Partaking Worthily

So what is the Lord's Supper all about? After this sermon, we'll be celebrating the Lord's Supper, where we take the bread and the cup in remembrance of Jesus. And of course, this is one of two ceremonial practices or dramas which Jesus commanded us to observe, the other being baptism. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are sometimes called sacraments because they're sacred Christian rites, but we typically call them ordinances, stressing that they're special practices ordained by Christ himself. But what exactly does the Lord's Supper mean? And what is it meant to signify? Well, you might say, well, it represents Jesus' death. The bread and the wine or juice correspond to his body and blood. And that's certainly true. Hopefully we can all agree to that. But what makes something the Lord's Supper? I mean, is it just any time you take bread and wine or juice and remember Jesus? Or is there something special about this bread and this cup? Or is it not so much this bread and this cup that are special, but the environment or the context in which we partake? I mean, can you celebrate the Lord's Supper in private? Can a group of Christians get together and do this in their own home? Can a parachurch organization serve the Lord's Supper? Or is there something essential about celebrating it as a church? And further, who gets to participate when we do celebrate it? I mean, is it just anyone that's invited to the table? Should we encourage any and everyone who's here to participate? Or should the table be fenced by verbally instructing some not to? Of course, if you've been here before, you know that we do fence the table, and that has actually offended people. You know, some feel like, well, who are you to tell me not to participate? Or others are concerned that this feels exclusive. You know, and if any and everyone are invited to come to Christ, why shouldn't it be the same with the Lord's Supper? In fact, this issue of fencing the table and the Lord's Supper in general has created quite a bit of controversy historically. For example, Jonathan Edwards, who's widely regarded as one of, if not the greatest American theologian, got booted from his church because of this issue. He took the stance that those who are not professing believers should not be able to come to the table. And this went against what the former pastor had said, Jonathan Edwards' grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, who viewed the Lord's Supper as a converting ordinance. This got Edwards booted from his church. Conflict over the Lord's Supper is the fundamental reason why the Lutheran tradition and the Reformed tradition branched off. In 1529, Huldrych Zwingli and Martin Luther had a theological meeting at Marburg Castle, and they agreed on every single point except the Lord's Supper. And there Luther famously began beating the table, you know, saying, hoc est corpus meum, which is Latin for this is my body, because he insisted that Christ was somehow physically present with the bread. And yet both Luther and Zwingli differed strongly from the Roman Catholic view, which we would describe as transubstantiation. So this is a complex and an important issue. And we come today to the longest passage in the whole New Testament about the Lord's Supper. And I want us to consider, what's it really all about? What does it mean, and what is its significance? How should we partake of it? And as we work our way through this passage, we're gonna see that the Lord's Supper is significant because of what it says about the church, what it says about Christ, and what it does for you as an individual. So let's begin with point one, the church, and how the Lord's Supper symbolizes the unity of the body. It symbolizes the unity of the body. This is verses 17 through 22. And in verse 17, Paul begins by saying, but in the following instructions, I do not commend you, because when you come together, it is not for the better, but for the worse. Now this is Paul introducing the topic of the Lord's Supper and note that verse 17 here contrasts with what Paul said back in verse 2 where he said, now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I deliver them to you. And as we mentioned last week, that introduced this whole section of the book from chapters 11 through 14. where Paul's dealing with matters that pertain to the corporate gatherings of the church. And he starts off by saying, you're doing a lot of things well. But then there are these three issues that he addresses that need correction. And the first was that of head coverings, which we looked at last week. The third is that of spiritual gifts, and particularly tongues, which is in chapters 12 to 14, and we'll begin looking at that right after Easter. And then there's this issue of the Lord's Supper, which of course we're looking at today. And notice that Paul begins this section in verse 17 by saying, I can't commend you in this. The way you're observing the Lord's Supper is so bad, I have nothing positive to say. In fact, it would be better if you didn't meet at all. Your coming together is not for the better, but for the worse. Now to understand why Paul is so outraged by the way they're practicing the Lord's Supper, We have to begin by understanding that the Lord's Supper is not just an individual thing between you and God. It's something that involves the whole church. There's this corporate dimension. And let me just point out two ways that we see that right here from the start. First, as we just