1 Corinthians 11:21

For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. ONE TAKETH BEFORE OTHER - the rich "before" the poor, who had no supper of their own. Instead of 'tarrying for one another' (; ; ). HIS OWN SUPPER (). "The Lord's supper," the spiritual feast, never enters his thoughts. DRUNKEN. The one has more than is good for him; the other less....

21._For every one of you taketh before others his own supper. _It is truly wonderful, and next to a miracle, (656) that Satan could have accomplished so much in so short a time. We are, however, admonished by this instance, how much antiquity, without reason on its side, can effect, or, in other words, how much influence a long continued custom has, while not sanctioned by a single declaration of the word of God. This, having become customary, was looked upon as lawful. Paul was then at hand to interfere. What then must have been the state of matters after the death of the Apostles? With what liberty Satan must have sported himself. (657) Yet here is the great strength of Papists: “The thing is ancient — it was done long ago — let it, therefore, have the weight of a revelation from heaven.” It is uncertain, however, what was the origin of this abuse, or what was the oc

17-22 The apostle rebukes the disorders in their partaking of the Lord's supper. The ordinances of Christ, if they do not make us better, will be apt to make us worse. If the use of them does not mend, it will harden. Upon coming together, they fell into divisions, schisms. Christians may separate from each other's communion, yet be charitable one towards another; they may continue in the same communion, yet be uncharitable. This last is schism, rather than the former. There is a careless and irregular eating of the Lord's supper, which adds to guilt. Many rich Corinthians seem to have acted very wrong at the Lord's table, or at the love-feasts, which took place at the same time as the supper. The rich despised the poor, and ate and drank up the provisions they brought, before the poor were allowed to partake; thus some wanted, while others had more than enough. What should have been a...

Verse 21. _EVERY ONE TAKETH BEFORE - HIS OWN SUPPER_] They had a grand feast, though the different sects kept in parties by themselves; but all took as ample a supper as they could provide, (each bringing his own provisions with him,) before they took what was called the _Lord's Supper_. See note on 1 Corinthians 11:17....

FOR IN EATING - When you eat, having professedly come together to observe this ordinance. In order to understand this, it seems necessary to suppose that they had in some way made the Lord’s supper either connected with a common feast, or that they regarded it as a mere common festival to be observed in a way similar to the festivals among the Greeks. Many have supposed that this was done by making the observance of the supper follow a festival, or what were afterward called “love feasts” ἀγάπαι agapai - “Agapae”). Many have supposed that that custom was derived from the fact that the Saviour instituted the supper after a festival, a feast in which he had been engaged with his disciples, and that thence the early Christians derived the custom of observing such a festival, or common meal, before they celebrated the Lord’s Supper. But it may be observed, that the passover was not a mere...

EXPOSITION 1 CORINTHIANS 11:1 FOLLOWERS OF ME; rather, _imitators of me; _follow herein my example, as I follow Christ's. What Christ's example was, in that he too "pleased not himself," he sets forth in Romans 15:1; and the general principle of self abnegation for the sake of others in Philippians 2:4. This verse ought to be included in ch. 10. It sums up the whole argument, and explains the long digression of ch. 9. AS I ALSO AM OF CHRIST. This limits the reference to his own example. I only ask you to imitate me in points in which I imitate Christ....

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: 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 plen...

The members of the church at Corinth abounded in gifts, and therefore they thought it meet for each one to speak to edification. They had no pastoral oversight whatever; acting, in this respect, like certain brethren whom we know nowadays. The result, however, was very deplorable. They do not appear to have been able even to conduct the Lord's supper without the most disorderly proceedings. Church discipline was utterly forgotten or neglected; and it seems as if the two Epistles to the Corinthians are given to us as beacons to warn us against that form of worship, seeing that it produces such mischievous and sad results. 1 Corinthians 11:17. _Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse._ It is a very bad state of things when we meet for worship, and separate without any improvement, o

II. THE CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST: CHAPTER S 11-14 1. Headship, and the Position of Woman. The Lord's Supper. CHAPTER 11. _ 1. The Headship of Christ and of the Man; Position of Woman. (1 Corinthians 11:1 .)_ 2. The Lord's Supper. (1 Corinthians 11:17 .) The opening verse belongs to the preceding chapter. And now after the church in relation to the world had been treated by the Apostle in the first part of the epistle, he takes up next the affairs of the church itself. Here, too, much had to be corrected into which the Corinthian assembly had drifted. After the brief and excellent word of praise by which he expressed his confidence in them ((1 Corint

1 Corinthians 11:7. THE DESECRATION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. Paul feels that in one respect he must restrict his praise. Their meetings damage rather than profit them. He cannot help believing part of what he hears about their divisions. To be sure they must have their factions, or their best men would get no chance of displaying their qualities! When they meet they have supper, it is true, but it is out of the question to eat the Lord's Supper. Possibly the poorer members could not come early being detained by their work. The wealthier members could therefore eat and drink all they had brought, so that the poor, who could bring little, and that perhaps coarse food, had insufficient for a meal and had to eat this under the critical stare of the well-to-do. So that some were hungry, and naturally discontented and envious, while others became intoxicated. What a religious atmosphere