When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in your eating each one takes his own supper first. One is hungry, and another is drunken. What, don’t you have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise God’s assembly and put them to shame who don’t have enough? What shall I tell you? Shall I praise you? In this I don’t praise you.
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1 Corinthians 11:20-22 sits inside this longer paragraph.
But in giving you this command, I don’t praise you, that you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together in the assembly, I hear that divisions exist among you, and I partly believe it. For there also must be factions among you, that those who are approved may be revealed among you. When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. For in your eating each one takes his own supper first. One is hungry, and another is drunken. What, don’t you have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise God’s assembly and put them to shame who don’t have enough? What shall I tell you? Shall I praise you? In this I don’t praise you.
Parallel Translations
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When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.
For in your eating each one takes his own supper first. One is hungry, and another is drunken.
What, don’t you have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise God’s assembly and put them to shame who don’t have enough? What shall I tell you? Shall I praise you? In this I don’t praise you.
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When ye come to gedder a man cannot eate the lordes supper.
For every man begynneth a fore to eate his awne supper. And one is hongrye and another is dronken.
Have ye not houses to eate and to drinke in? Or els despyse ye the congregacion of god and shame them that have not? What shall I saye vnto you? shall I prayse you: In this prayse I you not.
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When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eate the Lords Supper.
For euery man when they should eate, taketh his owne supper afore, and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
Haue ye not houses to eate and to drinke in? despise ye the Church of God, and shame them that haue not? what shall I say to you? shall I prayse you in this? I prayse you not.
Cross-references (13)
- 2 Peter 2:13 (v21) receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit…
- Jude 1:12 (v21) These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without…
- Proverbs 17:5 (v22) Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.
- Acts 20:28 (v22) Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the…
- James 2:5-6 (v22) Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom which he…
Show all 13 cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 10:16-18 (v21) The cup of blessing which we bless, isn’t it a sharing of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, isn’t it a sharing of the body of…
- 1 Corinthians 10:32 (v22) Give no occasion for stumbling, whether to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the assembly of God;
- 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (v21) For I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread. When…
- 1 Timothy 3:15 (v22) but if I wait long, that you may know how men ought to behave themselves in God’s house, which is the assembly of the living God, the…
- 1 Corinthians 11:2 (v22) Now I praise you, brothers, that you remember me in all things, and hold firm the traditions, even as I delivered them to you.
- 1 Corinthians 11:17 (v22) But in giving you this command, I don’t praise you, that you come together not for the better but for the worse.
- 1 Timothy 3:5 (v22) (but how could someone who doesn’t know how to rule one’s own house take care of God’s assembly?)
- 1 Corinthians 15:9 (v22) For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (21 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv20–22 20. This is not to eat the Lord’s supper…
20. This is not to eat the Lord’s supper He now reproves the abuse that had crept in among the Corinthians as to the Lord’s Supper, in respect of their mixing up profane banquets with the sacred and spiritual feast, and that too with contempt of the poor. Paul says, that in this way it is not the Lord’s supper that is partaken of — not that a single abuse altogether set aside the sacred institution of Christ, and reduced it to nothing, but that they polluted the sacrament by observing it in a wrong way. For we are accustomed to say, in common conversation, that a thing is not done at all, if it is not done aright. Now this was no trivial abuse, as we shall afterwards see. If you understand the words is not as meaning, is not allowable, the meaning will amount to the same thing — that the Corinthians were not in a state of preparation for partaking of the Lord’s supper, as being in so divided a state. What I stated a little ago, however, is more simple — that he condemns that profane admixture, which had nothing in it akin to the Lord’s Supper.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv20–22 This is an usual kind of speech, whereby the…
This is an usual kind of speech, whereby the Apostle denieth that flatly, which many did not well.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv20–22 20 When ye come together therefore into one place,…
20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.
