UNWORTHILY?
By Jack Capman
© 2017 - All Rights Reserved
A young woman who was preparing for baptism came to church on a communion Sabbath morning. She refused to participate in the Lord’s Table, partly because of the word, “Unworthily”! However, when she fully grasped and understood the significance of the service, she eagerly participated the very next time it was offered!
After many years of observation, it seems that, at the very least we too, may need to be refreshed as to what the meaning really is!
Let’s read Paul’s dissertation found in his first epistle to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 10:16 Paul began to speak of communion, however, he zeros in on it in chapter 11, verses 17-29, and that is where we’ll pick it up.
Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
For there must be also heresies [disunion] among you, that they which are approved [acceptable] may be made manifest among you. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? Or despise ye [think against] the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. 1 Corinthians 11:17-22.
The potential partakers of the Passover meal were bound up with their personal and individual ideas and conflicts. They had not resolved those differences, preventing them from fully entering in to the spirit of the communion. They also didn’t understand the significance of the word “unworthily”. Neither did they fully understand the meaning of the Passover. It was only a ritual—something they were required to perform.
Now, Paul continues with the God-given instructions for the communion service.
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. [This is a constant testimony of Jesus’ gift of life to us, and our need to respond to His loving call!] For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Verses 23-26.
It would appear clear that Paul’s exhortation and reprimand were not only given to bring the members out of conflict, but to focus them on this worship experience which they were perverting.
The Greek word translated “unworthily” is anaxios (an-ax-ee’-os), and in context means irreverently, or carelessly. It is only found in two verses in the Bible—here in chapter 11, verses 27 and 29. Note particularly the last phrase of verse 29:
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
In other words, those who partake of the communion, unmindful and without thoughtful consideration of the magnitude of what it cost Heaven to rescue them from the results of their own sinful acts, are committing a gigantic offense against our Redeemer and Savior! Those folks are not “discerning the Lord’s body.” They’re not taking time to reflect on their part in crucifying Jesus.
Of our own selves we are definitely not worthy. So it is only through faith in His incredible gift and with humble thanks-giving that we should approach and take part in communion at the Lord’s Table. Indeed, it is precisely because we are not “worthy,” that we need the flesh and blood sacrifice of Jesus, and the emblems of that sacrifice in the Lord’s Supper to remind us of that need!
By faith we need to realize that our unworthiness (think nakedness, or sinfulness) has been recognized by our Father/ Brother/ Savior. That’s why he has so graciously offered us His Robe of Righteousness! When we accept it by faith, then we are told that we are viewed as Holy. To retain that robe of righteousness, we must walk in obedience, which also is done by faith.
With this heartfelt realization and gratefulness, we are at that point “worthy” to receive communion!
QUESTION—Were the disciples, who had been with Him those three years, any more worthy than you or I? Here’s what Ellen G. White said to us:
This promise is to you, my beloved sister [or brother]. Jesus loves you. You have been purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave His precious life to redeem you. Through faith, you are a child of promise. In giving Jesus, in that one precious Gift, our heavenly Father gave you all the treasures of heaven. And when you come to God in prayer, bear in mind that He is your Father, and that He regards you as His child. He looks upon you with the most tender pity. He will not forsake you, though you may be the weakest, the very feeblest of His creatures. If you put your trust in Him, He abideth faithful.
You are not to entertain the thought that because you have made mistakes and your life has been darkened with errors, your heavenly Father does not love you and therefore has forsaken you. No, dear sister [or brother], I tell you NO! Jesus loves you still. His eye is upon you, and He “will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
You may say, I have sinned against God; but if you have, you are just the one who needs the Saviour, for Christ is our Sin-bearer. He says, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). When Satan tells you that the Lord has forgotten you and will not regard you with favor, tell him you know in whom you believe; say to him, “Get thee behind me, Satan. Jesus gave His own life for me. He suffered a most cruel death that He might save me from being overcome by your temptations. I believe in Jesus. I know my Saviour loves me, and I love my Jesus. I rest in His love, notwithstanding my imperfections. God has accepted His perfection in my behalf. He is my righteousness, and I trust in His merits. I am His repenting, believing child. He has taken away my sin-stained garments and covered me with the robe of His righteousness. Clothed in this garment I stand before the Father justified. I am of that number who are addressed as the ‘Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit.’” And what constitutes them the “elect?”--”Obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” Therefore, He adds, “Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” (1 Peter 1:12).
