A Study of 1 Corinthians 11:17-34A Study of 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

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1 Corinthians 11:17-22—Paul Rebukes the Corinthians For Their Perversion of the Lord’s Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26—Paul Reminds the Corinthians of the Lord’s Instructions Concerning the Lord’s Supper.

1 Corinthians 11:27-34—Paul Applies these Instructions to the Corinthians.

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Paul established the church at Corinth on the second journey when he came to Achaia. (Acts 18:8)

Paul would continue working with these brethren for 18 months. (Acts 18:11)

Later Apollos, having been brought to a full knowledge of Christ, went to Achaia to labor with the saints. (Acts 18:27)

In the meantime, Paul on his third journey came to Ephesus. (Acts 20:31)

During this time Apollos, who had worked with the Corinthians for a while, returned to Ephesus. (1 Cor. 16:12)

Could Have Apollos Witnessed a Changing of Attitude in Corinth? (Acts 18:27; 1 Cor. 16:12)

Paul Wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus on the Third Journey.

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Paul rebuked them for divisions. (1 Cor. 1:10 ff.)

Paul warned them of immorality. (1 Cor. 5:9)

Paul answered questions about marriage. (1 Cor. 7:1)

Paul addressed the issue of eating meats sacrificed to idols. (1 Cor. 8:1)

Paul dealt with abuses of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:17-34).

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The Corinthian society had its communal dinners with religious overtones. Idolaters often ate their meals together in the

temples in honor of the gods (1 Cor. 10:19-22) Likewise trade guilds meeting in honor of their

patron gods also had dinner meetings. The imperial cult appears to have been

established in Achaia with special feasts and sacrifices to the emperor and his family.

The Isthmian Games were conducted with festivals under the shield or protection of the patron gods of the games.

The Jews had special benevolent feasts as well.

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Some dinners were provided by a host who might either apportion an equal part to all or in other cases allow the food to be distributed on a first come, first served basis.

Some dinners were financed by a combined payment by each of the guest.

Others were private dinners where each attendant brought his own food and ate it.

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Instruction: Paraggello To give orders, command, instruct, direct. Paul is commanding that things be set right.

Paul will not praise them. Ref. 1 Cor. 11:2

Mike Willis: “I censure you severely.” Richard Lenski: “I’m blaming or rebuking you”

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Because you come together not for the better but for the worse. Come together:

The context is the assembly. (vv. 18, 20, 33, 34) The same verb is used in 14:23 & 26.

The purpose of Christians gathering together is to edify. (1 Cor. 14:26) Instead what happened in Corinth was to their detriment. (1 Cor. 11:30)

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For—Paul now explains why their congregational assembly was a hindrance.

Paul was hearing about divisions in the church. Ref. 1 Cor. 1:11

Divisions—schisma—is derived from the idea of something rent or torn. The Lord’s Supper, a spiritual feast that Christ

intended to promote unity (1 Cor. 10:16) was producing disunity and division at Corinth.

These Christians were divided and yet still in the same local church.

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• “in part I believe it”• Mike Willis—“And I partly believe it. This is a

very conciliatory statement to the church in Corinth. Though the reports of the schisms in Corinth were continually reaching Paul, he would not believe that things were actually as bad as they were reported to be. Nevertheless, where there was so much smoke there had to be some fire. There was a problem in Corinth, even though the reports concerning it might be exaggerated.”

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For there MUST also be FACTIONS. Must—DEI—of necessity.

Mike Willis: Hence, God’s purpose is served by the church problems as the latter half of this verse explains.

“so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”

“the wheat will be separated from the tares.” “the cream will rise to the top.” Jim McGuiggan: “When ungodliness manifests itself as

division, keep your eyes open and the righteous will shine forth in the glory of their Father. So, the divisions act as the black velvet background (used by the jeweler to highlight his gems) against which people approved of God are highlighted.”

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In name they may have been gathering together to eat the Lord’s Supper, but what they were doing was not eating the Lord’s Supper. Lord’s: Kuriakos—Belonging to the Lord. Supper: “The word supper (deipnon) is used

because the evening meal was the most important meal of the day and not because of the time at which it was observed.”