Ver. 20. This is not to eat, &c.] When the Lord’s supper therefore is not rightly administered, it is no longer his; especially if the substantials thereof be omitted. As in those sacrifices, Hos 9:4; "Their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord;" that is, the bread for their natural sustenance. He speaks of that meat offering, Lev 2:4, appointed for a spiritual use, yet called the "bread for their life or livelihood;" because God esteemed it no other than common meat. So Jer 7:21, in scorn he calls their sacrifice, flesh, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv20–22 The Greek words do not necessarily signify into one…
The Greek words do not necessarily signify into one place, they may as well be translated, for the same thing, and possibly that were the better translation of them in this place; divisions appearing the worse amongst persons that met as one and the same body, and for one and the same grave action, and that such an action as declared them one body, and laid upon them the highest obligation to brotherly love imaginable.
This is not to eat the Lord’s supper: some words must be here supplied to complete the sense.
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This is not to eat; that is, as you do it is indeed not to do it; to eat the Lord’s supper in an unlawful manner, is not to eat it. It is called the Lord’s supper, either because he ordained and instituted it, or because it was instituted for the remembrance of his death, 1Co 11:26; Luk 22:19. Some think that the sacrament of the Lord’s supper is here meant, and so one would think, by comparing what is here with 1Co 11:23,24. Others say, that the love feast is here intended, which ordinarily preceded the Lord’s supper; the reason they give is, because the abuses here mentioned, viz. not staying one for another till the whole church were met, one eating plentifully, another sparingly, some being hungry while others had ate and drank enough, could not be at the Lord’s supper, where the minister beginneth not till the whole church be assembled, and where there is no such liberal eating and drinking. To this purpose we are told, that by an ancient custom in Greece (within which Corinth was) the rich men offered some things to their idols, (which after that action the poor had for their relief), and made feasts in the idol’s temples, of which all had a liberty to eat. That the Christians imitated this practice of theirs, and the rich amongst them upon the Lord’s days made feasts, at which both poor and rich Christians might be, and the poor carried away what was left. But this church growing corrupt every way, and having got teachers to their humours, they at these feasts neglected the poor, inviting only the rich to them, and also exceeding in their provision for their rich guests. These feasts were called feasts of love, or love feasts, either because:
1. Love to God was that which (pretendedly at least) caused them.
2. Or because they were representations of our Lord’s last supper, in which he first ate the paschal lamb, then instituted what we call the Lord’s supper; or because they immediately preceded or followed the administration of the Lord’s supper, from whence the love feast, being immediately before or after it, had also the same name. But if we allow this, we must make the love feasts also Christ’s institution, and instituted in remembrance of him, neither of which can be proved. The meaning must be: You cannot rightly communicate at the Lord’s table, when immediately before or after that table, at your love feast, you are guilty of such disorderly actions. In the mean time, only what Christ instituted for remembrance of his death is what the apostle calls the Lord’s supper.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv20–22 As if he had said, "True, ye Corinthians, when…
As if he had said, "True, ye Corinthians, when ye come together to one place, ye pretend to eat the Lord’s supper, but though you eat it, yet ye do not eat it as ye ought to do; you perform the material part of the action, but you do not partake of it solemnly and religiously, according to the divine institution; this therefore is not to eat the Lord’s supper."
Learn thence, That a duty not done as it ought to be done, is not done at all in the account of Christ. Sermons may be heard, and yet accounted no sermons; prayers made, yet not made; sacraments received, yet not received; alms given, yet not given; because not done in manner and form as God required.
