Sharing in the Lord’s Supper
Paul says he cannot praise them for their gatherings because they do more harm than good, and he believes the report that divisions mark their life together. When they come together, each person rushes ahead with his own meal so that some go hungry while others get drunk, which amounts to despising the church of God and shaming those who have nothing.
I17n the following instructions I have no praise to offer, because your gatherings do more harm than good. 18First of all, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19And indeed, there must be differences among you to show which of you are approved. 20Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat. 21For as you eat, each of you goes ahead without sharing his meal. While one remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22Don’t you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? No, I will not!
Paul repeats what he received from the Lord: on the night he was betrayed, Jesus took bread and the cup and gave them as his body and the new covenant in his blood, to be received in remembrance of him. Each time the church eats and drinks in this way, it proclaims the Lord's death until he comes.
23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, 24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Because the supper belongs to the Lord, Paul says it must not be eaten in an unworthy manner, and each person must examine himself and discern the body. Their failure in this has already shown itself in weakness, sickness, and death among them, yet the Lord's judgment is also discipline meant to keep them from condemnation with the world, which is why they must wait for one another and satisfy ordinary hunger at home.
27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28Each one must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31Now if we judged ourselves properly, we would not come under judgment. 32But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. 33So, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.