Two Abuses of the Lord’s Supper: 1. The poor and the rich were divided into cliques2. The Lord’s supper was viewed as a common meal.

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• Mike Willis: “There is some discussion regarding how the Lord’s Supper came to be associated with a common meal. Some think that the early Christians viewed the Lord’s Supper as related to the Passover Feast (if this were so, the Lord’s Supper would likely have been observed only once a year as was the Passover feast.) A more likely explanation is that the Greek worship which commonly had a feast together was brought over into the Lord’s church. Whatever might be the explanation of its origin, the meal was not well received by the apostle Paul.”

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“each one take his own supper first.” Johnny Felker—“Instead of, as in our

assemblies, the supply for the Lord’s Supper being provided by the church as a whole through a common collection to purchase the elements, it appears that, in the Corinthian assembly, each person brought with them bread and fruit of the vine for the Lord’s Supper.”

Mike Willis: “The rich were not waiting for the poor to arrive at the meal but were going ahead and eating what they had brought. The meal was not something in which everyone shared; rather, it was a public meal in which everyone ate his own supper.”

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What should have been a memorial to the selfless act of Christ where the entire church as equal recipients of Christ’s grace partake was turned into a feast of selfishness where the social distinctions became clear and disunity abounded.

Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Mike Willis: “Paul, by this rhetorical question,

commanded the Corinthians to eat at home. The congregational assembly is not designed to be a place for eating, and, certainly, the Lord’s Supper is no common meal. Many twentieth century churches have not taken seriously what Paul wrote in this verse. He is not only condemning the refusal of the rich to share with the poor, he is forbidding altogether the practice of eating a common meal at the public assembly. This verse prohibits the perverting of the congregational assembly into an occasion for a common meal.”

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Lessons: They were to eat common meals at

home. They were not to use the assembly

as a feasting time for common meals.

The Lord’s Supper is not a common meal.

Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? Disrespect is shown in two ways:

To the church To the poor

One shows disrespect for the church by perverting the assembly into something it was not intended to be.

One shows disrespect for the poor by flaunting an abundance of food in front of those who have none.

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Paul Appeals to Direct Revelation for His Authority. Gal. 1:11-12; 1 Cor. 14:37;

Paul Delivered Those Instructions to the Corinthians.

The Way to Correct Error Is to Go Back to Divine Revelation. (Jeremiah 6:6)

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“the night in which He was betrayed” At the very time Jesus was instituting the

memorial feast to remind us of His love men with calloused hearts were seeking His demise.

Contrast: Jesus’ love Judas’ disregard

“He…took bread” They were observing the Passover feast.

Therefore the bread was unleavened. (Exodus 12:15-20)

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He had given thanks. Jesus customarily did this before meals. (John

6:11; Luke 24:30) Jesus does this before instituting the memorial

feast. We should follow in His pattern. He broke it

In Jewish culture, bread was made in flat loaves that were commonly broken to be shared. This was the practice of Jesus when presiding over

common meals. (Matthew 14:19; 15:36; Mark 8:6, 19; 14:22; Luke 22:19; 24:30)

Depending on the context, to break bread can refer to the Lord’s Supper. (Acts 2:42; Acts 20:7)

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This is My body Mike Willis: “The apostles could not have

understood that Jesus’ literal body and blood were meant when He said, “This is my body” because His literal body was very much present when they took the bread and ate it; they knew that they did not eat His literal body. Furthermore, had the cup been transformed into the literal blood, they absolutely could have not partook of it because of the Mosaical prohibition against eating of blood. What Jesus meant was that this feast was instituted as a memorial of His body and blood, as the text goes on to explain.”

Note: Jesus identified the contents of the cup as fruit of the vine, not His literal blood. (Matt. 26:26)

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This is My body, which is for you; NKJV—broken Not in the best MSS. Perhaps broken in the sense that His body

stopped functioning. Ref. John 19:36;

Do this in remembrance of Me To think that men could actually forget what

Jesus has done might seem unlikely to us. How soon did Israel forget Jehovah’s

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Do this in remembrance of Me This is a command

“Keep on doing this” This is a memorial

To think that men could actually forget what Jesus has done might seem unlikely to us.