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A gracious heart will look not barely at the matter of the duty, but also at the manner of performance, and take care not only that he hears, but how he hears.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv20–22 For in eating,.... Not at the Lord's table, but…
For in eating,.... Not at the Lord's table, but at tables spread for them in the place of divine worship, where everyone brought his own food, under a pretence that others, particularly the poor, should eat with him; but instead of that, he sat down and ate it himself, and would not stay till the rest came, to eat together:
but everyone taketh before other his own supper; that is, without tarrying till all came together, in order to eat a friendly meal with each other, to encourage and increase brotherly love, one would sit down and fill himself before another came; so that some went without, whilst others had too much; and thus the designed end was not answered, and the whole was a piece of confusion and disorder:
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and one is hungry, and another drunken; he that came late had nothing to eat, and so was hungry; when he that was first either eat and drank to excess, or at least very plentifully, so that he was very cheerful, and more disposed to carnal mirth, than in a serious and solemn manner to partake of the Lord's supper; and who is thought to be the rich man, who brought his own provisions, and ate them himself when he had done; as the poor may be meant by the hungry, who having no food to bring with them, and none being communicated to them by the rich, were in want, and starving; so that here were many abuses justly chargeable on them. Dr. Lightfoot is of opinion, that by him that was "drunken" meant the Jew that ate the paschal supper, of which he ate and drank freely; and by him that was "hungry", the Gentile, who was so not out of poverty and necessity, but because he refused and avoided eating of the ante-supper, as savouring of Judaism; and so here was a schism and division among them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv20–22 Therefore - That is, in consequence of those schisms.…
Therefore - That is, in consequence of those schisms. It is not eating the Lord's supper - That solemn memorial of his death; but quite another thing.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv20–22 Verse 20. This is not to eat the Lord's…
Verse 20. This is not to eat the Lord's Supper.] They did not come together to eat the Lord's Supper exclusively, which they should have done, and not have made it a part of an ordinary meal.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v20 1Co 11:20-22. When ye come together therefore — In…
1Co 11:20-22. When ye come together therefore — In such a manner as you do; into one place — Under pretence of celebrating the holy ordinance of the eucharist, and have such strife and contention among you, and act in the disorderly manner which I shall now mention; this is not to eat the Lord’s supper — That solemn memorial of his death; nor does it deserve to be called by that name, unless ye eat it in fellowship together, and in mutual love, as the disciples of one master. Instead of regarding it in a holy and religious point of view, you seem to confound it with a common meal; and do not indeed behave in the manner that decency would require, if it were no more than a common meal. For in eating it — Or when you eat it; every one taketh before other his own supper — Or, as Macknight renders εκαστος το ιδιον δειπνον προλαμβανει, every one taketh first his own supper; observing, that “what follows shows the apostle did not mean,” as in our translation, “that every one took before another his own supper; but that every one took his own supper before he ate the Lord’s supper. Christ having instituted his supper after he had eaten the passover, the disciples very early made it a rule to feast together before they ate the Lord’s supper. These feasts were called αγαπαι, charitates, love-feasts. They are mentioned, Jude, 1Co 11:12, as also by some of the ancient Christian writers. From Xenophon, (see Memorab., lib. 3. cap. 14,) we learn that the Greeks, when they supped together, brought each his own provisions ready dressed, which they ate in company together. Probably the Corinthians followed the same practice, in their feasts previous to the Lord’s supper.” And one is hungry, and another is drunken — Or rather, is filled, or plentifully fed, “as μεθυειν signifies here, being opposed to one is hungry. The word is used in this sense by the LXX., Psa 35:9; Jer 38:14; Joh 2:10; where it is rendered by our translators, when men have well drunk, drunk plentifully. According to the grammarians, μεθυειν literally signifies to eat and drink, μετα το θυειν, after sacrificing; on which occasions the heathen often drank to excess.” What? have ye not houses to eat and drink in — With your friends? Or despise ye the church of God — Which ye thus expose to contempt, and which you must greatly offend and grieve by such a conduct as this? That church of which the poor are both the larger and the better part; and shame — Expose to shame; them that have not — A supper to eat, while ye feast luxuriously? Do you act thus in designed contempt of them? What shall I say to you — On this occasion? Shall I praise you in this? — I wish I could fairly and honourably do it; but at present I praise you not — I must rather blame you, and exhort you to amend what is so grossly amiss.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv20–22 When ye come together therefore ... - When you…
When ye come together therefore ... - When you are assembled as a church, compare Heb 10:25, and see the note on Act 2:1. Christians were constantly in the habit of assembling for public worship. It is probable that at this early period all the Christians in Corinth were accustomed to meet in the same place. The apostle here particularly refers to their “assembling” to observe the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. At that early period it is probable that this was done on every Lord’s Day.
