The Corinthians had turned their potluck supper into a selfish, divided, drunken meal instead of a shared fellowship meal preceding the Lord's table.
Paul says that when they came together in one place, each person took his own supper, so one was hungry and another was drunken (1 Corinthians 11:21). Les Feldick describes wealthy believers separating from poorer ones and some Corinthians eating gluttonously and drinking until drunk. Paul had to rebuke them and tell them to eat at home when they were hungry.
1 Corinthians 11:20-22 — This is the central passage where Paul directly describes the Corinthians taking their own suppers, with one hungry and another drunken.
In 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 Paul addresses the Corinthians' gathering. He says he does not praise them, because they came together "not for the better, but for the worse." He had heard that there were divisions among them, and he partly believed it. Then he describes what was happening: "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken." He asks, "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." In verse 33 Paul instructs them, "Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another." He then adds, "And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation" (1 Corinthians 11:34).
Les Feldick explains that before the Corinthians would observe the official Lord's table, they would hold a potluck supper (Clip 2). The meal started because they realized that a little piece of unleavened bread and a sip of wine would not satisfy a day's energy, so they began bringing food for a real supper (Clip 3). But the meal became an abuse: wealthy believers separated from poorer ones, refusing to share their better food and wine (Clip 1), and the congregation was a cross-section of society from slaves to wealthy merchants, so the poorer people brought the cheaper things they could afford (Clip 6). Some Corinthians were gluttonous and drank so much that they became drunk (Clips 4, 7). Paul had to upbraid them and ask whether they had houses in which to eat and drink (Clip 4). Les stresses that there is nothing wrong with a potluck supper once in a while (Clip 1), but the Corinthians' selfishness and excess made the meal harmful. He also notes that the Corinthians' wrong attitude made them unfit for the Lord's table, and God was chastising some with sickness and death (Clip 5). The Lord's Supper, Les says, is meant to be a solemn reminder that Christ died, His blood was shed, and He arose from the dead (Clip 7).
Yes, according to Les Feldick. He says that before the Corinthians would take what he calls the official Lord's Communion table of the unleavened bread and the cup, they would have a potluck supper (Clip 2). Les points to the historical and environmental circumstances as important for understanding the passage. He also says that they realized a day's energy could not be satisfied with a little cup of wine and one little piece of unleavened bread, so they began bringing food to make it a real supper (Clip 3).
Les says the Corinthians were "dividing themselves now according to their status in the culture" (Clip 1). The wealthy members were effectively refusing to share the good food and good wine they had brought, telling the poorer members to have their own table. Les describes the Corinthian congregation as having everything from bond slaves at the bottom to wealthy merchants with ships at sea, and he notes that at any potluck the lower echelon people will bring what they can afford — the cheaper, more mundane things (Clip 6).
Paul wrote plainly: "For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken" (1 Corinthians 11:21). He then asked, "What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in?" (1 Corinthians 11:22). Les emphasizes this by saying Paul put "the whole kibosh on the thing" when he pointed out that they had houses in which to eat and drink (Clip 4). Paul's remedy was that anyone who hungered should eat at home, so the church gathering would not be for condemnation (1 Corinthians 11:34).
Les is clear that the potluck supper itself was not the problem: "there's nothing wrong with a potluck supper once in a while" (Clip 1). He even says fellowship around food can be a highlight for believers. The problem was the abuse. The Corinthians were coming in and being gluttonous at the food, and they were drinking so much that they became drunk (Clip 4). They were indulging in food and wine to the point that they could not receive the impact of such a solemn service (Clip 7).
Why Paul Said Women Should Cover Their Heads — 1 Corinthians 11
the outside world think that you believers here in the church are a bunch of kooks." Now that's the best way I can put it. Don't let the world think of your church service as just something like a bunch of nuts, or you're somebody that's out there in left field, because they're watching. Absolutely they're watching. And so he says, you have to be careful.
Wealthy separated from the poor at the potluck
Les says the wealthy Corinthians were dividing themselves by social status during the potluck, refusing to share their good food and wine with poorer believers.
The potluck before the Lord's table
Les explains that the Corinthians held a potluck supper before the official Lord's table, making this meal a key part of the historical context.
Why the potluck started
Les says the potluck grew out of the need for something more than a little wine and one piece of unleavened bread, but the meal quickly led to excess.
Gluttony and drunkenness at the meal
Les describes the Corinthians being gluttonous and drinking so much they became drunk, and he points to Paul's question about whether they had houses in which to eat and drink.
Wrong attitudes and divine chastening
Les teaches that the Corinthians' enmity and wrong attitudes made them unfit for the Lord's table, and God was chastising some with sickness and death.
Social divisions in the Corinthian church
Les describes the cross-section of society in the Corinthian congregation and explains that poorer members brought cheaper food to the potluck.
Solemn purpose of the Lord's Supper
Les says the Lord's Supper is meant to be a solemn reminder of Christ's death, shed blood, and resurrection, but the Corinthians' indulgence with food and wine made that impact impossible.
1 Corinthians 11:20: "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper."
Paul says that the Corinthians' gathering had become something other than the Lord's Supper.
1 Corinthians 11:21: "For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken."
This is the direct scriptural description of the potluck problem — self-centered eating that left some hungry and others drunk.
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."
Paul asks the rhetorical question that Les Feldick highlights when the Corinthians used the church meal for ordinary eating and drinking.
1 Corinthians 11:33: "Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another."
Paul instructs the Corinthians to wait for one another at the shared meal, directly countering the selfish, divided behavior.
1 Corinthians 11:34: "And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come."
Paul tells anyone who is hungry to eat at home, reinforcing that the church gathering should not be for filling stomachs.
The Corinthians began bringing food for a real supper before the Lord's table, but they abused it. Wealthy believers separated from poorer ones, some ate gluttonously, and others drank so much they became drunk. Paul had to rebuke them because their behavior was the opposite of church fellowship.
Paul describes the result of each person taking his own supper at the shared meal. Some people did not get enough to eat, while others had too much to drink. Les Feldick says they were being gluttonous with the food and drinking so much that they actually became drunk.
No. Les says "there's nothing wrong with a potluck supper once in a while" and even points to fellowship times around food as a blessing. His concern is only when the meal becomes an occasion for selfishness, division, gluttony, or drunkenness, as it did in Corinth.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul Said Women Should Cover Their Heads — 1 Corinthians 11