Lessons #397 and 398
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Exposition of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:26-34)
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
The message of this section of 1 Corinthians 11:26-34 that we stated in our last study is: You must approach the Lord’s Supper with awe since there are consequences for failing to do so correctly. The passage, as we stated previously, is concerned with the exposition of the Lord’s Supper and its celebration as the Holy Spirit gave through Apostle Paul. We indicated that the exposition involves three main issues. The first is explanation of remembrance. The second involves the correct approach to it and the third is the consequences of celebrating it wrongly. We have examined the first issue in the form of the explanation of what remembrance means and what the church does anytime it celebrates the Lord Supper. We asserted that when you participate in it, you should recognize that you are indeed expressing your hope in Christ’s second coming and if that is the case you should live your life in that light. Furthermore, we stated that in a sense, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is both backward and forward looking. Backward looking in the sense of focusing on the death of Christ on the cross with all its implications and forward looking in the anticipation of His second coming. So, we proceed to consider the second issue the apostle communicated as the Holy Spirit directed him to expound on the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
We are generally in error in our belief or practice in the spiritual life because of ignorance of the Scripture. The Lord Jesus indicted those who denied resurrection of the dead as being ignorant of the Scripture and the person of God as we read in Matthew 22:29:
Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
Hence, there is no denying that we go astray in our practices in the spiritual life because we are ignorant of the Scripture and lack understanding of the power of God. For if we know the Scripture and recognize how powerful God is, we will be careful in our conduct knowing that God is able to bring severe judgment on us for sinning against Him. So, to ensure we do not go astray when it comes to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul instructed us on the proper way to go about it. Thus, the second issue of the exposition of the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is concerned with the correct approach to it. There is a sense that we can say that the first issue the Holy Spirit gave to the apostle about the celebration of the Lord’s Supper that we considered is doctrinal, but the second issue involves application of the doctrine given in verse 26 since one could not effectively proclaim the death of Jesus Christ on the cross with its implications if the individual is not controlled or filled of the Spirit. The filling of the Spirit requires we do not act in any form that contradicts God’s word or simply stated, that we do not sin. The way we can avoid sin is first to recognize sin and then make a conscious effort under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to avoid the sin so recognized. This being the case, the Holy Spirit through the apostle conveyed to us the correct way to act when it comes to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper to ensure we are not sinning by participating in it. Consequently, there are two things the Holy Spirit focused our attention through the apostle regarding the correct approach to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The first is the subject of self-evaluation and the second is the proper attitude to have regarding the elements used in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.
The first issue of self-evaluation is presented in two related ways of examining and judging self. In other words, the apostle presented self-evaluation using two concepts that are related. Anyway, the apostle tells us that if we are going to properly celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we should carefully examine ourselves. It is this that he wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. Literally, the Greek reads But/and (a) man let him examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and let him drink from the cup. The literal translation reveals that the translators of the NIV and many other English versions did not have any connective that begins the verse. An implication of this is that there is now connection between verse 28 and verse 27. However, the Greek of verse 28 should begin in the English with a Greek particle (de) that is routinely translated “but” to reflect a contrast between clauses but when a simple connective is desired, without contrast being clearly implied, it may be translated “and,” and in certain occurrences the particle may be left untranslated. As we have stated, some English versions did not translate it. Although the particle is often translated “but” in the English when there is a perceived contrast between two clauses as reflected in the English versions of this verse that are more literal in their translation, such as the NASB, but it has other meanings such as “now,” “then,” “and,” “so” when it is used to link segments of a narrative. The particle is used in our verse to indicate that there is a connection between verse 28 and the preceding verse 27. The question is how to understand this connection. The connection is that what is stated in verse 28 results from the declaration of verse 27 regarding the consequence of improper participation in the Lord’s Supper. This being the case, the Greek particle should be translated to reflect this interpretation. Hence, it can be translated with “so then” as in the TEV or “so” as HCSB. The translation of the CEV or the NLT “that’s why” conveys the connection between verses 28 and 27 the Holy Spirit intended through the apostle as that of result. The point is that in order to avoid the consequence stated in verse 27, a believer should take the action stipulated in verse 28.
