Why does Paul say the Corinthians came together not for the better but for the worse?
Paul says the Corinthians came together for the worse because they mishandled the Lord's table and mixed up the instructions he had delivered to them. Their wrong practice did them more harm than good, and there were divisions among them when they gathered in the church, so he could not praise them.
Les explains that in verse 17 Paul returns to the Lord's table, where the Corinthians had serious problems. Paul declares he does not praise them because their manner of coming together was not for the better but for the worse. Les teaches that their way of doing things in the local church was doing them more harm than good. They were totally mixing up the things Paul had delivered to them and doing it all wrong. In verse 18, Paul notes that when they came together in the church there were divisions among them, which he had already addressed in chapter 1.
Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
More Questions
How bad were the Corinthians' problems with the Lord's table?
The Corinthian church had serious problems with the Lord's table — bigger problems than any church today could imagine.