Expert: Dr Don Howe - 4/15/2009

Question
Iam a Baptist, but i don't understand why a believer in Christ can't serve communion. Here only Deacons can serve. just doesn't seem right. Also Baptism.  

Answer
   Kenny, thank you for your question. There is nothing in Scriptures that state that believers in Christ can not serve communion, which is also called breaking of bread or the Lord’s Supper. But there is some distinction where they can do it.  Let’s look at the Corinthian Church which was corrupt, had many different heresies that they believed in, and they had discredited the Lord’s Supper by getting drunk afterwards and Paul is correcting them in 1 Cor. 11:17-34.
   1 Cor. 11:17-21 states “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 among you, that they which are approved 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.” Paul is referring to “coming into one place” (vs. 20) of the  early church as the custom of combining the love-feast (like a shared-dish supper) and the Lord’s Supper.  
   In verse 21 “in eating every one taketh before [other] his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken,” Paul is telling them “Their selfish conduct at the common meal was disgracing their observance of the Lord’s Supper” (Guzik). Among the  Corinthian Christians, some were more wealthy than others, and the poorer ones were being neglected.
  In verse 22 states “What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye 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.” In the Corinthian church “in that day, at common meals, it was expected that the “upper class” would receive better and more food than the “lower class.” This cultural custom was being carried over into the church, and the Christians weren’t really sharing with one another. At the agape feast, the rich brought more food and the poor brought less food; but in Corinth they were not sharing the food fairly” (Guzik). The Lord’s Supper was to showing dignity and reverence for what the Lord Jesus did for all by dying on the cross. But the  Corinthian Christians were coming from a culture where the pagans would commonly have wild, riotous banquets given in honor of a pagan god. This is how it might not seem so strange to the Corinthian Christians to even get drunk and a church common meal. But Paul is not happy with them and getting on their case and says “I praise [you] not” in vs. 17 and 22.
    So it is when we come together for the Lord’s Supper, we are to show dignity and reverence for this sacrament, but how many people do you see in Baptist churches who do the same thing the Corinthian Church did. The Lord’s Supper is for baptized believers only, but you will see parents giving the wafer or unleaven bread to small children giving them the idea “oh boy, something to eat.” This is a disgrace. But it takes place.
    Paul does not say anything about an Apostle has to be present to institute the Lord’s Supper, but it has to be done with reverence and dignity for baptized believers only.
   In verses 23-26, Paul is giving the Lord’s Supper to the Corinthian Church as stated by Jesus.  
    Verse 27 states, “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.” People have trouble with this “unworthily, shall be guilty of the blood of the Lord.” Kenny, the word unworthily in the Greek is an adverb anaxiōs which means in an unworthy manner. The word guilty is a Greek verb enechō which means to set one's self against. Paul is saying that if anyone who eats of the bread and drinks of the cup in an unworthy manner, he is setting himself against what the blood of the Lord really means. This is why that we examine ourselves before taking the Lord’s Supper and to act in an unworthy manner which is setting us against the true meaning of Jesus dying on the Cross. We humble ourselves.
   Verse 28 tells us about examine ourselves. Verse 29 states “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.” Paul is saying eating and drinking in unworthy manner (anaxiōs) of the Lord’s body we are eating drinking brings damnation or judgment from God to himself because he did not make a distinction about the Lord’s body. Irreverant conduct at the Lord’s table invites God’s corrective discipline. If we will discipline ourselves, the Lord will not need to do it with His hand of correction!
    Verse 30 states “For this cause many [are] weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” What cause? Paul is saying because of this cause (the act of eating and drinking in an unworthy manner (anaxiōs) of the Lord’s body), many of you are sick and sleep (have died). Because the Corinthian Church disgraced the Lord’s Supper and became unworthy, sickness and death has come upon them. This is a result of God’s corrective discipline on the Corinthian church. Why?
    In Verse 31-32, Paul tells us why. “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” Paul is using the word judge in Greek as  diakrinō meaning to make a distinction. And to be judged is krinō in the Greek which means to put asunder, to subject to censure, or to pronounce judgment. Paul is saying if we would show a distinction (diakrinō) and not eat or drink of the body and blood of he Lord Jesus (verse 29) in a unworthy manner, we should also not be subject to censure, put asunder, or corrective judgment by God. Paul is not referring to eternal judgment, but to corrective judgment. Here corrective judgment by God refers to His chastening His children or wiping us into shape. So if we take the Lord’s Supper of eating and drinking in a WORTHY manner with distinction, God will be pleased, and He will not chastened us. Makes sense.
    Verse 32 tells us that when we are judged (krinō) or subject to censure, God does this by chastening which means paideuō in Greek which is to train, to be instructed, or cause one to learn. So God does not judge us but He chastens, instructs, or causes us to learn. The preposition “of” or hypo is important because it means BY. So we are chastened by the Lord so He can instruct us, train us, and teach in the correct way of taking the Lord’s Supper.
   Paul finishes out this Chapter in verses 33 and 34 “Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.’
   Kenny, I used these verses to show that some Baptist churches and other churches do not take the Lord’s Supper with dignity and reverence, and that the Lord’s Supper is serious business as far as God is concerned. And when we take the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner, God will use His CORRECTIVE JUDGMENT by chastening or wiping us (believers in Christ) into shape so we will be not like the rest of the world and “condemned with the world” which means eternal separation from God. The World hates God and any of His sacraments and they are condemned to Hell because they have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, nor have participated in Communion in a worthy manner.
    Kenny, I also want to show that there is a correct way to do the Lord’s Supper. I also want to show that in this discourse that Paul does not say that a church leader, priest, or apostle had to be present to do the Lord’s Supper. So the believers in Christ did the Lord’s Supper themselves because they each brought their own meal. Merrill Unger (concerning these above verses) brings this out also and states “it is evident that each person ate of that which he brought, and held therein his own private meal in place of the Lord’s Supper. There was not a proper waiting distribution of the elements by a church officer, and there seems to be no evidence that a priestly consecration and distribution of the bread and wine were regarded as necessary to the validity of the sacrament.” So the early church kept the Lord’s Supper simple, without a priest or apostle present, but they did it with reverence and dignity in remembrance of what Jesus did on the Cross for us.
    So Kenny, you can do the Lord’s Supper without being in the Church. You can go camping and institute the Lord’s Supper with your family. That is okay. Or you may have a family member in the Hospital who is sick and does not have a church home and they would like the Eucharist, you can institute the Lord’s Supper as long as you do it in a worthy manner showing dignity and reverence as told to us in 1 Cor. 11:17-34. But it has to be done the way the Lord Jesus gave it on the night he was betrayed. You can not write your own Eucharist, but if you do you are not doing it in a worthy manner and you can be chastened by God to do it correctly. But this is when you are not in the CHURCH.
     There is a huge spiritual element of the Lord’s Supper and people sometimes forget that, and they think it just another ordinance of the church and demean its meaning. This again is not showing dignity or reverence to that particular ordinance.    

