Not the Lord's Supper

Paul cannot praise the Corinthians for the way they gather. Their meetings do more harm than good because divisions are present among them. He acknowledges that factions reveal who is genuine, but he is not celebrating the factions. The church's conflicts are exposing its failure to live as one people.

When they meet together, it is not really the Lord's Supper they are eating. One person goes ahead with a private meal while another remains hungry, and someone else gets drunk. The wealthy can arrive earlier with food and wine, while working people arrive later and receive what is left—or nothing.

Paul asks whether they despise God's church and humiliate those who have nothing. The problem is not the menu or the timing by themselves. It is that the meal called Christian fellowship reproduces the social contempt from which the church is supposed to be free.

Paul does not tell the Corinthians to stop sharing meals. He tells them to face what their behavior says about the body of Christ. A gathering cannot be called communion while some members feast and others are publicly shamed.

Families and churches can hear this before planning any shared table. Generosity is not only putting food out; it is noticing who can participate, who is being overlooked, and whether the strongest people are arranging the gathering around their own convenience.