Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Corinthians 11:18-22

"For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that divisions exist among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also factions among you, that they that are approved may be made manifest among you. When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord`s supper: for in your eating each one taketh before [other] his own supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What, have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and put them to shame that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you? In this I praise you not." — 1 Corinthians 11:18-22 (ASV)

For first of all, when you come together in the church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that those who are approved may be made manifest among you. When you come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating everyone takes before others his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? Do you not have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise the church of God, and shame those who have not?

What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

These Corinthians fell into a great many errors. Everybody was a speaker, and said whatever he pleased; and they had no proper order or rule. Among other evils, when they met together to observe the Lord's Supper, they brought their own food with them, thinking that eating thus together was keeping the sacred feast. So the richer ones feasted to the full, and the poor went almost without anything.

One is hungry, and another is drunken, says the apostle, and he tells them that this was not the right way of observing the Lord's Supper. Yet it is evident that the idea which was in their mind was that of feasting together. They had exaggerated it, and carried it to a grievous excess; but that was the idea they had concerning it.

Certainly, there was no altar, or priest, or anything of the sort. Now the apostle tells them how the ordinance should be observed.