1 Corinthians 11:34

11:34 after I arrive: Paul was planning to visit soon (4:19; 16:5-7).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Co_11:34. To satisfy hunger, is a thing to be done at home. The Agapae should not be used as meals for such material purposes; they have a higher significance. Comp 1Co_11:22. Others take it: If any one has such keen hunger that he cannot wait for the distribution, let him rather take a previous meal at home (Billroth; comp Erasmus, Paraph). But how much of this is arbitrarily imported into the text!

τὰ δὲ λοιπά] What has not yet been regulated in this section, 1Co_11:17-34. The reference is to matters connected with the love-feasts; not indeed of a doctrinal kind, but, as the word ΔΙΑΤΆΣΣΕΣΘΑΙ is enough of itself to show, pertaining to outward order and arrangements, 1Co_7:17, 1Co_9:14, 1Co_16:1; Gal_3:19; Tit_1:5. A passage taken advantage of by Roman Catholics in support of their doctrine of tradition. And, no doubt, it does serve to establish in general the possibility of the existence of apostolic traditions; but in each particular case in which such traditions are asserted, the burden of bringing forward the proof lies always upon those who make the assertion, and it can never be produced.

ὡς ἄν] whensoever I shall have come; in the temporal sense = simulatque. See on Php_2:23, and Hartung, II. p. 289.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_11:33, 1Co_11:34

Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.

The two great evils connected with the observance of the Lords supper at Corinth were, first, that it was not a communion, one took his supper before another, 1Co_11:21; and secondly, that they came to the Lords table to satisfy their hunger. That is, they made it an ordinary meal. They thus sinned against their brethren, 1Co_11:22, and they sinned against Christ, 1Co_11:27. In the conclusion, therefore, of the whole discussion, he exhorts them to correct these evils; to wait for each other, and make it a joint service; and to satisfy their hunger at home, and come together only to commemorate the Lords death. Mildly as this exhortation is expressed, it is enforced by the solemn warning already given, that ye come not together to condemnation, that is, so as to incur the displeasure of God. The rest will I set in order when (whenever ὡς ἄν) I may come. There were, it seems, other irregularities of less importance than those above mentioned, which the apostle leaves to be corrected until he should again visit Corinth. The epistles of Paul abound in evidence of the plenary authority exercised by the apostles over the churches. The word διατάσσω, to set in order, implies authoritative direction; see 1Co_7:17; 1Co_16:1. Mat_11:1. The apostles were rendered infallible, as the representatives of Christ, to teach his doctrines, to organize the church and determine its form of government, and to regulate its worship. And what they ordained has binding force on the church to this day. What Paul teaches in this chapter concerning the nature and mode of celebrating the Lords supper, has determined the views and practice of evangelical Christians in every part of the world. It is not at all wonderful, considering that the festivals of the Jews, and especially the Passover, as well as the sacrificial feasts of the Gentiles, were social repasts, and especially considering that our Lord instituted this ordinance in connection with the Paschal supper, that the early Christians should have so generally combined it with a social meal; or that this custom should have continued so long in the church. Nor is it a matter of surprise, that the social element in this combined service should so often have prevailed over the religious one. That this was to a lamentable degree the case in Corinth, is evident from this chapter; and it is probable from Jud_1:12, that the evil was by no means confined to Corinth. That apostle, speaking of certain sensual persons, says, These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you without fear. Hence the unspeakable importance of the instructions and directions given by St. Paul, which are specially designed to separate the Lords supper as a religious rite from the social element with which it was combined. The apostle urges that neither the sacrament itself, nor any feast with which it might be connected, should be regarded as the occasion of satisfying hunger. The communion of saints and the commemoration of the death of Christ as a sacrifice for our sins, are the only legitimate objects which could be contemplated in the service. And by exhibiting the intimate fellowship with the Lord involved in the right use of this ordinance, and the dreadful consequences of unworthily participating, he has raised it to a purely religious service, and made it the highest act of worship. From one extreme the church gradually passed over to the opposite. From regarding it as it had been in Corinth, little more than an ordinary meal, it came to be regarded as an awful mystery, a sacrifice which the people were to witness, and in which they were to adore the Redeemer as locally present in his corporeal nature under the form of a wafer! So strong a hold had this unscriptural view taken of the mind of the church, that Luther found it impossible to emancipate himself from the belief of the local presence of Christs real body in this sacrament. And even Calvin could not divest himself of the conviction, not only of its supernatural character, which all admit who regard it as a means of grace, but also of its being truly miraculous. It was only after a severe struggle that the Reformed church got back to the simple, yet sublime view of the ordinance presented by the apostle Paul. The danger has often since been that the church should go back to the Corinthian extreme, and look upon the Lords supper as a simple commemoration, involving nothing supernatural either in its nature or effects. Our only safety is in adhering strictly to the teachings of the Scriptures. The apostle tells us, on the authority of a direct revelation from the Lord himself, that while the ordinance is designed as a memorial of Christs death, it involves a participation of his body and blood, not of their material substance, but of their sacrificial efficacy, so that, although the body and blood of Christ are not corporally or carnally present in, with, or under the bread and wine in the Lords supper; and yet are spiritually present to the faith of the receiver, no less truly and really than the elements themselves are to their outward senses; so they that worthily communicate in the sacrament of the Lords supper, do therein feed upon the body and blood of Christ, not after a corporal or carnal, but in a spiritual manner; yet truly and really, while by faith they receive and apply unto themselves Christ crucified and all the benefits of his death. Larger Catechism.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Such things as pertain to order, as place, time, form of prayers, and other such like, the Apostle took order for in Congregations according to the consideration of times, places and persons.

