What Does It Mean to Examine Yourself Before Communion?

Self-examination before Communion means honest repentance, not anxious self-scrutiny.

What Paul is warning against

In 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, Paul is correcting the Corinthians because they were treating the Lord’s Supper casually and selfishly. Some were eating and drinking in a way that dishonored Christ’s body and ignored the church as one body.

So “examine yourself” means:

• come to the table with reverence
• confess known sin
• stop clinging to pride, bitterness, or division
• receive Christ with faith, not routine

What it is not

It is not a command to wait until you feel spiritually perfect.

If it were, no one could come. The Lord’s Table is for sinners who repent and trust Christ, not for people pretending they have no need of mercy. The point is not “Am I flawless?” but “Am I coming truthfully before the Lord?”

A simple way to examine yourself

Ask:

• Do I believe Christ died for my sins and rose again?
• Is there any sin I need to confess?
• Am I holding resentment, division, or contempt toward another believer?
• Am I treating this meal as holy, not ordinary?

Then repent, trust Christ, and come.

The goal

Self-examination is meant to lead you to a worthy manner of eating — humble, repentant, faith-filled. It is not meant to drive a sincere believer away from Christ, but to bring you to him with a clean conscience and a reverent heart.

“Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.” 1 Corinthians 11:28.