noted, the whole surrounding context of chapters 11 through 14 is all about the corporate gatherings of the church. So this isn't something that Paul conceives of as happening when a few church members just get together at one another's homes. This is a formal church gathering. In fact, the fact that Paul positions this discussion of the Lord's Supper here is all the more significant because other than the Lord's Supper fitting here because it's a corporate gathering, it actually runs counter to the overall organization of the book. Because if you've been coming, you'll remember that you can kind of divide the book of 1 Corinthians in half, where chapters 1 through 6, Paul is responding to reports he's heard about what's going on from Chloe's people. And then chapters 7 through 16, he's responding to various issues that were raised by a letter that he received from the Corinthians. But this section about the Lord's Supper is an exception to that. Because this isn't in response to the letter, this is actually in response to reports. If you look at verse 18, he says, for in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. Right, so Paul has actually placed this in the different part of the letter because I think he understands it has to do with the church gathering. That's how he's organizing it. Second, Notice that three times in the first four verses, Paul speaks of the Lord's Supper in terms of when you come together. Verse 17, but in the following instructions, I do not commend you because when you come together, it is not for the better but for the worse. Verse 18, for in the first place, when you come together as a church. Verse 20, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat. And then Paul actually even says this two more times in verses 33 and 34 at the end. So it seems like Paul's shorthand for speaking about the Lord's Supper is this little phrase, when you come together. It's actually one word in Greek. And that coming together is just the assumed context for the Lord's Supper. In fact, he even says in verse 18, when you come together as a church. And just pause and consider for a moment the significance of that little phrase, when you come together as a church. What is a church? A church is not a building. It's not a mere organization that has a special tax status. A church is fundamentally people. It's a body of believers. And yet Paul says here, when you come together as a church, so it's not just people, it's people who gather. And in fact, the Greek word for church is the term ekklesia, which means assembly or gathering. So you can't have a church that doesn't assemble, right? That would be an assembly that doesn't assemble. A church is a body of believers that gathers, that assembles. And now the question is, How do we do that? How do you come together as a church? Well, in one sense, we do that every Sunday morning, like right now, when we gather for worship, right? We assemble as Jefferson Park Baptist Church. But I actually don't think that that alone is really the most clear way that we assemble or we come together as a church. Because, of course, there's all sorts of people here that are not actually part of our church. There's people here who are not even Christians at all. We hope non-Christians will come so that they can hear the gospel. But we don't want non-Christians to be part of our church in the sense of actually representing us to the world because they're not believers. And remember chapter five where we talked about this because there was a man in the Corinthian church who was in this scandalous relationship with his own stepmother. And Paul's beside himself because he's part of the church and he is therefore representing the church and therefore misrepresenting Christ. You know, so Paul is telling the Corinthians, you need to remove this man from the church. So the question is, what does that mean? What does it mean to be removed from a church? And what does it mean to come together as a church? And I think the implication of what Paul's saying here is that a church comes together chiefly through the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper itself is the visible, symbolic act of our assembly assembling. In fact, this idea was developed significantly during the time of the Reformation. Because with the fracturing of the Catholic Church, there was suddenly a lot of question and debate about how do you define a true church? Because no longer was there just one option. So how do I know which church is true? And basically the answer people came to was there's two marks of a true church. The right preaching of the word and the right administration of the ordinances. And to borrow from Mark Dever, he said that the preaching of the word was described as the fountain of God's truth that gives life to his people. And then baptism in the Lord's Supper were understood to be like the vessel which contains and displays that glorious work. Right, so it says that the church is generated or created by the right preaching of the word. That's how people become believers. And then the church is distinguished and contained by the right administration of the ordinances. Because baptism initiates members into the church, and the Lord's Supper then displays that body together in union in Christ as one. As one person put it, in baptism, the one is bound to the many, and in the Lord's Supper, the many are bound together as one. And I think that background helps us understand why Paul here is so outraged by the way the Corinthians