Sermon
#1305 Miscellaneous
Sermons
Title: WHO IS WORTHY?
Text: 1 Corinthians 11:27-29
Readings: David
Coleman and Ron Wood
Subject: Who is worthy to receive
the Lord’s Supper?
Date: Sunday Evening – October 8, 2000[1]
Tape # W-5a
Introduction:
I want us to begin by reading 1
Corinthians 11:27-29.
1
Corinthians 11:27-29 "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. (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."
These three verses of
Scripture have been, perhaps, more troubling to sensitive souls than any others
in the New Testament. Many of the Lord’s people read them and think, “Surely,
if anyone is unworthy to receive the Lord’s Supper it is me.” Satan roars
against the weak, untaught, or poorly taught believer, accuses him of sin and
guilt, and tries to put him upon a legal footing before God. The old serpent is
hellishly subtle and clever. Under the guise of humility and holiness, he would
have you turn your eyes of faith away from Christ to yourself. He seeks to make
us look to ourselves rather than to Christ alone for our worthiness and
acceptance before God.
Therefore,
I want to answer this question in this message - WHO IS WORTHY? Who is and who is not worthy to receive the
Lord’s Supper. Let me answer that question clearly and distinctly now. Then I
will show you the answer from the context in which our text is found.
Proposition: Every true believer,
every sinner who trusts Christ alone as his wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption, is worthy of receiving and is obliged to
receive the Lord’s Supper.
Now,
let’s see if I can make good on that statement from this context. The fact is,
it is not possible to understand 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 until you understand
the entire context of verses 20-34. For that matter, it is not possible to
understand any text of Scripture isolated from its immediate context and from
the larger context of the entire Volume of Inspiration.
In
this part of 1 Corinthians Paul is, by divine inspiration, setting in order the
disorderly affairs in the local church at Corinth. But, more importantly, he
sets before us the proper order of public worship in all gospel churches.
Particularly, in chapter 11 verses 20-34, the Holy Spirit tells us exactly what
we should and should not do in the observance of the Lord’s Supper. Hold your
Bibles open and follow me through this passage, beginning at verse twenty.
1
Corinthians 11:20 "When ye come together
therefore into one place, this is not
to eat the Lord's supper."
Three
things are obvious in this verse.
1.
There was a specific place
where the Corinthian church assembled for public worship.
There
are some who fancy themselves learned, spiritual people, who care nothing for
commitment. They like to run from one place to another, or go no place at all,
or meet together with God’s saints when they please. This they call freedom. I call it irresponsibility. When the local church where you are, to
which you belong, meets together, it is both your privilege and responsibility
to be present. The local church would soon cease to exist if everybody
decided run to this place or that, or to no place at all, according to their
own whims.
2.
When the Corinthian church
came together, at the appointed time, they claimed that they did so “to eat the Lord’s supper”.
They
met in Christ’s name, according to Christ’s command, with the pretense of
observing Christ’s ordinance. But that was not the case at all. No doubt, there
were some, maybe many, in the congregation who were sincere worshippers; but in
so far as the bulk of the congregation was concerned, their assembling together
at these appointed times was not to observe The Lord’s Supper, but the
festivities of their own love feasts.
3.
If we do not observe the
ordinances of Divine worship in the manner prescribe by God, we cannot observe
them at all.
The
Corinthians said, “Let’s go to church and worship God in the observance of The
Lord’s Supper.” But they came to throw a party. Therefore, Paul said, “When you come together in one place, this
is not to eat the Lord’s supper.”
We have come together this evening to
observe The Lord’s Supper. This is called “the Lord’s supper” because…
·
Christ the Lord is the Author of it.
·
He’s the Subject of it.
·
He’s the Host of it.
·
He’s the Reason for it.
1
Corinthians 11:21 "For in eating every one
taketh before other his own supper:
and one is hungry, and another is drunken."
Here
Paul explains exactly why the Corinthians’ practice was not an act of worship
and could not be considered observing the Lord’s Supper. They added to the ordinance of Christ a gaudy feast which soon got
out of hand. They came not to worship but to feast, not to serve one
another but each to eat his own supper. Their love feast was a rude, cruel, self-serving, self-gratifying party.
·
Rather than waiting on one another, they rudely jumped in front of one
another.
·
Instead of waiting on the poor, the poor were left hungry.
·
While the poor got nothing, those who jumped before them and gorged
themselves drank insatiably, to the point of drunkenness.
Read on…
1
Corinthians 11:22 "What? have ye not houses
to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that
have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not."
This
is not a prohibition to having church dinners or to eating in church buildings.
