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  1. We must not eat the bread and drink the cup in an unworthy manner—1 Cor. 11:27.
    1. If we come together with divisions or if we profane the Lord's table, we eat and drink in an unworthy manner.
    2. If we eat and drink in an unworthy manner, we eat and drink judgment to ourselves—v. 29.
    3. Because of eating and drinking in an unworthy manner, many in Corinth were weak and sick, and a number of them slept (died)—v. 30.
      1. First, the Lord disciplined them so that they were weak physically.
      2. Since they did not repent of their offense, they were further disciplined to be sick.
      3. Because they still did not repent, the Lord judged them by death.
      4. Verse 30 is a word of warning.
        1. Weakness should be a warning to us.
        2. If we do not take this warning, the second warning will come—sickness.
        3. Failure to heed the second warning will bring the third warning—death.
        4. Sometimes the saints may need to call for the elders (James 5:14-15), the representatives of the Body, to pray for them that they may be healed and brought back to a proper relationship with the Body.
  2. Regarding the Lord's supper, Paul used two crucial words: prove and discern—1 Cor. 11:28-29.
    1. To prove ourselves is to check whether we are eating the bread and drinking the cup in a way that is worthy or in a way that is unworthy.
      1. We need to prove ourselves to be sure that we are not unworthy to partake of the Lord's supper.
      2. We must realize as we eat the bread and drink the cup these are solemn, holy, and divine signs.
    2. To discern the Body is to discern both the Lord's physical body and also His mystical Body.
    3. Proving ourselves is for the remembrance of the Lord; discerning the Body is mainly for the carrying out of God's administration.
  3. Whenever we come to the Lord's table, we must discern the Body.
    1. To discern is to distinguish, separate, discriminate, make a distinction.
    2. First, the bread at the Lord's table signifies the Lord's physical body sacrificed on the cross for our redemption—1 Cor. 11:23-24.
      1. The Corinthians profaned the holy supper by making it something common.
        1. This is a sin against the physical body of Christ crucified.
        2. The bread at the table must be sanctified, made holy.
      2. We should not touch the bread as one would touch ordinary food; we should touch the bread reverently.
    3. The bread at the Lord's table also signifies the mystical Body of Christ—1 Cor. 10:16-17.
      1. In 1 Cor. 11:29 "not discerning the body" refers to not discerning the mystical Body of Christ.
      2. We must discern whether the bread on the table signifies the unique mystical Body of Christ or a division.
        1. If the bread signifies a divisive group or a denomination, we should not take it.
        2. To discern the Body in this way is to recognize that it is utterly distinct from anything else.
      3. To come to the table with division is to offend the mystical Body of Christ.
    4. Each must examine himself to see if there is any offense between himself and another member of the Body.
    5. To discern (distinguish) the Body is to realize that the bread is not common but a separate, sanctified bread and that the mystical Body includes all the saints, all the believers in Christ, especially the ones with whom we break bread.
      1. If we eat the bread without this discerning, we eat and drink judgment to ourselves.
      2. We must not profane the bread by making it common or eat the bread if there is any offense between us and another saint.
      3. If we take the bread in a sanctified, holy manner and without any offense between us and another saint, we discern the Body.

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The Lord's Table Meeting (Outlines)   pg 16