are practicing the Lord's Supper. You know, it's not just about individuals and their individual relationships with God, it's about the church. And Paul is concerned here that the Corinthians are partaking of the Lord's Supper in a way that totally mars that picture. Instead of the Lord's Supper displaying the power of the gospel and the life of the church and their unity in Christ, They're distorting the gospel so badly by their practice here that Paul says, when you come together, it's not for the better, but for the worse. And then he says in verse 20, when you come together, it's not the Lord's supper that you eat. So what is the issue? Well, in verses 18 and 19, Paul says that when they come together, there are divisions and factions among them. And then verses 21 and 22 describe the nature of those divisions. Now, verse 19 is tricky, but I think it's probably best taken sarcastically and with the term genuine translated as approved or distinguished. So the idea there is that pride is driving some in the church to seek recognition and thereby contributing to these factions. But I want to focus our attention on verses 21 and 22 where Paul describes what these divisions and factions look like in their meeting. He says, for in eating, Each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What? Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. So the fundamental problem is that when they come together, There's this obvious differentiation between the rich and the poor. Some are eating sumptuously and others are going hungry. Now, we don't know all the historical details of what exactly this looked like. It's clear that when they ate the Lord's Supper, it was in conjunction with a full meal. What's also called the agape feast or love feast in Jude verse 12. Now, the Lord's Supper itself wasn't a full meal, but it was observed in the context of this full meal, much like the Last Supper. Now, we're not sure who provided the food for that meal. It could have been potluck style, in which case the rich were bringing plenty and eating a lot, and then the poor, they couldn't bring very much, and people were not sharing. Or it could have been hosted by a wealthy member of the church, in which case there would have been different rooms and seating positions and some were more privileged than others. We know from Acts chapter 18 that at least at that point the church was meeting in the home of Titius Justice. Also it's possible that the rich were free to arrive earlier and claim the best seats and the best portions of the food, you know, while the poor are having to work late and so they're showing up at the end. But we do need to note here that when Paul says each are going ahead with his own meal in verse 21, and if you look ahead to verse 33, he says, wait for one another. The Greek there is not clearly time driven. So wait for one another could also mean receive one another, welcome one another. So we're not sure about all the details, but whatever the details are, what's clear is that some are feasting sumptuously. Paul even says getting drunk while others are going hungry. And then they're all turning around and partaking of the Lord's Supper after that. And Paul sees this as so contradictory that he says, whatever you're doing, it's not the Lord's Supper. You've totally marred the symbolism that this is meant to present. In verse 22 he says, you're actually despising the church of God and humiliating those who have nothing. Now strikingly, Paul doesn't say anything here about the sin of drunkenness. And that is sin, that is a problem, and yet that problem seems to be small in his mind compared to this one. Also, note that Paul's point here actually isn't that rich people need to bring more food so that everyone can have plenty to eat. Because he says in verse 22, do you not have houses to eat and drink in? And then again in verse 34, if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home. So Paul's concern here is not that everyone leave with a full stomach. His concern is that if people are going hungry, they all need to go hungry together. If people are feasting, they all need to feast together. Because the whole point is that for this to be the Lord's supper, the unity of the body must be demonstrated. It's fine if rich people have big fancy dinners in their own homes. It's fine if there are poor members of the church who just can't afford to do that. But when the church comes together as a church, which is visibly and symbolically displayed through the Lord's Supper, there must be no such distinctions. Because the gospel obliterates them all. The gospel makes us one in Christ. I mean, in the world, the rich are treated one way and the poor another. You know, there are all kinds of distinctions and levels of prestige, but not in the church. Here, we all come to the table together. Here, we're equal at the foot of the cross. And that's Paul's fundamental concern here. The Lord's Supper is about the church and displaying the unity of the body. So brothers and sisters, is that unity evident in our gatherings? We've traditionally had a potluck meal following the Lord's Supper, pre-COVID. And thankfully, I don't think there are obvious differentiations there between the richer and poorer members. But are there any other ways that we're letting the distinctions of the world obscure our unity in Christ? We come from all kinds of different backgrounds. Some of us are of different ethnicities. Some of us have more distinguished careers. Some have more