1 Corinthians 11:20

οὖν. Meyer points out that this word, coupled with the marked repetition of συνερχομένων, proves that the πρῶτον μέν of 1 Corinthians 11:18 refers to the disorders in the Christian assembly.

ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό. Literally, to (or at) the same place. See Acts 1:15; Acts 2:1, and ch. 1 Corinthians 7:5 of this Epistle. It is the only phrase which we find applied to the place of the Christian assembly. See note on 1 Corinthians 11:18.

οὐκ ἔστιν κυριακὸν δεῖπνον φαγεῖν. This is not to eat a supper of the Lord’s institution. That the intention of the worshippers was to celebrate the Eucharist is incontrovertible from what follows. But that the Corinthians violated the whole spirit of Christ’s institution is no less evident. As Chrysostom forcibly says τὸ γὰρ κυριακὸν ἰδιωτικὸν ποιοῦσι. ‘Every one takes his own supper,’ and thus the intent of the common meal which was to draw men together in mutual love and self-forgetfulness, was frustrated. See note on 1 Corinthians 11:22. The absence of the article here, compared with its presence in Revelation 1:10, confirms the rendering here. ‘The question arose,’ says Dean Stanley, ‘whether the majesty, the tenderness, the awe of the feast should be lost in a senseless orgy.’