If we were perfect, we would not need a Saviour, a Redeemer to rescue us from the slavery of Satan. But if we have sinned, let us rejoice with Peter when he recovered himself from his fall. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Therefore, our Saviour’s voice echoes back from the clouds as He ascended to heaven, “Let not your hearts be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself that where I am there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3). — Manuscript Releases, Volume 12, pp. 34, 35.
This is what constitutes “worthiness”! It is what He has done and is doing for us when we seek for it, and strive toward sanctification. On the other hand, we are not to think that we have already attained what is necessary, and have nothing more to worry about. This “once saved, always saved” attitude is an extremely presumptuous error.
Sometimes folks are observed at communion, looking and acting as if they were at a social gathering. Imagine with me, that you or I had just been granted a reprieve at the last possible moment from the electric chair. How cavalier would our attitude be about that?
Now let’s walk through some of the original instructions regarding the Feast of the Passover.
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.” Exodus 12:1-6.
This passage raises some interesting questions. First, why did the lamb have to be without blemish? The answer is because it was to represent the spotless sacrifice – Jesus!
Another question that might come to mind is, Why was the lamb to be kept in the house from the 10th to the 14th day? In my booklet, Trouble at Colossae, I posed this same question. Could it be that the family was to gain a strong emotional attachment to this special lamb, so that the killing of the lamb would be more precious or meaningful to them?
There may also be a prophetic purpose in the days. Remembering that each day prophetically stands for a year, those days, from the 10th to the 14th may have foreshadowed Jesus’ earthly ministry from 27 A.D. to 31 A.D., a span of three and one half years. At first glance this appears to be five years, but the time began in the Fall of 27 and ended in the Spring of 31. At any rate, His earthly ministry ended on the fourteenth day when He became the Passover sacrifice! His earthly ministry also designed to “draw all men to Him” in Love. So, wasn’t Jesus’ earthly visit an anti-type to the “house” of the Israelites? If so, weren’t those original four days a prophecy parallel to the type?
This celebration was established later to be a memorial of their deliverance from slavery and, at the same time, became a prophecy reminding people of their coming Redeemer!
Let’s move on now to the events of the Last Supper, starting with the foot washing.
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? John 13:2-6.
Note that Peter wasn’t the first one to get his feet washed!
According to Ellen White:
Judas was the first whose feet Jesus washed. Judas had already closed the contract to deliver Jesus into the hands of the priests and scribes. Christ knew his secret. Yet He did not expose him. He hungered for his soul. His heart was crying, How can I give thee up? He hoped that His act in washing Judas’ feet would touch the heart of the erring disciple and save him from completing his act of disloyalty. And for a moment the heart of Judas thrilled through and through with the impulse then and there to confess his sin. But he would not humble himself. He hardened his heart against repentance. He made no remonstrance, no protestation against the Saviour thus humiliating Himself. He was offended at Christ’s act. If Jesus could so humble Himself, he thought, He could not be Israel’s king. . .
Even Judas, had he repented, would have been received and pardoned. The guilt of his soul would have been washed away by the atoning blood of Christ. But, self-confident and self-exalted, cherishing a high estimate of his own wisdom, he justified his course. — Manuscript 106, 1903.
What was Peter’s understanding of the scope of Jesus’ act of washing his feet?
Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. John 13:2-14.
There are a few things worth noting here. First, it was customary for the host to have a servant to wash the tired and very dusty feet of the travelers. Since that was the practice, do you suppose that this servant was kept away by divine purpose?
Next, none of the disciples took the foot washing initiative! Why? Is it possible that they felt that by doing so they would lower themselves in rank, especially in view of their expected soon coming position in Jesus’ new earthly kingdom? We know that they hadn’t yet come to the knowledge that His Kingdom was a Heavenly one.
ALSO NOTE CAREFULLY: Though the washing removed the collected dust, Jesus was not referring to that cleaning. It was instead a Spiritual cleansing that He meant. Jesus, knowing that that idea escaped them, told Peter (and the others) that they would understand it later.
It was the precious hands of Jesus that voluntarily and symbolically became soiled with the dirt from the disciple’s feet (their past sinful walk)!
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Titus 3:5.
Here is an important question and point to ponder—Which of the disciples were worthy, or even reverent as they experienced this event? The answer, obviously, is none of them.