    WHY DO PREACHERS AND DEACONS GIVE COMMUNION NOW?

    Kenny, when you are in the CHURCH only the Pastor and Deacons can institute the Lord’s Supper. If just any church member decided to do it, it would be done in an unworthy and irrreverent manner, and we would be not better than the Corinthian church that Paul dealt with in 1 Cor. 11:17-34.
     But as the Early Church became more organized and “religious,” the church government and polity became more structured. And from this structure, organized religion took over the institution of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism as specific ordinances of the Church. This gave more accountability that the ordinances would be instituted correctly  in a worthy manner and with reverence. But some cult churches and organized churches today  do these ordinances in an unworthy manner.
    Kenny, you stated “why a believer in Christ can't serve communion.” But as stated above, a believer in Christ can serve communion if they are not in the CHURCH HOUSE, but even then it has to be done in a worthy and reverent manner.
    The Bible speaks of the senior church leader as the Elder, Overseer, Pastor, or  Bishop and their meaning is used interchangeably.
But God expects the Bishop or Pastor to be the one to take care of the Church. Paul tells this in 1 Tim. 3:5 when he speaking of the qualifications to be a bishop and the text states “(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)” So if a man can not rule his own house, then HOW CAN HE BE A BISHOP OR PASTOR AND ADEQUATELY TAKE CARE OF THE CHURCH OF GOD. God expects the Pastor rule his Church and to rule his own house adequately. So it stands to reason, that the Bishop or Pastor would be the one in charge of taking care of the Church of God in instituting the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. God is a God of order and not confusion (1Cr 14:33).
    The Deacons are men who meet similar qualifications as stated in 1 Tim. 3:8-12, but the Bible does not say anything about Deacons ruling the Church of God, only the Bishop as was mentioned in 1 Tim. 3:5. The Deacons are servants to the congregation and the Pastor, but they are also to hold the Pastor accountable. So the Deacons are responsible to assist the Pastor (as fellow servants) in instituting the Lord’s Supper.
  Kenny, if you want to assist with Communion, then get elected as a Deacon.  I know you would do well with this.

  Blessings today.

Dr Don Howe, RN, PhD, ThD.