By: Robert Serreyn
Question? What does it mean to partake of The Lord’s Supper in church “unworthily”?
Answer:
The word UNWORTHILY is the Greek word ANAXIOS and it means UNIMPORTANT (Irrelevant) in others words the significance of what it represents (the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ) means nothing to you and you consume (partake) the Lord’s Supper without any care for what it REALLY means and signifies
If you notice in V21 of 1 Corinthians Chp 11 the Apostle Paul was addressing the issue that some in the church were making a mockery out of the Lord’s Supper through Selfishness (one is hungry) and Drunkenness
(21) For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. (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.
V26 tells the reason for the Lord’s supper, it is a symbolic reminder to us that the Lord Jesus Christ allowed himself to be crucified to pay for our sins and there were those in the church of Corinth that were making a mockery out of it.
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
This is why we read in V27 and V29 there were those that took the Lord’s Supper with disregard and because of that it brought God’s Judgement (Damnation) upon themselves.
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.
NOTE: The word DAMNATION is the Greek word KRIMA and it means TO JUDGE or Judgement.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep (dead).
In V30 many were sick and had died (sleep), WHY???, BECAUSE as V29 says they would not Judge themselves of the sins they were committing so in V30 the Lord had to do it through sickness and death.
In Conclusion:
To take the Lord’s supper UNWORTHILY simply means that the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ means nothing to us and we have NO CARE that it took the Lord’s death to pay for our sins. therefore we partake (Consume) the Lord’s Supper UNWORTHILY.
NOTE: All lost unsaved people take the Lord’s Supper Unworthily BECAUSE they are not saved, they HAVE NOT placed their trust alone in the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ Until they do, it means nothing (Unimportant / Irrelevant) because Jesus Christ IS NOT their saviour.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing to know IS Jesus Christ as savior, just simply believe that Jesus Christ went to the cross and DIED and shed his blood, was BURIED and three days later RESURRECTED from the dead to pay for your sins.
The moment that you do YOU HAVE (at that second and forever) Everlasting Life which WILL NEVER be taken away no matter what.
-Christ DIED for you – Romans 5:8
-Christ PAID your sins in full – 2 Corinthians 5:21,1 Peter 2:24
-BELIEVE (Trust In Completely) in Christ ALONE as the complete payment of sin for salvation – John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:8,9
“For the wages(payment) of sin is death (eternal torment in hell); but the GIFT(salvation) of God is eternal life THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord”. Romans 6:23
IT IS THAT SIMPLE – THE GOSPEL TRUTH