King James Version
1 Corinthians 11
34 verses with commentary
Head Coverings
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ</strong> (μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε, καθὼς κἀγὼ Χριστοῦ)—Paul uses <em>mimētai</em> (imitators), calling believers to pattern their lives after his example. This is not arrogance but apostolic authority grounded in his own imitation of Christ. The comparative <em>kathōs kagō</em> (even as I also) shows the chain of discipleship: Christ → Paul → ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XI.
(1) **Be ye followers of me.**—See concluding Note on 1 Corinthians 10.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 11
Chapter Outline
The apostle, after an exhortation to follow him,
(1)
corrects some abuses.
(2-16)
Also contentions, divisions, and disorderly celebrations of the Lord's supper.(17-22)
He reminds them of the nature and design of its institution.(23-26)
And directs how to attend upon it in a due manner.(27-34)
**Verse 1**
The first verse of this chapt...
Read full commentary →Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. ordinances: or, traditions
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you</strong>—Paul begins with qualified commendation (contrast v. 17: "I praise you not"). The Greek <em>παραδόσεις</em> (<em>paradoseis</em>, ordinances/traditions) refers to authoritative apostolic teaching passed down orally and in writing. Paul uses technical rabbinic terminol...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Now I** **praise you.**—A new subject is here introduced, and occupies to 1Corinthians 11:16. The exhortation of the previous verse probably recalled to the Apostle’s mind that to a certain extent the Corinthians did follow his teaching and example; and had possibly in their letter, to which he was now replying, boasted of their obedience. The rebuke which he is about to administer is, with ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 5
1Co 5:1-13. The Incestuous Person at Corinth: The Corinthians Reproved for Connivance, and Warned to Purge Out the Bad Leaven. Qualification of His Former Command as to Association with Sinners of the World.
**1. commonly--**rather, "actually" [Alford]. Absolutely [Bengel]. "It is reported," implies, that the Corinthians, though they "wrote" (1Co 7:1) to Paul on other points, gave hi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God</strong>—Paul establishes a theological hierarchy using <em>κεφαλή</em> (<em>kephalē</em>, head), which can mean source, authority, or both. The threefold chain—God → Christ → man → woman—grounds the head-covering practice (vv. 4-16) in created order, not mer...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **But I would have you know.**—After the general commendation in the previous verse, the reproof for neglecting, or desiring to neglect, his precepts in one particular case, is thus introduced. The subject treated of, viz., the uncovering of their heads by women in assemblies for worship, was of ephemeral moment, and as we all now would regard it, of trivial importance. Every circumstance, how...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. puffed up--**with your own wisdom and knowledge, and the eloquence of your favorite teachers: at a time when ye ought to be "mourning" at the scandal caused to religion by the incest. Paul mourned because they did not mourn (2Co 2:4). We ought to mourn over the transgressions of others, and repent of our own (2Co 12:21) [Bengel].
**that--**ye have not felt such mourning as would lead to the...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head</strong>—Paul addresses male head covering first. In Jewish custom, men covered their heads in prayer (modern practice, though not universal in the first century). But in Greco-Roman culture, men typically prayed with heads uncovered. Paul sides with Greco-Roman custom here, but his reasoning is theological, n...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Every man praying or prophesying.**—The reference here is to public prayer and teaching (the word “prophesying” is used in its less restricted sense). The Apostle probably does not allude to any case in Corinth where a man had actually taken part in a religious meeting with covered head. The Greek practice was for men to have their heads uncovered when joining in religious ceremonies (Grotiu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. as absent--**The best manuscripts read, "being absent."
