To answer that important question, we need to read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, “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. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”

The Apostle Paul is sharing with these Gentile Corinthian believers the Lord’s desire to be remembered as He requested in Luke 22:19-20, “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. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”  The Lord inspired Paul to write these words, so that all believers would share in this precious time of remembrance of our Lord.  As we see from the words of verse 26, this remembrance feast was meant to continue until the Lord returns to take His saved people to glory.  The Lord spoke of His desire for us to be with Him in Heaven when He said, “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 14:2-3).  The Lord wants His church to continue to remember Him until that very day!

The seriousness of this time of remembrance is shown in 1 Corinthians 11:27, “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks the Lord’s cup in a manner unworthy of the Lord will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord.” (WEB).  How precious is this time to our loving savior.  He desires that we meet together to partake of that loaf and that cup as emblems of His body and blood, and in so doing, we collectively worship the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.  To participate in a “manner unworthy of the Lord” is to take of these emblems of the Lord carelessly, not thinking about how they represent the Lord in His death for us.  We read in verse 29, “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, NOT DISCERNING THE LORD’S BODY.”  How dishonoring this is to the Lord to be gathered into His presence (Matthew 18:20), yet have no thought as to the preciousness and seriousness of such a time as this. 

This brings us to the instruction we have in verse 28, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”  One should evaluate his own heart and mind to make sure he is discerning the body and blood of the Lord Jesus represented in the loaf and the cup.  Often, quiet meditation is valuable in drawing us into the right spiritual condition to remember the Lord.  Singing proper hymns that speak of the Lord’s love and death for us are so helpful in bringing us into the proper attitude to remember our savior.  After examining ourselves, and fixing our minds and hearts upon Him, we are told, “so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”  Every time we are gathered together to remember the Lord, let us be faithful and examine ourselves, and then continue to remember Him, our blessed Lord and savior.  (CC)  (725.2)