How Should We Take the Lord’s Supper?

In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul says we can eat and drink judgment on ourselves if we take communion improperly.

So how should we take the Lord's Supper? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Our phone lines are open right now, and you can call Pastor Adriel with your question. You might want to jot this number down for future reference. It's 833-THE-CORE. Just spell that on your phone, 833-THE-CORE.

Or if you want to use numbers, it's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts. And you can always email us your question at questions at corechristianity.org. Well, first up today, here is a voicemail we received from a listener named John. It appears to me that the passage is about people in the church who were putting themselves first, eating and drinking, and by the time it got around to the other people, there was no wine or bread left.

So these people were not getting along with the other people, but they were looking down upon them and putting themselves first in a selfish manner. So my question is, which is it? I hope I made the question clear. Thank you very much.

Bye. Yeah, John, I really appreciate this question. As a minister of the gospel and someone who values those ordinances or sacraments that Jesus gave to the church, baptism and the Lord's Supper, I think it's really important for us as believers today to be able to talk about this and to take these things very seriously. And the passage that you're referring to is in 1 Corinthians 11. It comes in the context of Paul discussing, just like you said, the problems that were happening in Corinth, in particular with how they were taking the Lord's Supper. Paul says in verse 27 of 1 Corinthians 11, whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. And the key question here, brother, is what does it mean to rightly discern the Lord's body?

Now there are two primary ways of looking at this. One, rightly discerning the Lord's body, as you were referring to in your question, could refer to understanding who truly is a part of the body of Christ. There were divisions happening at Corinth and they weren't caring for one another.

They were going ahead of each other and taking the Lord's Supper and despising those who were poor and didn't have anything. And so rightly discerning the Lord's body is having right relationships in terms of how we deal with each other within the body of Christ. I mean, just earlier in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul says in verse 17, but in following instructions, I do not commend you because when you come together, it is not for the better, but for the worse. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And so rightly discerning the Lord's body is not being divided with the body of Christ. Earlier in chapter 10, it's really interesting, Paul says, because there is one bread, we who are many are one body for we all partake of the one bread. The other way of looking at this is rightly discerning the Lord's body has to do with rightly understanding what's happening in the context of the Lord's Supper, the bread and the wine as these signs that signify the body and blood of Jesus Christ not minimizing those gifts that God gives to us. And in reality, it could be a sum of both, a sort of double entendre here where Paul is saying you guys need to rightly discern the Lord's body in terms of your relationships with each other and also understand what's happening in the context of the Lord's Supper when we gather as a church.

So I like to take that view. I think that that's faithful to the text of Scripture. And one thing I'll say here where I think it really is meaningful for each of us as individuals is it should really cause us when we come together as Christians to take the Lord's Supper to think about are there divisions here in the church? Are there brothers or sisters in the body of Christ that I'm not getting along with that I should go to and reconcile with because the fact of the matter is the Lord's Supper is the ordinance of our unity. We partake of one bread, we're one body and so it doesn't make sense if we're coming together around the table of the Lord and yet in reality we're all divided. And so it's really important for us to, as we're coming together, rightly discern the Lord's body. Come in faith, faith to feed upon Jesus. That's what's happening when we take the Lord's Supper. Laying aside our sins, those divisions that we have, and coming in humility to receive the grace that God gives to us.

And I'll just add one more thing there. A lot of times when people hear about not eating and drinking judgment to themselves, not coming in an unworthy manner, they think, boy, I don't feel worthy ever to take the Lord's Supper. I don't know if I can come forward. Well look, the Lord's Supper is for repentant, broken sinners. If you've struggled all week and your church is taking communion on Sunday and you feel like I'm not worthy, well look, don't let that keep you from participating in this meal because the meal is for sinners. For those who know they desperately need the body and blood of Jesus, come to the table by faith and receive the grace that the Lord has for you there.