This is not ... - Margin, “Ye cannot eat.” The meaning of this expression seems to be this. “Though you come together professedly to worship God, and to partake of the Lord’s Supper, yet this cannot be the real design which you have in view. It cannot be that such practices as are allowed among you can be a part of the celebration of that supper, or consistent with it. Your greediness 1Co 11:21; your intemperance 1Co 11:21; your partaking of the food separately and not in common, cannot be a celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Whatever, therefore, you may profess to be engaged in, yet really and truly you are not celebrating the Lord’s Supper.”
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The Lord’s supper - That which the Lord Jesus instituted to commemorate his death. It is called “the Lord’s,” because it is his appointment, and is in honor of him; it is called “supper” (δεῖπνον deipnon), because the word denotes the evening repast; it was instituted in the evening; and it is evidently most proper that it should be observed in the after part of the day. With most churches the time is improperly changed to the morning - a custom which has no sanction in the New Testament; and which is a departure from the very idea of a supper.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv20–21 The Lord’s supper. So the apostle here calls the…
The Lord’s supper. So the apostle here calls the charity [Agape] feasts observed by the primitive Christians; and reprehends the abuses of the Corinthians on these occasions: which were the more criminal, because these feasts were accompanied with the celebrating the eucharistic sacrifice and sacrament. (Challoner)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv20–22 When . . . therefore--Resuming the thread of discourse…
When . . . therefore--Resuming the thread of discourse from Co1 11:18.
this is not to--rather, "there is no such thing as eating the LORD'S Supper"; it is not possible where each is greedily intent only on devouring "HIS OWN supper," and some are excluded altogether, not having been waited for (Co1 11:33), where some are "drunken," while others are "hungry" (Co1 11:21). The love-feast usually preceded the Lord's Supper (as eating the Passover came before the Lord's Supper at the first institution of the latter). It was a club-feast, where each brought his portion, and the rich, extra portions for the poor; from it the bread and wine were taken for the Eucharist; and it was at it that the excesses took place, which made a true celebration of the Lord's Supper during or after it, with true discernment of its solemnity, out of the question.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv20–22 20. Not… supper—The performances they came to enact were…
20. Not… supper—The performances they came to enact were truly no Lord’s supper at all, but a burlesque and dishonour upon it, being only their own supper. The possessive, Lord’s, is in the Greek an adjective for which we have no proper English word, as Lordic. So the Lordic supper and the Lordic day (Rev_1:10) are parallel terms. And the word Church is generally derived from a similar Greek phrase, which might similarly be Lordic house. The Lord’s supper, though primitively associated with, was distinct from, the agape. It usually, but probably not always, succeeded the agape.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv20–22 20. into one place] Literally, to (or at) the…
20. into one place] Literally, to (or at) the same place. See Act_1:15; Act_2:1; Act_3:1, and ch. 1Co_7:5 of this Epistle. It is the only phrase which we find applied to the place of the Christian assembly. See note on 1Co_11:18.
this is not to eat the Lord’s supper] Better, perhaps, it is not to eat a supper of the Lord’s Institution. The absence of the article, the apparent antithesis between a supper of Christ’s and a supper of one’s own devising, and the presence of the article in Rev_1:10 (the Lord’s Day), confirm this rendering. It is not merely that the conduct of the Corinthian Christians was inconsistent with taking’ part in the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood, but that it was in no sense a supper of Christ’s institution of which they partook. “The question arose,” says Dean Stanley, “whether the majesty, the tenderness, the awe of the feast should be lost in a senseless orgy.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv20–22 (20) When ye come together therefore into one place,…
(20) When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.—Better, Therefore, when you assemble in the same place, it is not to eat the supper dedicated to the Lord. Regarding 1Co_11:19 as a parenthesis, the word “therefore” connects this with 1Co_11:18. There being divisions among you, it is not possible for you when you assemble as a Church body (“in the same place” being equivalent to “in church” of 1Co_11:18) to partake of that supper which is dedicated to the Lord. The whole meal, or “charity-feast” (Jud_1:12), was distinguished from other meals by being united with the Lord’s Supper. To these charity-feasts the Christians brought contributions of food—the rich of their abundance, the poor whatever they could afford—and the food thus provided was partaken of in common by all. The Greek words in this verse for “Lord’s Supper” are more general (kuriakon deipnon) than those used in 1Co_11:27 and in 1Co_10:16; 1Co_10:21 (kuriou). The whole meal was dedicated to the Lord by virtue of its union with the sacramental Supper of the Lord.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv20–22 Into one place. There were as yet no churches.…
Into one place. There were as yet no churches. The Lord"s Supper was held in private houses. This is not; or perhaps, it is not possible. The Lord"s Supper. The fact that there is no article in the Greek shows the early prevalence of this name for the Eucharist.