**present in spirit--**(2Ki 5:26; Col 2:5).
**so done--**rather, "perpetrated," as the Greek word here is stronger than that for "done" in 1Co 5:2. "So," that is, so scandalously while called a brother.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head</strong>—Crucially, Paul assumes women are praying and prophesying in public worship. This isn't forbidden (contrast 14:34-35, which addresses disruptive questioning, not Spirit-inspired speech). The issue is <em>how</em> women participate, not <em>whether</em> they participate. An uncovered head dish...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **But every woman that prayeth . . .** From the hypothetical case of the man praying or preaching with covered head (which was mentioned first for the sake of introducing the antithesis), the Apostle comes now to the actual case of which he has to treat, viz., the woman uncovering her head. At first sight the permission here implied for a woman to pray and teach in public may seem at variance ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--**By His authority and as representing His person and will (2Co 2:10). Join this with "to deliver such a one unto Satan" (1Co 5:5). The clause, "When ye have been gathered together and my spirit (wherein I am 'present,' though 'absent in body,' 1Co 5:3), with the power of our Lord Jesus," stands in a parenthesis between. Paul speaking of himself uses the ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered</strong>—Paul uses <em>reductio ad absurdum</em> argumentation. If a Corinthian woman insists on praying unveiled, she should go all the way and shave her head—fully embrace the shame her action already implies. The Greek conditional structure (εἰ γάρ + imperat...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Let her also be shorn.**—The force of this argument depends on the fact that a woman’s head being uncovered would be regarded by others as implying the same shame as was indicated by a woman’s hair being cut short (*i.e.,* shorn), or altogether removed (*i.e.,* shaven). It is as if the Apostle said—If a woman insists on her right to pray and speak in an assembly with uncovered head, let her ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
5. Besides excommunication (of which the Corinthians themselves had the power), Paul delegates here to the Corinthian Church his own special power as an apostle, of inflicting corporeal disease or death in punishment for sin ("to deliver to Satan such an one," that is, so heinous a sinner). For instances of this power, see Ac 5:1-11; 13:11; 1Ti 1:20. As Satan receives power at times to try the god...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God</strong>—Paul grounds his argument in Genesis 1:26-27. <em>Εἰκὼν καὶ δόξα θεοῦ</em> (<em>eikōn kai doxa theou</em>, image and glory of God) echoes the creation account. Man directly images God and displays His glory. Covering the head symbolically obscures this glory-bearing function. The <em>ὀφείλε...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **For a man indeed.**—In 1Corinthians 11:4-7 the argument against the woman’s head being uncovered was based upon (*a*) the woman’s relation to man, and (*b*) the man’s relation to Christ in the Church. In the three following verses, 1Corinthians 11:7-9, the ground of the argument is changed, and the same conclusion is arrived at from a review of (*a*) the woman’s relation to man, and (*b*) ma...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. Your glorying in your own attainments and those of your favorite teachers (1Co 3:21; 4:19; 5:2), while all the while ye connive at such a scandal, is quite unseemly.
**a little leaven leaveth ... whole lump--**(Ga 5:9), namely, with present complicity in the guilt, and the danger of future contagion (1Co 15:33; 2Ti 2:17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man</strong>—Paul continues his Genesis 2 argument. <em>Οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνὴρ ἐκ γυναικός, ἀλλὰ γυνὴ ἐξ ἀνδρός</em>—the preposition <em>ek</em> (from, out of) signals source and derivation. This refers to Eve's creation from Adam's rib/side (Genesis 2:21-22), not biological reproduction (which Paul will address in v. 12). Woman's derivative or...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. old leaven--**The remnant of the "old" (Ep 4:22-24) heathenish and natural corruption. The image is taken from the extreme care of the Jews in searching every corner of their houses, and "purging out" every particle of leaven from the time of killing the lamb before the Passover (De 16:3, 4). So Christians are continually to search and purify their hearts (Psa 139:23, 24).
**as ye are unlea...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man</strong>—Paul moves from source (v. 8) to purpose. <em>Διὰ τὴν γυναῖκα</em> (for the woman) versus <em>διὰ τὸν ἄνδρα</em> (for the man)—the preposition <em>dia</em> with accusative indicates purpose or goal. This echoes Genesis 2:18: "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." Woma...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. not ... old leaven--**of our unconverted state as Jews or heathen.
**malice--**the opposite of "sincerity," which allows no leaven of evil to be mixed up with good (Mt 16:6).
**wickedness--**the opposite of "truth," which allows not evil to be mistaken for good. The Greek for "malice" means the evil habit of mind; "wickedness," the outcoming of the same in word and deed. The Greek for "si...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. power: that is a covering in sign that she is under the power of her husband
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels</strong>—One of Scripture's most enigmatic verses. <em>Ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς</em> (to have authority on the head) likely means the symbol of authority (the covering itself), not autonomous power. The head covering represents a woman's acceptance of her place in the created order—her <em>exousia</em> (au...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **For this cause** **ought the woman to have power on her head.**—The two clauses which compose this verse are, perhaps, the two most difficult passages in the New Testament, and, accordingly, have given rise to an almost endless variety of interpretation. What is meant, first, by the woman having “power on her head?”
