Reflections on 1 Corinthians 11:27
“So then 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.” (1 Corinthians 11:27, NIV)
“Hence anyone who eats the loaf or drinks the cup of the Lord carelessly, will have to answer for a sin against the body and the blood of the Lord.” (Moffatt)
“Therefore whoever eats or drinks of the symbolic bread or cup of our Lord in a manner that misrepresents the Remedy our Lord achieved, fails to partake of the cure Christ has provided, and instead is guilty of promoting a false remedy.” (The Remedy)
What Is Our Presence Saying?
This verse has kept a good many people away from the Lord’s table. “Unworthy” sounds like a bar we have to clear before we dare come forward. But listen to how the translators wrestle with that word. Moffatt says “carelessly.” The Twentieth Century New Testament says “in an irreverent spirit.” The TEV says “in a way that dishonors Him.” And The Remedy opens it wide: eating and drinking in a way that “misrepresents the Remedy our Lord achieved.”
Paul is not asking whether we are worthy. None of us are. He is asking what our presence at the table is saying.
Putting yourself out as a follower of Christ, sitting with the other believers at the ordinances of His body, while in your heart you hold tightly to the selfish, self-promoting habits of the world, misrepresents the healing Truth to everyone you influence. To act a part of the Christian life while your heart is wrapped up in the world is living a lie, and it puts Christ to shame in the eyes of those who are watching.
Two Hands
It will not work to hold the world in one hand and the things of Christ in the other. Neither hand can reach the goal alone, and you end up making a wreck of both. The “things” of Christ, the show put on for the benefit of others, have no power to hold you up, to change your heart, or to ennoble your life. They crumble to sand in your hand, because there is no substance in them.
Even the world will not settle for half a heart. Wealth, popularity, making your mark in this life: those things demand full attention, and even great talent will fail you if you chase them halfheartedly. The world will not accept halfhearted attention any more than the Lord accepts a halfhearted believer. Any lukewarmness will destroy the person who refuses to apply themselves, whatever choice they make. A divided heart leads to failure now and the loss of eternal life in glory.
Life on the Fence
The divided heart at the Lord’s table is the same heart that remains undecided, sitting on the fence all week doing nothing. Many of us sit there, waiting for a better time to commit. To not choose is to choose. While you remain undecided, you have already made a decision: not to surrender your life to Christ, and not to devote your full energies to anything else either. What happens is that life, your life, happens without you. Your talents stay unused, your life stays unlived, and you never become who you could have been.
This is the lukewarm state Christ says makes Him sick to His stomach. He will spit you out. But notice why. It is not that He wants to be rid of you. He cannot heal you without your choice to take part in the healing and your consent to be healed. When we hold back both, His only choice is to let us go and give us what we have chosen. Doing nothing is a choice.
Both Hands, Your Whole Heart
Just using our God-given talents to improve our hearts and minds creates opportunities to choose something better. Sitting on our hands makes us no better than a creature whose only ambition is its next meal, its next distraction, its next nap. The talents we were born with fade when they are left unimproved, and our opportunities for this life and the one to come crumble to dust.
It takes both hands, your whole heart and every talent improved, to find joy and peace now and for eternity. You can have it all now, but the cost is everything you are and all you have, laid out as a gift to the Lord and used to serve and bless others. That is the secret of a truly happy, well-lived life: living to be a blessing to others is the only way to truly be happy.
Door Number Two
Door number one is covered in bells and whistles: wealth, popularity, the pride of life, everything the world promises. But all you could ever hope for or want is rolled up and hidden inside door number two, the one the Lord is pointing you toward. It looks simple from the outside. But open it and step through, and you will find all your dreams have been safely stored, saved just for you.
The table is not a test of worthiness. It is an invitation to come with both hands.
