| On the first day of the week, we hold a memorial service. We conduct an act of remembrance, communion, and worship by partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Have you ever wondered if you were partaking of this memorial in a worthy manner? We all want to show proper respect and honor to God. We want to worship Him in spirit and in truth. We want to do things with our hearts in the right place and our actions based on Scriptural authority. We would not intentionally disgrace ourselves by partaking unworthily, or insult God by regarding this communion as something less than it is. Unfortunately, it is possible to partake in an unworthy manner, or else Paul would not have instructed the Corinthians on how to partake. And it is possible that one or more of us here have at some time partaken in an unworthy manner. So we’re going to discuss how we can partake in a worthy manner, and we’ll be covering several key statements made about the Lord’s Supper, going in depth about their meaning and the context in which they were used. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul exhorts Christians to examine themselves and partake in a worthy manner, discerning the body and blood of the Lord, lest they eat and drink damnation to themselves. Those are pretty strong words, and a warning which we do well to heed! Let us consider how to partake in a worthy manner, and avoid bringing judgment on ourselves. II. A Worthy Manner Brother Ben May, of Alabama, said in a sermon, “The focus is not so much on our own worthiness (who is worthy of the sacrifice of Christ?) but in observing the Lord's Supper in the proper manner.” It is possible to partake in an unworthy manner. When you examine yourself, it is not a question of whether or not you are worthy to worship God…none of us are really worthy on our own merit to come into His Presence. Rather you must make sure that the manner in which you partake is right. The manner in which you partake includes principles: rightly discerning the Lord’s Supper for what it is, the use of the proper elements, proclaiming His death, properly focusing your mind to remember Christ as He commanded, the partaking on the Scriptural day, and a self-examination to ensure your personal compliance with God’s will regarding this memorial. It has little to do with other sins you may have in your life as a Christian, though those other sins could become a stumbling block to cause you to violate one of the requirements of partaking worthily. III. Rightly Discerning the Elements In order to rightly discern the body and the blood, we need to understand the symbolism behind each. Jesus said “this is My body” and “this is My blood.” When He said “Do this in remembrance of Me,” what are we supposed to remember? Though we physically partake of unleavened bread and grape juice, it is, in a spiritual sense, the body and blood of Christ. It is not transubstantiation, as the Catholics teach, where the bread and wine literally turn into flesh and blood. Rather, it is a spiritual feast in which the spirit partakes of His body and blood when the flesh consumes bread and grape juice. 1 Cor. 10:16. While eating the bread and grape juice in remembrance of Him, we feed our spirit with His body and blood. The Supper should be spiritually nourishing in the same way that baptism is a spiritual cleansing. Therefore, the Christian who misses the Sunday assemblies is starving himself spiritually in more than one way. Thinking back to the Passover of the Old Testament (Ex. 12), they sacrificed an unblemished lamb and consumed it. The flesh was a meal to give them strength for the journey that would begin that night when Pharoah begged them to leave, as well as being a sacrificial offering to God. The blood, however, was what delivered them from God’s wrath. They spread the blood of the lamb over their doorposts and lentils, and when the Lord went through the land and saw the blood, He “passed over” that house and spared it. Those houses that did not have the blood applied were not spared: the firstborn child was struck dead. It was the blood that made the Israelites different and saved them. And in the same way, it is the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for the sins of the world. We must apply His blood to our sins by being baptized into His death (Rom. 6). And we must partake of His body and His blood in the Lord’s Supper to be spiritually fed for our Christian journey through life. In John 6, Jesus claimed to be the bread of life, the very bread that comes down out of heaven, a bread greater than the manna which Moses provided to the Israelites. John 6:51-58. To rightly discern this memorial, you must understand that Jesus is the bread that gives and sustains our spiritual life. IV. Fulfill the Law: The Sacrificial Lamb Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it. In His death, He truly did fulfill the Law. The Law required animal sacrifices for sins. These animals had to be unblemished, and Jesus fulfilled this requirement by being a perfect, sinless sacrificial Lamb of God. The animal that was offered suffered the penalty of death in place of those who had committed sins, and Jesus bore that penalty for all the sins of the world. The flesh of the sacrificed animal was eaten by the priests who offered it. Today, we are priests in God’s Kingdom (1 Pet. 2:5,9; Rev. 1:6), and we partake of the sacrificed body by partaking of the unleavened bread. The blood of the sacrificed animal symbolized and sealed the covenant God had made with the Israel; this was the covenant that included all the promises made to Abraham in Genesis 12. The blood of Jesus symbolizes and sealed the new covenant of the Gospel, in which we have better promises. The High Priest entered the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle or Temple once a year to use blood to make atonement for the sins of the people. But regardless of how many animals they sacrificed to God, the blood of all their bulls and goats could not truly take away sin. Jesus, however, is a perfect High Priest who serves forever, and when He made offering for the sins of the people, His offering was sufficient for all time and for all people. The Hebrew writer describes all these things in Heb. 9:11-22 and Heb. 10:3-10. Heb 3:10 says that he have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus. Let’s talk specifically now about the body and