1. There have been many—some of them most fanciful—suggestions that the wor...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. I wrote ... in an epistle--**rather, "in the Epistle": a former one not now extant. That Paul does not refer to the present letter is proved by the fact that no direction "not to company with fornicators" occurs in the previous part of it; also the words, "in an (or, the) epistle," could not have been added if he meant, "I have just written" (2Co 10:10). "His letters" (plural; not applying to...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord</strong>—After nine verses emphasizing male headship and priority, Paul balances with mutuality. <em>Πλὴν</em> (<em>plēn</em>, nevertheless) signals a crucial qualification. <em>Οὔτε... οὔτε</em> (neither... neither) establishes mutual interdependence. <strong>In the Lord</strong> (ἐν κυρίῳ) i...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Nevertheless . . .**—Here follow words of caution, lest the previous express declaration of the subordination of woman to man might be exaggerated or perverted. This very subordination of one sex to the other implies a mutual connection, and not an isolation of each sex. The woman is not independent of, but dependent on the man “in the Lord,” *i.e.,* in the Christian economy.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
10. Limitation of the prohibition alluded to in 1Co 5:9. As in dissolute Corinth to "company with no fornicators," &c., would be almost to company with none in the (unbelieving) world; ye need not utterly ("altogether") forego intercourse with fornicators, &c., of the unbelieving world (compare 1Co 10:27; Joh 17:15; 1Jo 5:18, 19). As "fornicators" sin against themselves, so "extortioners" ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God</strong>—Paul continues the mutual balance. <em>Ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρός</em> (of/from the man) recalls v. 8—Eve from Adam's side. But <em>διὰ τῆς γυναικός</em> (by/through the woman) reminds us that every man since Adam enters the world through a woman's womb. Biological reproduction reverses the creational o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **For as the woman is of the man.**—An appeal to the original act of creation proves the truth of the previous statement of the interdependence of the sexes. If already (1Corinthians 11:7) the fact of woman’s having been taken out of man was used as an argument to prove her subordination, there is now coupled with that fact of the origin of woman that other fact of the perpetual birth of man ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. But now--**"Now" does not express time, but "the case being so," namely, that to avoid fornicators, &c., of the world, you would have to leave the world altogether, which would be absurd. So "now" is used in He 11:16. Thus we avoid making the apostle now retract a command which he had before given.
**I have written--**that is, my meaning in the letter I wrote was "not to keep company,"...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →Judge in yourselves : is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?</strong>—Paul shifts from theological argument (vv. 3-12) to appeals to propriety and nature (vv. 13-15). <em>Ἐν ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς κρίνατε</em> (judge among yourselves)—Paul invokes the Corinthians' own sense of decorum. <em>Πρέπον ἐστίν</em> (is it fitting/proper?) appeals to innate moral intuition and cultural appropriaten...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Judge in yourselves.**—In this and the two following verses the Apostle reasons with them—appeals to their own common sense, and to the indications of Nature, as to the evident truth of what he has taught them on this question. Surely you would not think it seemly for a woman (setting aside the question of men and angels altogether) to speak face to face with God in prayer?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. what have I to do--**You might have easily understood that my concern is not with unbelievers outside the Church, but that I referred to those within it.
