1 Corinthians 11:33-34
The Lord’s Supper should be practiced with unity, patience, and reverence.
33 Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest your coming together be for judgment. The rest I will set in order whenever I come.
The Lord’s Supper should be practiced with unity, patience, and reverence.
Paul concludes his correction regarding the Lord’s Supper by instructing the Corinthians to wait for one another and conduct their gatherings in a way that avoids selfishness and divine discipline.
After explaining the institution of the Lord’s Supper and warning against unworthy participation, Paul closes the section with concrete instructions for correcting the Corinthians’ behavior. Their problem was not merely theological confusion but practical disorder within their gatherings. By instructing them to wait for one another and separate ordinary eating from the church assembly, Paul restores the Supper to its proper place as a communal proclamation of Christ’s death. This correction prepares the transition into Paul's next major topic concerning spiritual gifts and order in worship.
Early Christian gatherings often included communal meals associated with fellowship and remembrance of Christ. In Corinth, these gatherings had become disordered as individuals prioritized personal eating over communal unity.
Honor, Worship Order, and the Lord’s Supper Under the Lordship of Christ
Because the gathered church belongs to Christ and the Lord’s Supper proclaims his death, believers must conduct themselves in worship with ordered honor, mutual regard, self-examination, and discerning recognition of the body of Christ.