1 Corinthians 11:23-29
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. 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. A man ought to examine himself before he eats the bread and drinks the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
Devotion
Paul was not present in the upper room. He got this as a direct revelation from the Lord. Paul is writing to the Corinthian church to rebuke them for the irreverent way they were practicing the Lord’s Supper. First, he reminds them that the Lord’s Supper is a reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus made to secure our salvation. We clearly see this in the words of the Lord, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” Communion is designed to be a memorial meal that causes us to remember Christ’s sacrifice and proclaim His death until He returns to set up His kingdom.
Secondly, Paul addresses the condition of our hearts while we are celebrating the Lord’s Supper. Paul makes it very clear that approaching communion with an unclean heart has severe consequences. According to the complete text, some were sick and dying as a result of the irreverent way they were approaching communion. As a result, they were eating and drinking “judgment” upon themselves. How then should we approach communion? We should always be aware of the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. We should live our lives in such a way that nobody has anything bad to say about us. We must live above reproach. Our lives ought to reflect the character of Jesus before, during, and after we partake of communion. If our hearts are not right with the Lord, we should not partake until we confess our sins and get back in right relationship with the Lord.
Celebrating communion should never become so normal that is loses its meaning and significance. Sometimes we just go through the motions of loving and serving the Lord. Hopefully the Lord’s Supper will never just become routine and part of our church worship cycle. Jesus died so that we can live! We need to celebrate this every minute of every day, especially when we come together for communion.
Questions to Ponder
Has the Lord’s Super just become part of your regular religious duties? What do you think about as you eat the bread and drink the fruit of the vine? What does the Lord’s Supper really mean to you? What are some ways that the Lord’s Supper can become more meaningful to you?
Spend some time in prayer meditating on what God revealed to you today.