**also--**Implying, Those within give me enough to do without those outside.
**do not ye, &c.--**Ye judge your fellow citizens, not strangers: much more should I [Bengel]. Rather, Is it not your duty to judge them that are within? G...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?</strong>—Paul's appeal to <em>φύσις</em> (<em>physis</em>, nature) is debated. Does nature mean: (1) created order/biology (men generally have shorter, coarser hair); (2) natural instinct or intuition; (3) customary practice ('what is natural' in a culture)? Likely all three converge—God's creatio...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Nature itself.**—This may mean, either “the native inborn sense of what is seemly” as contrasted with revelation; or it may signify the ordinary and evident arrangement of things in creation. Probably the former is the true meaning of the passage which refers to the fact that the heathen who had no direct revelation did (by regarding long hair as a woman’s glory) “by nature” the things cont...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. put away from among yourselves that wicked--**Sentence of excommunication in language taken from De 24:7.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. covering: or, veil
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering</strong>—The contrast: man's long hair is shame (v. 14), woman's long hair is glory (<em>δόξα</em>, <em>doxa</em>). Long hair signifies femininity, beauty, and God's design. The parallel structure (<em>doxa</em> to woman, <em>atimia</em> to man) reinforces gender distinctiveness as divinely ordain...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her.**—We should follow the suggestions of Nature. If a woman has naturally long hair, which is given to her as a covering for her head, the covering of her head can be no shame to her; therefore let her wear a veil. “The will ought to correspond to Nature.”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God</strong>—Paul concludes the head-covering section with apostolic authority. <em>Εἰ δέ τις δοκεῖ φιλόνεικος εἶναι</em> (if anyone seems contentious/quarrelsome)—Paul anticipates objections. <em>Philoneikos</em> means love of strife, combative disputation. Some Corinthians were philosophically argument...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **But if any man seem to be contentious.**—The argument, and the appeal to their own good sense having been completed, the Apostle now adds that if, after all, some one continues to argue the matter captiously, and is not satisfied with the reason given, the answer to such a one must be simply—We, the Apostles and the churches of God, have no such custom as that women should pray and teach wi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 6
1Co 6:1-11. Litigation of Christians in Heathen Courts Censured: Its Very Existence Betrays a Wrong Spirit: Better to Bear Wrong Now, and Hereafter the Doers of Wrong Shall Be Shut Out of Heaven.
**1. Dare--**This word implies treason against Christian brotherhood [Bengel].
**before the unjust--**The Gentile judges are here so termed by an epithet appropriate to the subject in ques...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 2-16**
Here begin particulars respecting the public assemblies, ch. 1Co 14. In the abundance of spiritual gifts bestowed on the Corinthians, some abuses had crept in; but as Christ did the will, and sought the honour of God, so the Christian should avow his subjection to Christ, doing his will and seeking his glory. We should, even in our dress and habit, avoid every thing that may di...
Read full commentary →Abuses at the Lord's Supper
Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse</strong>—Sharp pivot from head coverings to the Lord's Supper. <em>Οὐκ ἐπαινῶ</em> (I praise not) contrasts with 11:2 ("I praise you"). Paul's tone hardens because the Corinthians' abuse of the Table is more severe than head-covering confusion. <em>Συνέρχομαι</em> (<em>synercho...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Now in this that I declare unto you . . .**—Better, *Now I give you this command, while not praising you that you come together not for the better, but for the worse.* These words lead from the subject which has gone before to another and different abuse of liberty in public assemblies, of which the Apostle is now about to speak. There were evidently three great abuses which had crept into ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. Do ye not know--**as a truth universally recognized by Christians. Notwithstanding all your glorying in your "knowledge," ye are acting contrary to it (1Co 1:4, 5; 8:1). The oldest manuscripts have "Or" before "know ye not"; that is, "What! (expressing surprise) know ye not," &c.
**saints ... judge--**that is, "rule," including judgment: as assessors of Christ. Mt 19:28, "judging," that...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
The apostle rebukes the disorders in their partaking of the Lord's supper. The ordinances of Christ, if they do not make us better, will be apt to make us worse. If the use of them does not mend, it will harden. Upon coming together, they fell into divisions, schisms. Christians may separate from each other's communion, yet be charitable one towards another; they may continue ...
Read full commentary →For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. divisions: or, schisms
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it</strong>—<em>Πρῶτον μέν</em> (first of all) signals the first of multiple charges. <em>Σχίσματα</em> (<em>schismata</em>, divisions) recalls 1:10—the same word for factions plaguing Corinth. Paul had hoped chapter 1-4's discussion resolved this; apparently it persisted, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **For first of all.**—We in vain look for the “secondly,” which, in a perfectly systematic treatise, should follow this “first.” Some writers maintain that 1Corinthians 11:18-19 form the first point, and 1Corinthians 11:20-34 the second. There is, however, no indication of a new subject being introduced with 1Corinthians 11:20, but the repetition of the words “come together” carries the mind ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. judge angels--**namely, bad angels. We who are now "a spectacle to angels" shall then "judge angels." The saints shall join in approving the final sentence of the Judge on them (Jude 6). Believers shall, as administrators of the kingdom under Jesus, put down all rule that is hostile to God. Perhaps, too, good angels shall then receive from the Judge, with the approval of the saints, higher ho...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
The apostle rebukes the disorders in their partaking of the Lord's supper. The ordinances of Christ, if they do not make us better, will be apt to make us worse. If the use of them does not mend, it will harden. Upon coming together, they fell into divisions, schisms. Christians may separate from each other's communion, yet be charitable one towards another; they may continue ...
