1 Corinthians 11:20
in 1 Corinthians 11Now then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord’s supper:
KJV
When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.
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This verse in 1 Corinthians 11
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThis is not to eat the Lord’s Supper - They did not come together to eat the Lord’s Supper exclusively, which they should have done, and not have made it a part of an ordinary meal.
This site's exposition
it is not the Lord’s Supper
on 1 Corinthians 11:20-22
The meal, most likely the agape feast that held the bread and cup, had lost its shape. The wealthier went ahead with their own food, and while one remains hungry, another gets drunk.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
But always must we conduct ourselves as in the Lord's presence, lest He say to us, as the apostle in indignation said to the Corinthians, "When ye come together, this is not to eat the Lord's supper."
A commentator
Theodoret of CyrusCOMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 236-37 · Written before 458.
proposed
The Lord's Supper is the sacrament of the Lord. Everyone participates equally in it, whether they are poor or rich, slaves or lords, rulers or ruled. Common tables must at all costs be truly common so as to imitate the table of the Lord, which …
"When ye assemble yourselves together," saith he, "it is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper." Seest thou how effectually appealing to their shame, even already by way of narrative he contrives to give them his counsel? "For the appearance of your assembly," saith he, "is different. It is one of love and brotherly affection. At least one place receives you all, and ye are together in one flock. But the Banquet, when you come to that, bears no resemblance to the Assembly of worshippers." And he said not, "When ye come together, this is not to eat in common;" "this is not to feast with one another;" but otherwise again and much more fearfully he reprimands them, saying, "it is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper," sending them away now from this point to that evening on which Christ delivered the awful Mysteries. Therefore also he called the early meal "a supper." For that supper too had them all reclining at meat together: yet surely not so great was the distance between the rich and the poor as between the Teacher and the disciples. For that is infinite. And why say I the Teacher and the disciples? Think of the interval between the Teacher and the traitor: nevertheless, the Lord Himself both sat at meat with them and did not even cast him out, but both gave him his portion of salt and made him partaker of the Mysteries.
The Medieval Church2 voices
The gathering serves as a sign of love and communion: yet in practice this does not happen. He calls it the Lord's Supper, referring to the common table as an imitation of that Last Supper which the Lord shared with His disciples. For this reason …
Then when he says, when you meet together, he accuses them of a third fault, namely, that they sinned in the way and order in which they took the body of Christ. All that follows can be explained in two ways. According to the first …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They might as well have staid away. Thus to eat the outward elements was not to eat Christ's body. Note, There is a careless and irregular eating of the Lord's supper which is as none at all; it will turn to no account, but to increase guilt.
Therefore - That is, in consequence of those schisms. It is not eating the Lord's supper - That solemn memorial of his death; but quite another thing.
When ye come together therefore into one place,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
When . . . therefore--Resuming the thread of discourse from 1Co 11:18. this is not to--rather, "there is no such thing as eating the LORD'S Supper"; it is not possible where each is greedily intent only on devouring "HIS OWN supper," and some are excluded altogether, not having been waited for (1Co 11:33), where some are "drunken," while others are "hungry" (1Co 11:21).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
When ye come together therefore ... - When you are assembled as a church, compare Heb 10:25, and see the note on Act 2:1. Christians were constantly in the habit of assembling for public worship. It is probable that at this early period all the Christians in Corinth were accustomed to meet in the same place. The apostle here particularly refers to their “assembling” to observe the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. At that early period it is probable that this was done on every Lord’s Day. This is not ... - Margin, “Ye cannot eat.” The meaning of this expression seems to be this. “Though you come together professedly to worship God, and to partake of the Lord’s Supper, yet this cannot be the real design which you have in view. It cannot be that such practices as are allowed among you can be a part of the celebration of that supper, or consistent with it. Your greediness 1Co 11:21; your intemperance 1Co 11:21; your partaking of the food separately and not in common, cannot be a celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Whatever, therefore, you may profess to be engaged in, yet really and truly you are not celebrating the Lord’s Supper.” The Lord’s supper - That which the Lord Jesus instituted to commemorate his death. It is called “the Lord’s,” because it is his appointment, and is in honor of him; it is called “supper” (δεῖπνον deipnon), because the word denotes the evening repast; it was instituted in the evening; and it is evidently most proper that it should be observed in the after part of the day. With most churches the time is improperly changed to the morning - a custom which has no sanction in the New Testament; and which is a departure from the very idea of a supper.
The words behind it
11 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| συνερχομένων | sunerchomenon | Coming | G4905 → | 30 times |
| οὖν | oun | therefore | G3767 → | 497 times |
| ὑμῶν | humon | of you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | together | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τὸ | to | in one | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| αὐτὸ | auto | place | G846 → | 5565 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ἔστιν | estin | it is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| κυριακὸν | kuriakon | [the] Lord’s | G2960 → | |
| δεῖπνον | deipnon | supper | G1173 → | |
| φαγεῖν· | phagein | to eat; | G5315 → | 93 times |
συνερχομένωνComing
sunerchomenonG4905 →30 times
οὖνtherefore
ounG3767 →497 times
ὑμῶνof you
humonG4771 →2973 times
ἐπὶtogether
epiG1909 →883 times
τὸin one
toG3588 →19766 times
αὐτὸplace
autoG846 →5565 times
οὐκnot
oukG3756 →1664 times
ἔστινit is
estinG1510 →2333 times
κυριακὸν[the] Lord’s
kuriakonG2960 →
δεῖπνονsupper
deipnonG1173 →
φαγεῖν·to eat;
phageinG5315 →93 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About 1 Corinthians
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 27; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 236-37; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.