The Supper of the Lord was instituted not to feed the belly but to feed the soul with the communion of Christ, and therefore it ought to be separate from common banquets.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

if any . . . hunger--so as not to be able to "tarry for others," let him take off the edge of his hunger at home [ALFORD] (Co1 11:22).

the rest--"the other questions you asked me as to the due celebration of the Lord's Supper." Not other questions in general; for he does subsequently set in order other general questions in this Epistle.

Next: 1 Corinthians Chapter 12

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 34. And if any man hunger] Let him not come to the house of God to eat an ordinary meal, let him eat at home-take that in his own house which is necessary for the support of his body before he comes to that sacred repast, where he should have the feeding of his soul alone in view.

That ye come not together unto condemnation] That ye may avoid the curse that must fall on such worthless communicants as those above mentioned; and that ye may get that especial blessing which every one that discerns the Lord's body in the eucharist must receive.

The rest will I set in order, c.] All the other matters relative to this business, to which you have referred in your letter, I will regulate when I come to visit you as, God permitting, I fully design. The apostle did visit them about one year after this, as is generally believed.

I HAVE already been so very particular in this long and difficult chapter, that I have left neither room nor necessity for many supplementary observations. A few remarks are all that is requisite.

1. The apostle inculcates the necessity of order and subjection, especially in the Church. Those who are impatient of rule, are generally those who wish to tyrannize. And those who are loudest in their complaints against authority, whether civil or ecclesiastical, are those who wish to have the power in their own hands, and would infallibly abuse it if they had. They alone who are willing to obey, are capable of rule; and he who can rule well, is as willing to obey as to govern. Let all be submissive and orderly; let the woman know that the man is head and protector; let the man know that Christ is his head and redeemer, and the gift of God's endless mercy for the salvation of a lost world.

2. The apostle insisted on the woman having her head covered in the Church or Christian assembly. If he saw the manner in which Christian women now dress, and appear in the ordinances of religion, what would he think? What would he say? How could he even distinguish the Christian from the infidel? And if they who are in Christ are new creatures, and the persons who ordinarily appear in religious assemblies are really new creatures (as they profess in general to be) in Christ, he might reasonably inquire: If these are new creatures, what must have been their appearance when they were old creatures. Do we dress to be seen? And do we go to the house of God to exhibit ourselves? Wretched is that man or woman who goes to the house of God to be seen by any but God himself.

3. The Lord's Supper may be well termed the feast of charity; how unbecoming this sacred ordinance to be the subject of dispute, party spirit, and division! Those who make it such must answer for it to God. Every man who believes in Christ as his atoning sacrifice should, as frequently as he can, receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. And every minister of Christ is bound to administer it to every man who is seeking the salvation of his soul, as well as to all believers. Let no man dare to oppose this ordinance; and let every man receive it according to the institution of Christ.

