Catechetical sermons preached in PCC Evening Worship Services, Feb 2013 to Dec 2017
WSC 97 of 107
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world
1 Corinthians 11:28-32
WSC 97. What is required to the worthy receiving of the Lord’s Supper?
A. It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s Supper, that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord’s body,1 of their faith to feed upon Him,2 of their repentance,3 love,4 and new obedience;5 lest, coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves.6
11 Cor 11:28–29; 22 Cor 13:5; 31 Cor 11:31; 41 Cor 10:16–17; 51 Cor 5:7–8; 61 Cor 11:28–29
In our previous study of 1 Corinthians 11, we saw that the apostle Paul is concerned about the proper observance of the Lord’s Supper in the Corinthian Church.
It is very likely that the elders of the Corinthian Church had asked him in their letter about a recent unusual spate of illnesses and deaths in the church. And it is equally likely that the party from Corinth that brought the letter to him, such as members of the household of Chloe (1 Cor 1:11), apprised him of what was happening in the church. In particular, they would have told him about the sorry state of the Agape Feasts in the Church.
The Agape Feast, as we saw previously, was a fellowship meal in which wealthier members of the church would bring their food to share with the rest of the members and visitors in the church. This was especially important during those days when there was a famine in the land. For the poor, the Agape Feast might be the only means of getting a decent meal for the whole week. But sadly, some of the more well-to-do in the church would bring their meals to the church premises earlier than usual, and they would eat up everything before the poor arrived.
This was a display of selfishness and lack of love for the brethren. And it was made worse by the fact that after the agape meal, the members of the church—comprising the rich and the poor, the full and the hungry—would worship together and commemorate the Lord’s Supper together!
The apostle Paul has found the reason for the unusual spate of illnesses and deaths in the church! It is their partaking of the Lord’s Supper unworthily.
Thus, Paul takes the opportunity to admonish the church and instruct them on the doctrine and proper observance of the Lord’s Supper.
In our last study, we considered the doctrine of the Lord’s Supper:
WSC 96. What is the Lord’s supper? Answer: The Lord’s supper is a sacrament, wherein, by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to Christ’s appointment, his death is shewed forth; and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment, and growth in grace.
In our exposition, we noted that the Lord’s Supper is not purely a memorial ordinance. Neither is it magical according to the doctrine of transubstantiation or consubstantiation. Instead, it is a means of grace in which all who partake by faith do really—though spiritually—partake of the body and blood of Christ together with all the benefits He procured for us by His substitutionary death on our behalf.
On the other hand, as the apostle Paul suggests in our text, “he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (v. 29). Of course, none of us are worthy to come to the Table. So what the apostle Paul means by “eat[ing] and drink[ing] unworthily” is simply partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unbecoming, unsuitable or profane manner. If we do so, not only will we not receive the benefits of the Supper, but we will incur God’s judgement. Then what is intended for our blessing becomes, as it were, a curse for us. What is intended for our spiritual nourishment becomes spiritual poison to us.
Therefore, as Paul reminds us in verse 28, it behoves us to examine ourselves so that we may come to the Table worthily and receive a blessing from the Lord.
How should we examine ourselves? Paul does not say directly in our text, but we can infer from several places in the Scriptures in light of the nature and purpose of the Supper.
Our Shorter Catechism summarises these biblical instructions for us.
WSC 97: What is required to the worthy receiving of the Lord’s supper?Answer: It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s supper, that they examine themselves [1] of their knowledge to discern the Lord’s body, [2] of their faith to feed upon Him, [3] of their repentance, [4] love, and [5] new obedience; lest, coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves
Let’s look at these five areas briefly.
1. Knowledge to Discern the Lord’s Body
is is the logical place to start. If the Lord’s Supper is not merely an empty ritual, but a sacrament in which spiritual blessings are received by faith, then proper knowledge is necessary. Biblical faith is not an empty, mindless belief. Instead, it is knowledge, reception, and acceptance of the truth that is in Christ Jesus.
Thus, Paul says:
He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body
v. 20
To discern (διακρίνω, diskrinō) is to judge, to distinguish between truth and falsehood, or to see through something. In order to discern, knowledge is necessary. To discern the Lord’s body, one needs to know first who the Lord is and, secondly, what His body has to do with the Lord’s Supper.
Anyone who comes to the Lord Supper in ignorance will not only fail to receive a blessing from the Lord, but will incur God’s judgement. Thus, unbelievers should never partake of the Lord’s Supper. Thus, a new believer who has not been taught what the Lord’s Supper is should not participate at the Lord’s Table. Similarly, we believe with most of the Reformers that children should not be admitted to the Lord’s Table until they can articulate to a degree who Christ is and what is the meaning of the Supper. An unbeliever, an ignorant new believer or a child can easily slide into superstition if admitted to the Table without proper knowledge.
