1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Butler's Comments

SECTION 2

Oneness, a Requirement for Godly Worship (1 Corinthians 11:17-34)

17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18For, in the first place, when you assemble as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it, 19for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20When you meet together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. 21For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal, and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. 25In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. 28Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. 30That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31But if we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged. 32But when we are judged by the Lord, we are chastened so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

33 So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another34if any one is hungry, let him eat at homelest you come together to be condemned. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

1 Corinthians 11:17-19 Cliques Stated: The church at Corinth was especially troubled by problems of worship. This was in part due to the variety of religious backgrounds among its members. The Jews in the Corinthian church would be accustomed to the simple, subdued, but dignified services of the synagogue. The synagogue would have been male-oriented. The women would have kept silent. Scriptures would be read, a scholarly dissertation of the scriptures would be given, prayers said, and, as the worshipers departed, offerings would be placed in the alms boxes. Most of the Gentiles in the Corinthian church, however, would be accustomed to the idolatrous services associated with Dionysus, god of intoxication and revelrywild orgiastic feasts where food and wine were consumed in great quantities. The cult of Mithras, which was so popular with the Roman troops, initiated its converts in the tauroboliuma pit in the ground over which a bull was slaughtered. As the blood poured over him, the new devotee eagerly let it immerse his eyes, nose, and tongue. This makes it clear there would be difficulty in the Corinthian church about how the worship services should be conducted.

A serious problem had arisen about the observance of the Lord's Supper. Paul was very distressed over the reports of their conduct. Apparently there were cliques (small, exclusive groups) forming according to social and economic levels and separating from one another. It is clear that the worship service of first century Gentile churches was preceded by a communal meal (a fellowship supper). Paul says in this very chapter that the worship service in Corinth observed such a meal before worship (1 Corinthians 11:20-22). By having this fellowship supper they may have thought they were making progress in their Christian commitment. But Paul says they were coming together not for the better but for the worse! They would have been better off not even to have come together to behave as they were.

Division is abhorred by the Lord whether it is over church leaders, over opinions, or over social and economic status. Paul does not say here (1 Corinthians 11:18-19) that divisions (Gr. Schismata) and factions (Gr. haireseis, or heresies) are necessary in the church in order to prove who belongs to God. He certainly would not advocate that Christians should form denominations and sects and cliques so the world would be able to find the true God. Jesus prayed just the opposite (see John 17:1 ff.). He is pointing out, however, that when people form cliques within the church, those who refuse to join them and refuse to approve of them, are themselves recognized as genuine in their faith. A Christian who is a genuine brother to all Christians will not only refuse to join cliques and factions, but he will resist them with loving admonition.

1 Corinthians 11:20-22 Communal Supper: William Barclay in his commentary writes about the communal meal in the first century church:

The ancient world was in many ways a much more social world than ours. It was the regular custom for groups of people to meet together for common meals. There was, in particular, a certain kind of feast called an eranos in Greek language, to which each participant brought his own share of the food, and in which all the contributions were pooled to make a common feast. The early church had such a custom; they had a feast called the Agape or Love Feast. To it all the Christians came, bringing what they could, and when the resources of all were pooled, they sat down to a common meal. It was a lovely custom; and it is to our loss that the custom vanished.

This meal probably grew out of the fact that when Jesus first instituted the Lord's Supper it was in connection with the Passover meal he and his disciples had just eaten. It was a way of producing and nourishing real Christian fellowship (Gr. koinonia, sharing, participating). It offered the well-to-do a regular opportunity to share their material blessings with the poor. After this meal, all the Christians would partake of the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, to memorialize his atoning death for the sins of all men.

But in the church at Corinth things had gone sadly wrong with the Love feast (and as a consequence, it had defiled their act of partaking of the Lord's Supper). Paul treats this problem with one of the angriest outbursts in the whole epistle. He begins with sarcasm, When you meet together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat. William Barclay again:

In this church there were rich and poor; there were those who could bring much of the finest of foods to the Love Feast and there were slaves and poor who could bring little or nothing. For many a poor slave the Love Feast must have been the only decent meal in the whole week.. The rich did not share their food but ate in little exclusive groups by themselves, hurrying through it in case they had to share. The meal or gathering at which the social differences between members of the church should have been obliterated only succeeded in aggravating these same differences.