4. Against the fidelity of our translation of 1Co 11:27 of this chapter, Whosoever shall eat this bread, AND drink this cup unworthily, several popish writers have made heavy complaints, and accused the Protestants of wilful corruption; as both the Greek and Vulgate texts, instead of και and et, AND, have η and vel, OR: Whosoever shall eat this bread, OR drink this cup. As this criticism is made to countenance their unscriptural communion in one kind, it may be well to examine the ground of the complaint. Supposing even this objection to be valid, their cause can gain nothing by it while the 26th and 28th verses stand, both in the Greek text and Vulgate, as they now do: For as often as ye eat this bread, AND drink this cup, c. Let him eat of that bread, AND drink of that cup. But although η, OR, be the reading of the common printed text, και AND, is the reading of the Codex Alexandrinus, and the Codex Claromontanus, two of the best MSS. in the world: as also of the Codex Lincolniensis, 2, and the Codex Petavianus, 3, both MSS. of the first character: it is also the reading of the ancient Syriac, all the Arabic, the Coptic, the margin of the later Syriac, the AEthiopic, different MSS. of the Vulgate, and of one in my own possession and of Clemens Chromatius, and Cassiodorus. Though the present text of the Vulgate has vel, OR, yet this is a departure from the original editions, which were all professedly taken from the best MSS. In the famous Bible with out date, place, or printer's name, 2 vols. fol., two columns, and forty-five lines in each, supposed by many to be the first Bible ever printed, the text stands thus: Itaque quicunque manducaverit panem, ET biberit calicem, c. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread AND drink this cup, c.: here is no vel, OR. The Bible printed by Fust, 1462, the first Bible with a date, has the same reading. Did the Protestants corrupt these texts? In the editio princeps of the Greek Testament, printed by the authority of Cardinal Ximenes at Complutum, and published by the authority of Pope Leo X., though η, OR, stands in the Greek text yet, in the opposite column, which contains the Vulgate, and in the opposite line, ET, and, is found, and not VEL, or; though the Greek text would have authorized the editor to have made this change: but he conscientiously preserved the text of his Vulgate. Did the Protestants corrupt this Catholic text also? Indeed, so little design had any of those who differed from the Romish Church to make any alteration here, that even Wiclif, having a faulty MS. of the Vulgate by him, which read vel instead of et, followed that faulty MS. and translated, And so who ever schal ete the breed or drinke the cup.

That και, AND, is the true reading, and not η, or, both MSS. and versions sufficiently prove: also that et, not vels is the proper reading in the Vulgate, those original editions formed by Roman Catholics, and one of them by the highest authority in the papal Church, fully establish: likewise those MSS., versions, fathers, and original editions, must be allowed to be, not only competent, but also unsuspected and incontrovertible witnesses.

But as this objection to our translation is brought forward to vindicate the withholding the cup from the laity in the Lord's Supper, it may be necessary to show that without the cup there can be no eucharist. With respect to the bread, our Lord had simply said, Take, eat, this is my body; but concerning the cup, he says Drink ye all of this; for as this pointed out the very essence of the institution, viz. the blood of atonement, it was necessary that each should have a particular application of it, therefore he says, Drink ye ALL of THIS. By this we are taught that the cup is essential to the sacrament of the Lord's Supper; so that they who deny the cup to the people, sin against God's institution; and they who receive not the cup, are not partakers of the body and blood of Christ. If either could without mortal prejudice be omitted, it might be the bread; but the cup as pointing out the blood poured out, i.e. the life, by which alone the great sacrificial act is performed, and remission of sins procured, is absolutely indispensable. On this ground it is demonstrable, that there is not a popish priest under heaven, who denies the cup to the people, (and they all do this,) that can be said to celebrate the Lord's Supper at all; nor is there one of their votaries that ever received the holy sacrament. All pretension to this is an absolute farce so long as the cup, the emblem of the atoning blood, is denied. How strange is it that the very men who plead so much for the bare, literal meaning of this is my body, in the preceding verse, should deny all meaning to drink ye all of this cup, in this verse! And though Christ has, in the most positive manner, enjoined it, they will not permit one of the laity to taste it! See the whole of this argument, at large, in my Discourse on the Nature and Design of the Eucharist.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

34. The rest I will set in order when I come It is probable, that there were some things in addition, which it would be of advantage to put into better order, but as they were of less importance, the Apostle delays the correction of them until his coming among them. It may be, at the same time, that there was nothing of this nature; but as one knows better what is necessary when he is present to see, Paul reserves to himself the liberty of arranging matters when present, according as occasion may require. Papists arm themselves against us with this buckler, too, for defending their mass For they interpret this to be the setting in order which Paul here promises — as if he would have taken the liberty of overturning that eternal appointment of Christ, which he here so distinctly approves of! For what resemblance does the mass bear to Christ’s institution? But away with such trifles, as it is certain that Paul speaks only of outward decorum. As this is put in the power of the Church, so it ought to be arranged according to the condition of times, places, and persons.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(34) The rest—or, literally, the remaining matters—doubtless refers to some other details connected with the charity-feasts.