John, thank you so much for your question. That is such a great reminder, Adriel, because I know there are many Christians who often feel, boy, I should just let that cup pass me by because, boy, I've screwed up so much this week that God would never forgive me. It's just the opposite. Yeah, I mean, that's when we really need the Lord's Supper. I mean, it's medicine for our souls. We might say we come before the table of the Lord because we're desperate for the grace of God. And if we've been struggling all week, boy, there's no better place to be than with your brothers and sisters in Christ around the table of the Lord receiving the grace of Jesus.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. By the way, there are a variety of ways to listen to our program, and whether you listen to our podcast or you check us out on YouTube or you listen to us on the radio, the time to call is 1130 a.m. Pacific time, 1 30 Central or 2 30 Eastern time. Some stations air us on a delayed basis, so if you'd like to talk to Pastor Adriel live, remember those times, 11 30 a.m. Pacific, 1 30 Central, 2 30 Eastern time. Let's go to David, who is calling in from O'Fallon, Illinois. David, welcome to Core Christianity. Well, thank you.

Thank you for taking my call. I got a question here that's been bothering me a little bit from Matthew 13 about the parable of the sowers, and I explained to your call screener about how there's four separate soils. I guess if I am correct, the seed is the Word of God, and it's planted on four different kinds of soils. Three are bad soils and don't germinate, and the fourth one, of course, leads to a bountiful crop. But being soil is a passive substance.

How do we know whether we're the good soil that can germinate or if we're just stuck in the weeds, so to speak? Yeah, that's great. I mean, well, I love this passage of scripture. Actually, just recently, David, we were doing our family devotions in the morning.

We read through this as a family with the kids. And just thinking about the importance of the Word of God taking deep root in our hearts, that was what I was trying to communicate to my kids. And I think that that's what Jesus is communicating here in this parable.

You're right. The Word is the seed that is sown, the message of the kingdom. Jesus said in chapter 13, verse 18, hear then the parable of the sower, when anyone hears the Word of the kingdom. That's what's sown. One, I think, important point here is that the job of faithful pastors is to sow the seed of the Word of God. That's what we're doing. We're out in the field sowing the seed of the Word of God.

Now, that seed falls on different kinds of soils. And I think for each of us, as those who want to follow Jesus, our prayer should be, Lord, make my heart a fertile ground for your Word. I think we should pray that prayer every single day, certainly every single week when we gather together as believers to hear the preached Word and to be with the body of Christ. And so in one sense, David, I think this is something that we ought to pray for for ourselves and also pray for our friends who maybe don't know Jesus, haven't embraced the gospel, but we're sharing the gospel with them. There's a brother who is taking the new members class at our church, has never been baptized, is sort of new to the whole Christianity thing.

And we sat down together. He's hoping to be baptized at our church. And we went through this section of scripture, Matthew 13, and I said, look, the Word of God is falling on you.

Pray that it falls on fertile soil because it can fall on stony ground. We hear the Word of God, and we're really excited about it. And then tribulation trials come, and we just say, yeah, I think I'm done with this Christianity thing. And so, David, I think that we pray. You're right, our hearts are receiving the Word of God, but we receive that Word with meekness, with humility.

And that's how we know we're the fertile ground that's going to produce a crop. David, does that help clarify things for you? I think so, yeah, because I've been a Christian for a while. I've had times where I haven't been as faithful as I should, but I'm working every day trying to be better at being a Christian, sharing the Word. It's hard during the COVID process, but I think what you're trying to say is that we have more control over accepting the Word and praying for God, that we can be that fertile soil. We do have a role to play when it comes to rightly receiving the Word of God. We receive it with meekness. The New Testament talks about receiving that implanted Word with meekness. That is, we're open to it. And I think that this is something that we also ought to pray for. Now, there are a couple of different ways of thinking about this parable, too, by the way.

I mean, you can think of it just as sort of a general rule. There are some people who they hear it and then they reject it, but I think even in our day-to-day lives as Christians, there are times where the Word of God is getting choked out by the thorns of the world. And we recognize that. You recognize that in your life, and so we go to the Lord and we say, God, forgive me, and Lord, help me.