The action a believer should take to avoid the consequence of improper participation in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is that of self-examination as given in the instruction of 1 Corinthians 11:28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. As we indicated the literal Greek reads man let him examine himself and so let him eat of the bread and let him drink from the cup.
The word “man” used does not mean that only male believers are in view or that the apostle was being a sexist as some people like to complain but the word “man” is really a word that is often used in the Scripture to convey male and female together. We can trace this back to creation in the description of the male and female as “man” in Genesis 5:2:
He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “man.”
This aside, the word “man” used in 1 Corinthians 11:28 is translated from a Greek word (anthrōpos) that may mean “person” as that is the way the word is used when the concern is to be inclusive of men and women as in the doctrine of justification by faith in the Lord Jesus Apostle Paul stated in Galatians 2:16:
know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Justification is for both men and women so that the phrase a man is to be understood as “a person,” hence the NRSV simply used the phrase a person. The word may mean “a human being” without regard to gender, as the Apostle Paul used it to reference the conscience of both men and women in 2 Corinthians 4:2:
Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
The phrase man’s conscience refers to the conscience of men and women and so “man” here has the sense of “human being.” The word may refer to the status of being a human with focus on limitations and weaknesses of a human being, so may be translated “human” as Apostle Paul used it to describe the argument, he used in the context of Romans 3:5:
But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)
The word may mean “man” as male person as the apostle used it to describe Jesus Christ in His humanity in Romans 5:15:
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
The word may mean “self” as it is used in the instruction of Romans 6:6:
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—
The phrase old self is literally old man. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:28, it has the sense of “person,” that here refers to any believer, male or female. This meaning is reflected in some English versions, such as the ESV and the NET, among others, that used the word “person” in their translation of verse 28. The 2011 edition of the NIV simply used the word “everyone.” Anyway, the point is that “man” used in the 1984 edition of the NIV and many of our English versions in our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:28 refers to believers regardless of gender.
Be that as it may, the concern of the Holy Spirit is the action believers ought to take to ensure they avoid the consequence of improper participation in the Lord’s Supper. This action is given in the expression of 1 Corinthians 11:28 ought to examine himself or literally let him examine himself. This action of self-examination is so important that Apostle Paul emphasized it in the Greek. We say this because although there is no strict sentence order in the Greek as in the English, where the subject precedes the predicate, it is not normal to begin a sentence in the Greek with a verb as it is done here. When a verb begins a sentence then the writer wants to emphasize the action demanded by the verb. This means that the apostle intended to emphasize the importance of self-examination stated in the verse we are considering. Furthermore, the apostle used a present tense in the Greek to convey that whenever the Lord’s Supper is celebrated, the action the Holy Spirit communicated through him should take place. In other words, the action in question should be repeated on every occasion when the Lord’s Supper is observed.
The action is, as we have stated, given in the expression ought to examine himself or literally let him examine himself. The word “examine” is translated from a Greek verb (dokimazō) that may mean to make a critical examination of something to determine its genuineness and so means “to put to the test, to examine.” It is in the sense of “to examine oneself” that the word is used in the challenge of Apostle Paul to the Corinthians regarding checking if they are living as Christians should in 2 Corinthians 13:5:
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
It is in the sense of “to test” that the word is used by the apostle in encouraging the Galatians to take a close look at their activities without comparing them to another in Galatians 6:4:
Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else,
It is in the sense of “to test” by critical examination to determine the genuineness of spirits that the word is used in 1 John 4:1:
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
The word may mean to draw a conclusion about the worth of something or someone on the basis of testing, where the focus is on the result of a procedure or examination, hence means “to prove, to approve.” It is in the sense of “to approve, accept as proved” that the word is used by Apostle Paul to describe a believer he was sending to the Corinthians that he considered to have been proven although he did not say how in 2 Corinthians 8:22:
In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.
