In Paul's instructions to the Corinthian church on observing Passover, he leaves no doubt about the gravity of our approach to taking it. In I Corinthians 11:29-30, he writes:

For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. (Emphasis ours throughout)

Understanding these verses requires scrutinizing the overall context. Paul sets the stage for his Passover instructions back in I Corinthians 5:7, where he identifies Jesus Christ as our Passover. However, he does not expand on the subject until I Corinthians 10:16-17:

Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread. (New English Translation)

In verse 17, the King James Version and New King James Version identify the church as "one bread," which is true in a roundabout way, but it is not quite what the Greek text expresses. Verse 17 indicates that because there is only one "Bread of Life"—which John 6 identifies as Christ—everyone who shares or partakes of that One Bread becomes a single spiritual body.

Then, Paul illustrates that we become one—unified—with whatever we partake of:

Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. (I Corinthians 10:18-21)

In other words, those physical Israelites who ate of the sacrifices were partakers of the altar, the main instrument of worship. By eating a share of the sacrifices, the Israelites placed themselves in fellowship with the object of their worship. As long as it was God's altar and the sacrifices were performed according to His instructions, the sacrifices played a meaningful part in true worship.

But when the Israelites ate from the altar of another so-called god—meaning a demon—they then joined in fellowship with that demon. Paul says we cannot have it both ways. Either we can partake of the wine and bread, fellowshipping with Jesus Christ, or we can participate in what the demons have to offer—not both.

The overall principle is that we become spiritually unified with whatever we partake of. When we individually partake of the cup of blessing and the bread at Passover, we become one with Jesus Christ. But more than one person partakes of the Passover symbols; the whole church does. Thus, everyone who partakes of these symbols also becomes one with Him. Because of this, the "Lord's body" is a collective noun, composed of those whom the Father called and are now in fellowship with Christ through symbolically sharing in His blood and His body.

After addressing other topics, Paul continues with a set of Passover instructions in I Corinthians 11:17-33. He addresses a situation in Corinth involving the congregation getting together to share a meal, as can be seen from the apostle's opening comments:

Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. (I Corinthians 11:17-18)

While the Passover is an annual observance—happening just once each year—the issue here is the congregation occasionally gathering as a church for a meal. The text implies that their "com[ing] together as a church" was a frequent occurrence rather than an annual one. The event he speaks of, then, was not the Passover, despite his mentioning it in the midst of his admonition. The congregational gathering was an occasion for food, fellowship, and fun—perhaps akin to the "love feasts" of Jude 12.

Yet we can tell that Paul took great exception to what occurred during those feasts because his admonition is quite stern. He describes blatant self-centeredness, lack of self-control, and general despising of God's church through some shaming and despising others on account of their personal situations:

For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. (I Corinthians 11:21-22)

Following this, in verses 23-26, the apostle brings up the Passover for a couple of reasons. First, some were confused, thinking that any church gathering was a time to commemorate the Passover. Thus, Paul had told them in verse 20 that when they came together, it was not to eat the Lord's Supper. He feels a need to give them a brief refresher on what the Passover is.

Second, the Passover is a powerful, motivational teaching tool to get his point across about their shortcomings. So, in verse 27, he underscores the matter's seriousness: "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." We must understand this is within the context of their behavior in the congregation, where some were only looking out for their own interests, and others were being despised and shamed. That context does not end until the chapter's end in verse 34.

The apostle is warning them about taking the Passover while they continued to perpetrate this social and spiritual violence against their brethren. Observing the Passover in such an unworthy way will make an offender guilty of Christ's body and blood. This matter of worthiness is so crucial that he instructs church members to perform an examination—an evaluation—of our spiritual state before we partake of the Passover: "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup" (I Corinthians 11:28). God will not look favorably on those who mistreat the ones for whom Christ died.

With this background, we will analyze the phrase "not discerning the Lord's body" more fully in Part Two.