From the foregoing we gather the following outline of the method of celebration of the Lord’s Supper in the Apostolic Church.

It was a common practice amongst the Greeks at this time to hold a feast called eranos, to which all contributed, and of which all partook. A similar arrangement soon sprang up in the Christian communities, and were called agapæ, or “charity-feasts.” At these gatherings was celebrated—probably at first daily, and afterwards weekly—the Lord’s Supper. It consisted of two parts—a loaf broken and distributed during the meal, and a cup partaken of by all present after it. This bread and this cup were distinguished from the meal itself by the solemn declaration over them of the fact of the institution (1Co_11:26). The entire feast, however, had a solemnity and sanctity imparted to it by the eucharistic acts which accompanied it; and while this bread and this wine constituted the “Supper of the Lord,” the entire “charity-feast” became consecrated by it as a “Lord’s Supper” (1Co_11:20), the phrase being similar to “Lord’s day” (Rev_1:10). To it the brethren came, not as individuals, but as members of the body of Christ. This gathering of the Church was His body now on earth; that sacramental bread and wine, the symbols of His body, which had been on earth, and which had been given for them. To the charity-feast the rich brought of their abundance, the poor of their poverty. But once assembled there everything was common. The party spirit which raged outside soon invaded these sacred scenes. The rich members ceased to discern in that gathering “the Body,” and to discern themselves as “members of that Body.” They regarded themselves as individuals, and the food which they brought as their own. The poor were put to shame; some of them arriving late would remain hungry, while the rich had eaten and drunk to excess. On those who acted thus there fell naturally God’s judgments of sickness and of death. To correct this terrible evil and grave scandal, St. Paul recalls to them the solemnity of the act of Holy Communion, what it meant, how it was instituted. He reminds them of how the whole feast was consecrated by having that eucharistic bread and wine united with it, and he commands those who wanted merely to satisfy their natural hunger to do so at home before coming to the “Lord’s Supper.” The two thoughts of communion with Christ and communion with one another, and of the bread and wine being the medium of the union with Him, and the source of the Christian unity, intersect and interlace each other, like the fine threads of some tapestry which are so skilfully interwoven that you cannot distinguish them while you look on the image or scene which they definitely produce. We may with theological subtlety dissever them; but if we do so we shall lose that loving image of the Holy Communion which the Apostle wrought out in his teaching, and on which he and the early Church gazed with tender adoration, and from which they drew the deepest draughts of spiritual life.

When I come.—There is no definite indication of an approaching visit in these words. They are quite general “whenever I come”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

34. that ye come not together unto condemnation] Rather, as margin, judgment. The same word is used here as in 1Co_11:29.

And the rest will I set in order when I come] Great changes in the order of administration of Holy Communion were rendered necessary by the abuses which so soon sprang up in the Christian Church. From an evening meal it became an early morning gathering (see Pliny, Ep. x. 42, 43), who says that in his day (about a.d. 110) the Christians were accustomed to meet “before it was light.” (Cf. “antelucanis coetibus” Tertullian, de Coronâ 3.) And the Agapae were first separated from the Lord’s Supper and then finally abolished altogether. See Neander, Hist. of the Church, vol. 1. §. 3, who remarks that in the earliest account we have of the mode in which Holy Communion was celebrated (in the Apology of Justin Martyr, written about a.d. 150) there is no mention of the Agapae. Similarly Gieseler, Compendium of Eccl. Hist., sec. 53, note. “So the form of the primitive practice was altered, in order to save the spirit of the original institution.”—Stanley.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And if any man hunger ... - The Lord’s Supper is not a common feast; it is not designed as a place where a man may gratify his appetite. It is designed as a simple “commemoration,” and not as a “feast.” This remark was designed to correct their views of the supper, and to show them that it was to be distinguished from the ordinary idea of a feast or festival.

That ye come not together unto condemnation - That the effect of your coming together for the observance of the Lord’s Supper be not to produce condemnation; see the note at 1Co 11:29.