It is in the sense of “prove by testing” that the word is used by Apostle Peter to convey that trials that come to believers serve to prove their faith is genuine as we read in 1 Peter 1:7:
These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:28, the word is used in sense of “to examine,” that is, to check out thoroughly without leaving any stone unturned.
What is this self-examination that should be carried out as one gets ready to participate in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper? Let me begin by stating what it is not. It is not an action that involves self-justification. You see, we humans, even as believers, have ways of justifying our actions because we deem them right as stated in Proverbs 21:2:
All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.
The word “ways” refers to a person’s actions, conduct or behavior. As I have stated, we humans have ways of justifying ourselves by rationalizing our actions as being perfect. However, if we subject such actions to the standard of God’s word, we find that we fall short of what God expects of us. It is for this reason that we should recognize that self-examination is not self-justification of our action or conduct. Furthermore, self-examination does not mean we should compare self to others. The Lord Jesus in His parable concerning self-righteousness described how a Pharisee compared himself to a tax collector and so justified himself as we read in Luke 18:11–12:
11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
The Pharisee in the parable compared himself to the tax collector so that he was not involved in self-examination. Because of how the Lord in the parable condemned him, it is important that we avoid self-justification. In fact, if you are going to be involved in self-examination you must not compare yourself to another person in keeping with a passage we cited previously and would still cite later, that is, Galatians 6:4:
Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.
We have considered what self-examination is not, so what is it? It is first and foremost an examination of self to determine if one understands the significance of the entire celebration, that is, if one understands what it means to remember Jesus Christ as it pertains to His death on the cross and its implications. Then, it is an honest questioning of one’s thoughts, motives, and actions of how they are in keeping with God’s word. This self-examination should begin by ensuring that a person is a believer and lives life that way, as the Holy Spirit put to the Corinthians through Apostle Paul in the passage we cited previously, that is, 2 Corinthians 13:5:
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
The focus of examining self is determining if a person lives as a Christian. But before one gets to this, a person must be sure the individual is saved. It is a person who is saved that is qualified to participate in the Lord’s Supper. So, a person who sits down to participate in the celebration should ensure the individual is a believer in Christ. This is to be followed, as we have indicated, by a critical evaluation of one’s thoughts and actions, especially before partaking of each element of the Lord’s Supper. In effect, you should examine your soul condition before participating in each element of the Lord’s Supper. Anyway, one of the things we should consider as we evaluate ourselves in light of the failure of the Corinthians is to check if we have failed to care and carry other believers’ burden as it is within our power to do so. It is this kind of self-examination that the Holy Spirit conveyed to the Galatians, and so to us, through Apostle Paul in the passage we cited previously that I indicated I would cite again, that is, Galatians 6:4:
Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else.
In the context of Galatians, testing one’s action is against how well we carry others burden. Some of the Corinthians failed in this respect during the Lord’s Supper celebration because they did not care whether their fellow believers had something to eat during the fellowship meal that preceded the Lord’s Supper. That aside, it is important that self-examination should involve truthful critiquing of our thoughts and actions. In effect, we should check to see where we have failed the Lord in not obeying His word. This would be easier if we are continuously mindful of our spiritual life in that we are continuously monitoring our thoughts and actions so that whenever we notice any failure, we immediately confess it. It is true that we may forget every sin that we committed even prior to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper but we should derive comfort by knowing that the Lord Jesus pleads to the Father on our behalf. Consequently, once we confess the sin that we recognized, God’s grace supersedes in that the sins we did not recognize would also be forgiven in keeping with the promise the Holy Spirit stated through Apostle John in 1 John 1:9:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
The phrase from all unrighteousness is the basis for the statement that when we confess the sins we remember, God graciously would forgive those we did not remember since by confessing our sins we have admitted that He is righteous, and we are not.
