1 Corinthians 11:27 meaning summary explained with word-by-word analysis enriched with context, commentary and Cross References from KJV, NIV, ESV and NLT.
1 Corinthians 11:27 kjv
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 nkjv
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 11:27 niv
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.
1 Corinthians 11:27 esv
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 11:27 nlt
So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 11 27 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Cor 11:28 | Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. | Self-examination required for worthy partaking. |
| 1 Cor 11:29 | For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. | Directly connects unworthy partaking with judgment. |
| Matt 26:26-28 | "Take, eat; this is my body." ... "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant..." | Institution of the Lord's Supper. |
| Mark 14:22-24 | "Take; this is my body." ... "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many." | Institution of the Lord's Supper. |
| Luke 22:19-20 | "This is my body, which is given for you... This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." | Institution, emphasizes "given for you." |
| 1 Cor 11:23-26 | For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you... | Paul's recount of the Lord's Supper institution. |
| 1 Cor 10:16 | The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? | Communion is participation in Christ's sacrifice. |
| Lev 10:1-2 | Nadab and Abihu... offered unauthorized fire before the LORD... and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them. | Severity of irreverence toward holy things. |
| Heb 10:29 | How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God...? | Guilt of despising Christ's sacrifice. |
| Num 18:32 | You shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have lifted up the best of it. Otherwise you would profane the holy things of the LORD... | Profaning holy things brings guilt/sin. |
| Ps 26:6 | I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O LORD. | A heart prepared for worship and holy things. |
| Ps 139:23-24 | Search me, O God, and know my heart!... See if there is any grievous way in me... | Call for self-examination and repentance. |
| 2 Cor 13:5 | Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. | Broader command for spiritual self-examination. |
| 1 Jn 1:9 | If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. | Prerequisite for right relationship and partaking. |
| Is 52:11 | ...cleanse yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the LORD. | Demand for holiness from those handling sacred things. |
| Mal 1:7 | "By offering polluted food on my altar... you are profaning me." | Denounces bringing defiled offerings. |
| 1 Cor 12:12-13 | For just as the body is one and has many members... so it is with Christ. | Unity of the body; relevant to divisions during Supper. |
| Rom 13:2 | Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. | Disrespecting divine institution incurs judgment. |
| Heb 9:18-22 | Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood... | Emphasizes the significance of blood in covenants. |
| Jn 6:53-56 | Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." | Eating/drinking as participation in Christ for life. |
1 Corinthians 11 verses
1 Corinthians 11 27 meaning
This verse serves as a solemn warning against partaking in the Lord's Supper in a way that disrespects its sacred nature and purpose. It declares that anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord without proper reverence, discernment, or a right attitude, will be held guilty of profaning the very sacrifice of Christ – His body broken and His blood shed for the new covenant. This guilt incurs severe spiritual consequences.
1 Corinthians 11 27 Context
First Corinthians 11:27 is part of a larger discussion (vv. 17-34) where the Apostle Paul corrects serious abuses within the Corinthian church concerning the observance of the Lord's Supper. The Corinthians were practicing it alongside or within their communal love feasts (agapē meals), but their conduct was far from exemplary. They were deeply divided by factions (vv. 18-19), and socio-economic distinctions led to some (the wealthy) eating and drinking to excess while others (the poor) went hungry (vv. 20-22). This created an atmosphere of gluttony, drunkenness, and social inequality, completely contrary to the unifying, self-giving spirit of Christ's sacrifice. Paul recounts the institution of the Lord's Supper (vv. 23-26) to remind them of its solemn origin and profound meaning, establishing the true context against which their irreverent practices are judged. Verse 27, therefore, introduces the severe spiritual consequence for such "unworthy manner" of partaking, setting the stage for subsequent warnings about self-examination and judgment.
1 Corinthians 11 27 Word analysis
Therefore (ὥστε - hōste): This Greek connective indicates a logical conclusion or result. It signals that what follows is a direct consequence of the sacred instruction and the recounting of the institution of the Lord's Supper provided in verses 23-26. Paul moves from instruction to solemn warning.
whoever (ὃς ἂν - hos an): This is an indefinite pronoun, making the warning universally applicable to any individual participating in the Supper within the community. It underscores personal accountability.
eats (ἐσθίῃ - esthiē): This verb is in the present subjunctive, implying a continuous or habitual action, not just a single instance.
this bread (τὸν ἄρτον τοῦτον - ton arton touton): Refers to the physical bread used in the Supper, representing Christ's body given for them.