And the rest will I set in order ... - Probably he refers here to other matters on which he had been consulted; or other things which he knew required to be adjusted. The other matters pertaining to the order and discipline of the church I will defer until I can come among you, and personally arrange them. It is evident from this, that Paul at this time purposed soon to go to Corinth; see 2Co 1:15-16. It was doubtless true that there might be many things which it was desirable to adjust in the church there, which could not be so well done by letter. The main things, therefore, which it was needful to correct immediately, he had discussed in this letter; the other matters he reserved to be arranged by himself when he should go among them. Paul was disappointed in his expectations of returning among them as soon as he had intended (see 2Co 1:17), and under this disappointment he forwarded to them another epistle. If all Christians would follow implicitly his directions here in regard to the Lord’s Supper, it would be an ordinance full of comfort. May all so understand its nature, and so partake of it, that they shall meet the approbation of their Lord, and so that it may be the means of saving grace to their souls.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And if any one hungered, they should not make the place where they met together for the solemn worship of God, a place for eating and drinking at feasts, but eat at home; lest, by these disorderly and irreverent actions, they incurred the displeasure of God, and brought down the judgment of God upon themselves. Lastly, he minds them, that if there were any other things of this nature, which he had not spoken to, he did design suddenly to come to them, and then he would set them in order, by giving them rules about them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

34. Hunger—The very name agape indicated that these love-feasts were for the cultivation of the affections, not the gratification of the appetite, or the sustenance of, at any rate, the well-off class.

The rest—Referring, doubtless, to other matters in regard to the good order of their assemblages contained in the letter of the Corinthians. From this passage Romanists argue in favour of traditional customs added by them to the institutes of the Church, and especially to the Lord’s supper: such as having a thin wafer for bread, withholding the cup from the laity, and the worshipping the wafer as the body of Christ. We may easily concede that the apostles did make regulations in the Church. If any institute can be shown to have been established by apostles for the universal Church, it must, doubtless, be accepted as part of the Christian system. But of most of the peculiarities of Rome we know the date of their origin, and reject them as innovations and novelties. We have known in our own day, in the Romish enactments of the immaculacy of the Virgin, and the infallibility of the pope, how dogmas are manufactured. And in the last dogma we find the amplest power provided for the pope to enact, with a sentence a new Christian doctrine whenever he pleases.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And if any man hunger, let him eat at home. A reminder of the sacred character of the agape as a symbol of Christian love and union. Unto condemnation; rather, judgment. In Greek, the same word (krima) is used which in ver. 29 is so unhappily rendered "damnation." But even "condemnation" is too strong; for that is equivalent to katakrima. The rest; all minor details. It is not improbable that one of these details was the practical dissociation of the agape from the Lord"s Supper altogether. Certainly the custom of uniting the two seems to have disappeared by the close of the first century. When I come; rather, whenever. The Greek phrase (wJv a) implies uncertainty. The apostle"s plans for visiting Corinth immediately had been materially disturbed by the unfavourable tidings as to the conditions of the Church.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If any man is hungry, let him eat at home; that your coming together be not unto judgment . [By waiting they would eat together, and eat of the same symbolic bread; by eating at home, and taking the edge off their appetites, they would not devour all, and so exclude others from the communion.] And the rest will I set in order whensoever I come . [The spiritual ill health of the church had delayed his coming, but when he arrived he would adjust any lesser irregularities which might need attention.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

34. If any man is hungry, let him eat at home. This feast is not in order to satisfy the cravings of the appetite.

The account given here of the institution of the Lord's supper is one of the four in the New Testament. 1 is of an eye witness; those of Mark and Luke were received by them from witnesses who were present; that of Paul was “received from the Lord.” Many regard it as the oldest written account of the event.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

34. εἰς κρίμα. Unto judgment, i. e. that your assembling yourselves together may not have that result. The same word is used here as in 1Co 11:29.

ὡς ἄν ἔλθω. ἂν points out the uncertainty of the time of this coming.

διατάξομαι. Great changes in the order of administration of Holy Communion were rendered necessary by the abuses which so soon sprang up in the Christian Church. From an evening meal it became an early morning gathering: see Pliny, Ep. X. 42, 43, who says that in his day (about A.D. 110) the Christians were accustomed to meet ‘before it was light.’ (Cf. ‘antelucanis coetibus’ Tertullian, de Coronâ 3.) And the Agapae were first separated from the Lord’s Supper and then finally abolished altogether. See Neander, Hist. of the Church, vol. I. § 3, who remarks that in the earliest account we have of the mode in which Holy Communion was celebrated (in the Apology of Justin Martyr, written about A.D. 150) there is no mention of the Agapae. Similarly Gieseler, Compendium of Eccl. Hist., sec. 53, note. ‘So the form of the primitive practice was altered, in order to save the spirit of the original institution.’ Stanley.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

34.] The ἀγάπαι were not meals to satiate the bodily appetites, but for a higher and holier purpose: let the hungry take off the edge of his hunger at home: see ver. 22.