Read full commentary →For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. heresies: or, sects
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you</strong>—Controversial verse. <em>Δεῖ γάρ</em> (<em>dei gar</em>, for there must be) suggests divine necessity. <em>Αἱρέσεις</em> (<em>haireseis</em>, heresies) originally meant factions or parties (related to <em>schismata</em>, v. 18), not doctrinal error (later technical meaning). God ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **For there must be also heresies.**—Better, *For there must be also sects.* There have been many attempts to explain where lies the difference between the “divisions” of the former verse and the “sects” of this verse. From all that we know of the Apostolic Church it is clear that neither of these words can mean sects separated from the Church, but “parties” in the Church. Christ had foretold...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. judgments--**that is, cases for judgment.
**least esteemed--**literally, "those of no esteem." Any, however low in the Church, rather than the heathen (1Co 1:28). Questions of earthly property are of secondary consequence in the eyes of true Christians, and are therefore delegated to those in a secondary position in the Church.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
The apostle rebukes the disorders in their partaking of the Lord's supper. The ordinances of Christ, if they do not make us better, will be apt to make us worse. If the use of them does not mend, it will harden. Upon coming together, they fell into divisions, schisms. Christians may separate from each other's communion, yet be charitable one towards another; they may continue ...
Read full commentary →When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. this: or, ye cannot eat
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper</strong>—Stinging indictment. <em>Συνερχομένων οὖν ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό</em> (when you come together into one place)—the phrase <em>epi to auto</em> recalls Acts 2:44, 47 (believers gathered 'together'). Church assembly is meant for unity, but Corinthian practice contradicted this.<br><br><strong>This is not t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **When ye come together therefore into one place, this** **is not to eat the Lord’s supper.**—Better, *Therefore, when you assemble in the same place, it is not to eat the supper dedicated to the Lord. *Regarding 1Corinthians 11:19 as a parenthesis, the word “therefore” connects this with 1Corinthians 11:18. There being divisions among you, it is not possible for you when you assemble as a Ch...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. your shame--**Thus he checks their puffed-up spirit (1Co 5:2; compare 1Co 15:34). To shame you out of your present unworthy course of litigation before the heathen, I have said (1Co 6:4), "Set the least esteemed in the Church to judge." Better even this, than your present course.
**Is it so?--**Are you in such a helpless state that, &c.?
**not a wise man--**though ye admire "wisdom" s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
The apostle rebukes the disorders in their partaking of the Lord's supper. The ordinances of Christ, if they do not make us better, will be apt to make us worse. If the use of them does not mend, it will harden. Upon coming together, they fell into divisions, schisms. Christians may separate from each other's communion, yet be charitable one towards another; they may continue ...
Read full commentary →For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken</strong>—Paul specifies the abuse. <em>Ἕκαστος γὰρ τὸ ἴδιον δεῖπνον προλαμβάνει</em> (each one takes beforehand his own supper)—<em>prolambanei</em> means to take beforehand, eat ahead of others. Instead of waiting and sharing, the wealthy consumed their private meals immediately, ignoring...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **For.**—Here follows a description of the conduct and mode of proceeding at this feast, which renders it impossible, as stated in 1Corinthians 11:20, for it to be a Lord’s Supper. Every one greedily seizes (takes before distribution is made) what he has brought with him, and appropriates it to his own individual use, instead of making it a contribution to the general and common supply. Every...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. But--**emphatically answering the question in the end of 1Co 6:5 in the negative. Translate, "Nay," &c.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
The apostle rebukes the disorders in their partaking of the Lord's supper. The ordinances of Christ, if they do not make us better, will be apt to make us worse. If the use of them does not mend, it will harden. Upon coming together, they fell into divisions, schisms. Christians may separate from each other's communion, yet be charitable one towards another; they may continue ...