And He does. And He does, because it's the will of the Lord for His Word to take deep root in our hearts. And so when we go to the Lord and say, God, do this work in me.

I need Your Word desperately. I mean, the psalmist talks about this over and over again in places like Psalm 119. You know, with all my heart I have sought You. Do not let me depart from Your Word to wander from Your commandments. And so I think that's our prayer, David. That sounds like it's your prayer.

And let me just encourage you in saying that that's a prayer that the Lord will answer, because it's in accordance with His will. And so with meekness, with humility, we receive the Word of God. We prepare our own hearts to receive it by studying it, by reading, and even by conversing. You know, talking with other brothers and sisters about the Word, meditating upon it. That's how we rightly receive the Word of God. And so I pray that the Lord blesses you, brother, as you continue to do that.

And it sounds like you are off to a great start. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. And if you'd like to talk to Pastor Sanchez live right now with your question, anything about the Bible or the Christian life, here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. We would love to hear from you. By the way, we have something really special to offer today, and it's particularly great if you are a new listener to Core Christianity. It's called our Core Kit.

Absolutely, Bill. The Core Kit is our offer to listeners who are wondering what Core Christianity is all about. It's a free resource, jam-packed with items like our DVD, Finding Yourself in God's Story, answers to the top three questions we get asked on the show, and a printed copy of our most read article at corechristianity.com, as well as our Bible reading plan.

There's also more there. So make sure you get a hold of this resource. The Core Kit is a kit that introduces you to the best content and items we have at corechristianity.com. We've heard a lot of just wonderful testimonials about how these resources have helped and encouraged people in their Christian faith. We want to make sure that you get a hold of these.

We've brought them all together in one place to make it easy for you. To receive the Core Kit, all you have to do is go to corechristianity.com forward slash kit and sign up. That's corechristianity.com forward slash kit. And of course, you can always call us for that resource or any one of our resources at 833-843-2673.

Again, that is 833 the core. Now, one of the ways you can ask a question is by leaving a voicemail on our website at corechristianity.com. And here's one we received yesterday. Hi, my name is Ben, and I just want to say thank you for your ministry. And my question is, is it wrong to have fellowship with someone who deny the deity of Christ and the Trinity?

Is it wrong to have fellowship with them like Bible study, singing worship song together, all that sort of stuff? Thank you for taking my question. Yeah, thank you for that question.

And I think that that's a really important question. I think we can distinguish between having fellowship with someone who rejects essentially the gospel. You can't embrace the gospel of Jesus if you deny the deity of Jesus because central to the gospel is who Jesus is. He is the eternal son of God who offered himself up for our sins. And if he wasn't the eternal son of God, then we would still be dead in our sins because his sacrifice would not have been sufficient to cleanse us, to cleanse the whole world.

And so it's really important that we get that right. You cannot deny the deity of Jesus and have the gospel be a child of God. And so I would say no, we cannot fellowship in worship, or we ought not fellowship in worship. I mean, it doesn't make sense. How could we sing together if we were singing to a different God, essentially?

It just wouldn't work. But that doesn't mean that we can't have friendships with those who don't believe the same things that we do. And I think actually the apostle Paul makes that very clear in places like 1 and 2 Corinthians. It's one thing to judge the sin within the church, to say, look, this is not okay. But those who are outside, God judges. That doesn't mean that we have fellowship with them in the sense of worship. Paul talks about being unequally yoked. I think that that's really important. But it does mean that we can't have relationships, friendships, that kind of a thing.

Why? So that we can bring the light of the gospel to people, encourage them in their faith. And one verse I think that's really important, and I think it just answers your question, is what John says in 2 John 1, verse 8, one of these books that a lot of times isn't studied in depth, but listen to what John said.

Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. And so I think John is speaking there directly to this question, Ben, of fellowship. Do I have fellowship with those who deny the deity of Jesus Christ?