wealth. Some have more charisma or charm or good looks. Some are more educated. Some are especially quick-witted or intelligent. And these things all distinguish us in the world. They divide us and tend to determine our place in society. But none of them ultimately matter in light of the gospel. We're one in Christ. And as we gather as a church, we need to strive to reflect that. So what could you do to better welcome and receive one another? Especially those who are most different than you in a worldly sense. How could you help prevent this church from feeling clicky? How could you put the interests of others before your own? So that you would be like a rich person in Corinth who actually goes hungry for a meal, because he cares more about reflecting the unity of the body than his own stomach. Also, when there's conflict between us, I think this reminds us of why pursuing reconciliation is so important, lest it develop into division. In fact, the Lord's Supper should be like a catalyst to push us toward reconciling with one another. It's sort of like when kids who are siblings get into a fight. They might just want to let it simmer. But then mom and dad call them to dinner. And that has a way of really forcing the issue because you can't really enjoy family time with mom and dad when there's disharmony between you and your brother. And in a similar way, God is inviting us to his family meal. And we need to pursue reconciliation with one another to come to this meal rightly. As Jesus says in Matthew 5, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift. You know, the principle is God wants us to pursue reconciliation. He understands we cannot just make reconciliation happen, but we can pursue it. And God wants us to do that first and then come to him. And I think the Lord's Supper should prompt us to do that. So, we've seen that the Lord's Supper is about the church. It's meant to display the unity of the body. But that's not all. Number two, the Lord's Supper is about Christ. And it is to proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. It's about Christ and it proclaims the Lord's death until he comes. Look with me at verses 23 through 26. Paul continues, for I receive from the Lord what I also deliver to you. that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Now here Paul's reminding the Corinthians of the origin of the Lord's Supper, which is the Last Supper. As the Gospels explain, on the very night of Jesus' betrayal by Judas, he tells his disciples to prepare a Passover meal in an upper room. And as we saw in today's scripture reading, the Passover was when the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. And God said that he would send a tenth and final plague in which the destroyer or the angel of death would pass through all the land of Egypt and strike dead the firstborn son of every house in the night. But the Israelites were told to take a lamb and kill it. And they were to smear the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of their house. and told that then when this angel of death came to their house, he would pass over and their firstborn son would be spared. So that's what the Israelites did. An angel of death passed over their houses, but he struck dead the firstborn son in every Egyptian household. And as a result, Israel was set free. They were redeemed and God made them his covenant people and commanded them to celebrate the Passover every year in commemoration. Well, about 1500 years later, that's exactly what Jesus and his disciples were doing. They came to celebrate that Passover meal. But this time at this Passover, as the meal is going on, Jesus takes bread and breaks it. and says, this is my body, which is for you. And then after supper, he takes the cup and says, this is the new covenant in my blood. And what Jesus is saying is that he himself at that moment had come to bring about a new and a greater Passover. He was instituting a new and a greater covenant And just as God had spared his people from judgment and redeemed them from Egypt through the sacrifice of a lamb, Jesus is saying, I am the true lamb. I am the sacrifice. I'm the one offering my body and my blood for you so that you may be redeemed and spared from the wrath of God. And you see, we're actually all like those Israelites and Egyptians on that night before the angel of death passed through the land. Because the day is coming when you and I will be raised up to stand before God for judgment. And we will be judged according to his perfect law. And the problem is, we have all broken that law, right? And justice demands the sentence of death upon us. It is as though that death angel is coming for us, and there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. But just as God provided a lamb so that the angel of death might pass over the homes of the Israelites, so God has now provided his own son, Jesus Christ, as the true lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And when we trust in him, it's as if his blood has covered the doorpost of our heart. So when we stand before God on judgment day, we will be passed over in that judgment. And when we trust in Christ, We get to be part of the new covenant in his blood, a new covenant in which no longer shall every man teach his brother and every man his neighbor saying, no, the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sins no more. Right. No longer will it be like the Passover where more lambs had to be slaughtered year after year. No longer will it be like the