Sunday, December 11, 2016

Hearing the stern warnings of Paul to respect Christ's Body

When Christians get ill, do they think about and discuss the warnings given in 1 Corinthians 11:29-32? 

"For the one eating and drinking [wrongfully], eats and drinks judgement on himself, not discerning the body. Because of this, among you are many weak and sickly and a considerable number sleep. Now, if were judging ourselves, we would not judge! Being judged, however, by the Lord, we are chastized, so that we not be condemned with the world."  


One question among many questions to ask about this text is, "what does it mean: 'not discerning the body'?" If one reads the context---chapters 11 and 12, or the whole letter---it is a strong possibility that it is referring to "the body of Christ". Later editions of this text actually have two added words here, perhaps to make that clarification: they read, "not discerning the body of the Lord [tou kuriou]". 

So, what does it mean: to not discern the body of Christ? Again the context gives much support to a particular interpretation. In chapter 11:17-34, Paul has raised a major criticism of the church in Corinth: that when they come together for the Lord's supper, they disregard one another, not sharing their food and drink with one another. This could be "not discerning the body of Christ". One proof that this is the right interpretation is that Paul concludes this argument by saying, "If someone hungers, he must eat at home, so that you do not gather together into judgement" (verse 34a).

If this is correct, then in view of how severe the punishment is for not discerning the body of Christ, we ought to consider how we are properly to discern and respect the body of Christ. One of Scripture's definitions of the body of Christ is given in 1 John 5:1a, "Everyone who is believing that Jesus is the Christ is born of God". In sum, it appears to be the wisest course, to take the Lord's Supper with a heart of regard for all who believe that Jesus is the Christ.

No comments:

Post a Comment