The Right Way to Observe Holy Communion – 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
11 (17) But in giving the following instructions I cannot praise you, because your meeting together is not for the better but for the worse. (18) In the first place, I hear that when you meet together in a church assembly there are divisions among you. To some extent I believe what I have heard; (19) for, indeed, it is necessary for there to be factions among you so that those who are approved may become apparent to you. (20) Therefore, when you are assembled together it is not possible to eat the Lord’s Supper; (21) for each one goes ahead and eats his own meal. Consequently, one remains hungry, while another gets drunk. (22) What, do you not have homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and seek to humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? I cannot praise you for this.
(23) What I delivered to you I received from the Lord, namely, that on the night he was betrayed the Lord Jesus took the bread, (24) and after having given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body broken for you. Do this in memory of me. (25) Likewise, after supper he offered the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant ratified by my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this in memory of me. (26) Whenever you eat this bread and drink from the cup, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death—until he comes again. (27) Therefore, whoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord.
(28) Now a man should examine himself; and having done so, let him then eat of the bread and drink from the cup—(29) for anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord, is eating and drinking judgment upon himself. (30) This is the reason many among you are weak and sick, and some of you have fallen asleep in death. (31) Now if we had evaluated ourselves, we would not have been judged. (32) But when we are judged by the Lord we are being disciplined, so that we will not be condemned with the world. (33) Therefore, my brothers, when you meet together to eat, wait for one another. (34) If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when you meet together it does not result in judgment. I will give instructions concerning the other matters when I come.
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
