Paul
the apostle told the Corinthian church members, “whosoever
shall eat this bread, and drink this
cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of
the Lord”,
and in
chapter eleven and verse twenty-eight of First Corinthians, Paul
instructed the Corinthian church members to “let
a man examine himself”,
where we read:
The verse begins, “But
let a man examine himself, ...”.
Paul began
with the word, “But”
which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be
written takes precedence over what was just stated “let
a man” or
“allow and permit a human being whether male or female” “examine”
which means “test, prove, scrutinize and determine if genuine”
“himself”
or “the person themselves”. Paul instructed the church members to
“test and prove” themselves.
The
verse continues, “... and
so let him eat of that
bread, and drink of that
cup.” Paul
added the words, “and so let him”
which means
“and allow the human being whether male or female” “eat”
or “consume and devour” “of that
bread”
which means “of the food composed of flour mixed with water and
baked used in the Lord's supper”, “and
drink” or
“imbibe” “of that cup”
which refers to “the drinking vessel that is used in the Lord's
supper” . After a person has “examined” themselves, they should
participate in the “eating and drinking” of “the
Lord's supper”.
When
we meditate upon these words from Paul, we understand his exhortation
to “test, prove and scrutinize” ourselves before we partake of
“the Lord's supper”. Church members are to “reverence”
the meaning behind the elements used in “communion”, and turn
from and repent of any sin that is revealed in our “examinations”.
Jesus desires to have fellowship with us, and when we “remember”
what He did to pay the penalty for our sins, we have true intimacy
with God.
Next
time Paul that the person who, “eats
and drinks” of
the Lord's supper “unworthily,
eats and drinks damnation to himself”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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