OliveGrove
Pressing the Word of God for Deeper Understanding.
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1 Corinthians 11:17-22

The Lord’s Supper must reflect unity and love, not selfish division.

Open in Study
Scripture Text

11:17 But in giving You this command, I don’t praise You, that You come together not for the better but for the worse.

11:18 For first of all, when You come together in the assembly, I hear that divisions exist among You, and I partly believe it.

11:19 For there also must be factions among You, that those who are approved may be revealed among You.

11:20 When therefore You assemble Yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that You eat.

11:21 For in Your eating each one takes His own supper first. One is hungry, and another is drunken.

11:22 What, don’t You have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do You despise God’s assembly and put them to shame who don’t have enough? What shall I tell You? Shall I praise You? In this I don’t praise You.

Anchor

The Lord’s Supper must reflect unity and love, not selfish division.

When the church gathers in selfishness and division, its practices—even sacred ones—fail to reflect the unity and love required by the gospel.

Rhythm
  1. 11:1 Paul gives a transition exhortation, calling the Corinthians to imitate Him as He imitates Christ.
  2. 11:2-16 Paul addresses headship, honor, and visible conduct in worship, especially as it relates to men and women praying or prophesying. He appeals to creation order, glory language, interdependence, propriety, and accepted practice among the churches.
  3. 11:17-22 Paul sharply rebukes the Corinthians for their conduct when they come together. Their gatherings do more harm than good because divisions and humiliating class distinctions corrupt what should be the Lord’s Supper.
  4. 11:23-26 Paul recounts the dominical tradition of the Lord’s Supper, grounding the church’s practice in what He received from the Lord: the bread and cup signify Christ’s body and the new covenant in His blood, and the meal proclaims the Lord’s death until He comes.
  5. 11:27-34 Paul warns that eating and drinking in an unworthy manner incurs guilt concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Believers must examine themselves, discern the body rightly, and understand present weakness, sickness, and even death among them as divine discipline. He closes with practical directives about waiting for one another and eating at home if hungry.
Watch Out
  • Paul is not condemning communal meals themselves but the selfish behavior that corrupted the church’s gathering.
  • The passage does not forbid shared meals in church life but calls for them to reflect unity and mutual care.
  • The problem addressed is not wealth itself but the disregard shown toward poorer believers.
  • The Lord’s Supper must not be treated as an ordinary meal detached from its spiritual meaning.
  • Do not interpret this passage as merely addressing poor etiquette rather than spiritual failure.
  • Do not separate the Lord’s Supper from the unity of the church.
  • Do not assume that private religious devotion replaces communal responsibility.
  • Do not ignore the social injustice Paul exposes within the gathering.
  • Do not overlook that division within the church contradicts the gospel itself.
Invitation Arc
  • Church gatherings should visibly reflect unity among believers.
  • Selfish behavior in worship undermines the gospel message.
  • The Lord’s Supper calls believers to humility and mutual care.
  • Church leadership must confront practices that dishonor Christ’s body.
  • Christian fellowship should transcend social and economic divisions.
Canonical Thread
Gospel Clarity

The gospel unites believers through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, forming one redeemed people under His lordship. When the church gathers, its practices should reflect the self-giving love of Christ rather than the selfish divisions of the world.