Reference: Love Feast
Hastings
The Love Feast of the Christian Church in Apostolic times was a common meal of which all the brethren partook, and was still connected with the Eucharist. The 'breaking of bread from house to house' (Ac 2:46) probably included both under the title 'the Lord's Supper' (1Co 11:20). From Ac 20:7 we gather that the religious exercises of the Love Feast were prolonged till dawn, and ended with the Eucharist. The scandalous behaviour, which St. Paul was constrained to rebuke at Corinth in a.d. 57
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And every day they continued to meet together in the Temple [i.e., for teaching and worship]. They were enjoying their meals and the close fellowship they shared in the various homes, and were
And on the first day of the week [i.e., Sunday], when we [disciples] had gathered together to break bread [i.e., the Lord's Supper. See I Cor. 11:20-24], Paul delivered a message that lasted until midnight, [since] he was planning to leave [Troas] the next day.
But in giving you these instructions, I have a criticism to make [about you people]. It is that your assemblies are doing more harm than good. For first of all, I have been informed [Note: This was probably by Chloe's family. See 1:11] that divisions exist among you people when you assemble as a congregation. And I am inclined to believe it [is true]. read more. For it is to be expected [i.e., it is inevitable] that there would be dissensions among you, so that those who are approved [by God] can become known among you. So, when you people assemble together [Note: This was a church meeting at which they also shared a common meal prior to the Lord's Supper], it is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper [properly].
So, when you people assemble together [Note: This was a church meeting at which they also shared a common meal prior to the Lord's Supper], it is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper [properly]. For as you are eating, each one of you partakes of his own supper [ahead of the others], so that one person is [still] hungry while the other gets drunk. read more. Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or, do you despise the church of God and put to shame those people who do not have anything [to eat]? What should I say to you? Should I commend you for doing this? Certainly not! For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you: On the night the Lord Jesus was turned over [to the Jewish authorities] He took bread, and after giving thanks [for it], He broke it [in pieces] and said, "This represents my [physical] body, which is [to be given] for you. [Continue to] do this in memory of me." In the same way [He took] the cup also, after supper, and said, "This cup [i.e., its contents] represents the New Agreement [ratified] by my blood. [Continue to] do this, whenever you people drink from it, in memory of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes [again]. Therefore, whoever eats the [Lord's] bread or drinks from the Lord's cup in a way that is unworthy [of them. See verse 21], will be guilty of [dishonoring] the body and the blood of the Lord. So, a person should examine himself [first] and then he should eat the bread and drink from the cup. For a person who eats and drinks without determining the significance of the body [of Jesus], [i.e., without showing proper reverence for Christ, as represented by the bread and cup (see verse 27), or without distinguishing this sacred memorial Supper from a common meal], eats and drinks judgment upon himself. [Note: Some apply "the body" in this verse to the church and explain it as a warning against failing to appreciate the unity that the Supper is intended to signify]. Because of this [i.e., their improper partaking of the Supper], many people among you are weak and ill, and a number have fallen asleep [i.e., died]. [Note: While most commentators view this judgment as physical, there is a distinct possibility that it refers to spiritual sickness and death]. But if we [had] examined ourselves [properly], we would not be [i.e., not have been] judged [i.e., with sickness and death. See verse 30]. But since we are being judged, we are [also] being disciplined by the Lord, so that we do not have to be condemned along with the world. So, my brothers, when you assemble for a meal, wait for each other [i.e., so some will not be finished before others. See verse 21]. If anyone is [too] hungry [i.e., to wait], he should eat at home, so that your assembly does not result in judgment [falling on some of you. See verse 30]. And I will tend to the remaining matters when I come [to you].
They suffer wrong themselves for doing wrong to other people. They consider it [especially] pleasurable to carry on their drunken revellings, [even] during the daytime. They become blots and blemishes [i.e., like spoiled food] in your fellowship meal, as they revel in their deceitful behavior.
These people are like rotten spots [contaminating the food] at your love feasts, while they gorge themselves without fear [i.e., unashamed of their selfish indulgence]. [Note: This passage may mean "like selfish shepherds, looking out only for themselves, they eat the grain set out for the animals"]. They are like clouds that blow over without producing rain; [they are like] trees in the fall that do not produce any fruit and have been uprooted, [thus] being dead twice [i.e., fruitless and rootless].