A person who so examines self as it pertains to the individual’s understanding of the death of Christ and confesses the person’s sins is ready to go ahead with the celebration of the Lord’s Supper as in the clause in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 11:28 before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup or literally and so let him eat of the bread and let him drink from the cup. The literal translation reveals that the word “before” does not appear in the Greek as such, but the word “before” is how the translators of the NIV rendered a Greek adverb (houtōs) that is used primarily in two ways in the Greek. It could refer to that which follows in a discourse material and so may be translated “in this way” or “as follows.” Another usage is to refer to what precedes, in which case, it may mean “in this way, in this manner, so, thus.” It is in the first usage that the adverb is used in our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:28 hence it means “thus,” that is, “in the way indicated.” Hence, a person who has carried out self-examination and confessed sin should then proceed to celebrate the Lord’s Supper as instructed by the Lord Himself. He should eat the bread and drink the wine involved in the celebration. We used the word “wine” because of the word “cup.” To understand such usage, let us again review what we said about cup.
The word “cup” is translated from a Greek word (potērion) that literally refers to a vessel for holding liquid and so drink from, hence means “cup” as in the giving to someone drink of cold water that our Lord referenced in Matthew 10:42:
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
The literal cup can by metonymy stand for what it contains, as for example, where “cup” represents “wine” in Luke 22:20:
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Cup is used figuratively in the Scripture. Cup may represent God’s blessings so that the psalmist spoke of the abundant blessings from God in terms of overflowing cup in Psalm 23:5:
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Cup is also used figuratively for God’s judgment as we read in Jeremiah 25:15–16:
15 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”
Figuratively, the word “cup” is used for the suffering and eventual violent death of the Lord Jesus in John 18:11:
Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:28, although the Greek word used literally means “cup,” but it is used in the sense of that which is contained in a cup, that is, wine. Thus, a believer who has carried out self-examination and confessed his/her sin detected as one searches the soul would then be ready for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Anyway, the self-evaluation that one needs to carry out prior to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is describe as “self-examination.”
Another description of self-evaluation that gets a believer ready to celebrate the Lord’s Supper is that of judging self. It is this the apostle presented in 1 Corinthians 11:31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.
We indicated at the onset of our consideration of this section of 1 Corinthians 11:26-34 that we will not analyze it in our usual manner of marching from one verse to the next but that the verse we consider is to be determined by the point we are making. This approach raises the question of how verse 31 is related to the preceding verses. There are two general approaches to dealing with its relationship with the preceding verses because of the word but that begins it. The word “but” is translated from a Greek particle (de) that we previously stated is routinely translated “but” to reflect a contrast between clauses but when a simple connective is desired, without contrast being clearly implied, it may be translated “and,” and in certain occurrences the particle may be left untranslated. Most of our English versions interpreted it in verse 31 as a marker of contrast hence translated it with the word “but.” This interpretation implies that verse 31 provides a contrasting action that is needed to avoid the consequence of improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper. However, some English versions such as the TEV and the NJB did not translated it, probably implying that the particle is used a marker that links verse 31 to what preceded it. If the particle is used to link verse 31 to what preceded it that still leaves the question of the sense in which Apostle Paul used it. In this usage of linking verse 31 to what preceded, the Greek particle could be interpreted to mean that verse 31 provides an explanation intended to avoid the consequence of improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper. This is probably the interpretation adopted by the KJV and the AMP since they begin verse 31 with the word “for.” Another possible interpretation is to consider the Greek particle as a marker used to resume a discourse after an interruption or a transition to something else in which case it may be translated “now” The implication of this interpretation is that verses 29 and 30 are considered parenthetical in that the apostle interrupted what he stated in verse 28 regarding how to avoid improper celebration of the Lord’ Super to digress to the consequences of its improper celebration in verses 29 and 30.