How soon did Israel forget Jehovah’s deliverance?

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In the same way: Indicates Jesus pronounced a blessing of the cup. Mark 14:23;

After Supper: After the Passover feast. The cup: Metonymy (Luke 22:17-21) Covenant: Diatheke—is a declaration of

one person’s will. Not between equal parties.

In My blood: (ref. Exodus 24:8) This too was a blood bought covenant. (Matt. 26:28)

New Covenant: Kainos—suggests new in quality.

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For as often as: perpetuity, a regular observance. (Acts 20:7)

You proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. It appears that the emphasis is on Christ’s

death. However, the Lord’s supper might be said

to look forward as well as backward. It is to be observed until He returns which

implies He rose, He ascended and He will return.

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These consequences apply to whoever. These consequences apply to eating and

drinking in an unworthy manner. Mike Willis: “Many have misunderstood the teaching

of this verse and refused to partake of the Lord’s Supper saying that they are not worthy to partake. Although none of us is worthy to our Lord’s sacrifice for our sins, this verse does not teach that one must be worthy before he can partake.”

Unworthy is an adverb that modifies the verb eats. We are condemned if we partake in a careless

manner.

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Guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. Guilty—enouchos—is a forensic term, denoting

the connection of a person with his crime, or with the penalty or trial, or with that against whom or which he has offended. (Thayer 217)

In this verse it is the body and blood of Christ that we have sinned against.

Johnny Felker: “To eat with disregard for what these elements memorialize is to show disregard for the body and blood of Jesus itself. Such disregard places one at least in spirit with those who crucified Him.”

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We are to examine ourselves. To prevent unworthy observance. Mike Willis—“This ‘testing’ to which a man

subjects himself is not to find out whether or not he is worthy to partake of the Lord’s Supper; rather, it is designed to keep him from committing the sin mentioned in the preceding verse. Therefore, the man is to examine himself to see if he is in the right frame of mind to partake of the Lord’s Supper and, if he is not, to make whatever alteration are necessary to get in the proper frame of mind.”

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Judgment—krima—speaks of the judgment or condemnation of God.

Judge—discerning—diakrino—which means to distinguish, to judge correctly.

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“Weak” Athenes—refers to both physical weakness and spiritual weakness. Physical weakness

Sick Mathew 25:39, 43-44; Luke 10:9; Acts 5:15-16;

Impotent Acts 4:9

Weak Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38; 2 Cor. 10:10;

More feeble 1 Cor. 12:22;

Weaker 1 Peter 3:7;

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Sick—arrhostos Physical:

Matthew 14:14; Mark 6:5, 13; 16:18; Spiritual:

(1 Cor. 11:30)

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Sleep—koimao Physical sleep

Matthew 28:13; Luke 22:45; John 11:12; Acts 12:6; Physical death

Matthew 27:52; John 11:11; Acts 7:60; 13:36; 1 Cor. 7:39; 15:6, 18, 20, 51; 1 Thess. 4:13-15; 2 Peter 3:4;

Spiritual Sleep 1 Cor. 11:30

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I tend to reject that idea of physical illness because the condemnation of God for sin is not physical illness or death but spiritual illness or spiritual death.

The punishment for not observing it rightly today does not seem to be physical illness or death, but instead spiritual.

The judgment of God was a chastisement to move them to repent. Physical death would be “punitive”.

Spiritual weakness better fits the context: “not for the better but for the worse”.

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If we would rightly judge (discern) the body of Christ when we partake, then we would not fall under God’s condemnation.

When we are judged, we are disciplined. Disciplined—paideuo—used of giving fatherly

discipline. In what way would physical death be

disciplinary. It would be punitive.

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Wait for one another: In what way was the rich eating before the

poor or the slave could assemble waiting? They were to wait so that all could properly

share in memorial feast. They were to eat their common meals at

home. Turning the assembly into a “fellowship hall”

would bring the condemnation of God.

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