1 Corinthians 11:17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, 21 for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22 Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this 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 manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
The Lords supper spoke of here is one of the church ordinances that we are to do until the Lord's return. The purpose of this is mentioned in this passage; For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes and this is to be done as a constant reminder that the Lord will return just as He said He would and He is not slow to keep his promises.
What I would like to focus on is this passage of scripture.
1 Corinthians 11:28 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment(emphasis mine) on himself.
The word examine here is dokimazō.
1) to test, examine, prove, scrutinise (to see whether a thing is genuine or not), as metals
2) to recognise as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy
It is used 12 times in the New Testament. At the time of this passage many Corinthians were better off than others at the Lord's supper and were not being Christ-like in sharing the food since the Lord's Supper was a feast for all believer's regardless of social classes. Jude mentions the love feasts in verse 12:
Jude 12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds [they are] without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
Jude speaking in this particular context is speaking very harshly of these same types of people who did not take the Lord's supper at what it was worth and had a misconstrued view of the Lord's supper. Things they were doing are mentioned to the Corinthians in verse 11:27 and 29. People were not thorougly examining themself by the Word of God and were taking the Lord's supper without true repentance or maybe having a hard heart towards their brother or sister. It should be a regular deed in the life of every believer and follower of Christ to examine theirself according to the Word of God-the Bible.
2 Peter 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, [as] they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots [they are] and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam [the son] of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
In Matthew scripture speaks of the fact that the non-believer will always be with us even in some churches. Only God knows the heart of man. In my church when you visit you are not able to partake in the Lords supper for various reasons. I would love for you to read the reasoning why and maybe talk to your pastor if he lets non-believer's join in communion, an example would be a child who has not been converted or a visitor in which you do not know if he is a genuine Christian. Read this article HERE on this position.
Matt 13:24 The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' 28 "'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' 29 "'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"
