Could you please explain 1 Corinthians 11:28? How do we examine ourselves?
Let’s read 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, “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. 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. But LET A MAN EXAMINE HIMSELF, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
What we have before us is the Lord’s Supper. The Apostle Paul tells us that he “received of the Lord” these instructions concerning carrying out this most precious and holy remembrance of our blessed savior. In addition to speaking of the significance of the bread and cup, which represent the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, he also instructs us to examine ourselves so that we do not partake of these emblems ‘unworthily’ or in an unworthy manner. It is a serious matter to partake of the bread and the cup without giving thought to what they represent. So, we must ‘examine ourselves’. We must take stock of where our hearts and minds are at while we participate in this remembrance meeting. Are we thinking of what we will eat for lunch later? Are we thinking of the upcoming football game we will watch later? Are we thinking of those around us, what they are wearing or how well their kids are behaved? Are we simply taking no thought of the seriousness of what we are doing?
These are distractions that will take us away from the significance of the Lord’s Supper. Examine yourself…and then “eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” Once you get your thoughts back onto the Lord and His death, as symbolized in the emblems, go ahead and partake in true remembrance of the Lord.
Let’s also read 2 Corinthians 13:5, “EXAMINE YOURSELVES, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” To properly understand this verse, we must go back and read verse 3, “Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.” There were those in Corinth who were questioning Paul’s credentials. They were questioning whether Christ truly spoke to them through Paul. He tells them to simply examine themselves by questioning their own hearts. Were they not believers? Where did the life transforming news of salvation come from that was given to them? Was it not Paul? Yet they dared to question his being used of the Lord.
Paul is not telling believers to constantly examine themselves to see if they were still saved. He is simply pointing out that they were the products of his ministry and if they would search their own hearts, they would realize this.
The best way to truly examine ourselves is to ask the Lord to search our hearts for us. We read in Psalms 26:2, “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” We also read in Psalms 139:23-24, “SEARCH me, O God, and KNOW my heart: TRY me, and know my thoughts: And SEE if there be any wicked way in me, and LEAD me in the way everlasting.” (340.6)