in an unworthy manner. If you are not doing it to consider that Jesus allowed Himself to be beaten, tortured, and killed for you, then you are participating in an unworthy manner. Our focus is to be on Christ. If you look at verse 19, you see that Paul recognized that some were participating correctly. The rebuke was not for them. Verse 29 tells us exactly what it means to “eat and drink in an unworthy manner.” It states, participating without discerning the Lord’s body. That means you are doing so for purposes other than considering His sacrifice and proclaiming what He did. It does not say, “participating with unconfessed sin.” Paul was telling the unsaved in the church to consider what Jesus did for them. He was encouraging them through admonishment. He was essentially saying, “The practice that you are degrading is the one that can save you, if you understand what it stands for and the benefits of participating as one of the “approved.”

Let’s go a little deeper. Look at verse 27.

1 Corinthians 11:27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

This next examination of the passage should help. What does it mean to “…be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord”?  The Greek word for guilty here is enochos. In a forensic sense, it means denoting the connection of a person either with his crime, or with the penalty or trial, or with that against whom or which he has offended; worthy of punishment; of the place where punishment is to be suffered. Does that describe in any way what a believer or “approved” person needs to be concerned with? Emphatically NO! Romans 8:1 states, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” The Bible cannot contradict the Bible. If just one part is in error, then the rest cannot be trusted. Scripture can only verify Scripture, as it is the divine Word of God.

Now that we have established that this passage is a call to repentance by Paul to the unbelievers in the church, let’s continue. In verse 30, Paul states that the reason some are weak and dying in the church is because they are thoughtlessly participating in communion. He is telling them that the broken body of Jesus was meant for their healing, but because they are not participating with that knowledge or with the intention of receiving healing when partaking, they are not receiving the healing associated with recognizing Jesus’ sacrifice. Now let’s look at the next piece of valuable evidence that this is a rebuke for unbelievers only.

1 Corinthians 11:31-32; 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

What does it mean to “judge ourselves”? Judged in the first part of this verse in Greek is the word diakrino and it means to separate, make a distinction, discriminate, to prefer; to separate one's self in a hostile spirit, to oppose, strive with dispute, contend. The word judged in “we would not be judged” is different. It is krino and it means to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong; to be judged, i.e. summoned to trial that one's case may be examined and judgment passed upon it; to pronounce judgment, to subject to censure. Why the two different words for “judge”? Because, Paul again was admonishing those that had yet to “judge themselves." They had yet to repent, or in other words, admit that they need a Savior. Paul was saying that if you judge yourselves, repent, and you will not be judged with the rest of the world that does not repent. Who does God chasten? Those He loves (Revelation 3:19 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten). And in this context, is he chastening believers or unbelievers? He is addressing unbelievers. We know this because the rest of the sentence says “…that we may not be condemned with the world.” Once we are saved, we are no longer part of the world. We were saved out of it. We can no longer be judged. Our judgement fell on Jesus and now we are the righteousness of God in Christ. Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus!

I had intended for the next blog to be a continuation of “Conviction of the Holy Spirit”, but the Holy Spirit directed me to write about this first. I believe He did so because the beginning of the new year is a great time to start a new practice. I encourage you to begin a regular practice of taking communion at home with family and friends.

I know this blog is going long, but I want to give you an illustration to further support the intention of communion. Please stay with me. Under the Old Covenant, man was required to bring a spotless lamb to the priest once a year. The priest would examine the lamb to see if it was perfect without blemish, and if it was, the lamb was killed as an atonement for the person that brought the lamb. His sins were covered for a year. Who was examined?  Was it the man or the lamb? It was the lamb. The person bringing the lamb was not asked to confess sins before killing the lamb. As long as the lamb was perfect, that was sufficient. That person would lay his hands on the lamb, signifying that he was translating his sins to the lamb and the lamb’s perfection, or righteousness, was transferred to the man. Now that Jesus has come and served as our perfect lamb, signifying our transgressions passed to Him and His perfect righteousness transferred to us, we are now made righteous. So, if the Old Covenant that required man to bring his own sacrifice to temporarily receive redemption did not require man to study his heart prior to doing so, why would a new and better covenant require man to come to communion and search his heart and confess all his sins prior to participation? In the Old Covenant, man provided the sacrifice. In the New Covenant, God provided it. In both covenants, the focus is on the sacrificial lamb only, not the sinful person receiving the atonement. That is why Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

The sequence of the practice needs only to be changed. Don’t go to communion, and before participating, search your heart for sin. Do the opposite. When you feel condemnation, go take communion. When you feel sick or feel like the enemy is attacking your physical body, go take communion. When the enemy brings thoughts of fear and anxiety against you, go take communion. In all those instances, the sacrifice for healing and redemption has already been complete. It is finished.

Isaiah 53:4-5 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace [was] upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

And when you partake, it should not be with a solemn face. We go to communion to celebrate victory. That victory is in Jesus. We participate in the proclamation that His suffering and death was for us and it is sufficient and complete. Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus!

I hope this helps. Jesus loves you!