Read full commentary →What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. have not: or, are poor?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not?</strong>—Paul's rhetorical questions intensify. <em>Μὴ γὰρ οἰκίας οὐκ ἔχετε</em> (have you not houses?)—if you want to gorge yourselves, do it at home! The church gathering is for mutual edification, not private consumption. Ironically, the wealthy <em>do</em> have houses; the po...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **What? have ye not houses** **. . .?**—Better, *Surely it is not that you have no houses to eat and* *drink in?* This cannot be the explanation of their conduct, for they have houses in which they can enjoy their proper meals. Hunger and thirst, which can be satisfied at home, therefore, cannot be the explanation of their conduct at the charity-feasts. The only other alternative explanation,...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. utterly a fault--**literally, "a shortcoming" (not so strong as sin). Your going to law at all is a falling short of your high privileges, not to say your doing so before unbelievers, which aggravates it.
**rather take wrong--**(Pr 20:22; Mt 5:39, 40); that is, "suffer yourselves to be wronged."
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 17-22**
The apostle rebukes the disorders in their partaking of the Lord's supper. The ordinances of Christ, if they do not make us better, will be apt to make us worse. If the use of them does not mend, it will harden. Upon coming together, they fell into divisions, schisms. Christians may separate from each other's communion, yet be charitable one towards another; they may continue ...
Read full commentary →The Institution of the Lord's Supper
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread</strong>—Paul pivots from rebuke to institution narrative. <em>Παρέλαβον ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου</em> (I received from the Lord)—technical language of apostolic tradition (cf. 15:3). Did Paul receive this directly via revelation or through apostolic testimony?...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **For I have received of the Lord.**—Better, *For I received from the Lord.* Do these words imply that St. Paul had a direct revelation from Christ of the words and facts which he now recalls, or merely that he knew from the accounts given him by others who had been present, what took place on that memorable and solemn occasion?
The whole structure of the passage seems to imply that what foll...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. ye--**emphatic. Ye, whom your Lord commanded to return good for evil, on the contrary, "do wrong (by taking away) and defraud" (by retaining what is entrusted to you; or "defraud" marks the effect of the "wrong" done, namely, the loss inflicted). Not only do ye not bear, but ye inflict wrongs.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. in: or, for a remembrance
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me</strong>—<em>Εὐχαριστήσας</em> (<em>eucharistēsas</em>, having given thanks)—the term from which "Eucharist" derives. Jesus thanked the Father for the bread that symbolized His impending death—stunning faith. <em>Ἔκλασεν</em> (<em>eklasen</em>, he broke) is...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **And when he had given thanks . . .**—Better, *and having given thanks, He brake it, and said,* “*This is My body which is for you.”* The insertion of the words, “take, eat,” and “broken” is not supported by MS. evidence. The former were probably inserted so as to produce a verbal identity with St. Matthew’s account, and the word “broken” possibly as explanatory. At the institution the act o...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. unrighteous--**Translate, "Doers of wrong": referring to 1Co 6:8 (compare Ga 5:21).
**kingdom of God--**which is a kingdom of righteousness (Ro 14:17).
**fornicators--**alluding to 1Co 5:1-13; also below, 1Co 6:12-18.
**effeminate--**self-polluters, who submit to unnatural lusts.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me</strong>—<em>Μετὰ τὸ δειπνῆσαι</em> (after supper)—the cup came after the meal (the third or fourth Passover cup). <em>Τοῦτο τὸ ποτήριον ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ αἵματί μου</em>—<strong>this cup is the new covenant in ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped.**—We have here an intimation not found in St. Matthew or St. Mark’s narrative, that the blessing of the cup took place “after supper,” which implies that the blessing of the bread took place earlier in the meal.