old covenant community in which many members didn't know the Lord and which many did not have their sin forgiven. Now in Christ, there is this one once and for all perfect sacrifice, which has a tone for sin forever through the very blood and body of Jesus himself. And we all in this new covenant get to share in that perfect forgiveness and relationship with God. And this is why if you're here and you're not a Christian, this is why you must believe in Christ. This is why we plead with you to trust in Jesus alone for salvation. Because friend, if you don't, there is nothing else that can save you. And yet if you do, there is nothing else that can keep you from being saved. But for those of us who have trusted in Jesus, the Lord's Supper itself is a special gift from him to remember him and his work. As Paul says in verse 23, for I receive from the Lord what I also deliver to you. This is a tradition that has been passed down by Jesus himself. And this is not a way of repeating his sacrifice, nor even a way of reapplying his sacrifice. but as a way of remembering the perfect efficacy of His once and for all sacrifice for all time. We do this in remembrance of Him. And unlike preaching, which comes to us in words, this comes to us as a physical drama, something we can taste and touch and see, and I think that reminds us of the very physical and real bodily sufferings of Christ. Now some have interpreted Jesus' words, this is my body, in a literal way, as if something special happens to the bread itself and Jesus is somehow physically present in or with the bread. But I think it's clear Jesus is speaking metaphorically here for at least two reasons. First, remember that when Jesus instituted this tradition, he was physically present in the room. So unless we're supposed to think he was saying I have two bodies in this room, my physical body and then this bread is my body, it just doesn't make sense to think he's speaking literally. Second, notice that Jesus also said this cup is the new covenant. So if we're gonna say the bread is literally Jesus' body, then consistency would demand that we say the cup is literally the covenant. What kind of sense does that make? Covenants are not physical things. You know, a covenant is a solemn oath or a promise, right? So it just does not make sense to take Jesus literally here. It's like when a husband holds up his wedding ring and says, this is my marriage. I mean, he's speaking symbolically. But again, it's, he's given us this physical drama as a God-ordained means of remembering the very physical and real sufferings and death of Christ. Notice finally that in verse 26, the Lord's Supper is not only about remembering Jesus, but proclaiming him. Paul says, for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So in partaking, we're not only remembering Him, but we are symbolically declaring that we have a Savior, that Christ died for us. And not only did He die for us, but He rose for us, and indeed He is coming again. We proclaim His death until He comes. So friends, the Lord's Supper is not a funeral. It is a proclamation of Jesus's victory and our faith in the effectiveness of his atoning work. And it is an anticipation of the day when he will come to drink this cup new with us in his father's kingdom. It's not to be gloomy, but joyful. And I think a clear implication of that is that the Lord's Supper is for believers. We invite unbelievers to remember Christ. We invite unbelievers to come and listen to the preaching to learn about Christ. But we don't invite them to join us in proclaiming Christ until they confess Him as Lord. And that's actually what the Lord's Supper is. It is a corporate proclamation of the Lord's death until He comes. It's not one of the ways someone becomes a Christian. It's like baptism, a way that you proclaim that you are a Christian. Now, How does all this relate to what Paul said before? What's the flow of Paul's argument between verses 17 and 22 and then here in verses 23 through 26? Well, I think what Paul's implying here is that the fundamental reason why the Corinthians are allowing such divisions to take place and failing to appreciate the significance of the Lord's Supper for the church is actually that they're failing to remember Christ himself. They've lost sight of the foundational thing which the Lord's Supper is really all about, which is to do this in remembrance of Jesus. Because if you're actually focused on this glorious reality of Jesus laying down his life for you, how can you turn around and be so calloused and hard-hearted toward your fellow believers for whom Christ died that you would humiliate them, that you would despise the church of God where Jesus died for all of us together? I mean, how can you care so much more about satisfying your stomach with food than about representing the unity of the body Christ died to create? How could you be swollen with pride? You know, as if you're more important than anyone else in the body when you're reflecting on the fact that you're a sinner who deserved to be on that cross and Jesus, in love for you, took your place. and died so that you who deserve to be in hell might have this glorious inheritance and hope of eternal life. Friends, if we focus on Christ, how it points us away from ourselves to say, I want to gladly lay down my life for the good of others and for the glory of his name. And so you see, that's where we need to start. The Lord's Supper is about Christ. It's about the gospel. It's about remembering his work. And if