The Lord"s Supper.
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The abuses and disorders which prevailed in the Corinthian Church served as an occasion for an apostolic exhibition and inculcation of a more excellent way. Incidentally, we are indebted to them for the account given by the apostle of the original institution, and for instructions as to the proper observance of the ordinance. The designation here applied to the distinctive observance of the Christian Church is one of beautiful simplicity, and suggests an exposition of the acknowledged nature and benefit of the ordinance.
I THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE LORD"S SURFER.
1. It is an ordinance of Christ, and its observance is consequently an act of obedience on the part of his people. It is not a service of man"s device; the Lord himself has said, "Do this.
2. It is a tradition of apostolic times. Paul professed to have "received from the Lord that which he delivered." The sacrament was accordingly celebrated within a generation of Christ"s own lifetime, and has been celebrated in unbroken continuity from that time to our own.
3. It was in the first century a regular observance of the Christian societies. This is apparent from the way in which it is mentioned in this Epistle; it is treated as something actually existing, although in some cases misunderstood and abused. And as Paul writes, "As oft as ye," etc., it is presumed that the observance took place regularly and frequently.
II THE DOCTRINAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LORD"S SUPPER.
1. It is a memorial of Christ, and especially of his death. He himself appointed that it should be observed "in remembrance of" himself and of his sufferings whose body was broken and whose blood was shed for his people.
2. It is an Eucharist, or service of thanksgiving. The Institutor of the ordinance "gave thanks," or "blessed," probably upon the suggestion of the cup of which the Jews partook during the Paschal meal. The sacrament is a reminder of all the benefits which we have received from God, and especially of the "unspeakable gift.
3. It is a symbol and means of spiritual nourishment. Spiritually, the communicants eat the body and drink the blood of their Saviour, partaking and feeding upon Christ by faith. The real presence of the Redeemer is experienced in the heart of the faithful recipient.
4. It is a bond of fellowship and brotherhood. Hence called a communion, or the communion, as the appointed means and manifestation of a true spiritual unity. The brethren of the family are seated at one table, they join in one meal or sacred feast, they eat of one loaf and drink of one cup.
III THE SPIRITUAL PROFIT OF THE LORD"S SUPPER.
1. It is a divinely appointed means of increased and more vivid fellowship with the unseen Redeemer, who in this service draws near to those who draw near to him.
2. It is a profession of faith, attachment, and loyalty, the admitted and enjoined method of declaring aport which side we stand in the moral conflict which rages, under whose banner we have enlisted, and whom we purpose loyally to serve.
3. It is a testimony to the unbelieving world around. The death of Christ is proclaimed, not only to those within, but to those without. More effectively than by words, men are reminded that the grace of God and the salvation of Christ have come very nigh unto them. T.
The Lord"s Supper a showing forth.