**This cup is the new testament.**—Better, *This* *cup is the new covenant.* The word “new” is peculiar to this and S...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. ye do: or, shew ye
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come</strong>—<em>Ὁσάκις γὰρ ἐὰν ἐσθίητε... καὶ πίνητε</em> (as often as you eat... and drink)—Paul emphasizes regularity without mandating frequency. Each celebration is proclamation: <em>καταγγέλλετε</em> (<em>katangellō</em>, you proclaim/announce). The Table is kerygmatic—it preaches the gospel.<...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **For as often as ye . . .**—The previous verse concluded the account of the institution as conveyed by Christ to St. Paul, and the Apostle himself now again speaks. All this being the true account of the origin of this Supper, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup (as distinct from other bread and wine) you proclaim the Lord’s death until He come. The Greek word for “ye show” is ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. ye are washed--**The Greek middle voice expresses, "Ye have had yourselves washed." This washing implies the admission to the benefits of Christ's salvation generally; of which the parts are; (1) Sanctification, or the setting apart from the world, and adoption into the Church: so "sanctified" is used 1Co 7:14; Joh 17:19. Compare 1Pe 1:2, where it rather seems to mean the setting apart of on...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord</strong>—Solemn warning. <em>Ὥστε</em> (wherefore) draws conclusion from vv. 23-26. <em>Ἀναξίως</em> (<em>anaxiōs</em>, unworthily) is adverb—it modifies <em>how</em> one eats, not <em>who</em> is worthy (no one is inherently worthy!). Unworthy eating incl...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord . . .**—Better, *Wherefore, whosoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord.* The entire weight of MS. evidence is in favour of the conjunction “or,” not “and,” which was probably retained in the English version lest the disjunctive “or” might seem to favour the practice of receiving in one kind only. It is, how...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. All things are lawful unto me--**These, which were Paul's own words on a former occasion (to the Corinthians, compare 1Co 10:23, and Ga 5:23), were made a pretext for excusing the eating of meats offered to idols, and so of what was generally connected with idolatry (Ac 15:29), "fornication" (perhaps in the letter of the Corinthians to Paul, 1Co 7:1). Paul's remark had referred only to thing...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup</strong>—The solution to unworthy eating: self-examination. <em>Δοκιμαζέτω δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἑαυτόν</em> (let a man examine himself)—<em>dokimazō</em> means to test, prove, scrutinize (metallurgical term, testing metals for purity). This isn't morbid introspection but honest self-assessment before God. The exa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28-32) There are so many modifications required in these verses of the Greek text from which our translation is taken, so as to bring it into harmony with the best MSS., and so many changes needed in the translation itself, so as to convey more clearly the meaning of the original, that it will be best to give here a consecutive translation of the whole passage. It should read thus:—*But let a man...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. The argument drawn from the indifference of meats (1Co 8:8; Ro 14:14, 17; compare Mr 7:18; Col 2:20-22) to that of fornication does not hold good. Meats doubtless are indifferent, since both they and the "belly" for which they are created are to be "destroyed" in the future state. But "the body is not (created) for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body" (as its Redeemer, who...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. damnation: or, judgment
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body</strong>—Paul specifies what makes eating unworthy: <em>μὴ διακρίνων τὸ σῶμα</em> (not discerning the body). <em>Diakrinō</em> means to distinguish, judge correctly, recognize. What body? (1) Christ's physical body sacrificed on the cross—failing to see the Table as represen...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29) **Unworthily.**—This word is not in the best Greek MSS.
**Damnation to himself.**—The Greek word hero does not imply final condemnation. On the contrary, it only means such temporal judgments as the sickness and weakness subsequently mentioned, and which are to save the man from sharing the final damnation of the heathen.
**Not discerning the Lord’s body.**—The words “the Lord’s” are to be om...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14. (Ro 8:11).
**raised up--**rather, "raised," to distinguish it from "will raise up us"; the Greek of the latter being a compound, the former a simple verb. Believers shall be raised up out of the rest of the dead (see on Php 3:11); the first resurrection (Re 20:5).
**us--**Here he speaks of the possibility of his being found in the grave when Christ comes; elsewhere, of his being possibly f...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep</strong>—Shocking assertion: divine judgment for Table abuse manifested physically. <em>Διὰ τοῦτο</em> (for this cause) links directly to unworthy eating (vv. 27-29). <em>Πολλοὶ ἀσθενεῖς καὶ ἄρρωστοι</em> (many weak and sickly)—physical illness, not spiritual weakness. <em>Κοιμῶνται</em> (sleep) is euphemism for death (John ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(30) **For this** **cause**—*i.e.,* because you do not regard these feasts, to which the Lord’s Supper is joined as gatherings in a common body, but eat and drink to excess, and so gain no spiritual advantage, but actually physical evil, many are weak and sickly.
