1 Corinthians 11:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

NIV: For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.

NASB: For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body.

CSB: For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.

NLT: For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.

KJV: For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

NKJV: For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

This is a sobering verse, especially for believers who regularly participate in communion. Paul has already warned Christians to examine themselves before taking part in the Lord's Supper to avoid doing so in an unworthy way (1 Corinthians 11:28).

The cup represents Christ's blood, and the bread represents His broken body. The purpose of taking communion is to commemorate and reflect on the sacrificial death of Jesus (Matthew 26:26–28). To do so without "discerning the body" brings judgment on the participant.

The first question this raises is the precise meaning of "discerning the body." Bible scholars primarily suggest two ways of interpreting this, both of which are reasonable, and which can even both be true.

The first suggestion is that this refers to a recognition: that the symbolic parallel to Christ's body in the elements of the bread and cup causes a Christian to see them as different from other food. In other words, the Lord's Supper should not be treated like just another meal used to satisfy physical hunger. It must be approached with respect as something much more meaningful and important. This first view of "discerning the body" would fit with Paul's instructions in the following verses about not coming hungry to the Lord's Supper gathering. The Corinthians were clearly not doing this (1 Corinthians 11:17–22).

Along with that, partaking in communion is "proclaiming" the death of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:26). If a person proclaims Jesus' death, but is disobedient to the gospel, that person is essentially daring God to judge them (Galatians 6:6–7). Whether by ignorance, arrogance, or simple error, insulting the sacrifice of Christ—even symbolically—is something God takes seriously.

The second interpretive view is that "discerning the body" means recognizing the relationship between Christ's body and the "body of Christ," known as the church. In other words, we must see Christ in our fellow Christians and treat them as we would treat Jesus when we come together. This view fits with what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:16–17.

Whichever view Paul intended, both are necessary.

This leads to the issue of what precise judgment is invited when someone participates in the Lord's Supper in an unworthy way. Paul gives more detail in the following verse.

First Corinthians 11:17–34 contains Paul's rebuke of the church in Corinth for their application of the Lord's Supper. They had turned it into a gathering at which the wealthy ate and drank too much, leaving the poorer Christians hungry and humiliated. Paul warns that communion should be a time of sober self-reflection about our sin and Christ's sacrifice, as well as a time to unite the body of Christ, the church, while taking in representations of the blood and body of Christ. Some in Corinth were sick and others had died as part of God's judgment for participating in communion in an unworthy manner.

Paul confronts two issues the church in Corinth was failing to practice correctly. First, some women were not wearing head coverings while praying or prophesying in their meetings. Paul insisted they must do so, and that men must not, based on mankind's relationship to God and the social implications of that covering. Second, Paul describes the reasons for observing the Lord's Supper and how it should be done. The Corinthian Christians had brought God's judgment on themselves for practicing communion in a way which dishonored Christ's sacrifice for sin and humiliated the poor among them.

After concluding his teaching on meat offered to idols, Paul turns to two issues the church in Corinth was getting wrong. The first was head coverings when praying or prophesying in their meetings. Differences between men and women in that regard are because of both spiritual and social reasons. Paul also corrects the disastrous way in which they were practicing the observance of the Lord's Supper. They were dishonoring Christ's sacrifice for sin as well as the poor in the body of Christ, the church. Despite having more to say on communion, Paul will move on to the topic of spiritual gifts in chapter 12.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.