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Host (Male): Pastor Tom Keller has this to say about communion.

Pastor Thom Keller: Try to always hold communion as an extremely sacred and holy observance, remembering that as you participate, you are standing on very holy ground. You are standing at the foot of the cross, looking at your savior dying for you. And be focused on the fact, the fact that Jesus was beaten and mocked and tortured and suffered for you personally and individually. And in a way that we cannot comprehend, he actually suffered the hell that you would have suffered had he not taken your place.

Host (Male): Whether it's piano lessons we took as a child or foreign language class in high school, if we don't use it, we'll lose it over time. Ask me a trigonometry question today and I'll have a blank look on my face. The Lord knows we have a tendency to forget, and that's one of the reasons he instituted communion. He wants us to be reminded of God's love for us and what Jesus did at the cross. Today on Study the Word, Pastor Tom Keller will point out the purpose of communion and danger of taking it in an unworthy manner.

We'll be covering 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and verses 22 to 33.

Pastor Thom Keller: In verse 22, Paul begins passing onto them and to us the instructions the Lord gave to Paul to give to them and to us. Verse 23, 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.

Most commentators believe that Paul received this instruction from the Lord Jesus by direct revelation from the Lord himself, either by vision or by dream, because it is clearly inferred that Paul never actually met Jesus face to face during Jesus's lifetime. And so many times as we celebrate communion, the leader will quote these very verses that we're reading today in 1 Corinthians 11, which were given by Jesus, by were given to Paul by Jesus, by revelation, and for our benefit as well. And what are Jesus's words to us? Do this in remembrance of me. Do this in remembrance of me.

We do this today in remembrance of him. And why does Jesus want us to observe communion? Verse 26, for every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord's death until he comes again. Note that verse 26 says, every time you eat this bread, every time you eat this bread. In the context of eating the bread, Barn says this, quote, this is a direct and positive refutation of the doctrine of transubstantiation that's found in the Roman Catholic Church claiming that the bread is changed in the actual body of the Lord Jesus.

Barn says because here in the unfailing word of God, it is expressly called bread, still remaining bread even after the bread has been consecrated. A friend of mine in ministry had a friend who was allergic to bread, and he thought if this turns into the body of Christ, if I take this, I won't react to the bread. He took it and he reacted. So I'm not sure what you would do with that. I always thought it was an interesting observation, test of sorts, I guess. If he did react to his allergies when he took the bread, which should have been the body of Christ.

And Jesus tells us that we are to celebrate until Jesus returns. Until he returns, at which point there will no longer be any need for symbols for his broken, pierced body. We will stand in the very presence of that. We will see his pierced hands. We will see his pierced feet. A symbol's no longer necessary. And then Paul closes this chapter with some stern warnings. Verse 27, so anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.

For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you're eating and drinking God's judgment upon yourselves. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world. So my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the Lord's supper, wait for each other. If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won't bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together.

I'll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive. Gulp. Some strong words in that. Let's take this apart a bit. Verse 27 by itself. So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the blood, the body and blood of the Lord. Barns, a commentator, says, quote, there is perhaps no verse in the Bible that has caused more trouble to weak and feeble Christians than this passage. To deter so many from taking communion. Now the incorrect, the incorrect of this interpretation goes something like this.

I am a sinner, and because I am such a sinner, I am unworthy to partake in this holy ordinance. As a pastor, I've heard that many times. Someone says, I don't think I can take communion because I'm unworthy. Well, the truth by sinning, by our by my sin, we are all unworthy. And I would be very slow to to not participate because of sin in your life. You need to follow the Lord in that, but way too many people disqualify themselves. Matthew Henry Henry counters that by saying this, the Holy Spirit never caused this scripture to be written to deter serious Christians from their duty to celebrate communion, though the devil has often made use of it for that cause.

Now one group for sure that should not participate or partake in communion are unbelievers. Gill says, quote, the Lord's supper may be taken unworthily when it is partook by an unworthy person. He says the Syriac version states, quote, one for whom it is not fit for, end of quote. The idea, Gill still speaking, the idea being the Lord's supper is not fit for an unsaved person for whom the blood and body of Christ has no meaning. And beyond this, there are infidels who celebrate mock communions. So evil and vile is their hate for Christ and this ordinance that they observe mock celebrations of the Lord's supper.

It happens. I remember this article that I read. J. Edwin Orr wrote an article on prayer and revival. There's a summary says not many people realize that in the wake of the American Revolution, 1776-1781, there was a moral slump in the United States. Drunkenness became epidemic. Profanity was of the most shocking kind. For the first time in the American in the history of American settlement, women were afraid to go out at night for fear of assault. The Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall, wrote to the Bishop of Virginia, James Madison, and said, quote, the church is too far gone to ever be redeemed.