Some in the Corinthian church began to eat before the others arrived, gorging themselves, consuming most of the provisions, and letting the others go hungry. The drunken are the wealthy who had the leisure to come early. They fed themselves full, and drank until they became inebriated. How shameful! The hungry were the slaves, common laborers, foundry workers, tired dock hands, and sick and disabled who were poverty stricken. Most of these would of necessity arrive late for the communal meal in the evening because they had to work until the sun set; these needed the most and received the least. It is scandalous to become drunken at the worship service; it is even worse to be drunk with a false sense of superiority and an indifference to the needs of the brethren.
What started as a love feast turned out to be an orgy of squabbling, hurt feelings and even drunkenness. This, of course, destroyed all possibility of properly commemorating the Lord's sacrifice in the Lord's Supper. Paul insists that this prostitution of Christian fellowship destroys the true meaning and purpose of the Lord's Supper. They go through the ritual of the Lord's Supper all right, but it does not glorify Christ. They have hardly turned away from showing their contempt for Christ in their factious gluttony before they are pretending to join their snubbed brethren in communing with the Lord.

Paul is not prohibiting Christians from having fellowship suppers in the church-building in 1 Corinthians 11:22. In the first place, so far as we know historically and archaeologically, there were no buildings built specifically as church-buildings before 200 A.D. The Christians at Corinth were meeting in people's private homes (see 1 Corinthians 16:19). Furthermore, it is clear that what Paul condemned was the manner in which they were conducting themselves, not the place of the supper. Paul's suggestion is that if they are going to continue with their insensitive arrogance and gluttony to humiliate their brethren, they should stop the love feast and eat in their own homes. The place had nothing to do with their despising the church of Godit was their carnality.

Once again we behold actions so carnal and shameful in Christians we wonder how Paul could call them brethren. But with only a little soul-searching we all should acknowledge we are ignorant and obstinate brethrenin differing areas of behavior.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Covenant Shared: This parenthetical sectiona review from Paul concerning the establishment of the Lord's Supperserves as a reminder of the spiritual purpose of the Lord's Supper. Paul had not been an eyewitness to the initial institution of the Supper. But that did not matter since the Lord Himself revealed to Paul the historical and spiritual details of itand Paul had taught that to these Christians at Corinth.

In this text the apostle is emphasizing covenant, not ritual. Some would make the ritual the Christian's covenant. The Lord's Supper is not our covenantit commemorates our covenant. Isaiah predicted at least twice that God would make the Servant (the Messiah) himself our covenant (Isaiah 42:6 and Isaiah 49:8). Isaiah's statement Isaiah 42:6, I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, is unquestionably messianic (see Isaiah 42:1-4 and Matthew 12:18-21) in its context. Jesus Christ, himself, is our covenant. When we observe the Lord's Supper we are remembering that through faith we have appropriated him (Jesus) as our covenant. Of course, observance of the Supper is an act of faith on our part, but neither our faith nor the ritual is our covenant. It is through faith that we have been made partakers of the divine nature (see 2 Peter 1:3-4). Jesus, himself, dying and atoning for our sins and rising from the dead to supply the new creation of his Spirit within us, is our covenant. How does one partake of a person as a covenant? Through assimilating his word (his Spirit, his will). We eat his flesh and drink his blood by believing and obeying his word (see John 6:63). It would be of no profit to us even if we could engage in some ritual where we ate the actual, literal, physical flesh and blood of Jesus. It is his will, his personality, his mind, and his actions he wants us to assimilate (to partake of, to have koinonia with).

Our communion (participation) is in his person, his nature, and must not be confined merely to rituals. Participation in the life of Christ may involve observance of clearly revealed ceremonies or actions specified by Christ or the apostles, but the ceremonies are not the covenant. A covenant is an oath. God's oath in the new dispensation was the Messiah himself (see Hebrews 6:17, where it should be translated, ... he interposed himself with an oath; see 2 Corinthians 1:20, where Jesus is said to be God's oath of confirmation to all his promises). A covenant is a reconciliation. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). The ceremony of the Lord's Supper is the weekly reminder that we share in a Divine Personnot a system of rituals.

Do this in remembrance of me, involves more than remembering the crucifixion scene. It involves remembering that ... one died, therefore all died. It involves remembering that from now on. we regard no one from a human point of view. (see 2 Corinthians 5:14-21). It involves remembering that we participate in the very life of Jesus Christ, or that he controls, directs, orders our lives. When Jesus died, we diedif we accept his death for us. I no longer direct meJesus does.

