1 Corinthians 11:17 Commentary and Bible Study

‘Now in this that I declare unto you’ – it's a new subject, it’s a change of tack. This is about sincerity and genuineness in the Lord’s Supper. Back in verse 2 of the chapter, we remember, the apostle had been able to say, ‘Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you’, and the Corinthian church is praised because on the whole, it is very careful to remember the things which the apostle Paul had taught them. But now, he says, I have to come to something which you have got entirely wrong. He is going to be talking about the fact that they have combined fellowship feasts, fellowship meals, with the Lord's Supper, and it is not working out. You come together, not for the better, not for your spiritual improvement, but for the worse. They were doing something that was unprofitable – no, that is not strong enough – very harmful to them and to the reputation of the gospel and their church. In fact, it was a disgrace; and it concerned the Lord’s Supper of all things.