(Church Discipline)
Eating the bread in an unworthy manner (irreverent), like Judas on the night of Christ’ betrayal (John 13:26), brings God’s judgment upon us. The Lord will discipline us in this condition in order to move us toward repentance without which we will be condemned along with the world (see the Bible study Church Discipline). If we do not put into practice His justice in our midst, He then will step in and perform it. This direct warning from the Lord is associated with the Urim and Thummim in regards to judging in a right manner before God in our midst (see the Bible study Urim And Thummim).
1 Corinthians 11:23-34 – This passage deals with the seriousness involved with taking communion, as we refer to it. When a Christian partakes of this, we are reminding ourselves of the eternal covenant we have entered into with Christ, and the ramifications of breaking that covenant through continued, willful disobedience. This is not to be taken lightly or irreverently. Acceptable service to God involves reverence and awe (Hebrews 12:28). Where we stand in our covenant relationship with Him is revealed through the partaking of the bread and the cup. It actually judges us, determining whether or not we are in God’s eyes worthy, or unworthy.
We are to examine ourselves, judging ourselves rightly, so that we are not then judged by God (see the Bible study Urim And Thummim). In other words, if we don’t deal with the sin, He will. The reason why is to keep us, as Christians, from being “condemned along with the world” (verse 32). 1 Corinthians 5:5 also lets us know how serious this matter of not judging in the Body of Christ is. Judging rightly is to understand the consequences of walking in the flesh, without repentance. According to Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is “so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” If this person was “eternally secure” (i.e. once saved, always saved) why would Paul be so strongly moved to judge the immorality in this church by this man in order to save him?! His unchecked, unjudged sin would affect the entire group. It has a leavening effect on everyone within that fellowship. This is why so many churches are weak, spiritually speaking, even considered a “dead” church (verse 30 below).
Judas ate and drank judgment (condemnation) to himself the night he took the morsel from Jesus (John 13:26). He rejected Christ’s offer of cleansing which led to Satan entering him right after he partook of the bread (see my book 911; God’s Last Offer To The Church).
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 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." [See the section Being Remembered By The Lord in the Bible study The FullnessOf Him.]
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the 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 [371- irreverent] manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment [2917] to himself if he does not judge the body rightly [1252].
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned [2632] along with the world.
33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come.
NASU
NT:371 anaxios (an-ax-ee'-oce)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
adverb from NT:370; irreverently:
KJV - unworthily.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
in an unworthy manner (1 Cor. 11:27)
UNWORTHILY, UNWORTHY
A. Adverb
anaxios (NT:371) is used in 1 Cor. 11:27, of partaking of the Lord's Supper "unworthily," i. e., treating it as a common meal, the bread and cup as common things, not apprehending their solemn symbolic import. In the best texts the word is not found in v. 29 (see RV).
B. Adjective
anaxios (NT:370), a, negative, n, euphonic, axios, "worthy," is used in 1 Cor. 6:2. In modern Greek it signifies "incapable."
Note: In Acts 13:46, "unworthy" represents the adjective axios, preceded by the negative ouk.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
NT:2917 krima (kree'-mah)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:2919; a decision (the function or the effect, for or against ["crime"]):
KJV - avenge, condemned, condemnation, damnation, go to law, judgment.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1. a decree: Romans 11:33
2. judgment; i. e. condemnation of wrong, the decision (whether severe or mild) which one passes on the faults of others: Matthew 7:2
3. a matter to be judicially decided, a lawsuit, a case in court: 1 Corinthians 6:7
NT:1252 diakrino (dee-ak-ree'-no)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:1223 and NT:2919; to separate thoroughly, i.e. (literally and reflexively) to withdraw from, or (by implication) oppose; figuratively, to discriminate (by implication, decide), or (reflexively) hesitate:
KJV - contend, make (to) differ (-ence), discern, doubt, judge, be partial, stagger, waver.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to be separated
1. to separate, make a distinction, discriminate (Acts 15:9)
2. to learn by discrimination, to try, decide (Matt. 16:3)
Passive voice and middle voice to be parted, to separate oneself from;
1. to withdraw from one, desert him
2. to separate oneself in a hostile spirit, to oppose, strive with, dispute, contend: with the dative of
person (Jude 9)
3. in a sense not found in secular authors, to be at variance with oneself, hesitate, doubt (Matt. 21:21)
NT:2632 katakrino (kat-ak-ree'-no)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:2596 and NT:2919; to judge against, i.e. sentence:
KJV - condemn, damn.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to give judgment against, to judge worthy of punishment, to condemn
a. properly (Romans 8:34)
b. improperly, i. e., by one's good example to render another's wickedness the more evident and
censurable (Matthew 12:41)
NT:2632
a strengthened form of No. 3, signifies "to give judgment against, pass sentence upon"; hence, "to condemn," implying (a) the fact of a crime, e. g., Romans 2:1; 14:23; 2 Peter 2:6; some manuscripts have it in James 5:9; (b) the imputation of a crime, as in the "condemnation" of Christ by the Jews, Matthew 20:18; Mark 14:64. It is used metaphorically of "condemning" by a good example, Matthew 12:41-42; Luke 11:31-32; Hebrews 11:7 [Noah condemning the world because of his faith, building in preparation of what he was warned by God was coming. See the Bible study Noah; A Sign Of The End.].
