The Corinthians were criticized because their gathering was no longer the Lord's Supper—each person was eating his own potluck supper first, so one went hungry while another was drunken.
In 1 Corinthians 11:20-21, Paul says that when they came together in one place it was not to eat the Lord's Supper, because in eating every one took his own supper. Les Feldick explains that the official Lord's Supper was just bread and a cup, so the excesses Paul rebuked were happening at the big potluck supper they held before it.
1 Corinthians 11:20-21 — This is the direct rebuke: the Corinthians' gathering was not the Lord's Supper because each one was taking his own supper, with one hungry and another drunken.
Paul directly names the Corinthians' failure in 1 Corinthians 11:20: "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper." He then explains why: "For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken" (1 Corinthians 11:21). The next verse rebukes them sharply: "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" (1 Corinthians 11:22). The Lord's Supper itself is the cup of blessing and the bread which we break, the communion of Christ's blood and body (1 Corinthians 10:16). Paul's criticism, therefore, is not about ordinary bread and wine but about a gathering where believers were eating their own suppers, leaving some hungry and others drunk.
Les Feldick says that in every denomination he has visited, the Lord's Supper is simply a piece of unleavened bread and a little cup of grape juice or wine—nothing that can satisfy physical hunger or make someone drunk. So when Paul writes "one is hungry, and another is drunken," he must be talking about something else. Les explains that the Corinthians, who ate their main meal in the evening, would come to the gathering with a potluck supper before observing the Lord's table. Paul's language about "excesses" applies to that potluck meal. This was one more problem in a church already dealing with lawsuits and meats offered to idols; Paul had to correct how they practiced the Lord's table. The proper meaning, Les adds, is that the bread and the cup are a memorial of Jesus' death—something the disciples could not yet understand at the last Passover—and believers must be careful not to mix service to God with service to the world.
Les observes that in the ancient world the main meal was eaten in the evening, just as many rural households still do today. The Corinthians were used to that pattern, so before they practiced the Lord's table they would come together with a potluck supper. Paul's statement that they were using "excesses" at this potluck supper is the key to why they were criticized. The bread and cup of the actual Lord's Supper are not enough to leave someone hungry or drunk; that behavior belonged to the supper before it.
Paul's rebuke in 1 Corinthians 11:20 is that when they came together "in the one place" it was not to eat the Lord's Supper—because each person was taking his own supper first. The result, as verse 21 says, was that one went hungry and another was drunken. Les explains that the official communion elements—bread and wine or grape juice—can't do either, so this behavior had to come from a separate potluck meal. In other words, the Corinthians had turned the occasion into an ordinary meal and lost the meaning of the memorial.
Les explains that the Lord's table of the bread and the cup is a memorial of His death. At the night of the last Passover, the eleven disciples did not understand because it had not yet happened. Paul later wrote, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you..." and recounted that Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and took the cup, saying "this do in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). Paul's whole point, Les says, is that believers must be careful how they practice the Lord's table and cannot serve both God and the world.
Most People Miss This About the Lord's Supper — 1 Cor 11
Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick.
Potluck Supper Before the Lord's Table
Les says the Corinthians came together for their main evening meal before the Lord's table, so Paul's phrase about excesses refers to that potluck supper, not simply to the bread and cup.
Corinthians Made the Lord's Table a Problem
Les places 1 Corinthians 10-11 in context: the Corinthians had already made the practice of the Lord's table a problem, with things going on that should never take place in the church.
The Potluck Was the Real Problem
Les quotes 1 Corinthians 11:20-21 and explains that since bread and a cup can't satisfy hunger or cause drunkenness, the gathered meal before it must have been a big potluck supper.
Paul Correcting Corinthian Problems
Les points out that the whole book of 1 Corinthians deals with problems in the church, so the Lord's table practice was another problem Paul had to correct.
The Bread and Cup Show Fellowship
Les emphasizes Paul's words that the bread we break is the communion of the body of Christ; being many, we are one bread, one body.
The Lord's Table Is a Memorial
Les explains that the bread and cup are a memorial of Jesus' death, which Paul delivered to the church in 1 Corinthians 11 after the resurrection—something the disciples could not understand earlier.
Be Careful in Practicing the Lord's Table
Les concludes that believers must be careful how they practice the Lord's table and cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in the church.
1 Corinthians 11:20: When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.
This identifies the core problem: their gathering was not actually 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 describes the specific abuse: they were each eating their own potluck supper, leaving 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 emphasizes that their behavior shamed those who had nothing and showed contempt for the church.
1 Corinthians 10:16: 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?
This shows the true meaning of the Lord's table as fellowship in Christ's blood and body.
1 Corinthians 11:23-25: 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.
Les explains that this is the proper memorial of Jesus' death, which Paul later delivered to the church.
Yes. Les points out that in every denomination he visited, the Lord's Supper is just a piece of unleavened bread and a small cup of grape juice or wine—enough to commemorate, but not to satisfy hunger or get drunk on. The Corinthians' problem was that they added a potluck supper before it.
Because they were having a potluck supper before the Lord's table, and at that meal some used excess while others went without. Paul's quote in 1 Corinthians 11:21 says each one took his own supper, leaving one hungry and another drunken.
Les explains from 1 Corinthians 11:23 that the Lord's table is a memorial of Jesus' death. At the night of the last Passover it hadn't happened yet, so the disciples did not understand; Paul later delivered the practice to the church.
Watch the Teaching: Most People Miss This About the Lord's Supper — 1 Cor 11