or (ἢ - ē): Indicates that both actions (eating and drinking) are equally subject to the warning. Offending with either element brings the same guilt.
drinks (πίνῃ - pinē): Also in the present subjunctive, signifying continuous or habitual action, parallel to "eats."
this cup (τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο - to potērion touto): Refers to the physical cup, representing Christ's blood of the new covenant. The emphasis is on "this," meaning the specific sacred elements of the Lord's Supper, not just any bread or wine.
of the Lord (τοῦ Κυρίου - tou Kyriou): This genitive phrase directly ties the bread and cup to Christ Himself, emphasizing His ownership and the divine origin and authority of the institution. It highlights the sacredness being violated.
in an unworthy manner (ἀναξίως - anaxiōs): This adverb is the linchpin of the verse. It does not mean being personally unworthy to partake (as no one is inherently "worthy" apart from Christ). Instead, it refers to the manner of participation. In the Corinthian context, this meant partaking with a lack of discernment for the sacred meaning of the elements, failing to respect Christ's sacrifice, holding grudges, maintaining divisions, acting selfishly, or otherwise engaging in behavior that contradicts the spirit of the Supper. It signifies a heedless, impenitent, or irreverent attitude and conduct.
will be guilty (ἔνοχος ἔσται - enochos estai): This phrase conveys a strong sense of legal and moral liability, meaning to be "held responsible" or "subject to judgment." The guilt is not just spiritual but has tangible consequences (as seen in v. 30).
concerning (εἰς - eis): This preposition indicates direction or relation, meaning "with respect to," "against," or "liable for." The guilt is directly imputed against the sacred reality the elements represent.
the body and blood of the Lord (τοῦ σώματος καὶ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ Κυρίου - tou sōmatos kai tou aimatos tou Kyriou): This refers to the entire atoning work of Jesus Christ, His physical suffering on the cross and the covenant established by His sacrificial blood. To profane the elements is to, in essence, profane His ultimate act of redemption, despising its value and significance.
"Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner": This phrase combines the universal warning ("whoever") with the specific action ("eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord") and the critical condition ("in an unworthy manner"). It encapsulates the forbidden act of partaking with irreverence. The phrase points to the gravity of approaching a divine institution without understanding or respecting its nature.
"will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord": This segment explicitly states the severe consequence. The guilt isn't just about ritual impropriety but directly concerning the core of Christian faith: Christ's atoning sacrifice. It implies a contempt or desecration of Christ's very act of self-giving, placing the participant in direct opposition to God's ultimate plan of salvation.
1 Corinthians 11 27 Bonus section
- The term "unworthy manner" does not imply that only sinless people can partake. If so, none could, as all have sinned. Instead, it refers to the attitude and conduct during communion. This includes self-examination, confession of sin, and a loving attitude toward fellow believers.
- The emphasis on "discerning the body" in verse 29, often misunderstood as discerning only Christ's physical body, extends also to discerning Christ's mystical body, the Church (1 Cor 10:17; 12:27). The Corinthians' failure to love and respect fellow members (especially the poor) during the Supper was a failure to discern Christ's body, the community.
- The warning here implicitly underscores the concept of spiritual integrity. What one professes through a sacred ritual must align with one's internal spiritual state and external actions, especially within the Christian community. Disconnect leads to judgment, as outlined in verses 30-32.
- This verse stands as a strong counter-polemic against any pagan practices where participants might approach a deity's feast flippantly or with self-serving motives, often without internal transformation or moral consideration. The Christian Supper demands a holistic, repentant, and loving engagement.
1 Corinthians 11 27 Commentary
First Corinthians 11:27 delivers a potent warning about the profound sacredness of the Lord's Supper. It is not merely a memorial, but a participatory encounter with the ongoing reality of Christ's sacrificial love. The critical error highlighted is partaking "in an unworthy manner," which is not about one's inherent sinfulness (for which Christ died), but about an irreverent or contradictory attitude and conduct. The Corinthian context clarifies this: partaking while holding divisions, fostering social stratification, lacking self-examination, or indulging in unrepentant sin constitutes this unworthy manner. Such an approach profanes the profound act of atonement, rendering the participant "guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord." This grave spiritual liability carries real-world consequences, emphasizing that approaching God's holy table demands humility, reverence, genuine faith, and a lifestyle congruent with Christ's self-sacrificial love for others within the Body.