There is a lot of debate about participation at the Lord’s Supper and classis has tried to assist the congregations in the understanding of Scripture by hosting a discussion on Leonard Vander Zee’s book, “Christ, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.” Unfortunately, I had to miss that discussion and have wanted to share some thoughts on the topic since that session. Now, I will use our classis forum to do just that. First, I find the most glaring lacuna of Vander Zees work to be the total omission of any comment on or reference to 1Corinthians 1:28 on the examination of one’s self. It is my assertion that doing so necessarily forces us to mis the thrust of the passage. Second, we need to note the context of the text which seems to suggest that Paul’s point is for his readers to follow the Instructions! Scholars tell us that Paul is using emphasis as if he is shouting in his letter, For I received from the Lord these instructions, And I delivered them to you. Therefore the message from the Lord had come to them via the Apostolic conduit and they had confused what was intended to be clear. Thirdly, I am going to jump over the present tense verbs which indicate that we are to keep doing things the same way and keep proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes so that we can get to the analysis of examination. Fourth, it is important that we recognize that V 28 stands out in the original text as if it were in bold face type. The instruction to the Corinthians takes place in what we might over simplify as conversational verbs. Perhaps the “Do this” in vv 24 and 25 are to be seen as commands but that isn’t certain. But in v 28 all three verbs Examine! Eat! Drink! are commands and they are connected or related. Sadly the NIV is very anemic in this verse but the ESV tries to give some clue toweard their interconnectedness by saying, “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat …and drink.” In other words the eating and drinking are directly connected to and are a consequence of the verb “examine.” Fifth, a word study of the terms used helps to explain the text further. The word “examine” that Paul uses in this instance is a word that normally applies to military service in the sense of “being tested and tried in battle.” Here is a scenario to help us. A commander needs to send someone on a crucial mission. He may pick person “A” who has no battle experience of he may pick person “B” who has been proven or tested. Or take a more common scenario. Your football team is going to the championship game, do you want to go with the Quarterback who brought you there or go with the rookie who has no game time experience? Experience is an essential part of the evaluation, while mental readiness or even personal desire are not the major concerns. Being proven genuine, v 19 (same Greek word) in the heat of conflict, is the issue. This is precisely why the church of Jesus Christ for 1990 years has limited communion to adult members. John Calvin said that discerning Christ was not the issue for children but the issue was one of testing commitment in the fire of life. Similarly Charles Spurgeon said, , “the Lord’s own test is ‘by their fruits you shall know them’. We must have a credible profession of faith supported by a life that is consistent there with.” Sixth, let me put this in another form so that we can make a spiritual analogy or comparison. We all recognize that there is progression in terms of physical foods that we give to our children. We start them on formula or preferably on breast milk. Then we usually add rice cereal for there are fewer allergies to rice and it is easier to digest. At some point our children want the other food that we are eating. They want it desperately and really want it. Yet for the sake of their health, we do not give in. If we know and understand this and practice it physically, why is this so hard to understand spiritually? Finally, we must take a quick look at judging the body and the self, v 29. “We must recognize,” says the NIV. “We must discern,” says the ESV. “We must judge thoroughly,” says the Greek. But what do we judge? Two things: First, the body of Christ. Second, the potential for bringing judgment upon ourselves. Here again Calvin separates the two. The first, he says, is easy for all children and adults to discern. We see Christ and we are saved. But the second, the capacity to know if we are bring harm or not is something that we only learn by the maturity of experience. In Calvin’s language we must judge thoroughly the power of sins pull upon us because the text is full of language about judgment. (Seven times we see references to judging or judgment). In conclusion then, we see that it is clear, that even though the Lord’s Supper is appealing to our children and even though they rightly discern Christ, the Word does not permit us to open the table to them until they are also able to examine with maturity and discern the potential of bringing judgment upon themselves. It is the examination that opens the way for eating and drinking according to the instruction of the Apostle and the grammar he chose to make his point as a declaration of the Word of God.