The Apostle Paul warns the Corinthian church that participating in the Lord’s Supper in an “unworthy” manner is so serious that it may lead to sickness and even death (1 Corinthians 11:27-30). Why did Paul take the Lord’s Supper so seriously?
Paul knew that the Lord’s Supper is the covenant “sign” of the New Covenant in Jesus. Simply put, a covenant sign is a symbolic ritual in the physical realm that creates and ongoingly reaffirms the relational-spiritual reality of the covenant itself. Throughout the Bible, God’s covenants are so strongly associated with their “signs,” that to violate or dishonor the sign of a covenant is considered to be the same as breaking the covenant itself – and, of course, covenant breaking naturally leads to death. Here are some example of this biblical pattern:
The Abrahamic Covenant and the sign of circumcision
The consequences for not taking seriously the sign of the covenant (circumcision) were severe – that person was to be “cut off from among the people,” which means either death or banishment (Genesis 17:14; Exodus 4:24-26; Joshua 5:2-8 ).
The Sinai Covenant and the sign of Sabbath rest
The consequence for violating Sabbath rest was death (Exodus 31:12-17 ).
The New Covenant and the sign of the Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper (not baptism, as many have mistakenly claimed) is the sign of the New Covenant. Jesus explicitly ties this ritual to the way in which the New Covenant will be “remembered,” which is the purpose of a covenant sign (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:25). “Remembrance” is often used as a covenant term, referring to the fact that one or both of the parties is called to remember and perform a covenant promise that has been made (e.g., Exodus 2:24).
In light of this pattern, Paul’s seemingly harsh judgment makes sense. This also explains Paul’s warning to “examine yourselves” before participating. Interestingly, most Christians in our culture have taken this warning and applied it in very individualistic terms, encouraging people to quietly sit and meditate on any unconfessed or unrepentant sin in their lives before taking communion. This is not wrong, but it misses the focal point of Paul’s real concern which is not individual sins, but corporate/community sin – the fact that the community was not functioning in self-sacrificial love at its communal love feast, because the rich were eating and drinking too much and refusing to share with the poor (1 Corinthians 11:17-22 ).
When we read 1 Corinthians 11 in this context, we see that the sign of the New Covenant – the Lord’s Supper – is meant to demonstrate the self-giving love of Jesus. And in light of this, we too are to show that same self-sacrificial love to each other. When we take communion together, it is certainly appropriate to ask people to reflect on their lives and any unaddressed sin. But, given Paul’s concerns, the primary sins we should be thinking about are those that have damaged the agape-love and sibling-like fellowship within the community itself.
