At the end of this chapter, Paul gives us a serious teaching on the Lord's Supper (Communion, Eucharist). Paul makes it clear that those who take communion need to understand the seriousness of it. This, to Paul, is a matter of life and death. Though I do not believe the element become the physical body and blood of Jesus, there is clearly something supernatural taking place. Taking Communion invites Jesus to come into our body, into our lives, and it can bring life or death.
I heard someone say today that when we take communion, we ask Jesus into our lives, and that has consequences. As an example, you don't invite a police officer into your house if you have illegal drugs and guns sitting on the table and expect them to ignore it (yes, I remember a cop show where people did this, but as expected, they were arrested.) You don't go into a disease ward unless you are immune and don't expect to get sick. You can't expect to invite the holy God into a rebellious heart and not expect bad things to happen. When people come into the presence of God, in the Bible, there is judgment. One is either repentant and finds mercy, or one isn't and judgment comes. Communion is asking God to make the call in our lives, and we are either given mercy or face condemnation. This is why many in the church don't have open communion; they don't want to give out condemnation to those who are not Christians.
Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash
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