"Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
If we proclaim his death until he returns than we are also proclaiming his resurrection because someone who is dead can not return.
So we proclaim that he did die but arose from the dead and is returning.
There are five opinions about communion1. Roman Catholic's believe the bread and the wine actually become the literal body and blood of Jesus when consecrated and received. (Transubstantiation)
2. Lutheran's (Martin Luther) believe Jesus is literally present in the bread and wine, but the elements don't become his body and blood.
3. Calvinistic (John Calvin) doctrine teaches that Jesus is present in the bread and wine, but only in a spiritual manifestation and not a bodily sense.
4. Ulrich Zwingli taught that Christ is present with us at communion but only in a memorial that brings remembrance of Christ's sacrifice and affirms our faith by commemoration and thanksgiving.
5. Wesleyan (John Wesley) teaches that both Zwingli and Calvin are correct. The Lord's supper is a symbolic commemoration of Jesus death but Jesus is present in the spiritual sense that can only be experienced by the sacraments.Jesus is the invisible host inviting us to fellowship at his table, to commemorate his body and blood sacrificed for us.
"Anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment upon himself."
Paul is not saying we should avoid the Lord's supper just because we're not living a perfect Christian life.
None of us is truly worthy of his blood and body.
We all have faults or sins we must bring to him for help or forgiveness; that is why we are to examine ourselves and avoid judgment.
The reason some were being disciplined or punished for taking the bread and wine was because they were not recognizing and respecting the body of the Lord, including their fellow believers who were also part of His body.
In verses 17 -22, we see that some came to the Lord's supper and were getting drunk , others were being so selfish that there wasn't enough for the others to partake in the supper.
Such selfishness and drunkenness was a sin against the Lord's body.
They disrespected the sacrament and failed to recognize the Lord's body and blood, therefore, they were bringing judgment and punishment upon themselves.
Don't avoid taking the bread and wine just because you're not as spiritual as you wish you were, or are fighting doubts, temptations, or discouragement.
Instead, examine your heart as Paul says, and bring those doubts , temptations, and problems to Jesus before you partake in the sacrament.
If you're not a Christian yet then repent of your sin and ask Christ to come into your heart, just as you're going to take the symbols of his body and blood into your body.
You can leave the Lord's communion table a forgiven, changed person.
