Free Bible Commentary
“1 Corinthians 11:17-22”
Categories: 1 Corinthians“But in giving this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? 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 will not praise you.”
---End of Scripture verses---
In verse two Paul had praised his brethren for remembering him in everything and for holding firmly to the traditions that he had delivered to them. Now he departs from the praise and delivers some criticism. He starts this section by writing, “I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse” (verse 17). There were at least two problems being addressed here. First, they were turning the memorial of the Lord’s Supper into a common meal. Second, they were dividing the assembly when they “came together”. So, they weren’t really coming together as a unit to worship and serve the Lord when they gathered together “as a church” (verse 18) under the same roof.
“For there must be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you” (verse 19). God’s purposes can actually be served even in the most undesirable of situations. Proverbs 6:16-19 tells us that the Lord hates “strife among brothers”. But hearts are revealed when people splinter and fracture within the Lord’s body. It becomes “evident” by the behavior of the members of a congregation which ones are “approved” and which are not. Those who serve the Lord out of a heart of gratitude and obedience come shining forth like the sun. It also becomes evident which members have “heart trouble” and need help to see things more clearly so they can make the changes necessary to please God.
“Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper” (verse 20). Paul is actually saying here that it was impossible for them to eat the Lord’s Supper under the conditions in which they were meeting together. They didn’t wait for one another before they began eating, they didn’t share with one another and some were actually drinking to the point of intoxication (verse 21). Taking the Lord’s Supper was an impossibility for these brethren because the memorial meal of Christ in no way resembled the mockery that they were making of it. We will see in tomorrow’s reading what the Lord’s Supper actually consists of and what the proper mindset is for taking it. But one thing should be obvious—It is not to be a drunken feast! These misguided brethren were obviously carrying the heathen practices of their society into the church. Not good!
Just a couple of side notes. I think that verses 18-20 clearly indicate the appropriate place to take the Lord’s Supper: “When you gather together as a church.” And verse 22 (along with verse 34) tells us plainly that a church should not assemble to eat common meals. When we gather together as a church it should be to engage in spiritual undertakings. We come together to worship God and learn His will for us. And the Lord’s Supper is one of the acts of worship that must be engaged in on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). It is a memorial meal consisting of two emblems. The fruit of the vine is emblematic of the blood of Jesus, and the unleavened bread is a symbol of his crucified body.
The Lord’s Supper is a somber memorial of the greatest act of love ever known and shown to mankind. God came to this earth in the form of a man and allowed himself to be sacrificed at the hands of wicked men on the cruel cross of Calvary. If we can’t show our Savior and our brethren their due respect during such a critical commemoration, we effectively “despise the church of God” (verse 22).
Please read 1 Corinthians 11:23-34 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
- Louie Taylor
