Are You Unworthy?

“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” – (1 Corinthians 11:27)

The answer is yes – and no.

How’s that for an answer? Let me explain. In ourselves (our flesh) we are completely unworthy to partake of the Lord’s Supper. There is nothing good about any one of us. The Scripture has a lot of things to say about the sinful condition of men. Not just “bad men” by the way: all men. “There is none righteous, no not one.” Isaiah probably said it best: ”But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” (Isaiah 64:6) We are all unworthy.

However, those that are saved are completely worthy. Paul said, ”Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:”  (Romans 3:22). So even though we unworth in ourselves, because of the blood of Christ we are completely worthy. He has removed all sin from our record. Positionally, He sees us as righteous as He sees the Lord Jesus.

So what does the Scripture mean when it says, ”wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily…”. The word “unworthily” is an adverb. An adverb modifies or explains verbs or other adverbs. The word “unworthily” here modifies the verbs eat and drink. In other words, Paul was not saying that the person eating was unworthy, but rather that the way he was eating and drinking was unworthy. Read the context. It clearly indicates that Paul was correcting them for what they were doing while remembering the body and blood of the Lord. The Scripture is teaching here that our focus during the Lord’s Supper should be on nothing but the death and shed blood of the Lord.

If you are saved, you are worthy to sit at the Lord’s table. If you have sin in your life (and who doesn’t), while you are reflecting on the Lord and His sacrifice for you, it would be a great time for you to confess those sins to Him; but by all means come to the table, and remember  what He did for you.