Had this been the case in Corinth, the brethren would not have arrogantly and greedily disregarded their brethren. They would have waited at the love feast for the poor, lower-class, late-comers and would have counted them better than themselves for this is the mind of Christ in which Christians are to participate (see Philippians 2:3-8). This is the life we are to have in us, being lived out through us. This is being in covenant with Jesus. The Corinthians were faithfully gathering to observe the ritual, but they were not partaking of the covenant!

Twice in this context the Greek adverb, hosakis, as often as is used to qualify the imperative verb, poieite, Do. There really is no distinct, categorical commandment from the Lord or the apostles as to when the Lord's Supper must be commemorated. No particular day is commanded and no commandment is made as to frequency. Since no explicit directive is given in the New Testament, our next best guide about time and frequency of observance would be some precedent set by the apostolic (first century) church. We would certainly be on safer ground by seeking apostolic precedent than by trying to guess about the matter some twenty centuries removed from the beginning of the church.

From Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2 we observe that the first century church met every first day of every week to do two things: break bread (Acts 20:7) and put something aside (take up an offering) (1 Corinthians 16:2). Even if we assume the phrase break bread in Acts 20:7 refers to the love feast, we are still compelled to acknowledge (from our text here in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26) that the love feast was followed by the observance of the Lord's Supper. However, we may just as well assume the phrase break bread refers specifically to the Lord's Supper rather than the love feast. Whatever the case may be, we must admit the church at Troas, in the first century, observed the Lord's Supper at least every first day of the week.

Since the church at Troas was undoubtedly established and taught by the apostle Paul, we must assume they met every first day of the week to break bread in accordance with apostolic instruction. Alexander Campbell wrote in The Christian System, pp. 274-275:

The Apostles taught the churches to do all the Lord commanded. Whatever, then, the churches did by the appointment or concurrence of the apostles, they did by the commandment of Jesus Christ. Whatever acts of religious worship the apostles taught and sanctioned in one Christian congregation, they taught and sanctioned in all Christian congregations because all are under the same government of the same king. But the church in Troas met upon the first day of the week for religious purposes.
Among the acts of worship, or the institutions of the Lord, to which the disciples attended in these meetings, the breaking of the loaf was so conspicuous and important, that the churches are said to meet on the first day of the week for this purpose. We are expressly told that the disciples at Troas met for this purpose; and what one church did by the authority of the Lord, as a part of his instituted worship, they all did.

Many of the early church fathers (Christian leaders of the church in the second century) testify in their writings that the Lord's Supper was observed on every first day of the week. Justin Martyr, who wrote about 140 A.D., says:

And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place. when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgiving, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons.

In the compilation of writings called The Teaching of The Twelve, written about 120 A.D. Christians were exhorted to gather every Lord's Day to break bread and give thanks. The Ante-Nicene fathers confirm this practice of observing the Lord's Supper every Sunday.

So, while we have no categorical command from the Lord about the frequency of its observance, we surely have clear apostolic precedent for observing it every first day of the week.
There may be a number of reasons we have no distinct and dogmatic order about the frequency of observing the Lord's Supper. First, if the Lord has to spell out in minute detail every spiritual action we are to take, he leaves no room for spiritual growth and character-building. It is in accepting the responsibility for discovering some truths, rather than in having them spelled out in detail, that we come to spiritual maturity. Perhaps that is why the Lord left the matter of frequency merely implied in the New Testament. Further, knowing the tendency of man to be legalistic, the Lord undoubtedly decided not to legislate the Supper's frequency. He would not want men to use a command about frequency of observance to attack, condemn and destroy ignorant and immature babes in Christ. Jesus would want this very significant and intimate act of worship to be done from love not from legalism. And if the Lord places in his word a veiled hint (or precedent) about its frequency, love will find it!
Observance of the Lord's Supper is not merely a remembrance of the past redemptive deeds of Christit is also a telling-forth (Gr. katangellete, a proclamation, a declaration) of the future redemptive deed of Christ in his Second Coming. The Christian, by observing the Lord's Supper every week, is declaring to the world around him that he believes the death of Jesus Christ to be efficacious for the forgiveness of sin and participation in the Spirit of God by grace. In observing the Lord's Supper the Christian is telling the world there is salvation in no other name under heaven than that of Jesus Christ. This testimony will go on, and on, and on, and on, in the world, as often as it is done, until Christ returns. The Lord's Supper is also a declaration to the world that Christians believe Christ is alive, risen from the dead, ascended to the right hand of God the Father, there making intercession on behalf of those who love him. It is a proclamation that Christians believe Jesus Christ to be living and communing in the Spirit with the church every time the Supper is observed (see Matthew 18:20). If this be the case, let us not argue about frequency of observance. Let us rather rejoice that we have apostolic precedent for observance at least every first day of the week when the church gathers for corporate worship. Consider the possibilities of intensifying the Christian proclamation with more frequent observance. Why not observe the Lord's Supper on other corporate gatherings of a congregation? Why not on Wednesday night at midweek service? Why not at ladies-' meetings, men's meetings, youth meetings? The spiritual oneness, and moral constancy that would permeate a congregation meeting early every morning of every week, before scattering to different places of employment, would soon result in an evangelistic harvest.

