Paul’s warning about the Supper is severe because the gift is substantial. Mistreating the Lord’s meal is not merely a breach of good manners. He speaks of guilt concerning the body and blood of the Lord.
The Word
ἔνοχος (enochos) is an adjective meaning liable, guilty, or subject to. The construction and context identify what a person is liable to or guilty concerning.
In 1 Corinthians 11:27, the body and blood of the Lord are named in connection with the guilt incurred. We should not replace that wording with a vaguer statement that bad intentions are generally undesirable at religious gatherings.
Range of Meaning
Matthew 5 uses the adjective in warnings about liability to judgment. James 2:10 speaks of the person who keeps the law but stumbles at one point becoming accountable for all of it. Hebrews 2:15 uses it of being subject to slavery through fear of death.
These examples show that one fixed English preposition will not explain every occurrence. The word identifies a serious relation to judgment, responsibility, or subjection; the sentence supplies its particular content.
Where You’ll Meet It
Paul warns that unworthy eating or drinking:
“will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 11:27, NET)
The preceding verses recount the institution of the Supper. Earlier, Paul has rebuked divisions, humiliation of those who have nothing, hunger, and drunkenness at the Corinthians’ gatherings. His sacramental warning does not float free from their conduct toward one another.
The following verses call for self-examination and discerning the body. Paul also distinguishes the Lord’s chastening from condemnation with the world. The warning aims at correction under the Lord whose meal they receive.
What Confessional Lutherans Hear
Augsburg Confession X confesses the true presence and reception of Christ’s body and blood in the Supper. Paul’s warning belongs naturally within that confession. Faith does not create the body and blood by recognizing them, and unbelief does not make Christ’s institution disappear.
The Formula of Concord’s Supper article distinguishes receiving the body and blood from receiving them beneficially. Unworthy reception brings judgment rather than the comfort offered in the promise. The sacrament’s reality and its salutary use must not be confused.
This seriousness is also pastoral. A troubled Christian who grieves over sin and seeks Christ’s mercy should not be identified with someone contemptuously refusing repentance. The Small Catechism directs worthy reception to faith in Christ’s words concerning his gift for us.
Where People Get It Wrong
One error treats the warning as proof that only the morally successful should commune. That would turn a gift for sinners into a reward for people who no longer need it.
Another treats the Supper as harmless regardless of what is believed or how it is received. Paul gives no basis for that indifference. The warning and the promise should both be spoken faithfully.
So What
Do not approach the Supper casually, and do not stay away merely because you know your need for forgiveness. Confess your sins, receive instruction, and bring questions to your pastor.
Dokimazō follows Paul’s command to examine oneself, while Anaxiōs considers the unworthy manner of reception he warns against.