In Romans 8:3, God's "condemnation" of sin is set forth in that Christ, His own Son, sent by Him to partake of human nature (sin apart) and to become an offering for sin, died under the judgment due to our sin.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 – In this passage, Paul deals with “judging the body rightly.” The church is to judge among ourselves, again in the order of self-examination first, then others. God is the one who is to judge those on the outside. How does this look? Does this mean I am never to say anything about those living in sin, such as the homosexual community or abortion? Obviously no, but to leave their judgment, His justice, in His hands. We do justice among our own, the Lord deals with those on the outside.
9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;
10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one.
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?
13 But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.
NASU
1 Corinthians 5:1-8 – Paul explains for us why we are to judge among us. The church in Corinth wasn’t confronting an immorality that, he says, didn’t even exist among the Gentiles, or those on the outside of the church. He gave this man over to Satan “for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” This means that if he was left to himself, without a rebuke in love from the church, he was in a position that he would go to eternal destruction. Like leaven in a loaf of bread, his sin would, and did, affect all in that fellowship.
1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife.
2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.
3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present.
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth
NASU
Matthew 7:1-5 – This commandment of Jesus makes sense now if I see verses 1-2 speaking of the judgment of the world, and verses 3-6, which speak of how to judge, for the church. We are first to examine ourselves in order to judge the body rightly, with discernment. Obedience gives discernment and the right heart of love for judging referred to by Jesus as seeing “clearly,” with the correct vision of the way things are in truth (see the Bible study Urim And Thummim).
1 "Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
2 "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
3 "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?
5 "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly [1227] to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
NASU
NT:1227 diablepo (dee-ab-lep'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:1223 and NT:991; to look through, i.e. recover full vision:
KJV - see clearly.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to look through, penetrate by vision
a. to look fixedly, to stare straight before one (Mark 8:25)
No Condemnation (Judgment)?
Romans 8:1-4 – See the note below.
8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,
4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
NIV
Romans 8:1 – The King James Version of the Bible adds “who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
KJV
Many in the church use this verse to show how condemnation can never be on a Christian. As you see right below, the KJV of the Bible adds what is at the end of verse 4 to this verse as well. The fleshly nature is condemned by God. It is that which rebels against Him and must be brought in submission in order for us to be conformed to Christ’ image. As Paul says in verse 4, the righteous requirements of the law can only be met fully by those who do not live according to the sinful nature’s desires, but according to the leading and will of the Spirit of God.
Every Christian goes through the training of the Holy Spirit after turning to Christ, known as the process of sanctification, or being made like Jesus. We learn in this process to put off the sinful desires and put on the Lord Jesus Christ which is by doing His will. A believer is given this right to obey and “do” what the Spirit leads us to do. An unbeliever doesn’t even have this right or power.
In Paul’s description of how people will be in the last days, he says they will have a form of godliness but will deny its power. This describes a Christian, the only one given the power to become a son of God (John 1:12), who has grieved the Holy Spirit by stubbornly resisting Him. The power of God’s grace cannot change us because of this. We are, in fact, receiving His grace in vain (1 Corinthians 6:1). Therefore, we end up condemned when we could have been transformed.
In Romans 8:13-14 Paul goes on to say, “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”Again, per John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right [power] to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” (See the Bible study Freedom In Christ.)