1 Corinthians 11:27-29 Criticism of Self: A primary purpose of the Lord's Supper is, on the basis of Christ's loving atonement, to stimulate the participant into an examination of himself and his relationship to the whole body of Christ. This was what Jesus used it for on the very night he instituted it. There, he challenged the apostles to examine their own hearts about betraying him. And each one did, asking, Lord, is it I? All the disciples, at that first Communion, were prodded into thinking of themselves in relation to Jesus and to one another. The Greek word dokimazeto is translated examine himself. It is the same Greek word used in 2 Corinthians 13:5 where the KJV translates the word, prove. To examine is to test or prove. It means, literally, we are to put ourselves on trial.

But what is eating the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner? The Greek word from which we get the English word unworthy is anaxios. Axios is the Greek word from which we get axiom, axiology, and axiomatic. The word in both Greek and English means, value, proper, good, right, and worth. It is, therefore, possible to observe the Eucharist in an improper way. To do so makes a person guilty (Gr. enochos, liable to judgment of law) of the body and blood of the Lord (guilty as if the participant had crucified the Lord). Paul clearly says, For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.

To discern the body during observance of the Lord's Supper is not to be confined simply to a mental image of the crucifixion. To discern the body in this context refers specifically to brotherhood. It means to refresh one's memory about Jesus dying for all believers, rich or poor, famous or unknown, strong or weak. It means Christians, prompted by the Lord's Supper, are to discern the body in its membership, in its koinonia (fellowship). Too often, we focus too much on ourselves, even at the Lord's Supper. It is in keeping with the intent of Paul's discussion of the Supper here to have the burdens and needs of other members of the church upon our minds and hearts as we observe it. The less we think of ourselves during the Supper, the more likely we are to observe it as Paul wanted the Corinthians to observe it. The one way to drink it in an unworthy manner is to isolate oneself from the rest of the body in attitude and action. No man is unworthy in and of himself to partake. The Supper should be observed by sinners who are repenting. Sin should not keep us away from the Communionit should drive us to it so we may get the right attitude. But the person who, like some of these Corinthians were doing, observes the Lord's Supper and is insensitive toward any other member of the body, drinks judgment upon himself.

The Lord's Supper was ordained by Christ to prompt people to love him and his body, the church. It is a love feast. It must be observed in unity. No one should dare observe it if he is not in harmony with his brethren. To observe the Lord's Supper and at the same time be slandering a brother, or disregarding a brother's needs, or agitating division within the body, is to profane and make a mockery of it. Such would be to blaspheme the very life he hypocritically professes to be sharingthe Life of Jesus!

1 Corinthians 11:30-34 Consequences of Such a Sham: Having the wrong attitude and still trying to play the role of a worshiper of God can have dire consequences. A separatist, schismatic attitude about the body of Christ while trying to pretend oneness and unity causes spiritual sickness, and, eventually, spiritual death. This is precisely the reason for so much spiritual sickness among Christians today. Too many Christians are going through the motions as they gather about the Lord's Table, but they haven-'t really surrendered to the mind and will of Jesus Christ as he revealed it once for all in the Scriptures. Too many, even Christians, want to judge the scriptures by their feelings and selfish desires rather than judging their feelings by the scriptures. This is the very point Paul is making here in Corinthians. He reminds these Christians at Corinth they must not judge their fellow church members by their feelings, but by the objective work of Christ documented in the New Testament. That is, all sinners are equally lost; all believers are equally redeemed. All Christians are equally members of Christ's body, the church. There may be different places of service within the kingdom of God, but every citizen is a servant. There is only one Master, and he is Jesus. Of course, there are specific hierarchical orders God has ordained within human society (even in the church), but still, there are no kings, only servants.