Philosophers Voltaire and Thomas Paine publicly proclaimed Christianity will be forgotten in 30 years. Consider the liberal arts colleges at the time. A poll taken at Harvard discovered not one believer in the whole student body. Students rioted. At Princeton, the students took out a took a Bible out of a local Presbyterian church in New Jersey and burned it in a public bonfire, late 1700s. They put on anti-Christian plays at Dartmouth. Listen, they held a mock communion at Williams College. It happens. It happens today. There are still groups that meet and hold mock communions. So vile is their hatred for Christ.

And then verse 28 says this, that is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. Examine yourself. Examine yourself. I grew up in the Church of the Brethren, and in the Church of the Brethren, we celebrated communion just twice a year, spring and fall. It was always on a Saturday evening, and as a part of that experience, they had an examination service in the afternoon. I think it started at 1:00 or 2:00. But the purpose of the examination service was the pastor would give a message saying that if you're coming to communion tonight, we would ask you to first examine your life this afternoon.

And if there's some wrong that you have, if there's some issue you have with another brother or sister, go to them this afternoon, reconcile, and then come to communion tonight. And I remember the story of a of two men in our church where they had a long-standing difference, and on a Saturday afternoon, they did that. And when they came together that Saturday night, we have a common meal and foot washing. And they sat next to one another and they washed each other's feet. There's something to this, folks, about understanding what Christ did for us, the forgiveness that he's offered to us, the the the right relationship we have with him, and then us understanding as in response to that, we should then work at having right relationships with our brothers and sisters around us.

And Jesus said this very thing in Matthew 18 verse 15. Jesus said, if another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. So if someone sins against you, you go privately and point out the offense. But what about if you sin against someone else, then what do you do? Well, Jesus covered that too in Matthew chapter 5. So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the temple and you suddenly remember that that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice here at the altar, go and be reconciled to that person.

Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. So if you have something against someone, you're to go. If someone if you know someone has something against you, you're to go. Either instance, you are to initiate. And then in verse 29, we read this. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you're eating and drinking God's judgment upon yourself. Now to me personally, just myself, I take this to mean that every time I take communion, I should be very diligent not to let my mind wander. But the focus on what Jesus did for me on the cross.

I've never shared this before, and I never did because I didn't want you to take this as some formula or some better way. But probably 40 years ago, someone shared this with me, and it has had so much significance for me for 40 years. I want to share this with you. You do with this as you want as the Lord prompts you. But this is what I was told, and this is what I do to keep my mind from wandering. When I take the bread and it's time to to take the bread, I put it in in my between my back teeth and just lodge it there.

Just hold it there. And then I picture the Roman soldier coming with a spike and putting it up against Jesus's wrist because the spike went to the wrist, not the hand. Hands can't support the weight. They've proven that through the wrist. And I picture that big metal spike being lodged, being put up against his hand, and I picture that enormous metal hammer coming down. And as I picture that hammer striking that nail, making that noise, I take the first bite on the bread. And then I picture the nail going into the second wrist and that hammer coming up and coming down.

And as the clang of that hammer meets the spike, I take the second bite. And then I picture the spike being put in the feet of Jesus. And from excavations they have done, they've discovered that in all probability, almost all the time when people were crucified, they had their ankles turned sideways like this and one spike put through both ankles. Not two spikes, one. And I picture again the spike being put there and that hammer coming down. And as I hear the the noise of that that clang of the hammer hitting the nail, I take the third bite.

And then I picture the soldier coming to check if Jesus was dead and the spear going into his side. And when I do, I take the fourth bite. On the cup, I do something similar. Again, all this was shared with me. I don't take credit for this. But I picture at the at the at the the side of the cross, you know, where were all the disciples? Now we know John was there with Mary and some other women, but we we're not told that any of the other disciples were there. They may have been, although you'd think they would have been listed.

I picture the other disciples hiding in the shadows, afraid of being identified with Jesus in the alleys, looking out at a distance so they don't get caught, no one observes them. And I picture myself riding there among them. Do I really think I'd be braver than they were? And at some moment, at some moment in time as I'm observing in fear from the shadows, it hits me. He did this for me. He did this for me. He's dying for me right now. And I go running out of the shadows and I run up to the cross and that big, rough, sturdy, splintery, rugged cross.

I throw my arms around it and I feel the blood, the warm blood coursing down that cross and now running over my arms. And I drink the cup. That's how I focus when I take communion. Again, for 20 plus years I've hesitated sharing this because I don't want you to make this some formula or something you need to do or something that is better than another. It it you may have a better way, something that means more to you. But I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't share it because it has meant so much to me through these years.

And then Paul sternly warns. He says that if one partakes in an unworthy manner, that person is actually eating and drinking God's judgment upon themselves. Verse 29, for if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you're eating and drinking God's judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. Ellicott said this, quote, death sometimes resulted from their drunken feasts, either naturally or by God's direct visitation. The expositor's Greek Testament says this, quote, in Paul making this statement, he must have been conscious of some specific revelation, some situation where this occurred, where people actually died.

