This text is well known as being one of a handful of passages which deal with the Lord’s Supper. There appear to have been social divisions within the church of Christ at Corinth since we have referenced “those who have nothing” (verse 22).
The church obviously met in homes in those days and in wealthier members’ homes, the dining room could be as large as 18’ square with a table which had three sides, room enough for 9-12 guests. The majority of visitors would then eat in the courtyard, which might hold anywhere from 30-50 guests.
In 11:17-22, we see that the wealthier Christians were abusing the poor by practically treating them as second-class Christians. Notice the use of the terms “come or meet together” (11:17-18, 20), “eat” (11:20-22) and “divisions / factions” (11:18-19, 21-22).
Ultimately, their worship assembly was doing more harm than good! The church needed to get its act together. Paul had referred to their “divisions” back in 1:10 and would do so again in 12:25. The word “factions” (ˆheireseis) would come to refer to a false doctrine.
The Christians should have been “coming together” on the “Lord’s Day” (Rev. 1:10) to take the “Lord’s Supper.” These two passages are the only two which use this word for “Lord’s.” But, notice the phrase “each one” (11:22) – they are acting as individuals instead of a a single body.
In doing so, Paul writes in 11:23-26, they were abusing the Lord. The purpose of the bread is to commemorate the body of the Lord, as a single body. The purpose of the fruit of the vine is to commemorate the new covenant of His blood (Ex. 24:8). Through the Lord’s Supper, we also proclaim the Lord’s death until He returns. That’s the purpose of the Lord’s Supper. I would caution that we not use the Lord’s Supper as a part of a wedding ceremony. As sweet as that sounds, it is not the purpose of the Communion to celebrate our married love to one another. It is to think about, and celebrate as a church, the sacrifice of Christ.
The solution to the abuse of the Lord’s Supper is that we should discern the body (11:27-32). The word “body” here might refer to the body of Christ (that is, the Lord’s Supper) or it might refer to the “body” as the church. Either way, Paul is warning Christians not to allow the Communion to divide the “haves” from the “have nots.” Take the Communion, as a church body, for the purpose for which it was designed.
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Because, it is possible to eat and drink unworthily. We cannot define worship as we desire. Paul warns here that an act of worship can become an act of judgment if we do not do it properly. We do not know if the “weak, sick, and asleep” refers to a literal condition or a spiritual condition. Either way, it was not good.
Paul concludes the discussion by saying that we should take our common meals at home, or at least outside the worship service and wait for each other when we come together as a church.
So, to “live cross-culturally,” we need to keep unity in the church, centered around the Table of the Lord.
Paul Holland
