When are you (or your children) ready for the Lord's Supper?

When are you (or your children) ready for the Lord's Supper?

In 1 Corinthians 11:27-31 the Apostle Paul says:

"27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment."

Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth because he believed that at least some people in the church were participating in the Lord's Supper "in an unworthy manner" (v27). Paul says that made those people "guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord"  (v27), and by doing it they were bringing judgment on themselves (v29). In Corinth that judgment had come in the form of sickness, and in some cases even death (that's what "fallen asleep" means in v30).

Paul's words tell us that the Lord's Supper is not to be taken lightly! So the important question is: What does it mean to eat and drink the Lord's Supper "in an unworthy manner"? Paul explains it as eating and drinking "without discerning the body of Christ" (v29). That seems to mean two things:

1) It means "without understanding the significance of Christ's sacrifice on the cross." The bread and wine are symbols of his "body and blood" given to save us from sin because we cannot save ourselves – no matter how good we try to be.

2) It means "without understanding the significance of belonging to the church." In other places the New Testament calls the church Christ's body (see for example Ephesians 1:22-23). Those who truly trust in Jesus will give evidence of it through their obedience to him, shown particularly in their love for others in the church (John 13:34-35).

Paul expects that the first of these understandings will lead to the second. If we aren't serious about loving and serving others in the church, we may not have truly experienced the saving love of Jesus shown on the cross. This was the cause of serious problems in the Corinthian church (see vv17-26 of 1 Corinthians 11).

So v27 is not telling us we need to be "worthy" in order to take the Lord's Supper – if that was the case then no-one would ever take it! He says we're to take the Supper in a worthy "manner." We do that when our hope for salvation is in Christ alone, and when we're serious about our responsibility as a member of Christ's body, the church. That's why Paul says each of us "ought to examine [ourselves] before [we] eat of the bread and drink from the cup (v28)." If we're not trusting in Jesus or not serious about our responsibility to live for him, then we are not to take the Lord's Supper.

How does all this relate to children? Well, we know that Jesus welcomes little children (Mark 10:13-16), and there does not seem to be any age limit to a simple faith in Jesus for salvation. However, Paul's words in 1^st Corinthians 11 indicate that those of us who are parents should take time for serious consideration before allowing our children to take the Lord's Supper. As parents we will want to think carefully about whether they are able to "discern the body of Christ" and "examine" themselves in the ways described above. Even when we believe that our children have put their trust in Jesus, Paul's solemn words in vv29&30 will make us quite cautious before we tell our children they are ready to take the Lord's Supper. We certainly want to give our children every encouragement that the good news about Jesus is for them – they can trust in him right away, and don't need to wait until they're older. We want to show our children that the Bible is a book they can begin to understand, and that they are loved and valued in the church.  As parents, we want our children to love being in our church community, and to be involved in all sorts of ways. But until our children can clearly explain the good news of Jesus, and we have noticed them living with a clear love for Jesus, and a clear commitment to obey him, we will ask them to trust us and wait a while before taking the Lord's Supper. We may decide they ought to wait until they're ready to make a public confession of their faith.

If you would find it helpful to have more discussion with the elders on this, please to approach us and we will be happy to talk with you.