Now I wonder, what I'm going to share next is not scripture, but I wonder if this severest of penalties is not similar in nature to the death death of Ananias and Sapphira who lied about selling some property, and then the Lord killed them. They lied. Now do you think others have lied about things like this since then in the centuries since? Of course. Did they die? Probably not many, if any. So why Ananias and Sapphira? I surmise maybe because they were the first to do so and get caught, and God made an example of them.

They, I believe, were true believers. I believe personally they went to heaven, but they were made an example of nonetheless. And we find the same thing multiple times in the Bible. In Leviticus 10, Aaron's sons offered unholy fire. They were killed on the spot. And yet centuries later in 1 Samuel, Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas over and over did worse things than that. Took advantage of women, took meat out before it was cooked. And they were killed eventually, but not on the spot. Or Numbers 15, when the first man was brought to Moses charged with gathering wood on the Sabbath, he was stoned to death.

Since then, were others killed who worked on the Sabbath? What's the difference the first time? You know, it's kind of like a boss saying, starting tomorrow, anyone who comes to work more than 15 minutes late will be fired on the spot. No excuse. Harsh? Yes. So what if the very next day someone comes to work 1 hour late? He becomes the example. What happened if you would have done it a year later? Maybe mercy would have been shown, but not day one. So I wonder if there had been an account or accounts that Paul knew of that aren't recorded in the Bible for us where in the early church there were some where God actually took the life of those who made a mockery of the blood in the cup.

It's possible. This could explain in part why those students at Williams and Mary College were not struck dead on the spot by God as well. And then Paul deals with the Lord's supper meal or as Jude calls it, the charity feast. Verse 33. So my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the Lord's supper, wait for each other. If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won't bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together. I'll give you instructions about the other matters after I arrive. And just a little suggestion, if you are ever invited to a church that celebrates both communion together with a full meal, I would encourage you, it's a small point, but to follow Paul's guidelines here and eat at home before you attend the meal so that you don't even let the thought cross your mind.

I hope I get enough to eat tonight. So how does the day's lesson apply to me? Number one, I suspect that divisions are at the root of nearly all church problems. Charles Finney, who was a revivalist, he said that when revivals would break out in a church or a community, the very first strategy the devil would use to stop the revival in its tracks was to bring in disunity. Why is that so effective for Satan? Because Finney said that when disunity enters a church, the Holy Spirit ceases to strive. He stops working. That is a high price to pay, folks, not to have the Holy Spirit at work in a church.

Never forget that. A fellowship pays a huge price for disunity, a loss of the Holy Spirit's presence and influence. And the Bible says apart from him, we can do nothing. Second point, note what Paul says is the at the core root of these divisions. Verse 19, but of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God's approval will be recognized. Pride at the core, pride. I have to be right. And there is a clear test for this to see if you have an issue with this. If I have an issue with this, is it easy for you to say that you are wrong or is that really difficult?

Listen, if it's not easy for you to say that you're wrong, divisions will result in your marriage, with your children, your coworkers in the church. Cuz sometimes you will be wrong unless you're never wrong. Was I ever wrong, honey? No. Oh, that woman, tell you that woman. And the consequences of your pride or my pride in making us admit refusing to admit that we're wrong is huge. I remember years ago, I heard of a survey of teenagers that was taken, and they said if you could change any two things about your father, what would it be?

Any two things about your father, what would it be? They said number one, that he wouldn't get so angry. And number two, that he would admit it when he's wrong. And why is it that we we refuse to admit that we're wrong? Because of pride? Because of insecurity? You know, a a secure person doesn't find it that hard to admit that they're wrong because an insecure person thinks that people will think less of them if they say that they're wrong, when in actuality, people admire you more if you're willing to admit that you're wrong. It's just contrary to the way our mind works.

You fathers, the quicker you are to acknowledge that you're wrong to your children, the more they'll admire you for that. Listen, they know you're wrong. Your wife knows you're wrong. Get over it. Get over it. Third and last application, try to always hold communion as an extremely sacred and holy observance. Remembering that as you participate, you are standing on very holy ground. You are standing at the foot of the cross, looking at your savior dying for you. And be focused on the fact, the fact that Jesus was beaten and mocked and tortured and suffered for you for you personally and individually.

And in a way that we cannot comprehend, he actually suffered the hell that you would have suffered had he not taken your place.

Host (Male): You've been listening to Study the Word with Pastor Tom Keller. Hear these studies from the book of 1 Corinthians again at studytheword.com. Or subscribe to our YouTube channel where you'll find these studies and more. We're at Calvary Chapel, Lebanon. If you'd rather have a CD copy, call us at 717 273 5633. If you find these studies helpful and encouraging, please let us know. It would be a blessing to hear what God is doing through Study the Word. Give us a call at 717 273 5633 or write to Study the Word, 740 Willow Street, Lebanon, Pennsylvania 17046.

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