we rightly appreciate that, then we'll see that it's also about his body, the church, whom he saved so that we might all be reconciled to God and to one another. And that he's now called us to display the glorious power of the gospel collectively. But even that's not all. We come thoroughly and finally now to the fact that the Lord's Supper is also about yourself. And it is intended to provoke self-examination and to draw you near to Christ. It's intended to provoke self-examination and to draw you near to Christ. And this will be verses 27 through 34. Paul continues, whoever therefore eats of the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then. And so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. Now these verses have provoked a lot of trepidation in some believers as they come to the table. Because we can get the idea that to come to the table, we have to be worthy. And we sort of know, well that doesn't mean sinless in the past, but I think we sometimes think it means perfectly repentant in the present. So we feel like I need to examine my heart for any and all sin. And if there's any deficiency in my repentance, or even some sin there that I don't even see, there's this fear that the Lord's Supper is actually gonna bring judgment. And so some Christians even avoid coming to the table. But I don't think that's actually what Paul's saying. Because I think that fails to recognize the context. Because remember, first, Paul's dealing with a particular situation in Corinth. The overarching context here is one in which people are abusing the Lord's Supper so badly that he says, when you come together, it's not the Lord's Supper that you eat. There are these flagrant, obvious divisions fracturing the body and humiliating the poor, and yet the Corinthians are just flippantly taking the bread and cup as if nothing were wrong. In fact, notice how Paul comes back to this issue of division in verses 33 and 34, where he concludes the whole section by saying, so then my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for, or receive, or welcome one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when you come together, it will not be for judgment. And then he says, and about the other things I will give directions when I come. So the judgment Paul's warning about is connected specifically to not waiting for or receiving others. It's not really focused on just any and all imperfections in our repentance. In fact, as long as we're in this life, our repentance will never be perfect. There will always be depths of our own sin that we don't even realize. And there will also always be sin that we do realize and we're continuing to struggle with. And the whole point of the Lord's Supper is to remind us of Christ and of the fact that we're not worthy, that we need a Savior. We're sinners in need of grace. So what does Paul mean when he says, let a man examine himself then? And when he says, don't eat of the bread or drink of the cup in an unworthy manner. Well, again, I think the answer is primarily in verses 24 and 25, where he quotes Jesus, who says, do this in remembrance of me. You see, worthiness here, I don't think is primarily defined in terms of the quality or completeness of our repentance. It's primarily defined in terms of whether or not we're actually remembering Christ and proclaiming his death until he comes. Right, and you see, I think if we just focus on Jesus first, then I think the kind of self-examination Paul's calling for here will follow naturally. You see, if you take your eyes off of Christ and you start with self-examination, you will always be full of fear and trepidation. You will always lack assurance, right? Because in and of yourself, you're not worthy and you never will be. But if you look to Christ rightly, and you remember all that he has done and the glory of the gospel, well, you will also never be able to make peace with sin. It will lead to self-examination. It will lead you to want to be holy, not to earn something, but because Jesus has given everything for you. How could you not want to be more faithful to him? And so whatever level of repentance you're at, you'll never just be content. It will always provoke in you a sense of, I need to be more fully surrendered to Christ. But the problem with the Corinthians is that they're not looking to Christ, and they're not examining themselves at all. So instead of discerning Jesus's body, the church, they're just focusing on their own body, being led by their stomachs. And this has totally blinded them to the offense of these divisions and the humiliation of the poor. And as a result of that, Paul is saying that here, this ordinance with which Jesus gave you to bless you is resulting in judgment. He says, you're eating and drinking judgment on yourselves. And verse 30, this is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. Now, a question here is, why does Paul seem to be saying that the Lord's Supper is the occasion for this judgment? rather than the agape meal or the act of division itself. And I think a key to understanding that is what Paul says back in chapter 10, verse 16, where he was also mentioning the Lord's Supper and he said, the cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Right, so the Lord's Supper, is a participation with Jesus. It's not just a unifying act of the church. It's not only a remembering and proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes. It's participating with Christ. It's drawing near to God. It's a divine invitation