So, if you would come to the Table, you should first examine your knowledge to discern the Lord’s body. Ask yourself, first of all, who is the Lord Jesus to you? Do you know Him personally?
Ask yourself, secondly, what is the significance and meaning of the bread and the wine in the Supper?
Do you believe that the bread and wine become the blood and flesh of Christ? If so, you should not come to the Table.
Do you believe that the molecules of the flesh and blood of Christ actually become infused into the bread and wine? If so, you should not come to the Table.
Do you believe that the Lord’s Supper is purely symbolic? If so, perhaps you should not come to the Table.
Or do you believe that there is a sacramental union between the consecrated elements and the body and blood of Christ? You do not fully understand, but you believe that if you partake in the Lord’s Supper by faith, then the Holy Spirit will make you a partaker of the body and blood of Christ with all His benefits. If so, you may come to the Lord’s Table, and you will receive a blessing if you also satisfy the rest of the conditions for self-examination.
2. Reality and Liveliness of Faith
Paul says at the end of his second inspired letter to the Corinthians:
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
2Co 13:5
Now, this is something that we should be doing regularly, not just at the Lord’s Supper.
Matthew Henry says in his commentary on 1 Corinthians 9:
A holy fear of himself was necessary to preserve the fidelity of an apostle; and how much more necessary is it to our preservation? Note, Holy fear of ourselves, and not presumptuous confidence, is the best security against apostasy from God, and final rejection by him.
We must, of course, not spend too much time in self-examination. Otherwise, we will either become unnecessarily discouraged or fall into the danger of becoming legalistic in our Christian walk. We ought always to look to Christ more than to look into ourselves. Samuel Rutherford is right that for every time we look at ourselves, we must look at Christ ten times.
When preparing to come to the Lord’s Supper, we must do both. On the one hand, we must look to Christ; on the other hand, we must see if our faith is real and lively. The Lord’s Supper, as a sacrament, becomes effectual only when received by faith. Therefore, if our faith is not genuine, we cannot receive any spiritual nourishment from the Lord.
Of course, faith is a gift of God, and therefore even weak faith is faith sufficient for us to receive something from the Lord. But then how much we receive would, in some sense, depend on our faith. The Lord said to the two blind men who came to Him: “According to your faith be it unto you” (Mt 9:29).
Therefore, let us examine ourselves first of the reality of our faith and secondly of the liveliness of our faith. Look to Christ with gratitude. Think of what He has done for you and pray that the Holy Spirit may strengthen your faith so that you can exercise your faith “to feed upon Him.”
How to examine your faith? Consider whether you remember what Christ has done for you and whether you truly believe Him. Reflect on whether you are resting upon Him in your present circumstance in life. Review whether you believe you will receive a blessing from Him at the Table. And ask the Lord to give you an expectant heart as you come to the Table.
3. Genuineness of Repentance
This duty is implied when Paul says: “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1Cor 11:31). That is to say, if we examine ourselves regarding our sins and whether we have repented of them, and truly repent of them if we have not, then we will not incur God’s judgement at the Lord’s Table.
It is instructive that Paul uses the words “we” and “ourselves,” so we know that he is not only speaking about private self-examination, but no doubt also includes the corporate examination of the church or at least the examination by the elders in the church.
But why is it necessary for us to examine ourselves regarding our repentance before coming to the Lord’s Table?
Well, the Lord’s Table is about the death of Christ on behalf of His people. When we come to the Lord’s Table, we come as those Christ laid His life down for. Now, if Christ died for our sins to rescue us from sin, then surely it would be hypocritical for us to come to the Table with sins unacknowledged and unrepented of.
Therefore, while we should constantly repent of our sins, let us, especially in the week before we come to the Table, spend some time reflecting on our lives, using the Ten Commandments as a guide.
- Consider if you have been guilty of idolatry, of being moved in your decision by anything else other than the glory of God;
- Consider if you have worshipped the Lord in the manner He has prescribed and have done so cheerfully;
- Consider if you have taken God’s name in vain in your lips and your life;
- Consider if you have called the Sabbath a delight and sought to keep it holy;
- Consider if you have dishonoured your parents or failed your duty as subordinate or superior;
- Consider if you have borne grudges against fellow believers and whether you have loved your neighbour as yourself;
- Consider if you have repented of immoral thoughts, fornication and pornography;
- Consider if you have made restitution for thefts;
- Consider if there is a lie you have yet to own up to or correct;
- Consider if you are wallowing in discontentment about your present circumstance in life.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you:
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting
Ps 139:23-24
Have you sinned in any way? Oh, will you confess your faults to one another and repent of your sins wholeheartedly before coming to the Table?