**And many sleep.**—Better, *and some die.* Even death sometimes resulted from their drunken orgies, either naturally, or by God’s direc...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15. Resuming the thought in 1Co 6:13, "the body is for the Lord" (1Co 12:27; Ep 4:12, 15, 16; 5:30).
**shall I then--**such being the case.
**take--**spontaneously alienating them from Christ. For they cannot be at the same time "the members of an harlot," and "of Christ" [Bengel]. It is a fact no less certain than mysterious, that moral and spiritual ruin is caused by such sins; which human w...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged</strong>—Prevention of divine judgment through self-judgment. <em>Εἰ δὲ ἑαυτοὺς διεκρίνομεν</em> (if we would judge/discern ourselves)—conditional sentence (contrary to fact): if we had judged ourselves (but we didn't). <em>Diakrinomai</em> (same root as 'discerning' in v. 29) means critically evaluate, sift, distinguish. Self-judgme...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **For.**—This joins 1Corinthians 11:31 to 1Corinthians 11:30, which see. The change to the first person, courteously identifying himself with them, is characteristic of St. Paul.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16. Justification of his having called fornicators "members of an harlot" (1Co 6:15).
**joined--**by carnal intercourse; literally, "cemented to": cleaving to.
**one body--**with her.
**saith he--**God speaking by Adam (Ge 2:24; Mt 19:5). "He which made them at the beginning said," &c. (Ep 5:31).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world</strong>—Paul clarifies the nature of divine judgment on believers. <em>Κρινόμενοι δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου παιδευόμεθα</em> (being judged by the Lord we are disciplined)—<em>paideuō</em> means to train, educate, discipline (like a father disciplines a child, Hebrews 12:5-11). This isn't wrath but...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **But when we are judged.**—This verse explicitly declares that the condemnation following an unworthy partaking was not final condemnation, but temporal suffering to save them from being condemned with the heathen.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. one spirit--**with Him. In the case of union with a harlot, the fornicator becomes one "body" with her (not one "spirit," for the spirit which is normally the organ of the Holy Spirit in man, is in the carnal so overlaid with what is sensual that it is ignored altogether). But the believer not only has his body sanctified by union with Christ's body, but also becomes "one spirit" with Him (J...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another</strong>—Paul concludes with practical instruction. <em>Ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου</em> (wherefore, my brothers)—affectionate address after stern correction. <em>Συνερχόμενοι φαγεῖν</em> (coming together to eat)—the fifth use of <em>synerchomai</em> in this section (vv. 17, 18, 20, 33, 34), emphasizing corporate dimension.<...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33, 34) **Wherefore, my brethren.**—To correct the abuses of which he has spoken, and to enable them to escape the judgments which were falling upon them, the Apostle gives them this practical advice. When you come together to this eucharistic feast, do not eagerly eat what you have brought; wait until all have arrived, and then partake in common of this Christian meal. If, however, any man is re...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. Flee--**The only safety in such temptations is flight (Ge 39:12; Job 31:1).
**Every sin--**The Greek is forcible. "Every sin whatsoever that a man doeth." Every other sin; even gluttony, drunkenness, and self-murder are "without," that is, comparatively external to the body (Mr 7:18; compare Pr 6:30-32). He certainly injures, but he does not alienate the body itself; the sin is not termina...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
Read full commentary →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. condemnation: or, judgment
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation</strong>—Final instruction. <em>Εἴ τις πεινᾷ</em> (if anyone is hungry)—if your primary purpose is satisfying physical hunger, eat at home. The church gathering isn't for gluttony but worship. This distinguishes <em>agape</em> feast (fellowship meal) from the Lord's Supper proper (sacramental meal). Ove...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(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...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. What? know ye not? &c.--**Proof that "he that fornicates sinneth against his own body" (1Co 6:18).
**your body--**not "bodies." As in 1Co 3:17, he represented the whole company of believers (souls and bodies), that is, the Church, as "the temple of God," the Spirit; so here, the body of each individual of the Church is viewed as the ideal "temple of the Holy Ghost." So Joh 17:23, which...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 23-34**
The apostle describes the sacred ordinance, of which he had the knowledge by revelation from Christ. As to the visible signs, these are the bread and wine. What is eaten is called bread, though at the same time it is said to be the body of the Lord, plainly showing that the apostle did not mean that the bread was changed into flesh. St. Matthew tells us, our Lord bid them all ...
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