Walking In The Spirit = No Condemnation
To “walk in the Spirit” is to walk in obedience to the Spirit’s leading. Biblically, this is referred to as abiding in Christ which, by definition, means “to remain, to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy), to not depart, to continue to be present, to remain as one is, not to become another or different.” According to 1 John 3:6, no one who abides in Christ sins. We sin when we are not abiding in Him. This is when we choose to not obey the will of God, walking as Christ walked, causing us to drift away from Him (Hebrews 2:1).
To abide in Christ is to walk as He did on earth in obedience to the Father. This is how you can know that you are in Him. His life is being reflected through your life. You walk on earth as He did while on earth. John says the following regarding our abiding in Christ;
“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
(1 John 2:3-6/NASU)
When we first turn to Christ we do not yet fully know Him, which is to know His ways. As in a human relationship, this occurs as we continue remaining close to Him, obeying Him, talking with Him, and learning of Him. Those who start the Christian journey, but do not remain near the Lord, never grow up in their relationship. By not abiding in Him, they will never get to know, or be known by God (1 Corinthians 13:12). It’s why He said to His disciples that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21). Because they chose to practice lawlessness instead of obeying Him, He will say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” They never got to know the Lord through continued intimacy after gaining access by first turning to Him. They are broad-way Christians that rebelled against the Lord’s narrow way of intimacy and submission (Matthew 7:13-14).
According to John, you will abide, or remain in the Son and the Father if you let what you heard in the beginning abide in you. He says;
“As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If [a big “if”!] what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.”
(1 John 2:24-25/NAS)
Abiding is the way to gain eternal life (i.e. eternal security). This was the issue with the children of Israel in the wilderness. By not remaining in Christ they never entered into the “promised land” which was a picture of crossing over into eternal life. Neither will we (Hebrews 4:1-6, 2 Cor. 7:1). (See the Bible study The Promise.)
Walking In The Flesh = Condemnation
To walk in the flesh, the place of condemnation, is to obey the sinful nature’s passions and desires (Galatians 5:24). We all sin, to one degree or another depending upon our level of submission to the Holy Spirit’s leading, but we need to have the truth revealed in order for the fear of the Lord to help keep us where we need to remain; abiding near the Lord’s saving power.
Our fallen nature’s have a natural bent to stray like sheep. As we saw in 1 Corinthians 5:5, this is so serious that Paul, in love, decided to deliver a man who was indulging his sinful nature in gross immorality to Satan for the destruction of his fallen nature, “so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Again, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:32, “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.” The “we” he refers to as being condemned with the world are his fellow Christian brothers and sisters.
In Paul’s letter to Timothy he lists the requirements for the office of an overseer in the church. He says, “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment [condemnation] as the devil.” (1 Timothy 3:6/NIV) The same judgment as the devil for pride!? This is why Paul was seemingly so harsh when he turned the man in the church in Corinth over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. It was in order to save him from the condemnation he would receive for his sin if he didn’t repent.
The writer of Hebrews strongly reinforces what I have been saying. To all who turned to Christ he says;
“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ and again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
(Hebrews 10:26-31/NIV)
To receive the knowledge of the truth is to receive Christ. May we all be more careful in these closing moments of this age to examine ourselves in our walks with Christ, remembering the blood of the covenant that sanctified us. May we not turn in arrogance and disrespect, insulting the Spirit of grace by which we are saved if we stand firm in the Lord until the end. May we also be our brother’s keeper and encourage each other, judging the Body rightly so as to not let anyone drift away in their commitment to the Lord, as we see His day approaching.
Eating And Drinking Irreverently
1 Corinthians 10:1-12 – Paul uses the example of Israel’s journey in the wilderness as a warning for us today to not act as they did and were destroyed. They were all eating and drinking (communing) from the same spiritual food and drink.
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea;
2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 and all ate the same spiritual food;
4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.
6 Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.
7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, "THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND STOOD UP TO PLAY."
8 Nor let us act immorally, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.
9 Nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.
10 Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.
NASU
1 Corinthians 10:16-22 – The bread and the cup of Christ and the sharing in demons with the Gentiles. (See the Bible study Fellowshipping With Demons.)
16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?
17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.
18 Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?
19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?
20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?
NASU
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