Now let’s look at the breaking of the communion bread. Here’s what Jesus Himself said and did:
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Luke 22:19.
I have heard it said that some believe that eating and drinking these emblems is cannibalism, and have stated that the Jews didn’t do that. Obviously, God did not ordain cannibalism, therefore the bread and wine are merely emblems. But is there an entity that may be guilty of a cannibalistic doctrine of the Lord’s Supper?
NOTE: The Catholic doctrine of “transubstantiation” declares that theses emblems are the actual flesh and blood of Christ! If that were the case, it would be cannibalism. We do not believe this at all, because of what the Bible tells us about the resurrection. We know that Jesus, the first born, received His own incorruptible and immortal body at His resurrection and that we are “sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE for all” (Heb. 10:10).
The bread and wine are only symbolic of Jesus’ body and blood. If they were actually body and blood, consumed by the disciples, Jesus wouldn’t have survived to be crucified! Obviously, this is ridiculous!
For our study, here’s the Bible record of what the Israelites did at THE FIRST PASSOVER!
And ye [each of them] shall keep it [a lamb] up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.
And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. Exodus 12:6-11.
Note that the word purtenance in Hebrew means “middle.” It can also mean “center” or “heart,” either literally or figuratively.
QUESTION: Does the Bible say that Jesus broke His own body, and that was what the disciples ate? Did they drink His actual blood? Obviously not. Jesus spoke often in parables, and those who were open to the leading of the Holy Spirit were taught.
Jesus is here speaking of Himself, explaining:
This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. John 6:51-65.
A little later Jesus said to His disciples:
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. John 15:4.
The abiding presence is symbolized by the Communion Service!
When Christ bid them eat His flesh and drink His blood, there were many undiscerning people present who rejected Jesus at that point!
From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? John 6:66, 67.
He is also asking us the same question, in this way. Will you and I reject His sacrifice?
Now let’s take a closer look at verse 51, using Strong’s Concordance.
I am the living [dhazo - living - literally or figuratively] bread [ar’-tos - loaf or as raised] which came down from heaven [oo-ram-os’ - from God].
Was it a loaf of bread or a Holy Being that came down?
If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh [sarx - symbol of what shall be forever] which I will give for the life of the world.”
Very obviously, Jesus was speaking symbolically. However, even today it is not unusual for us to say about something, that we eagerly “took it all in,” that we “ate it up” or “drank it up,” meaning we assimilated it, not physically, but mentally or spiritually. We buy it! We bank on it!
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14.
We should have voracious appetites for the word of God! Here’s another Bible example of symbolic eating from John the Revelator.
And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. Revelation 10:10. Did John literally “eat the book,” or was this symbolic? Note also that the first Passover was to be celebrated once every year. Our ordinance wasn’t to occur on a particular frequency.
The instruction was “as often as ye do it, do it in remembrance of me”! I believe that this was so that it wouldn’t become a mere form, and thereby diminish the special meanings of it.
Let’s make some further applications of this ordinance. The Israelites were in slavery to the wicked and idol-worshipping nation, which they had become immersed in unnecessarily. Why? Because the famine that they had been rescued from had been over for nearly 400 years, and they had chosen to remain in Egypt instead of returning to their own land when it was over! They had been subjected to the lifestyles of this pagan nation. The Passover was given partly to draw their attention back to their Savior and God.
We, too, have been subjected to wicked heathen lifestyles, and to varying degrees have allowed ourselves to be integrated into it! We, too, have been notified that we are about to be rescued from our slavery to the lifestyle we have gotten accustomed to, and invited to Pass Over into Heavenly Canaan! Our Lord says, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4.
The land of Egypt experienced ten plagues before Pharaoh would let the Israelites leave. There will be plagues before we can go into Heavenly Canaan.
The instruction to put the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the door-post of each family’s house can certainly apply to us. In fact, it becomes more personal than that—we need to apply it to the doorposts of our heart!
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. John 14:3.
Finally, here again are the readiness instructions for the children of Israel:
And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. Exodus 12:11.
Here are the words from the Father for us!
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Ephesians 6:14-18.
Do we see the similarity? Do we believe that our Passing Over into the “Promised Land” is imminent?
In closing, here are some questions to ponder: What does the word communion mean?
Should the observance be limited to an hour during sermon time, every three months?
When we receive a week’s notice to prepare our hearts, do we use it that way?
What kind of extra intensity should we engage in this heart preparation?