τὰ δὲ λοιπά] viz. things omitted (probably matters of detail) in the above directions. Perhaps they had asked him questions respecting the most convenient time or manner of celebration of the Lord’s supper: points on which primitive practice widely differed.

ὡς ἂν ἔλθω, see reff., whenever I shall have come. ὡς ἄν, as ὅτʼ ἄν, implies uncertainty as to the event anticipated: see Kühner, vol. ii. p. 535, § 807.

Chapp.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

34. The mere satisfying of hunger should be done ἐν οἴκῳ (14:35), not ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ (v. 18). Comp. κατʼ οἶκον (Act 2:46, Act 5:42). The abrupt conclusion is similar to the conclusion of the discussion about women wearing veils (v. 16). He is not going to argue the matter any further; the difference between the Supper and ordinary meals must be clearly marked: that is final.

The δέ after εἰ, —εἰ δέ τις (א 3 D3 E K L P, Syrr. AV.) is a manifest interpolation (א* A B C D* F G,Latt. RV. omit). The asyndeton makes an abrupt conclusion.

τὰ δὲ λοιπά. One may guess for ever, and without result, as to what things the Apostle was going to set in order, just as one may guess for ever as to what directions our Lord gave to the Apostles respecting Church order during the forty days. Here ‘all the other matters’ possibly refers to matters about which the Corinthians had asked, and probably to matters connected with the Love-feasts and the Eucharist. The use of διατάξομαι (7:17, 9:14, 16:1; Tit 1:5) suggests that these had reference to externals, εὐταξία, rather than to the inner meaning of the rite. But the evidence is slight, and does not carry us far.

ὡς ἂν ἔλθω. ‘Whensoever I shall have come,’ or ‘according as I come.’ The ἄν makes both event and time uncertain. Comp. ὡς ἂν πορεύωμαι εἰς τὴν Σπανίαν (Rom 15:24); ὡς ἂν ἀπίδω τὰ περὶ ἐμέ (Php 2:23). J. H. Moulton, 1. p. 167. Meanwhile there seems to be no overseer or body of elders to act for him.

ADDITIONAL NOTE ON 11:17-34

This passage throws considerable light upon the manner of celebrating the Lord’s Supper in St Paul’s day. On the negative side we have important evidence. As J.A. Beet in loc. points out very incisively, the Apostle says nothing about ‘consecration’ by a ‘priest’; and, had there been anything of the kind, would he not have said, ‘Wait for the consecration,’ rather than ‘Wait for one another’ (v. 33)? Beet points out further (Manual of Theology, p. 388) that private members were able to appropriate beforehand the food designed for the communion, which implies that they were not in the habit of receiving the bread and wine from the church officers. And St Paul does not tell them that they must not help themselves to the bread and wine, although this would have effectually put a stop to the abuses in question; which shows that he did not look upon reception of the elements as essential to the validity of the rite. From this we infer with certainty that, when Christ ordained the Supper, He did not direct, and that, when 1 Corinthians was written, the Apostles had not directed, that the sacred rite should be administered by the church officers and them alone. Nor have we in the N.T. any evidence that the Apostles afterwards gave this direction. What we have is evidence that a body of church officers was being developed: and it is reasonable to suppose that, when a distinction had been made between laity and clergy, the duty of celebrating the Lord’s Supper would very soon be reserved for the clergy.

On the positive side we may assume from τοῦτο ποιεῖτε that the Christian Supper was closely modelled, in all essentials, on what Christ did at the Paschal Supper. This carries with it—

(α) The Blessing and Breaking of Bread and the Blessing of a Cup, as then by Christ, so later by a presiding person.

(β) The Meal itself, originally meant, like the Passover, to be a genuine meal, for satisfying hunger and thirst.

But (v. 22) St Paul began a change which tended to make the meal connected with the Lord’s Supper a mere ceremony. The genuine meal, for satisfying hunger, is to be taken at home, and the Lord’s Supper is not to be used for that purpose by all communicants as a matter of course, although the poor are to have an opportunity of satisfying their appetites. This change naturally tended to the goal which was ultimately reached, viz., the complete separation of the Eucharist from the Supper, which became a mere ‘Agape.’ The contributions of food brought by the worshippers survived in later times as the First Oblation, the Εὐλογίαι. See Diet. of Chr. Ant. Artt. ‘Agape,’ ‘Eulogia,’ ‘Eucharist’; Kraus, Real-Enc. D. christ. Alt. 1. Artt. ‘Eucharistie,’ ‘Eulogien’ Hastings, DB. and DCG. Artt. ‘Lord’s Supper,’ ‘Communion.’

