Les Feldick Bible Study

What does 1 Corinthians 11:22 indicate about the Corinthians' potluck supper?

1 Corinthians 11:22 indicates the Corinthians' potluck supper had become a status-divided meal. The wealthy separated themselves, refusing to share their best food and wine with the poor, telling them to have their own table. Paul was shocked because they were abusing the supper, dividing by cultural status rather than expressing church unity.

Les explains that in the Corinthian potluck supper, people brought various levels of food. Some could not afford anything but were free to come. The wealthy brought the best French wine, best meat, and best vegetables. The poor, who had never tasted such good wine, guzzled it until they became gluttonous and drunk. Then, according to Paul’s next verse, 1 Corinthians 11:22, the people were separating themselves during the supper: the wealthy said the poor would not eat the good food or drink the good wine they had brought, and told them to go have their own table. Les says that was the furthest thing from what the church is supposed to be. They were dividing themselves according to their status in the culture, and Paul was shocked. Paul says they did not come to church to fill their bellies with food and drink, but that is what they were doing, and they were abusing it. Les notes there is nothing wrong with a potluck supper once in a while; he is not one who says you cannot eat when you come together as believers, and in fact that is probably the highlight of their classes in Oklahoma and at the studio. But in Corinth the meal had become divisive and abusive.

1 Corinthians 11:22

What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

More Questions

How does 1 Corinthians 11:22 show the Corinthians separating themselves at their church meal?

According to 1 Corinthians 11:22, the Corinthians were separating themselves during their potluck supper, with the wealthy refusing to share their good food and wine and telling others to have their own table.

What did Paul tell the Corinthians about eating and drinking at the Lord's Supper?

Paul upbraided the Corinthians and told them to do their eating and drinking at home, because when you come to the Lord's house for the Lord's Supper it is a solemn occasion.

Who was Paul especially rebuking in 1 Corinthians 11:22, and why?

Paul especially directed his rebuke to the wealthier people because they were flaunting their wealth by bringing expensive gourmet food while others at slave level could not afford such things.

Is it wrong for believers to eat together at church potlucks?

There is nothing wrong with having a potluck supper once in a while, and Les does not hold that believers cannot eat when they come together.