Can I get together and pray and sing worship songs with Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses? Well, I think that John would say, no, we can't, because the reality is we don't have fellowship with them. What gives us fellowship together as the church is the blood of Jesus Christ. And who was Jesus?

As I said already, he's God. John 1, 1, the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And so if people deny that, they reject the gospel, and therefore we don't have fellowship with them in that sense, but we can have friendship with them.

And I would encourage you to be friends with people who think differently than you do. I think that that's part of how we bring the love and the light of Christ to the people around us, and you encourage them with the word of God. And so, Ben, may the Lord bless you in that, and I trust that that was a clear answer there from 2 John for you. God bless. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Here's the number to call if you have a question.

It's 833-THE-CORE. You can also email us at questions at corechristianity.com. Karen actually emailed us with a question sort of related to what Ben just asked, and she says this. How do I address Christians who believe that we can connect with Muslims and Jews and unite together under God? Yeah, there it is again, right, like just the idea of unity in the church, and our unity is around the gospel of Jesus. So if we don't have the gospel, and we would say Muslims don't have the gospel, then we don't have fellowship, at least in that sense, in any real unity, because our unity comes from Christ. I think about what Paul said in Ephesians 2. Therefore remember, this is verse 11, that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, and so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God. Unity comes from the blood of Jesus, from the cross. We're reconciled to each other as people, but also to God first and foremost, to the holy God who we had sinned against. And so is it okay for us to do charitable things with people who think differently than we do, maybe serving the community, a soup kitchen, that kind of a thing?

Yeah, absolutely. There's nothing wrong with that, but we have to make sure that the gospel is still central for us as Christians. What Jesus calls us to in Matthew 28 is to preach the gospel, to proclaim the gospel, and so if the church isn't doing that, well, she's not walking in the mission that Jesus gave to her. I don't think there's anything wrong, again, with serving the community with other people who maybe don't think like you do, that's totally fine, but we can't lose the gospel in the process. The gospel has to be central for us as Christians and as a church, and so may the Lord bless you, and thank you so much for that question.

You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and we'd love to hear from you if you have a question. Glory from Modesto, California is on the line. Hi, Glory, welcome to the program. Hi, good morning. Good morning.

What's your question, Glory? I am relatively new to biblical study and the Christian faith, and I was a Catholic, gosh, since I was nine and I'm 52, or almost 52 rather now, so I was baptized as a baby, but I feel really strongly that I would like to be baptized into the Christian faith, and I just don't know, is that necessary after having been baptized as a baby? And if it is okay to get baptized again, at what point does a new Christian know that they're ready for that? Okay, Glory, this is an excellent question, and there are all sorts of ways in which Christians have thought about these differences of opinion, but I'm going to say there's only one baptism, and if you were baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit with water, you've been baptized. Ultimately, it's the word of God and his promise that makes a baptism a baptism.

It's not me or the holiness of a minister. It's the word of God, and so if you've been baptized, even if you were baptized in the Catholic Church, I would say you've been truly baptized, but you need to be in a fellowship. You need to be in a church that faithfully preaches the gospel, and so I would encourage you to get plugged into a church where the gospel is faithfully preached. You've been baptized, and that's another thing. Baptism isn't so much just about my individual decision, my own personal thing with Jesus, that kind of thing. No, we're baptized into the church. Paul says by one spirit, we've all been baptized into one body, and so it's so important for baptized Christians to be a part of the Christian church, to be a part of visible bodies, communities of worshiping believers.

That's what I would encourage. I would say, look, you've been baptized. You can't get baptized more than once. You've been baptized. Now, be a part of a faithful Bible-teaching church, one that clearly teaches the scriptures, clearly teaches the word of God, one where there is fellowship that's going to be encouraging, where the ordinances like baptism and the Lord's Supper are being practiced.

We need that. The Christian life was never meant to be lived in isolation on our own. No, Jesus redeemed us. He's made us one with the body, and He's reconciled us to the Father by His blood. God bless you. Please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program, and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.