📖WEB · 1 Corinthians 11:27
What does 1 Corinthians 11:27 mean?
"Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord."
— 1 Corinthians 11:27 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
When he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in memory of me.”
In the same way he also took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in a way unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup.
For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body.
For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
Explanation
1 Corinthians 11:27 states that anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord's Supper "in a way unworthy of the Lord" bears guilt concerning the body and blood of Christ. In plain language, Paul is warning that participating in Communion carelessly, thoughtlessly, or with a heart out of step with what the meal represents is a serious matter — not something to be done casually or wrongly.
The context is essential to understanding this verse correctly. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth, a congregation plagued by division, immorality, and disorder in worship. In the verses surrounding this one (1 Corinthians 11:17-34), Paul addresses a specific abuse: when the Corinthians gathered for the Lord's Supper, wealthier members were eating their own food and getting drunk before others arrived, while poorer members, likely slaves or laborers who came later, went hungry. This turned a meal meant to symbolize unity and Christ's sacrificial love into an occasion of humiliation and division. Paul reminds them (verses 23-26) of the origin of the Supper — Jesus' own words at the Last Supper — and then warns that treating this sacred meal with such selfishness and disregard for fellow believers is a serious offense against what it represents.
Theologically, this verse teaches that the Lord's Supper is not a mere ritual or ordinary meal; it is a solemn remembrance of Christ's death, and it carries real spiritual weight. To partake "in an unworthy manner" does not
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