* The fourth, if the Introduction (1:1-9) he counted.

* Atto of Vercelli seems to be mistaken in saying, Haec nempe verba per ironiam dicta sunt. So also Herveius; Per ironiam incipit loqui. His verbis plus illos tangit, quart si manifeste, increparet eos. Quasi diceret; Ves obliti estis mei, et traditiones meas non tenetis, sed volo ut ista quae subjungo, sciatis. There is no sarcasm. Cf. 1:4-9.

† See Basil De Spir. xxix. 71. The μέμνησθε rather implies a considerable time since he had been at Corinth. It may have been over two years.

D D (Sixth century.) Codex Clarmontanus; now at Paris. A Graeco-Latin MS. 14:13 διο͂ ὁ λαλῶν-22 σημεῖον ἐστίν is supplied by a later but ancient hand. Many subsequent hands (sixth to ninth centuries) have corrected the MS. (See Gregory, Prolegomena , pp. 418-422).

E E (Ninth century). At Petrograd. A copy of D, and unimportant

F F (Late ninth century). Codex Augiensis (from Reichenau); now at Trin. Coll. Cambr. Probably a copy of G in any case, secondary to G, from which it very rarely varies (see Gregory, p. 429).

G G (Late ninth century). Codex Boernerianus; at Dresden. Interlined with the Latin (in minluscules). Lacks 1Co 3:8-16, 1Co 6:7-14 (F).

K K (Ninth century). Codex S. Synod. xcviii. Lacks 1:1-6:13 ταύτην καί: 8:7 τινὲς δὲ—8:11 ἀπέθανεν.

L L (Ninth century). Codex Angelicus; At Rome.

אԠא (Fourth century.) The Sinaitic MS., now at St Petersburg, the only MS. containing the whole N.T.

A A (Fifth century.) The Codex Alexandrinus; now at the British Museum.

B B (Fourth century.) The Vatican MS.

C C (Fifth century). The Codex Ephraem, a Palimpsest; now at Paris. Lacks 7:18 ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ-9:6 τοῦ μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι: 13:8 παύσονται-14:40 ἀλλὰ ἕτερα.

P P (Ninth century). Porfirianus Chiovensis. A palimpsest acquired in the East by Porphyrius Bishop of Kiew. Lacks 7:15 ὑμᾶς ὁ θεός-17 περιπάτει: 12:23 τοῦ σώματος-13:5 οὐ λογί-: 14:23 τὸ λαλεῖν μή. A good type of text in St Paul’s Epistles.

* See Harnack, The Mission and Expansion of Christianity, 11. pp. 65, 395-6, ed. 1902. See also Tert. De Virgin vel. 13; De Orat. 21.

* One might say, ‘Precisely for this reason,’ διὰ τοῦτο being stronger than οὖν, and introducing a special , if an exclusive reason. This helps to decide the explanation of διὰ τοὺς ἀγγέλους, which must mean something that is at least a very important reason for women being veiled in public worship, if not the only reason.

* St Paul assumes, as obvious to his readers, a connexion obvious to us. We can hardly regard the reason intended as falling outside the scope of the διὰ τοῦτο. (see above). The question is , what point of contact for διὰ τ. ἀγγ. is furnished in vv. 3-9?

H H (Sixth century). Coisl. 202. At Paris (the part containing 10:22-29, 11:9-16. An important witness, but unhappily seldom available. The MS. is scattered in seven different libraries, having been employed for bindings.

* Was the obscure metaphor of ‘the veil,’ which Dante (Purg. xxix. 27) uses of Eve, Non sofferse di star sotto alcun velo, suggested by the revolt of the women of Corinth against “standing under any veil” in public worship?

† Comp. 3:18, 8:2, and especially 14:37, where we have a summary conclusion similar to this.