We are not idolaters. We do not worship buildings! Paul is simply shaming the
Corinthians for behaving as they did, while claiming to worship Christ and keep
his ordinance. It is as if he had said, If
you are going to behave like this, at least stay at home! Do not treat the
church of God with such contempt! You ought to be ashamed of yourselves for so
shamefully embarrassing your poor brethren!
Now,
look as verses 23-26…
1
Corinthians 11:23-26 "For I have received of
the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took
bread: (24) And when he had given
thanks, he brake it, and said, Take,
eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. (25) After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped,
saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye
drink it, in remembrance of me. (26) For as often as ye eat this bread,
and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come."
Be
sure you do not miss this - Here the
Holy Spirit tells us that when the gospel writers say that Christ blessed the bread and cup there is no implication that he
mysteriously consecrated them or changed them. He simply gave thanks for them. Having
said that, I will just touch the highlights in these verses. I have expounded
them to you many times and, the Lord willing, will do so many more times. But,
for now, let me just remind you of what the Holy Spirit teaches in them.
1.
We are to observe The Lord’s Supper the same way our Lord did it with
his disciples on the night in which he was betrayed.
2.
That means we are to do so using unleavened bread and wine.
3.
The unleavened bread represents (only represents) the body of Christ,
which was crushed beneath the infinite wheel of God’s infinite wrath and
justice for his people.
4.
The wine represents (only represents) the precious blood of Christ, the
blood of the everlasting covenant, shed for many for the remission of their
sins.
5.
We are to observe this blessed ordinance often.
6.
As often as we eat this bread and drink this wine we are to do so in
remembrance of our dear Redeemer and Savior.
7.
In the true observance of The Lord’s Supper we show forth, in a
beautifully symbolic ordinance, the Lord’s death until he comes again to
receive us unto himself.
Now
read verse 27, where Paul speaks of those who eat the
bread and drink the cup of the Lord unworthily.
1
Corinthians 11:27 "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."
Without
question, there is a sense in which it may be said that we eat and drink the
bread and wine unworthily, if we use the wrong elements, observe the ordinance
without proper reverence, fail to properly think of and remember Christ our
Lord, or do not clearly understand the meaning of the ordinance. All of those
things are unworthy of men and women who claim to worship our God and unworthy
of our great and glorious Christ. But none of those things can be found in this
text.
Commonly,
this verse is interpreted to mean that a person is unworthy to receive The
Lord’s Supper who has a certain amount of unconfessed sin in his life, has not
prayed right, read the Bible enough, or lived as he should. Again, I grant,
there is certainly a sense in which we are all unworthy to observe this
ordinance or any other ordinance of Divine service, because we are sinners! But
that certainly is not the meaning of the Holy Spirit’s words in this text.
I
know, with absolute certainty, that the unworthiness spoken of in this text has
absolutely nothing to do with the manner in which we keep the ordinance or the
depravity, sinfulness, and corruption of our hearts, or even the sins and evil
behavior of our lives for one simple reason. That person who eats and drinks unworthily is guilty of the body and
blood of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, according to verse 29, he eats and drinks
damnation unto himself. Those things simply cannot be said of any true
believer. No true believer can ever become reprobate and be damned (John
10:27-30; Phil. 1:6; 1 Pet. 1:5; 1 Thess. 5:24; Rom. 8:28-39; Mal. 3:6; Ps.
23:1-6).
In verse
28 we are given two things to do as we prepare to receive The
Lord’s Supper.
1 Corinthians
11:28 "But let a man examine himself, and so
let him eat of that bread, and drink
of that cup."
1.
“Let a man examine himself.”
The
text does not say, Let a man be examined!
It says, “Let a man examine himself”.
2
Corinthians 13:5 "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?"
2 Peter
1:10 "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give
diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye
shall never fall:"
We have neither the right nor the ability to examine
one another., neither as individuals nor collectively as a church. I pray that
God will give us the grace to get beyond the haughty pompous, self-righteous
desire and habit of doing so!
2.
Once we have been made to
know that we are in the faith, that Christ is in us and we are in Christ,
because we trust Christ alone, then we are told to eat.
For
believers the ordinances of Christ are not optional. They are matters of
obedience to the revealed will of God. Every true believer is here specifically
told by God to eat the bread and drink the wine of the Lord’s Table. Now, with
that in mind, look at verse 29…
1
Corinthians 11:29 "For he that eateth and
drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning
the Lord's body."
In
this verse the Holy Spirit tells us exactly what it is to eat and drink
unworthily. Those who eat and drink
unworthily are those who do not discern the Lord’s body. They are
religious, but lost. They may know their church creed backwards and forwards,
but they do not know God. They may be very smart and have much discernment
about many things, but they have no spiritual discernment. They profess faith,
but do not possess faith. They do not discern the Lord’s body. That
means they do not understand…
·
The sin and depravity of their own hearts.