Paul told the Corinthians their spiritual sickness (Gr. arrostoi, feebleness) was directly due (Gr. dia touto, on account of this, therefore) to their profanation of the Lord's Supper by misdiscerning the body. The Bible speaks of spiritual sickness often (see Isaiah 1:5; Isaiah 33:24; Hosea 5:13; Psalms 30:2; Isaiah 53:5; Jeremiah 6:14; Jeremiah 8:11; etc.). Spiritual sickness, and eventually, death, results from at least two causes: (a) improper ingestion of spiritual foodeither not enough or the wrong food (see John 6:35-65 and Luke 12:1; Hebrews 5:11-14; 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, etc.); (b) exposure to the infectiousness of sin (Ephesians 5:3-14; 2 Peter 3:17). Sin, if not treated by the spiritual healing of faith in Christ, invades our minds and infects them much like viral micro-organisms that cause physical illness and death. Sin, allowed to incubate, grows and develops and when it is fullgrown brings death (James 1:14-15).

Unworthy observance of the Lord's Supper brings condemnation to the whole body of Christians (1 Corinthians 11:34) when worship is profaned by play-acting. It is contagious. Hypocrisy and division will soon infect an entire congregation so that swift, radical, spiritual-surgery is sometimes called for (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; Romans 16:17-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; Titus 3:10).

The only worthy way to observe the Lord's Supper is to discern the body. Thus, from now on regard no one from a human point of view, but be consistently controlled by the love of Christ. At the Lord's Table concentrate on the fact that because one has died for allall must die to self and live no longer for self but for him who for your sake died and was raised (see 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Galatians 2:20). Concentrate on viewing every Christian, every member of Christ's church, as an equal member of the body, a new creature in Christ. If all who meet at his Table will do this, every week, the church will be healthy and alive. Churches may appear to be alive and be dead (Revelation 3:1). Churches may appear to be healthy and be sick (Revelation 3:15-17). The Lord wants the church to be healthy at the very core of its being. This will be true only when the church partakes of the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner.

Applebury's Comments

Text

1 Corinthians 11:17-34. But in giving you this charge, I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and I partly believe it. 19 For there must be also factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you. 20 When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord's supper: 21 for in your eating each one taketh before other his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 22 What, have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and put them to shame that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you? In this I praise you not. 23 For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said. This is my body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25 In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh judgment upon himself, if he discern not the body. 30 For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep. 31 But if we discerned ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, wait one for another. 34 If any man is hungry, let him eat at home; that your coming together be not unto judgment. And the rest I will set in order whensoever I come.

Observing the Lord's Supper (17-34)

Commentary

I praise you not.Paul had praised them for remembering him and for holding fast the traditions he had delivered to them. But there were some things connected with their worship for which he did not praise them. Some may not have been observing his advice about the use of the veil when praying or prophesying. In the matter of eating the Lord's supper, he could not praise them because of the conditions that prevailed in their assembly for which they were entirely responsible. He severely rebuked them because their coming together was not for the better but for the worse.

when ye come together in the church.We tend to identify the building where the church people meet with the church, but church refers to the people who are called out from the general group to be the people of God. It also strongly suggests assembly since the church is to come together for worship. They were not to neglect the assembling of themselves together (Hebrews 10:25). The thing that was happening in their assembly was the object of Paul's criticism.

divisions exist among you.Perhaps at no place did the sectarian spirit of the Corinthians show up in all its sinful nature more clearly than at the assembly when the Lord's supper was to be eaten. Leaders got together with their own supporters around their own food while others were allowed to go hungry. Paul certainly could not praise them for this.

Neither the splits nor the factions had reached the proportions to which they later developed, but there were cliques in the local congregations. The sin of division is just as real on the local level as it is when it reaches the stage of separate organizations. Paul indicates that he believed this condition was true with part of the church at Corinth.