blood of Jesus. V. “This is My body…” God is a just God, and His justice demands that every sin be punished. All men have sinned, and all men deserve death. Christ’s body bore the punishment for the sins of mankind. He took the scourging for our sins. He carried the cross on His back for our sins. He was nailed to it and lifted up for our sins. He hung there, was blasphemed and insulted, and was pierced for our sins. His body, though innocent and sinless, took on the punishment due to each and every person who sins. He truly bore it all. The debt is paid. Justice is satisfied. Grace prevails. Death is overcome. Satan is thwarted. Through Christ’s death, we can gain life. Read Isaiah 53 for a detailed prophecy of what was to happen to God’s Son. Read the accounts of His arrest, trials, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection in the four Gospels. Read what the Apostles said about Him in the book of Acts when they preached, and what Paul wrote to the churches about Him in his epistles. When you can appreciate the fact that His suffering and death on the cross makes your salvation possible, when you understand that Jesus paid the price required by God’s justice (the ultimate price of death), then you can begin to rightly discern His body. VI. “This is My blood…” Christ said, “this cup is the new covenant in My blood.” Some may believe that His blood only represents forgiveness of sins, but it is more than that: it is the symbol of a new promise, a new hope, a new covenant that God offers man. Through His blood that was shed, as it ran from His head and hands and feet and side, we can enter into a new relationship with God. It is a relationship that frees us from guilt, bondage to sin, and despair, and promises us a better way of living and an eternal home in the next life. When you drink the cup, you acknowledge that you are in a covenant with God, made possible by Christ’s blood. You are reminded of your duties under the covenant. You are also reminded that you have been freed from bondage to sin and made alive in Christ. Paul called it the “cup of blessing,” and so it is because we are truly blessed by what it represents and brings to our memory. The very fact that you have been freed from sin should be a motivational factor to help you live righteously, because you know that you don’t have to sin, and that if you do sin, God will forgive you when you repent. When you begin to appreciate His blood as a symbol of the new covenant of the Gospel, and as the one and only agent strong enough to cleanse you of your sins, you can rightly discern His blood and partake of it worthily. VII. Proclaim His Death When you partake of these emblems, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He returns. In doing so, first you acknowledge that He died and was resurrected and ascended to heaven; second you acknowledge that you believe His promise to return and that you will serve Him faithfully until He does; third you make a statement to the church and to the world that you believe in Him as your Lord and Savior, as the only Hope of the world. VIIII. In Remembrance; Not A Common Meal or Meaningless Ritual If you fail to remember Christ when you partake, you make this an ordinary meal. If you forget to give Him the honor and praise, if you forget the price He paid for your sins, if you forget that He died to save the world, you have missed the point of this meal and made it common. The Lord’s Supper is no ordinary meal. The Corinthians made it a common feast, and Paul condemned them for it. Be on your guard, lest you make it a common meal! It is not meant to satisfy physical hunger. It is spiritual nourishment. If you make it common, you eat and drink damnation to yourself. We should not think that since we do it every week that it becomes a mere ritual. It is more than just a “cold commandment to be obeyed.” The denominations say that we make it less meaningful by doing it every week. I wonder if they think hearing the Gospel is less meaningful by hearing it every week? Or if singing or giving or praying become less meaningful by doing them so often? Every act of worship is full of significance to the believer, for every act of worship is declaration of what that person believes. IX. Examining Yourself: When Should You NOT Partake? Paul said that some of the Corinthians were “weak and sick, and a number sleep” because they failed to examine themselves and were bringing judgment on themselves. One day you might find yourself in a position where you feel you cannot partake in a worthy manner. Perhaps you have some trial or burden that is weighing heavily on you, or perhaps you have guilt over a sin you committed, or maybe you have wronged your brother (see Matthew 5:24). If something prevents you from focusing your thoughts on the Lord’s body and blood, you should not partake of the Lord’s Supper. I don’t mean the distractions caused in the service by noisy children or uncomfortable seats or other physical things; those things should not deter us from obeying God! Rather, if your spiritual communion with the Lord is inhibited, you should not partake, lest you eat and drink damnation to yourself. Hebrews 10:29-31 says, "Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” 1 Cor. 10: 21-22. I don't want to find out how much worse punishment such a person would deserve, so I'm going to strive to partake in a worthy manner! X. Conclusion: Focusing to Partake Worthily We must learn to focus our thoughts on the Lord’s sacrifice when we partake. All the cares and worries of the world should be far away when you commune with the Lord. “The Lord's Supper is intended as a reminder to those who have been set free from sin by the blood of Christ” (quoted from a sermon by John M. Duvall). During the serving is NOT the time to balance your checkbook, write your grocery list, or think about lunch. Preachers, this is not the time to review your sermon; songleaders, this is not the time to pick out your next song. It is appropriate to spend the time in prayer, meditation, and Scripture reading. Every person must focus on the matter at hand, lest he bring judgment on himself. Partake in a way that you would partake if you were among the Apostles, or if Christ Himself was next you. After all, Christ is among us (Matthew 18:20), and sharing in it with us now in His Kingdom (Matthew 26:29), if we partake of it in a worthy manner. by David F. Sims |