·
The law and justice of God.
·
The necessity of Christ’s incarnation.
·
The accomplishments of Christ in his flesh.
·
The gospel of the grace of God.
The
presumption of redemption, righteousness, regeneration, and acceptance with God
without the knowledge of and a God given faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is
damning.
True believers are people to whom God
the Holy Spirit has given and to whom he continually gives spiritual
discernment.
1 Corinthians
2:9-16 "But as it is written, Eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love him. (10) But God hath revealed them
unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep
things of God. (11) For what man
knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so
the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. (12) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the
spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to
us of God. (13) Which things also we
speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost
teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (14) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. (15) But he that is
spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. (16) For who hath known the mind of the
Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
1
Corinthians 11:30 "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many
sleep."
Paul
is here declaring that the judgment of God had fallen upon many at Corinth
because, like Uzzah of old (1 Chron. 13-15), they sought him not after the due
order.
1.
They claimed to be worshipping God, but they were not. They were
worshipping themselves (vv. 19-20).
2.
They claimed that they trusted Christ alone as their Savior, but hey
did not. They trusted their own works!
1
Corinthians 11:31 "For if we would judge
ourselves, we should not be judged."
Paul’s
language is simple and clear. It is altogether in line with the interpretation
I have given of this passage. If you and I will sit in judgment with God
against ourselves, as did David (Ps. 51:1-5) and Isaiah (Isa. 6:1-6), we will
not be judged and condemned by God.
That
person who genuinely acknowledges and confesses his sin before God is a
recipient of and has experienced the grace of God in Christ (1 John 1:7-10).
1 John
1:7-10 "But if we walk in the light, as he is
in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
(8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us. (9) If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and
his word is not in us."
1
Corinthians 11:32 "But when we are judged,
we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the
world."
When
God deals with us, his elect, for sin, when he appears to be sitting in
judgment against us, he is not punishing us for our sins as an angry judge, but
chastening us as our wise, gracious, good, and loving heavenly Father.
He
chastens us as a Father that we might not be condemned with the world, whom he
chastens not. He chastens us as sons, that we might be partakers of his
righteousness. The bastards he ignores, passes by, and leaves to themselves,
that the may be fitted for destruction.
1
Corinthians 11:33-34 "Wherefore, my brethren,
when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. (34) And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not
together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come."
Wrapping
up his instructions about The Lord’s Supper and our orderly observance of it,
the Apostle tells us three things.
1.
We are to deal with
professed brethren as brethren until we have absolutely no reason to believe
their profession.
If
you read 1 Corinthians you simply cannot fail to notice he carnal divisions,
sensual behavior, doctrinal error, and unorderly behavior that prevailed among
them. Yet, Paul calls these people “My
brethren”. He was not being sarcastic or insincere.
·
True believers often behave in a terribly inconsistent manner.
·
Though Paul says and does nothing to promote or encourage
inconsistencies or sinful behavior in God’s saints, he loves them still and
seeks to both correct their errors and minister to the everlasting consolation
of the gospel.
·
At the same time, he solemnly warns the self-righteous Pharisee,
religious ritualist, and hypocrite of the certainty of divine judgment.
2.
Wen we come together to eat
The Lord’s Supper, we ought to always be thoughtful of and show loving
consideration for one another.
“Tarry for one
another.”
Not only are we to discern the Lord’s sacrificial body, we must discern and be
aware of his spiritual body (the church), which is also represented in the
bread.
1
Corinthians 10:16 "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?"
As we sit together at The
Lord’s Table, let us do so as one family, in loving family unity.
3.
We must not mingle the
worship of God with carnal pleasure, or interject into the worship of God that
which God has not ordained.
To
mingle human inventions, carnal traditions, and ceremonial religious customs
with the worship of God is to run the risk of bringing upon unregenerate men
and women the added condemnation of smug, religious self-righteousness. “And if
any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto
condemnation.”
Again,
Paul is not here forbidding eating in the church building. He forbids the
interjection of anything into the worship of God. One reason for this
prohibition is the fact that those who engage in religious activity, in the
pretense and guise of worship, who do not know God eat and drink damnation to
themselves!
Application:
Now,
as we sit together at The Lord’s Table and prepare to receive the bread and
wine in remembrance of our dear Savior, I urge you once more to do three
things…
1.
Examine yourselves.
2.
Remember Christ.
·
His Person!
·
His Obedience!
·
His Sacrifice!
·
The Efficacy of His Blood!
3.
Love one another.
AMEN.