The question is whether the apostle used the Greek particle as a marker of contrast between what the apostle stated in verses 29 and 30 and what he stated in verse 31 or a marker that links verse 31 to what preceded it in a manner to considers verses 29 and 30 as parenthetical. Truly, it is difficult to be certain the way the apostle used it since both interpretations make sense in the context. Nonetheless, it seems to me that the particle is used in such a way that verses 29 and 30 are parenthetical. In other words, we mean that the apostle introduced a proper way to approach the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, but the Holy Spirit immediately flooded the apostle’s mind with the consequences of improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper which he then wrote down in these two verses. After writing down some of the consequences of improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper, he returned to the issue of the proper approach to celebration of the Lord’s Supper to avoid the negative consequences of improper celebration he mentioned in verses 29 and 30. Of course, after the apostle continued with proper approach to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper that he mentioned in verse 28, he returned to the issue of consequence of improper approach to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper in verse 32. After that he returned to the correct approach to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. It is this back and forth between correct approach to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper and the consequences of improper approach to its celebration that is in part responsible for our not expounding the section we are considering using the same normal approach we follow when we analyze a passage of the Scripture, that is, from one verse to the next in a sequential manner. You see, we jumped from verse 28 to 31 skipping for the moment verses 29 and 30 that we will consider at the proper time.
Be that as it may, the reason we contend that verses 29 and 30 are parenthetical in the sense that they form a digression from the correct way of approaching the Lord’s Supper we considered in verse 28 is because the apostle returned to verse 31 to the issue of correct approach to the Lord’s Supper that he stated in verse 28. Recall we indicated that the self-evaluation that one needs to carry out prior to the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is describe as “self-examination.” This concept of self-evaluation is continued in verse 31 in the conditional clause if we judged ourselves. There is a sense that we can say that this clause, although it describes a desirable action a believer should take to get ready for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, is in a sense an emphatic elaboration of what self-examination mentioned in verse 28 is because of the word “judged.”
The word “judged” is translated from a Greek verb (diakrinō) that has a range of meanings such as “to judge” in the sense of rendering legal opinion, but we limit our consideration to the meaning that is more relevant to our passage. Thus, the word may mean “to judge correctly” although the translators of the NIV used the meaning “interpret” to translate our Greek word in Matthew 16:3:
and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
The clause You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky is literally You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky. The word may mean “to recognize” as the word is used in connection with the Lord’s Supper as stated in 1 Corinthians 11:29:
For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.
The word may mean “to pass judgment,” that is, “to weigh carefully” or “to evaluate” as it is used to describe what some in the local church in Corinth were required to do regarding those who speak prophetically in 1 Corinthians 14:29:
Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:31, the word is used with the meaning of “to evaluate discerningly.” The implication of this meaning is that the self-examination mentioned in verse 28 requires that a believer should evaluate self in a way that ensures the individual uses the proper standard of God’s word in critiquing of self.
The evaluation of self that is mentioned in verse 31 is essentially the same thing as the self-examination in verse 28 but perhaps the apostle wanted to emphasize that critiquing of self before participating in the Lord’s Supper should be thoroughly and objectively done. To evaluate self discerningly, requires we remember two important facts about judging in general. To be an effective judge requires facts. In other words, it is impossible for a judge to be correct in his/her decision without facts. It is this truth that is conveyed to Israel’s judges in that they were required to carry out thorough investigation of the case before them prior to deciding about any case brought before them as we read in Deuteronomy 19:18:
The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother…
Another fact to bear in mind in judging oneself is that the outcome of judging anything depends on the standard applied. In other words, if a judge applies a standard that is different from the accepted standard in whatever the case may be, the person will reach a verdict that when evaluated by the accepted standard would turn out to be incorrect. It is for this reason that the Lord Jesus indicated that the Jews who were involved in evaluating Him or His testimony about Himself were wrong because of the standard they used in evaluating Him as we read in John 8:15:
You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one.
The human standards in this passage include human appearance as the Lord warned the Jews in John 7:24:
Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment.”
