QUESTION:
1 Corinthians 11:27 says Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. Would you please explain what eating and drinking unworthily means?
ANSWER:
"Unworthily" is an adverb of manner that modifies the verbs "eat" and "drink." It describes "how" one eats or drinks and is not a description of "who" eats and drinks. The word is describing the action of eating and drinking in an "unworthy;' or "careless" manner. This is exactly what the Corinthians had been doing when they treated the Lord's Supper as if it were a common meal. Some have misunderstood the meaning of this verse and have refused to partake of the Lord's Supper thinking that they are unworthy to do so. I don't suppose that any of us are worthy of the sacrifice made in our behalf by the Lord. This verse, however is not teaching that we as individuals must be worthy before we can partake of the supper. This being true, how then does one eat and drink unworthily? We do so when we fail to give the supper the respect which it deserves. Verse 28 and 29 says "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." We as individuals are to examine ourselves before caring the Lord's Supper. If we do not discern the body and blood of Christ properly, we eat and drink damnation to ourselves. The word "discern" means to "distinguish" or "judge correctly." We fail to discern the body and blood of Christ when we do not partake of the supper ~with the frame of mind that it is a memorial of the Lord's body and blood. In a situation like this, the damnation or judgment comes to us because we failed to properly discern the purpose of the supper. Those who serve at the table and say "let everyone examine themselves to see whether they are worthy to partake of the communion," miss the point of the teaching here. The examination is not to see if we are worthy to partake, but to see if we are partaking of it for the right purpose i.e. as a memorial to the body and blood of our Lord.