to supper. And as we see throughout scripture, drawing near to God is simultaneously the greatest of blessings. And yet, if done unworthily, an occasion for severe judgment. Just one example, think of Nadab and Abihu, who had this sacred privilege of drawing near to God as priests. But instead of enjoying that blessing, they were casual and flippant and offered profane fire, and God struck them dead. And friends, when we gather for the Lord's Supper, it is every bit as sacred and holy of a privilege. Christ is with us. He's spiritually present and we participate with him. And that's part of why the Lord's Supper is intended to be such a tremendous blessing. We get to commune with our Lord. But the flip side of that, which Paul's emphasizing here, is that if we partake complacently and selfishly and with disregard for Jesus himself, than we eat and drink to our own judgment. Now, interestingly, Paul clarifies that the kind of judgment he's talking about here, which even led to the death of some, is actually not an act of God's condemnation, but discipline. Look at verse 31. He says, but if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, We are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. All right, so Paul's clarifying here that the Corinthians who were judged here weren't sent to hell as unbelievers. They were disciplined as God's sons. And as we see in other places like Hebrews 12, God disciplines his children. He loves us and wants to keep us from condemnation. So when we go astray, he's gonna do what it takes to bring us back. And he knows it would be far better for our bodies to suffer affliction and our spirits to be saved than vice versa. So sometimes the parental love of God compels him to afflict us. And apparently that can sometimes even mean bringing us to an early death. But the point is, if you want to avoid that judgment, obey God. That's what Paul says in verse 31. If we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. This is like telling a teenager, look, if you want to enjoy your driving privileges and not get grounded, obey your parents. And if you do something wrong, own up to it. Don't make your parents be the ones to find out and confront you and discipline you and set you straight. Judge yourself, confess it, and seek to make it right. And then your parents won't have to. And there's a sense in which it's the same with God, because whom the Lord loves, he corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. And God knows how to keep his own children from condemnation, but it sure would be a whole lot easier for us if we just listen. And again, one of the ways that God intends for us to judge ourselves is as we come to the Lord's supper and draw near to him. Not by becoming all introspective and fearful that we're not holy enough, but by coming with our focus on Christ and remembering His body and blood that was given for us. Because that should produce in us assurance and gratitude, knowing that His work on the cross was effective. It should produce in us hope and joy. Right, because we know our Savior is coming again, and we can look forward to that day when we drink this cup new with Him in His Father's kingdom. It should also produce reference, because we know that by taking this bread and cup, we are participating with Christ and drawing near to God. It should produce unity and peace, because it should remind us that Christ didn't just die for me as an individual, He died for us. that we might be his people united together in his church. And that we together are called to be proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes. And it should produce holiness. Because as you look to Christ, and you just remember the glory of this gospel, it should provoke in you a desire to be holy. Not primarily out of fear, but out of love. Out of a yearning to be pleasing to this one who has given everything for you. So as you come to the table this morning, if there's something in your life that you've been holding on to and God's spirit is putting a finger on it saying this needs to change. Well, friend, now is a time to relinquish that and to be refreshed in the peace of the gospel as we surrender all to Christ. And then finally, if you're here and you're not a believer, well, again, the Lord's Supper itself is not for you. But Christ invites you to come to him. So trust Christ today and then seek baptism so you can make that commitment public and you can join a church. And then we look forward to the day when we can welcome you to this table with us. Amen. Let's pray. Our Father, can only say that we are so grateful for the gift of your son. We are so grateful that he gave his body and he shed his blood for us. And that we can go on remembering that day by day, week by week, and remembering that in a special way as we gather now, coming together as a church to proclaim his death until he comes by taking that bread and cup God, we pray that you would help us to do so in a worthy manner, with our minds and hearts fixed on Christ. We pray that you would unite us together as a body, that we as a church family would reflect the glory of this gospel by which we're saved. And God, we pray for those who are among us that, as of yet, have not come to Christ. Oh God, we pray that your spirit would be at work among them even now, that they would know that they are warmly invited to him. And we pray that they would be able to join us at this table in the future. Lord, we pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.