01. Examination (1 Corinthians 11:27-28)
• 1 Corinthians 11:27 bread is ἄρτος (artos) from αἴρω (ō), which means to raise up.
• unworthily is ἀναξίως (ōs), means unworthily*, disrespectfully, or improperly*. Here it is used to signify that the Corinthian assembly is treating the commemoration of the Lord's Supper as a common meal. Found only 2x (1 Corinthians 11:27; 1 Corinthians 11:29).
• 1 Corinthians 11:28 let...examine is δοκιμάζω (ŏkimazō), means *proving authentic *(cf. 1 Corinthians 11:19)...a detailed examination of a person to determine their quality and character. Found in 2 Timothy 2:15.
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**02. Not Discerning the Lord's Body (1 Corinthians 11:29)
****• 1 Corinthians 11:29 Today, the word damnation means solely to condemn to Hell, yet in 1611 it meant, *The action or fact of condemning, especially by judicial sentence, a sentence or punishment*.
• damnation is κρίμα (krima), and the suffix *-ma* indicates the outcome of a judgment. The root word for damnation is κρίνω (ō), meaning to divide, to separate, to make a distinction, to pronounce a judgment, to judge, and never to damn to Hell, and found 3x in this chapter:
1 Corinthians 11:13; 1 Corinthians 11:31; and 1 Corinthians 11:32.
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• discerning** is διακρίνω (ō)á, denoting separation and as a prefix, it is an intensifier, and κρίνω (ō).
• Thus, what Paul is saying here is that when we partake of the Lord's Supper, we are to use discernment and understand that the commemoration is to be separate from the Agape Feasts or any other meals that we may partake with one another.
****• Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:24 that when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we are to do it in remembrance of Jesus, thus recognizing the solemness of the occasion.
• Many take 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 to mean that if you partake of the Lord's Supper unworthily are then guilty of the death of Jesus. They will tell you that during the partaking we are to personally examine (1 Corinthians 11:28“are right with God," yet what that usually does is cause us to think that of the previous examples of people being struck dead and causes us to rely on our works and not God's grace for our salvation (Ephesians 2:8--9)! A personal examination is always a good check within us, but that does not keep us saved, for if it did, that is works and no longer grace!
• But what Paul is writing here in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 is that when we examine ourselves it is not for our right standing before God, but instead on the method of celebrating the Lord's Supper. The Corinthian assembly had started to combine the Agape Feasts (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:20--22) with the Lord's Supper, thus the 2 meals started to blend where no one can tell the difference!
• Paul says that you are not going to Hell for taking the Lord's Supper unworthily.
03. Infirmities (1 Corinthians 11:30)
• 1 Corinthians 11:30 are weak is ἀσθενής (ĕnēs), meaning one who is feeble or infirm.
• sickly is ἄῤῥωστος (ōstŏs), meaning one whose strength has failed because of a disease.
• sleep** is κοιμάω (ŏimaō) from κεῖμαι (ĕimai) which means to lie down.
• Paul uses this same verb in 1 Corinthians 7:39, but it is translated as dead (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13--15).
• Another problematic verse, for it seems that Paul is writing that God condemns believers with infirmities, diseases, and even death if they partake of the Lord's Supper unworthily.
• God's Revelation of Transition: As people who desire to rightly divide (2 Timothy 2:15), one of the hardest places to make a clean cut is the transition period from the Dispensation of the Law to the Dispensation of Grace.
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• In this transition period from the Law to Grace, an overlap of passages from Paul where we see him writing about the Age of the Law, and there are others that he writes about the Age of Grace. When you have this overlap, as we do here in 1 Corinthians, we need to rightly divide.
• In the Dispensation of the Law, it was common for God to reward and punish His people with prosperity or stagnation (Deuteronomy 11:13--28). When the 2 sons of Aaron (Nadab and Abihu) deliberately disobeyed the instructions from God about the sacrifices (Leviticus 10:1--3), and the account of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11; where all 4 were killed instantly.
• More examples of the punishment of God on His people because of sin: (Exodus 15:26; Numbers 20:12; Numbers 20:24; Numbers 21:6--9; 2 Samuel 12:14--18; 1 Kings 13:21--24; Psalm 38:1--8; Psalm 78:30--31; Psalm 89:31--34; Amos 3:2).
• In Acts 13:38-39 we see the 1st occurrence of grace alone (cf. Ephesians 3:1--6). The OT, the Gospels, Acts 1-13, and Hebrews to Revelation are Law or the Future Kingdom of God.
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• With that foundation, what we see here in our text is that God was striking the Corinthians with infirmities, diseases, and even death because they took the Lord's Supper unworthily, just like with Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:1--3) and Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11).
• These experiences are no longer seen today in this Age of Grace, (no one dying in a church service for lying, etc.) because we live in grace. We still suffer the consequences of sin, but we don't live in fear that we will be struck dead because of our sin!
