Paul was correcting the Corinthians for turning the Lord's Supper into an occasion of excesses at a communal meal, rather than following the pattern he had delivered from the Lord.
The Corinthians had so altered the practice that Paul had to remind them of what he received from the Lord: the bread representing His broken body and the cup representing the new testament in His blood. Les Feldick explains that they had made the Lord's Table a problem and had drifted from the original practice into something that should never take place in the church.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 — This is the central passage where Paul tells the Corinthians what he received from the Lord and repeats the institution of the bread and cup.
1 Corinthians 10:16-17 — This passage shows the communion/fellowship of the blood and body of Christ in the bread and cup.
In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Paul writes that he received from the Lord what he also delivered to the Corinthians. He recounts that on the night Jesus was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, "Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." In the same manner He took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." Paul then states, "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, Paul also asks, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" and adds, "For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread." Additionally, in 1 Corinthians 11:19 Paul mentions, "For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you," connecting the problem at the Lord's Table with divisions in the church.
Les Feldick teaches that the Corinthians had made the Lord's Table a problem; all kinds of things were going on that should never have taken place in the church (Clip 5). Their evening meal was the big meal of the day, so before practicing the Lord's Table they would come in with a potluck supper, and Paul says they were using excesses at this supper (Clip 2). Paul emphasizes that he received the teaching from the Lord by revelation, not from men (Clip 0), and he repeats the institution of the bread and cup as the memorial of Christ's death (Clip 1). Les explains that there was no criteria for how to practice the Lord's Supper until Paul revealed it, and that Paul's purpose was to bring them back to what the Lord had given (Clip 4).
Les Feldick explains that the Corinthians had made the Lord's Table a problem, with all kinds of things going on that should never have taken place in the church. Because evening was the main meal in that culture, they would come in with a potluck supper before the Lord's Table. Paul points to the excesses at this potluck supper as the reason he had to correct them.
In 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 Paul writes that he received from the Lord the same account he delivered to them: that the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and said, "Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me." After supper He took the cup and said, "This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." This is the pattern from which the Corinthians had drifted.
Les Feldick points out that Paul did not go up to Jerusalem to receive his gospel from the twelve; he received it by revelation from Jesus Christ in heaven. This matters because Paul can tell the Corinthians that the practice of the Lord's Supper was not something he invented — he "received of the Lord" what he delivered to them.
Les describes that the Corinthian church had four distinct divisions: some followed Paul, some Apollos, some Peter, and some still looked to other voices. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 11:19 that "there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." Immediately after this he turns to the Lord's Supper.
Received by Revelation
Les explains that Paul's gospel—including the Lord's Supper teaching—came by revelation from the ascended Christ, not from the Jerusalem apostles.
Delivered Pattern of the Supper
Les quotes 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, reminding the Corinthians that the bread and cup are a memorial of Christ's death, the pattern Paul delivered to them.
Potluck Before the Table
Les describes how the Corinthians used the evening main meal as a potluck supper before the Lord's Table, and Paul says they were using excesses at this supper.
Disciples Did Not Understand
Les points out that even the disciples did not understand the bread and cup at the Last Supper; later Paul is the one who explains its meaning.
Paul Sets the Criteria
Les says there was no criteria for how to practice the Lord's Supper until Paul, and that Paul tells what it is all about and how it is to be practiced in the local church.
The Lord's Table Made a Problem
Les states that the Corinthians had made the Lord's Table a problem, with things taking place that should never happen in the church, so Paul had to address it.
Communion With Christ
Les reflects on 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, emphasizing the cup and bread as communion/fellowship with Christ's blood and body, and the church as one body.
Divisions and Heresies
Les identifies the four-way division in Corinth—Paul, Apollos, Peter—and notes false teachings were slipping in before Paul addresses the Lord's Supper.
1 Corinthians 11:19: For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
This verse, quoted by Les, shows that divisions and false teachings were present before Paul turns to the Lord's Supper.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26: For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
This passage contains the institution of the Lord's Supper that Paul delivered to the Corinthians as the proper pattern.
1 Corinthians 10:16-17: The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
This passage defines the bread and cup as communion with Christ's body and blood, and the unity of believers as one body.
Les Feldick explains that the Corinthians were used to their main meal being in the evening, so before practicing the Lord's Table they would come in with a potluck supper. Paul says they were using excesses at this supper, which is why he had to correct them.
No, according to Les, Paul did not confer with flesh and blood or go up to Jerusalem to receive it. He received it by revelation from Jesus Christ from heaven, as he says in 1 Corinthians 11:23.
The bread is the Lord's body broken for us, and the cup is the new testament in His blood, to be done in remembrance of Him. Paul also calls the cup and bread the communion of Christ's blood and body in 1 Corinthians 10:16.
Les shows it was more than food. Paul was addressing the whole situation at the Lord's Table, including excesses and probably divisions, and he had to return them to what he had delivered from the Lord.
Watch the Teaching: Most People Miss This About the Lord's Supper — 1 Cor 11