The institution of the Lord’s Supper is recorded in all three of what are considered to be the synoptic gospels, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which describe events from a similar point of view, as contrasted with that of John (Oxford Languages). Although the context and details of each gospel writer’s account of the Lord’s Supper varies, the key characteristics are the same. “Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 28:26-28). In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul indicated that he had received a revelation from the Lord about this important event and was sharing it with the Corinthians in order to clarify the intention of the Lord’s Supper. Paul wrote:

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:23-32).

The main point that Paul wanted to make was that the Lord’s Supper was intended to be a way for believers to avoid being condemned along with the world. The Greek word that is translated condemned, katakrino (kat-ak-reeˊ-no) means “to condemn by contrast, i.e. to show by one’s good conduct that others are guilty of misconduct and deserve condemnation” (G2632). Paul’s comment about condemnation had to do with the last judgment when unbelievers will be judged for their rejection of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross. Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18).

Paul indicated that believing in Jesus should involve remembrance of him through repeated celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The Greek term anamnesis (an-amˊ-nay-sis), which is translated remembrance, is a derivative of the words ana (an-ahˊ), a “preposition meaning on, upon, in” (G303) and mimnesko (mim-naceˊ-ko). Mimnesko is a prolonged form of the word mnaomai (mnahˊ-om-ahee), which conveys the idea of something being a fixture in one’s mind or of mental grasp (G3415). Remembrance of Jesus through the Lord’s Supper has to do with keeping his sacrifice on the cross in the forefronts of our minds so that we are continually aware of the fact that the penalty for our sins has already been paid by him. According to Luke’s gospel, Jesus said that his body was “given for you” and his blood was “poured out for you” (Luke 22:19-20). In other words, Jesus’ sacrifice was for our benefit, he died on our behalf. That is what Paul wanted the Corinthians to be completely aware of when they participated in the Lord’s Supper. Paul said, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). An unworthy manner means that you treat the Lord’s Supper as a common meal. You don’t look at the bread and the wine as being symbolic of Jesus’ body and blood. Paul said, “If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home” (1 Corinthians 11:34), suggesting that people were eating and drinking to satisfy their physical appetites rather than partaking in the Lord’s Supper to remind themselves of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.

Paul instructed the Corinthians to “examine” themselves before they ate of the bread and drank of the cup (1 Corinthians 11:28). The Greek word dokeo (dok-ehˊ-o) “refers to a person’s subjective mental estimate or opinion or something…It always signifies a subjective estimate of a thing, not the objective appearance and qualities the thing actually possesses. Paul seemed to be concerned about whether or not the person who was participating in the Lord’s Supper thought it was appropriate to do so. Paul went on to say, “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Corinthians 11:29). When Jesus said that the bread was his body, he was talking about an organized whole made up of parts and members (G4983). Discerning the body would therefore have to do with a person determining whether or not he was an active member of the body of Christ. Paul later explained, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).

According to Paul, the key to examining oneself and discerning the body seemed to be the individual’s opinion of his involvement in Christ’s activities on earth. The reason why this is a subjective estimate rather than the objective appearance and qualities of the person’s walk with the Lord is because a believer’s involvement in God’s kingdom is visibly undetectable. Jesus told the religious leaders, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is! or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:20-21). The Greek word that is translated midst, entos (en-tosˊ) means “inside” (G1787). The internal location of the kingdom of God makes it necessary for us to pay attention to what is happening on the inside of our bodies, in our souls and spirits. When we examine ourselves, we are looking for evidence of Christ’s work in our hearts.

Paul said, “But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:31). Paul used two different words that are both translated judged in this verse, diakrino (dee-ak-reeˊ-no), which is also translated discerning in 1 Corinthians 11:29, and krino (kreeˊ-no), which means to give an opinion or decide something judicially (G2919). The point that I believe Paul was trying to make was that when believers look at themselves from an internal perspective, they are able to see themselves the same way that God does. It is obvious to them whether or not they are functioning as a member of the body of Christ. Paul may have emphasized the importance of believers being able to discern that for themselves because he didn’t want unbelievers to assume that participation in the Lord’s Supper would exempt them from God’s judgment (Matthew 25:31-46; John 13:27).