Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Corinthians 11:20

"When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord`s supper:" — 1 Corinthians 11:20 (ASV)

When you come together therefore, etc. When you are assembled as a church. Compare to Hebrews 10:25, and see the notes on Acts 2:1.

Christians were constantly in the habit of assembling for public worship. It is probable that at this early period all the Christians in Corinth were accustomed to meet in the same place. The apostle here particularly refers to their assembling to observe the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. At that early period, it is probable that this was done on every Lord's day.

This is not, etc. A marginal note says, "You cannot eat." The meaning of this expression seems to be this: "Though you come together professedly to worship God and to partake of the Lord's Supper, this cannot be the real design you have in view. It cannot be that such practices as are allowed among you can be a part of the celebration of that supper, or consistent with it."

Your greediness (1 Corinthians 11:21); your intemperance (1 Corinthians 11:21); and your partaking of the food separately and not in common, cannot be a celebration of the Lord's Supper. Therefore, whatever you may profess to be engaged in, you are not really and truly celebrating the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's supper. That which the Lord Jesus instituted to commemorate his death. It is called "the Lord's" because it is his appointment and is in honor of him; it is called "supper" (deipnon), because the word denotes the evening repast. It was instituted in the evening; and it is evidently most proper that it should be observed in the after part of the day. With most churches, the time is improperly changed to the morning—a custom which has no sanction in the New Testament; and which is a departure from the very idea of a supper.