With the degradation of the church, the matter of bread breaking became confused; therefore, the Holy Spirit in the Bible teaches us to have discernment concerning the breaking of bread.
1. “You come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that divisions exist among you” (1 Cor. 11:17-18).
According to verse 20, the coming together spoken of in verses 17 and 18 is the bread-breaking meeting. Some bread-breaking meetings were not for the better but for the worse because divisions existed among those attending the meeting. First of all refers to the main reason. When the believers meet together to break bread, they testify of the oneness of Christ’s Body, the church. If those who meet together to break bread have divisions among themselves, or if a bread-breaking meeting is on a sectarian ground instead of the ground of the oneness of the church, the meeting will not match the essential oneness of the church, and it will damage the oneness of the church. Consequently, the attendants of such a meeting will come together for the worse and will suffer loss. Every time we attend a meeting to break bread, we must discern its ground to determine whether it is a meeting in division or in oneness. Is it a sect, or is it the church? We must discern whether the meeting has a divisive element or a sectarian factor lest we come together for the worse and suffer a loss.
2. “When therefore you come together in the same place, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper; for in your eating, each one takes his own supper first, and one is hungry and the other is drunk” (1 Cor. 11:20-21).
Here the apostle warns us that some bread-breaking meetings are not to eat the Lord’s supper. When therefore...it is not refers to the divisions mentioned in the preceding verses. A divisive bread-breaking meeting, that is, a sectarian bread-breaking meeting, in the apostle’s eyes and in the Lord’s eyes is not the Lord’s supper. The bread broken in the Lord’s supper symbolizes the entire Body of Christ and testifies to the oneness of the Body of Christ, the church. If bread is broken on a sectarian, divisive ground, or if bread with a divisive, sectarian element is broken, it does not correspond with the element of the oneness of the church, and it loses the testimony and significance of bread breaking. Therefore, “it is not” bread breaking.
Christ is not divided (1:13); the church is one (12:13). Thus, in the church those who belong to Christ should not be divided or divide into sects, saying, “I am of such-and-such a church” or “I am of such-and-such a group” (cf. 1:10-12). When the believers break bread, they testify that the church is one on the positive side, and they simultaneously announce that there is no room for divisions and sects on the negative side. Yet some bread is broken on a sectarian ground with the element of division in it. Thus, it is no wonder that through the apostle the Holy Spirit declares that this kind of bread breaking is not the Lord’s supper.
Another reason that some bread breaking is not the Lord’s supper is that some mix this matter with their own supper and make it common. This was the practice of the Corinthians in Paul’s time. On the one hand, they ate the Lord’s supper, and on the other, they ate their own supper. The poor among them went hungry while the rich were drunk with wine. In doing this, they confused the special characteristic of the Lord’s supper and lost the significance of bread breaking. Consequently, it was not to eat the Lord’s supper or to break bread. We cannot eat the Lord’s supper as if it were an ordinary meal or consider the breaking of bread to be a common thing. We must preserve the holy nature of the Lord’s supper, and we must honor the high significance of the breaking of bread; otherwise, we will change the nature of the Lord’s supper, causing it to equal nothing and become a matter of loss rather than profit.
3. “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:27).
According to the apostle’s word, it is possible for people to break bread in an unworthy manner. The unworthiness spoken of in this verse includes at least the two matters which were previously mentioned: divisions and treating the Lord’s supper as something common. Whoever is in division or treats the Lord’s supper as something common breaks bread in an unworthy manner. This kind of bread breaking makes one guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. The Lord’s body was given for us so that we could receive His life and become His mystical Body, and the Lord’s blood was poured out for us to make us worthy to receive His life to become His mystical Body. This is the testimony signified by our eating the bread and drinking the cup. If we break bread in division on a sectarian ground, we bring the element of division into our breaking of bread and damage the testimony of the oneness of His mystical Body, the church. If we treat His supper as common, we annul the special significance of His body which was given for us and of His blood which was poured out for us. Thus, we are guilty of His body and His blood. We should not do this!
In verse 26 the apostle says that the breaking of bread is to remember the Lord through enjoying the bread and the cup and to declare His death as we await His return. Thus, to eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, as spoken of in verse 27, includes not practicing the fellowship of the apostle in the preceding verse. If, in our breaking of bread, we do not enjoy Him, remember Him, display His death, or wait for His coming, we are eating His bread and drinking His cup in an unworthy manner. A nominal Christian without the Lord’s life or an unsaved false believer cannot remember the Lord, display His death, or await His coming, so if such a person eats the Lord’s bread and drinks His cup, he is unworthy and is guilty of His body and blood. We should not do this either.
4. “Let a man prove himself, and in this way let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not discern the body” (1 Cor. 11:28-29).
Because there is the possibility of breaking bread in an unworthy manner and thus being guilty of the Lord’s body and blood, we must take the responsibility to prove ourselves and to discern whenever we break bread. To prove is to examine the bread to see whether it is a bread of division, of a sectarian nature, or with a divisive element. Does the bread-breaking meeting treat the Lord’s supper as a common thing? Does it respect the honorable significance of bread breaking? To prove is to examine the ground, nature, and element of the bread-breaking meeting; it is also to prove our own individual motive and condition in a self-examination. Are we personally divisive in the church? Do we have a sectarian element? Are we one with the brothers and sisters? Are we treating the meeting as common and unimportant? Is our living up to the standard and worthy of the testimony of the breaking of bread? To discern is to test the bread to see whether it refers both to the Lord’s body given for us and to His mystical Body. Does it represent the Body of Christ—the church? Does it testify to the oneness of the church? Does it prove that “we who are many are one Body; for we all partake of the one bread” (10:17)? Does it represent some sect or denomination, or does it represent the unique church? After we discern that the bread represents the Body of Christ and decide to break the bread, we must also prove ourselves to see whether we have any disagreement, dispute, or problem with any saint who is a member with us. Are we jealous; do we dislike or despise certain brothers and sisters? We must prove and discern. We must know that the bread is not a bread of division, that the meeting is not treating the Lord’s supper as something common, that we ourselves are not divisive, that we are not in disagreement with the brothers and sisters, and that we are not taking the Lord’s supper lightly and eating it loosely. We also must know that the bread represents the Body of Christ and testifies to the oneness of the church. Furthermore, we must see whether we have any problems or disaccord with any saint who is a member together with us. There cannot be any separation between members. Everything must be so clear before we eat the bread and drink the cup. If we are not in such a clear condition, we are guilty of the body of the Lord and of His blood, and we eat and drink judgment to ourselves. Eats and drinks judgment to himself means that the eating and drinking cause one to be judged and condemned. Therefore, if we do not prove and discern according to the foregoing matters, breaking bread will cause us to be judged and condemned; it will cause us to suffer loss. We must be careful about this matter.
5. “If we discerned ourselves, we would not be judged”; “Not come together for judgment” (1 Cor. 11:31, 34).
Come together for judgment in the original Greek means “come together and bring judgment upon ourselves.” The meeting spoken of here is the bread-breaking meeting. Thus, these verses tell us that the bread-breaking meeting can cause us to be judged and condemned. Consequently, whenever we break bread, we first must discern clearly and prove ourselves thoroughly. If we do this, we will not be judged, and we will not bring judgment upon ourselves. We will not be condemned and suffer loss. Therefore, in the matter of breaking bread we must discern and prove ourselves.