4. Sincerity of Love
Again, the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:16-17:
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
If this is so, we must examine ourselves to see whether we truly love Christ and the saints He laid His life down for.
Since the Lord’s Supper is a communion of the body and blood of Christ, we must examine ourselves to see whether we truly love Christ so that we may come to the Table with gratitude and thanksgiving.
Since we are one body and participate in the same body and blood of Christ, we must examine ourselves to see whether we truly love the saints.
John reminds us in 1 John 3:16-17:
Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
This is precisely what Paul is saying when he criticises the Corinthian Church for what is happening at their Agape Feasts. When we come to the Table of the Lord, we must be able to say with sincerity that we truly love everyone at the table. So, if we have unresolved issues preventing us from talking to anyone in the congregation, we should seek reconciliation before coming to the Table.
Does not the Lord Jesus say the same in Matthew 5:23-24:
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
If this is true for ordinary times of worship, how much more must it be true when we come to the Lord’s Table?
So, let us examine ourselves whether we love sincerely when we come to the Table. But finally, let us examine ourselves whether we do desire new and sincere obedience to the Gospel.
5. Evidence of New Obedience
Paul says, 1 Corinthians 5:7-8:
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Because of the reference to the Passover and the bread, it is very likely that the feast Paul mentions refers primarily to the Lord’s Supper. It may have a broader (metaphorical) reference to the Christian life, but it certainly has something to do with the Lord’s Supper.
It is more than likely that when Paul forbids us to eat with a professing brother involved in scandalous sin (1 Cor 5:14), he is referring mainly to the Lord’s Supper.
We must come to the Table with sincerity and truth rather than with malice and wickedness. We must, therefore, examine ourselves to see if we have new obedience. What is “new obedience”? New obedience is simply obedience to all aspects of the word of God brought about by the new birth. Those who walk according to new obedience obey God out of gratitude, love, and a sincere desire to glorify God. They do not merely obey out of fear of punishment or simply because it is their duty to obey.
Thus far, we have talked about knowledge, faith, repentance and love. But these things are more or less in the heart. We can easily fool ourselves into believing that we possess them. But we cannot fool ourselves when it comes to obedience. We can try to excuse ourselves by saying that we do not want to keep the law of God because we are afraid of falling into legalism or because we know that we can never keep God’s commandments perfectly. But whatever it is, we cannot fool ourselves.
You can fool yourself about your attitude and your gifts, but you cannot fool yourself about your behaviour. Can you fool others? Yes, by hypocritical outward obedience. But can you fool yourself? Not really. If you do things to be seen by men or to please men, you know it. If you do not wish to walk according to God’s law and excuse your failure, you know it, too.
This is why you must examine yourself for evidence of new obedience. Come to the Lord honestly about your walk. Repent of your failures if need be. Do not allow yourself to continue backsliding or to harden your heart in the way of worldliness.
Conclusion
We must conclude. The apostle Paul says:
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body
1 Cor 11:28-29
How should we examine ourselves? We considered five areas today:
1. Knowledge to Discern the Lord’s Body
2. Reality and Liveliness of Faith
3. Genuineness of Repentance
4. Sincerity of Love
5. Evidence of New Obedience
As our Shorter Catechism puts it this way:
WSC 97. What is required to the worthy receiving of the Lord’s supper? Answer: It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s supper, that they examine themselves [1] of their knowledge to discern the Lord’s body, [2] of their faith to feed upon Him, [3] of their repentance, [4] love, and [5] new obedience; lest, coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves.
What remains is for us to apply this doctrine. When will you be coming to the Lord’s Supper again? Remember to examine yourself in all these areas.
Examine yourself of your knowledge and meditate on what you know of Christ and His suffering on your behalf.
Examine yourself of your faith and ask the Lord to help your unbelief.
Examine yourself of your repentance and acknowledge your sins to one another, especially your loved ones, so that you may pray for one another.
Examine yourself of your love and seek reconciliation with anyone you have found hard to love or have failed to show love to.
Examine yourself of your new obedience and ask the Lord to work in your heart a willingness to walk in His way in love and gratitude.
Pray that He may open the windows of heaven as you come together to remember the death of your Saviour and to commune with Him and with one another at the Table. Pray that Christ may be magnified in you and that your hearts may be strangely warmed by His love for you. Amen.
—JJ Lim