I partly believe it.This does not indicate doubt as to the situation, but rather as to the extent to which it had gone. There were those who were not mixed up in it.

there must be factions among you.Some were choosing sides over loyalty to a leader or over some other rallying point. Groups were formed that excluded all others who did not support the particular issue of the group. Such splits were accompanied by the factions that caused them.

they that are approved.The apostle is not saying that factions are necessary in order that those who are approved of God may be manifested. Surely God's people need no such sinful background for them to be known. But cliques in the church do result in the manifestation of the approved who refuse to join the clique.

when ye come together.One of the things for which they came together was eating the Lord's supper. This was by no means the only reason for the assembly nor does the Bible indicate that it was the primary reason. It is true that Acts 20:7 states that they came to break bread, but the expression primary reason does not occur in the text. It would seem that Paul's preaching was equally important since he was acting under the commission of Christ to preach the word. Collections were made on a weekly basisevidently when they came togetherto obviate the necessity of making the collection at the time of the apostle's visit (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).

The practice of eating the common meal had defeated this other important matter, eating the Lord's supper. Cliques that had plenty ate their own food while others who had nothing went hungry. How could the Lord's supper which taught the lessons of remission of sins and the unity of the body of Christ be eaten in such an atmosphere?

have ye not houses to eat and drink in?Since the common meal was the occasion for the cliques to form, it was to be discontinued. This is not to say that churches where such conditions do not exist are forbidden the privilege of coming together in the church buildings to eat. But if Corinth could get into trouble over this matter it might be well for elders to watch the flock lest similar situations develop in congregations today. Sitting at the table with brethren in Christ can be a heavenly experience and it can also lead to things that disgrace the church and her Lord.

In this I praise you not.Paul was generous with his praise whenever possible. But he made sure that they understood that he did not praise them for practicing things that made it impossible to eat the Lord's supper

I received of the Lord.The sacredness of the Lord's supper is indicated in a number of ways. The instruction for its observance came from the Lord Himself. It was delivered to the church by His inspired apostle. It was to be in memory of the Lord's death. It speaks of His coming again. Since it was a memorial to the fact that the blood of Christ was poured out for the remission of sins, the sins of which the Corinthians were guilty could not be tolerated where the Lord's supper was to be eaten.

the new covenant in my blood.The old covenant was the ten commandments. See. Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13. Although it was unilaterally promulgated it was, -nevertheless, a covenant because the people agreed to its terms and promised to keep them. See Exodus 24:3-4. But the people broke the covenant, and the Lord declared that He would make a new covenant that would be written, not on tables of stone, but on the hearts of the people. See Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-13. God also dictated the terms of this covenant. But what about the pledge of the people to keep it? This is done when one makes the good confession which is an acknowledgement that Jesus is our prophet, priest, and king. Eating the Lord's supper should remind the worshipper of his covenant with Christ.

till he come.One thing that must always be remembered by the Christian is the death of Christ through which he is delivered from the guilt and power of sin. An equally important thing to remember is that He is coming again for those who wait for Him unto salvation (Hebrews 9:27). At the time of His ascension, angels said to the apostles that this Jesus who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven (Acts 1:11). See also 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10. Behold he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen. (Revelation 1:7) He who testifies these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).

Evidently the Corinthians had forgotten this great hope of the Christian. But are we doing any better than they?

unworthy manner.Perhaps no one is really worthy to take the Lord's supper. People who refrain from eating the Lord's supper because of a sense of guilt that makes them feel unworthy often use this verse as the basis of their views. But Paul was speaking of the unworthy manner in which the church at Corinth conducted itself that made it impossible to eat the Lord's supper. The guilt that accompanies the violation of God's will can be overcome by repentance and confession of the sin to the Lord. See Acts 9:22-24; 1 John 1:6-10; 1 John 2:1-2.

But God has never tolerated careless handling of sacred things. To treat the Lord's supper as something less than a common meal, as the Corinthians were doing, is to be guilty of mishandling the body and blood of the Lord. The penalty for this was clear: many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.