Anyway, the two facts we mentioned imply that when we evaluate our actions or thoughts they must be subjected to divine standard or what the Bible teaches. The more facts we have in the sense of the more we know about the significance of the Lord’s Supper and what constitutes personal sins as defined in the Scripture, the more effectively we will critique ourselves prior to participating in the Lord’s Supper. Thus, it is important that we learn the Scripture to help us be effective in judging ourselves during the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. As I mentioned previously, God’s grace is reflected when we proceed to evaluate ourselves in that in His goodness, He will cleanse us from sins that we did not remember once He sees us attempting to evaluate ourselves in light of His word. Thus, we should be honest in evaluating ourselves so not to ignore something that is sinful in our lives. By the way, as we have also indicated, the judging of self or evaluating self discerningly is something that should be ongoing on throughout the time we are involved in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper since the apostle used an imperfect tense in the Greek in connection with the action of judging. We should form the habit of constantly critiquing our conduct and thoughts before God in every waking moment of our lives, but such critiquing should be intensified when we are at the Lord’s Table.
Be that as it may, as we indicated previously, the apostle goes back and forth regarding the believer ensuring the individual participates in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper in a proper way to the consequences of not doing so. Thus, the apostle, having stated the necessity of judging or evaluating discerningly oneself, goes back to the matter of consequences. It is this that he gave in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 11:31 we would not come under judgment. Literally, the Greek reads not would we be being judged. The literal clause recognizes that a passive voice is used in the Greek of the verb translated “come under judgment” of the NIV. That aside, this last clause of verse 31 states what would not happen when the conditional clause of the first part of the verse is met. In other words, our clause states in a very strong manner what would not occur if believers evaluated themselves and took the proper action before they participate in the celebration of the Lord Supper. They would not be punished of God as it pertains to the Lord’s Supper. We say that the clause describes what will not happen if the condition stated in the first part of the verse is met because the word “not” the apostle used is translated from a Greek particle (ou) that is an objective negative, denying the reality of alleged fact fully and absolutely in contrast to another Greek negative (mē) that is a subjective negative, implying a conditional and hypothetical negation. Thus, the apostle states strongly that a believer who evaluates discerningly self with taking proper action that should involve confession of sin would not be punished by the Lord of the church. We introduced the word “Lord” because as we stated, a passive voice is used in the Greek of our clause, implying that an unnamed agent or subject is responsible for the judging or punishment involved in our clause. Our assertion of the Lord as the unnamed agent of punishment or judgment in our clause is certainly supported by the assertion in 1 Corinthians 11:32 that the Lord is responsible for judging believers regarding failure to properly evaluate self before participating in the Lord’s Supper.
The expression “come under judgment” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (krinō) that may mean “to judge, pass judgment upon, express an opinion about” as it is used in the Lord’s instruction concerning looking down on others in a condemning way in Luke 6:37:
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
The word may mean “to judge as guilty,” “to condemn” as the word is used to describe the states of those who believe in the Lord Jesus and those who do not in John 3:18:
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
The word may mean “to punish” as in Stephen’s sermon as he referred to God’s promise to Abraham of punishing those who would enslave his descendants, according to Acts 7:7:
But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’
The word may mean to make a judgment based on taking various factors into account, hence means “to consider,” as Lydia used the word to persuade Apostle Paul and his team to stay in her house if the apostle considered her a believer in Christ as we read in Acts 16:15:
When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
The word may mean “to prefer” as it is used to describe the preference of believers regarding day of worship although it is translated “considers” in the NIV of Romans 14:5:
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
The word may mean “to convince” as in Apostle Paul’s certainty about the death of Christ for all human beings as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:14:
For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 11:31, the sense of the word is “to be punished.” Therefore, a believer who evaluates self properly before participating in the Lord’s Supper would not be punished by the Lord as it relates to the matter of the celebration. Because we intend to focus on the consequences of improper celebration of the Lord’s Supper that the Holy Spirit gave through the apostle, we will postpone any consideration of punishment until later in our study. That we will do in our next study. However, let me end by reminding you the message of this section that we are considering, which is: You must approach the Lord’s Supper with awe since there are consequences for failing to do so correctly.
03/11//22 [End of Lessons #397 and 398]