Paul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Corinthians 11:17 - 11:22

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - 1 Corinthians 11:17 - 11:22


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

Unseemly behavior in public worship:

v. 17. Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.

v. 18. For, first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.

v. 19. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

v. 20. When ye come together, therefore, into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper.

v. 21. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken.

v. 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.

The matter which the apostle now broaches is not one of mere custom or usage which proper Christian judgment may adjust to suit the needs of the situation, but a rule to which he demands assent: But in giving you this command I do not praise you, in that not for the better, but for the worse you come together. The charge concerns the proper form of public worship, especially if connected with the celebration of the Lord's Supper. He does not praise them, he cannot withhold his displeasure, his censure: Because not for the better, but for the worse you come together. Instead of being edified, aided in their spiritual growth, they were harmed in their faith; their meetings were held in a spirit of frivolousness that took no account of the sanctity of the occasion. The reason for this was, in the first place: Whenever you come together in assembly, it is continually reaching my ears that schisms, dissensions, have their place among you; and in part I credit the stories. The service that Paul is speaking of is that which was connected with the celebration of the Eucharist, which was held often, at least every Sunday. This service was entirely within the congregation, no outsider being admitted, no unbeliever or Gentile being present. A common meal was first eaten (the so-called love-feast), after which followed the Holy Communion. In Corinth the congregation had split up into cliques, separated from one another partly by social distinctions, partly by the feeling due to the divisions in their midst. Instead of holding a common meal, each clique chose a corner for itself, leaving the other strictly alone. As Paul says, he could very well believe this to be true, since that seemed to be a necessity of the case: For indeed also heresies, parties, must exist among you, in order that the really approved might become evident in their midst. This was in accordance with the divine administration by which evil, far from hindering, is made a servant of good. God will finally give up the persistent wranglers, that delight in wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, to their evil mind, the result being that the true Christians, that are approved of God, are made manifest in the congregation. Augustine very properly says: Heresies are the grindstone of the Church. Their sin serves to reveal them and thus to purge and purify the Christian congregation of an unpleasant discordant element.

The apostle now makes a specific charge: When, then, you assemble at the same place, it is not an eating of the Lord's Supper. It appears that the Corinthian congregation, even at this early day, had a definite place for meeting, since Paul is evidently not speaking of house congregations. Their purpose undoubtedly was to celebrate the Eucharist, and the earthly elements, bread and wine, were not lacking, but the manner in which they came together rendered the celebration a farce and a blasphemy. For in eating, as the hour for the meal came, every one took out, brought forward hastily, his own supper, seeking out and sitting down with his own particular friends. The custom formerly had been for the members to bring what they wished, what they could afford for the purpose, the food then being divided equally among all. But now that the new selfish custom became prevalent, the poor people had little or nothing, and therefore went hungry, while the wealthier members had more than sufficient for their needs and became intoxicated. "The scene of sensual greed and pride might well culminate in drunkenness. " Surely a disgraceful spectacle for a Christian congregation to present!

The reproof of Paul, therefore, did not lack sharpness: Have you no houses to eat and drink in? Surely they could not have been in such straits as to make the satisfying of their appetites in public worship necessary. Or, on the other hand, do you despise the congregation of God and put those that are without means to shame? If that was their deliberate intention, to heap scorn upon the Church of God and to make the poor members feel their poverty, their inability to keep up their end of such profligate behavior, then their action was all the more reprehensible. What could and should the apostle say to them under the circumstances? Was it possible for him to praise them for such behavior? He frankly told them that this was out of the question. How could he have excused such inexcusable frivolousness, especially since it occurred in connection with the celebration of the Eucharist!