But let a man prove himself.This suggests the process of testing by which the assayer finds the pure gold in the ore. It should be done in the light of the meaning of the loaf and the cup. One should ask himself, Is my life in harmony with the principles of unity of the body of Christ, and the remission of sins which Christ has provided, and of the fact that He is coming again? This makes the Lord's supper a serious experience for the true worshipper. To do otherwise is to eat and drink judgment to oneself. It is to be involved in the same condemnation that came upon these who crucified the Lord.

discern the body.In eating the Lord's supper, it is necessary to decide correctly the issues involved. It is necessary to distinguish between the splits and factions and the true body of Christ. It is necessary to distinguish between the loaf and the bread of a common meal.

discerned ourselves.If the Corinthians had decided correctly the issue of belonging to the Lord as opposed to becoming members of the parties that followed men, they would not have been judged guilty of mishandling the body and blood of the Lord.

weak, sickly.It is possible to view this as spiritual sickness and death. But it may be physical, for they were eating and drinking to excess. Some of them had died from the effects of this kind of abuse.

chastened of the Lord.God punishes His people as a good parent punishes his child. See. Hebrews 12:3-13. The object is to avoid condemnation with the world. Paul's advice was to eliminate the custom of eating together since this was the thing that had gotten them into trouble. They could eat at home; then, when they came together, they could eat the Lord's supper.

And the rest.There were other problems that demanded his personal attention. These he would attend to when he visited them the next time. But the great principles set forth in this letter corrected the major ills of the Corinthian church and will, if applied, do so for the church today. First Corinthians is the most up-to-date treatise on church problems available today. The Corinthians church could make use of Paul's advice while waiting for his personal visit; the church of today must use the same inspired advice while waiting for the coming of the Lord. Dare we pray, Come, Lord Jesus?

Summary

The Corinthians had written to Paul about the perplexing problem of the use of the veil while praying or prophesying in public. Praying is speaking to God; prophesying is speaking for God. In the early church it was done under the immediate direction and power of the Holy Spirit. The ancients had various customs of worship, depending on their backgrounds, some Jewish, some Roman, and some Grecian.
To settle the problem, Paul called attention to this basic principle: the head of every man is Christ; the head of woman is man; and the head of Christ is God. A woman dishonored her head by praying or prophesying without a veil. It was the same thing as having the head shaved or the hair cut. These were distinguishing marks of man, not woman. It was a shame for a woman to attempt to be a man; therefore, Paul said, Let a woman wear the veil. She was to dress in a manner that would enable her to be recognized as a woman. Man, on the other hand, is not to have his head covered because he is the image and glory of God. Woman was to wear the veil as a symbol of her womanly right and dignity because of the angels.
Neither man nor woman is complete apart from the other. The facts of creation and of birth prove the point. All things are from God, that is, God determined the distinctions between man and woman. They were not to be disregarded in the church. Nature and good judgment support the views of the apostle. By nature, woman's hair grows long, but man's short. It was good sense for a woman to dress as a woman and a man as a man. There is no time when this is more appropriate than when praying or prophesying. The apostle reminds anyone who would oppose this view that the churches of God had no other custom.
Paul had commended them for keeping the oral instructions which he had transmitted to them, but he could not commend them for their conduct in connection with the Lord's supper. Division and faction existed among them when they met in the assembly. Not all of them were guilty, but the conduct of the guilty ones resulted in the approved of God being manifested by their refusal to be parties to such conduct. The practice of eating a meal at the assembly was to be discontinued because it resulted in the church being disgraced and these who had nothing being humiliated.
Paul faithfully declared to them what the Lord had revealed to him. The Lord said, This is my body. How could men use the assembly of God as a place to practice division and faction? The Lord said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. He was faithful to His part of the agreement providing remission of sins to the believer. But how could they drink the cup and still practice the sin of division? If they had remembered Him and not their own selfish desires for prominence and power, they would not have split into factions to the disgrace of the body of Christ. Christ died to save man from sin. As often as we eat the bread and drink the cup we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
His coming suggests a time of reckoning. Paul warned the Corinthians about the unworthy manner in which they were approaching the Lord's supper. They were guilty of mishandling the body and blood of the Lord. A man should test himself to see that his life is in accord with the principles taught by the loaf and the cup. If it isn-'t, he eats and drinks judgment to himself by failing to decide correctly concerning the body and blood of Christ. Some of the Corinthians did fail and as a result were weak and sick and some of them had died. But if we decide correctly the members of the body of Christ as distinguishing from members of a party or faction, we shall not be condemned. The Lord judges His people for the purpose of chastening them that they may not be condemned with the world.
Other things were to be cared for when Paul arrived.