† Herveius interprets ἡμεῖς as ‘we Jews.’ Post rationes ponit auctoritatem, at contentiosos vincat, quia neque Judaismus hoc habuit, nec Ecclesia Dei, ostendens quia neque Mayses neque Salvator sic tradidit. Atto has the same idea. ‘Nos’ propter Judaeos, ‘Ecclesia’ dicit propter gentes. Quapropter, si hanc consuetudinem hebetis, non solum non Christi, sed nec Moysi discipulos fore monstratis. Nowhere else in N.T. or LXX is φιλόνεικος found , excepling Eze 3:7, where all Israrel are said to be such.

* Hom, ll. ii. 472, 542; Hdt. i. 82, v. 72; Aristoph. Eq. 580. Cf. our Cavaliers

* There is similar doubt as to the scope of the τοῦτο in 7:6, and the αὔτη in 9:3. HIere the doubt is considerable. The παραγγ. about veiling was prefaced by praise (v. 2) : and τοῦτο δέ may introduce another παραγγ. where praise is impossible; ‘In giving this charge I have no praise to give.’

* Comp. “And no prophet that orders a table in the spirit eats of it himself: but if he does, he is false probhet” (Didache 11:9). This calling for a Love-feast in astate of ecetacy (ἐν πνεύματι) is a curious possiblity, which had probably been ecperienced. Only a false prophet would do this in order to get food for himself.

* Rutherford translates; ‘Or do you think that you need stand on no ceremony with the Church of God; that because men are poor you may affront them?’

* Hoc facite, id est accipite et date (Card. I Iugo de Sto. Caro, d. 1263); Mandat fieri quod ipse fecit, scilicet accipere panem, gratias agere, frangere, consecrare, sumere, ac dare (Card. Thomas de Vio, Caietanus, d. 1534).

17 17. (Ev. 33, Act_13. Ninth century.) At Paris (Nat. Gr. 14). See Westcott and Hort., Introd. §§ 211, 212.

* On the other hand, “the crude suggestion of Professor P. Gardner (The Origin of the Lord’s Supper, 1893), that St Paul borrowed the idea of the Eucharist from the Eleusinian Mysteries, which he may have learned about at Corinth,” is not admissible. The theory ignores the evidence of the Mark-tradition, and involves misapprehension of the Eleusinian Mysteries. See E. L. Hicks, Studia Biblica, iv:12. Ramsay thinks that the interval between the bread and the cup “was occupied with instruction in the meaning of the symbolism” (Exp. Times, March 1910.)

* To this may be added the still earlier testimony of Origen; see on 7:5.

* See art. Abendmahl in Schiele, Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, in which the doubtful points in the history of the institution are clearly stated; also Plummer, S. Matthew, pp. 361 f.; Dobschütz, Probleme d. Ap. Zeitalters, p. 73; Hastings, DB. iii. p. 146, DCG. ii. p. 66.

† Comp. Cyprian (De zelo et livore, 17); De sacramento crucis et cibum sumis et potum.

* To break one commandment is to break the whole Law, but to keep one command is not to keep the whole Law. See Abbott, Johannine Grammar, 2759 f., and comp. ἤ in Rom 1:21.

* Chrysostom insists on this; “He does not order one man to test another, but each man himself; thus making the court a private one and the verdict without witnesses.” Unicuique committitur suimet judicium (Cajetan).

* Stanely storngly contends for this meanings; it was “ the communityand fellowship one with another which the Corinthian Christians were so slow to discern” and he appeals to 12:12, 13, 20, 27; Rom 12:4, Rom 12:5; Eph 2:16, Eph 2:3:6, Eph 2:4:12, Eph 2:16; Col 1:18, Col 2:19, Col 3:15 (Christian Institutions, P. 3). In any case we may compare the striking saying of Ignatius (Rom_7, Trall. 8), that “the Blood of Jesus Christ islove.”

S S (Same date.) Codex Athous Laurae. Contains 1:1-5:8, 13:8 εἴτε δὲ προφ-24.

* With αἰώνιος. here comp. κοιμήσατο χάλκεον ὕπνον (Hom. Il 11:241); ferreus urget somnus (Virg. Aen. 10:745), Perpetuns sopor urget (Hor. Od. 1:24:5). These illnesses and deaths would be all the more remarkable in a Church which had a χάρισμα ἰαμάτων (12:9).

* “The Apostle did not say κολαζόμεθα nor τιμωρούμεα, but παιδευόμεθα. For his purpose is to admonish, not to condermn; to heal to requite; to correct, not to punish” (Chrys.).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Will I set in order [διαταξομαι] . Referring to outward, practical arrangements. See on Mt 11:1, and compare ch. 1Co 9:14; 1Co 16:1; Gal 3:19.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.