The issue was that the Corinthians turned their potluck suppers into a display of social division and excess, abusing the meal before the Lord's Supper.
According to Les Feldick, the Corinthians held a potluck supper prior to the Lord's table, but the meal was marred by class distinctions and gluttony. Wealthier members brought fine food and wine while the poor had little, leading to drunkenness and separation. This contradicted the unity Christ's body should exemplify.
1 Corinthians 11:20-22 — Paul directly addresses the abuse of the love feast in these verses, noting the divisions and excesses.
In 1 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their conduct when they assemble. He writes, "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" (1 Corinthians 11:20-21). Paul emphasizes that their gatherings were not for the better but for the worse, and he questions their behavior in eating and drinking, asking, "What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in?" (1 Corinthians 11:22). This indicates that the problem was not the meal itself but how they conducted it, dishonoring the church and shaming those who had nothing.
Les Feldick explains that the Corinthians were holding a potluck supper before the actual Lord's Supper, or communion, and they were abusing this meal. He notes that because the ancients typically had their main meal in the evening, the Corinthians used this time for a large fellowship meal. The problem was not the sharing of food, but the excesses and divisions that occurred. The wealthy brought fine food and wine, while the poor could only bring simple fare, and some perhaps nothing. This led to gluttony and drunkenness, and the wealthy separated themselves from the poor, creating a social class distinction within the church. Paul had to rebuke them because they were missing the purpose of the gathering, which was to celebrate the Lord's death in unity.
Les Feldick points out that the Corinthians were "using excesses" at these suppers. The wealthy members brought fine wine and better food, while the poor brought little or nothing. The poor apparently ate and drank excessively, becoming gluttonous and drunk. The wealthy then separated themselves, refusing to share their food with those who had less. This turned the meal into a display of class status, shocking Paul.
Les Feldick explains that Paul's statement about having houses to eat in shows that he was addressing the potluck supper, not the elements of the Lord's table. The Lord's Supper consisted of only a small piece of bread and a cup, which could not satisfy hunger or cause drunkenness. Therefore, Paul was referring to the abuse of the larger meal that preceded it.
Potluck Before Lord's Table
Les explains that the Corinthians held a potluck supper before the Lord's table and were abusing it, and he sets the historical context of the evening meal.
Evening Meal Context
Les describes how the ancients had their main meal in the evening, and the Corinthians used that time for a potluck before the Lord's table, leading to excesses.
What the Bible Really Says About the Lord's Table — 1 Corinthians 10:16
And so here again as we come now back to chapter 10, even their practicing of what we call the Lord's Table, or the communion service, or whatever your particular denomination may call it, the Corinthians had made it a problem. They were having all kinds of things going on that should have never taken place in the church, and Paul has to address it.
What the Bible Really Says About Speaking in Tongues
They had not grown spiritually. Now it's interesting that of all the things he has dealt with in Corinthians from very chapter 1, where they had divisions of who they were following, some said, well, we listen to Peter, some said we listen to Apollos, and others said, no, we follow Christ, and then Paul says, but that's not the way it's supposed to be. So it was a problem.
Abuse of the Feast
Les quotes 1 Corinthians 11:20-21 and explains that the potluck supper involved gluttony and drunkenness, which could not happen with the mere elements of the Lord's Supper.
What the Bible Really Says About the Lord's Table — 1 Corinthians 10:16
They were suing each other in the pagan courts, and Paul says that�s not the way you do things when you�re a believer. So the whole book of I Corinthians is dealing basically with problems that were besetting the Corinthians church. Now we come to verse 16 concerning the Lord�s table.
Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen? — 2 Corinthians 1 Explained
And so these four groups caused, of course, a lot of dissension and a lot of grief to the apostle, and was part and parcel in their carnality. They just did not grow spiritually. And then of course, if you remember our study in the first Corinthians, they evidently sent the apostle a letter with a long list of questions as to how they were handling all these various problems.
What Most Christians Miss About Grace — 1 Corinthians Explained
Here is the other dilemma. Now Paul says, "...as touching things offered to idols, we know that we have all knowledge." So what do you suppose they had also asked? Well, what are we supposed to do with this meat that's been offered to idols? Can we eat it, or can't we? And so that too prompted some of the things that will be covered in this letter to the Corinthian church.
1 Corinthians 11:20-21: 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.
This passage directly addresses the Corinthians' abuse of the love feast, showing the divisions and excesses.
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's question shows that the problem was the manner of eating, not the meal itself, and that it shamed the poor.
Yes, according to Les Feldick, the Corinthians held a potluck supper before the actual observance of the Lord's table. This was a common practice because the main meal was in the evening, and they combined it with the communion service.
The potluck supper became a problem because it reflected social divisions and excess. Wealthy members brought fine food and wine, while the poor had little, leading to gluttony, drunkenness, and separation. Paul rebuked them because this dishonored the church and shamed those who had nothing.
Watch the Teaching: Most People Miss This About the Lord's Supper — 1 Cor 11