The Lord’s Table is not merely a ritual; it is a holy mystery that binds the Church together in Christ. When Jesus said, “This is my body... this is my blood,” He was revealing the divine fellowship into which all believers are called—one faith, one Spirit, one baptism, and one body. The Apostle Paul, writing to a deeply fractured church in Corinth, warned them that to partake of the Holy Communion without discerning the Lord’s body is to eat and drink judgment upon oneself (1 Corinthians 11:29). That warning applies not only to personal sin, but also to the sin of dividing the Church of Christ—the body we claim to receive.
Among the modern divisions that tear at the unity of believers is the spirit of sectarianism surrounding debates such as KJV-Onlyism, Verbal Plenary Preservation, or claims of a Perfect Textus Receptus. These positions, when held as personal convictions, may be harmless expressions of devotion. But when turned into weapons to condemn, exclude, or judge other believers, they become a form of schism. Those who claim that salvation, orthodoxy, or the presence of the Holy Spirit depend upon adherence to one translation or one textual theory have replaced the living Christ with a linguistic idol. The sin is not in preferring the King James Bible, but in exalting that preference above the unity of the Church Christ died to redeem.
Paul’s warning rings through the centuries: “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17). The bread of Communion is the symbol of unity. To divide over secondary matters—such as which edition of the Bible is “perfect”—while eating that bread is to contradict the very meaning of the sacrament. It is a spiritual hypocrisy: professing to receive Christ’s body while despising members of His body who read another translation or hold a different view of preservation. Such an attitude poisons the soul with pride and blindness, the very sins Paul said lead believers to eat and drink “unworthily.”
The warning is serious. When the believer approaches the Table without love, humility, and discernment, he risks spiritual judgment. The early Church understood that the Eucharist is not a reward for theological correctness, but a grace given to the humble and repentant. It is the feast of reconciliation, not of superiority. Therefore, to receive the Holy Communion while harboring contempt for others in the body of Christ—whether over translation, doctrine, or tradition—is to receive condemnation rather than blessing.
What, then, should those who have divided the Church through such doctrinal absolutism do? The answer is the same one Christ gives to all sinners: repent. Before approaching the Table, they must lay down the weapon of pride and embrace the spirit of love. They must confess that only Jesus is perfect, not our understanding of manuscripts or translations. The Word of God is living and active because the Holy Spirit breathes through it—not because of human preservation or textual purity. True reverence for Scripture leads to humility, not hostility.
Reconciliation must follow repentance. Those who have condemned or alienated fellow believers should seek forgiveness, both from God and from those they have wounded. They should remember that the same Jesus who said, “This is my body,” also prayed, “That they all may be one” (John 17:21). To honor the Bible while ignoring that prayer is to miss the heart of the Gospel.
In receiving Holy Communion, believers proclaim the death of Christ until He comes. That proclamation should not be undermined by factions and arrogance. The body and blood of Christ unite what sin and pride divide. Therefore, let those who come to the Table come in peace, with reverence, with humility, and with love for all who call upon the name of the Lord—whether they read from the KJV, ESV, or any other faithful translation. For the true Word of God is not confined to ink and paper but lives in the hearts of those who walk in the Spirit of Christ.
In summary, the sin of dividing the Church while receiving Communion is the sin of hypocrisy and spiritual blindness—partaking of the symbol of unity while nurturing division in the heart. The warning from Scripture is not merely a threat but a call to holiness. To approach the Table rightly, one must come in humility, forgiveness, and peace. Those who once divided the body must now seek to heal it. Only through love and repentance can the bread and wine become, once again, the true communion of the body and blood of Christ.
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