Considering how much has been made of the sacrament of the Lord"s Supper by the Christian Church it is remarkable that the passage connected with this text should be the only apostolic teaching we have respecting its observance. We have in the Gospels the records of the incident from which it takes its origin, but though we should have expected St. Peter or St. John to give us complete counsels for its observance, neither of them refers to it. St. Paul alone deals with it, and it is a singular thing that he makes no allusion to it when writing to Timothy and Titus, and seeking to fit them, and others through them, for their pastoral work. It even seems that, but for the accident of an abuse creeping into the Corinthian Church, we should have been left entirely without apostolic precedent or instruction concerning it. Our text, and the verses connected with it, contain hints of the way in which the Lord"s Supper was then observed; indications of the kind of abuses likely to creep in; and teachings concerning those great principles which were to regulate its management. We can clearly see that it was then a meal, not a service; a feast, not a fast; a communion, not an administration; a means of remembrance, and not a mystical presence. Our Lord kept the ordinary Passover meal, and into one of the customary incidents of it he put a new and spiritual significance. Now, see what actually occurred in the early Church. Those having a common faith naturally sought fellowship together. The Eastern idea of fellowship is partaking of the same food together. In this way grew up the agapae, or love feasts, and these seem to have been observed in all the Churches that were founded. These agapae could easily be connected in thought with our Lord"s last meal with his disciples, and on the closing part of them a special significance was probably made to rest. When Christianity touched Western life, the old Eastern agapae naturally dropped away. Feeding together is not so familiar a sign of fellowship in the West as in the East. So in the West a part of the meal was retained and became a sacrament, a service, and a mystery. St. Paul helps us to understand the special significance put into a part of the meal. It was a showing forth; but we ask
I A SHOWING FORTH OF WHAT?
1. Of a fact of history: the "Lord"s death." Remember that St. Paul usually goes on to the Resurrection, as revealing the significance of the death. The Lord"s death is shown forth in
(1) the substance of the sacrament bread, which is crushed in the mill before it can become food; wine, which is trodden in the wine press before it can become drink;
(2) the form of the food in the sacrament it is broken, and poured out. Impress the importance of keeping up the remembrance of this fact,
(a) as affirming the actual historical character of the Gospel records;
(b) as keeping for the death of Christ its central place in Christian doctrine;
(c) as renewing, on men"s souls, the special moral influence of Christ, the life persuasion, the "constraining" of his cross.
2. Of a fact of faith: "Till he come." That is "shown forth" in keeping up the observance, and in the manifest fact that he is now sensibly absent. We declare that the only president of the feast is Christ, as spiritually present. The importance of showing forth this fact is seen in its
(1) testifying to the resurrection and present life of Christ;
(2) in its affirming the foundation of the Church to be faith, not doctrine, or knowledge, or experience; and
(3) in its renewing the Church"s great hope, and witnessing to the reality and value of things unseen, future, and eternal.
II A SHOWING FORTH TO WHOM?
1. To God; as assuring him that we value his great Gift.
2. To ourselves; as quickening our own feeling, remembrance, and spiritual life;
3. To our fellow Christians; as bidding them rejoice with us in the common salvation which we all share.
4. To the world; as testifying that the despised "spiritual" is nevertheless the "true" and the "eternal." In conclusion, show the value of symbolic helps in religious life, and the claim that rests on us to show forth Christ"s death, if we have faith in him and the hope of his coming again. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv20–22 20. When ye come together, therefore. When they assembled…
20. When ye come together, therefore. When they assembled these heresies and divisions were manifest. There was a Paulite group, an Apolloite group, and a Petrine group, who sat apart from each other. It is not to eat the Lord's supper. Coming in such a spirit they were in no fit mind to eat the Lord's supper.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv21–22 21. He here alludes to the fact that in…
21. He here alludes to the fact that in this meal — which preceded the sacrament, and in its original institution was simple and frugal, demonstrative of their love to one another — some of them have gone to excess, actually eating to gluttony and drinking to drunkenness. This was not the sacrament, but the meal which preceded it, called the agapee, i. e., the love feast.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv20–22 When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not…
When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord's supper [The Lord's Supper is a spiritual feast. It is a feast of love, union and communion in and with Christ, and so can not be eaten by those who have already glutted themselves with hatred, factiousness and partyism]:
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v20 come together
come together
"gather together"
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it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat
"you may believe you are eating the Lord's Supper, but you do not treat it with respect"
to eat and to drink in
"in which to gather for a meal"
despise
hate or treat with dishonor and disrespect
humiliate
embarrass or cause to feel shame
What should I say to you? Should I praise you?
Paul is rebuking the Corinthians. AT: "I can say nothing good about this. I cannot praise you." (See: Rhetorical Question)
translationWords
Lord's Supper
church
God
praise
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v20 11:20-22 Some people were more concerned about eating their…
11:20-22 Some people were more concerned about eating their own supper than with the Lord’s Supper.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.