The term “love feast” is not used in 1 Corinthians 11, but I believe it is alluded to. The actual term is seen only in Jude verse 12: “These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves…” (NKJV). This “love feast” at least as practiced by the church at Corinth was not at all honoring to the Lord, and it was actually harmful to the spiritual health of the assembly (verse 17). This social feast in Corinth was apparently done just prior to the Lord’s Supper and was apparently intended to be a time for the Christians to show love to one another by sharing a meal together. However, in Corinth, this meal was not done in a proper spirit. Apparently, there were cliques within the assembly, groups that held themselves aloof from others…perhaps rich versus poor, or perhaps following a certain leader in preference to another. Apparently in Corinth, there was gluttony and even drunkenness at these common meals, while others went hungry.

This demonstrates that there was not only a definite lack of concern for one another, but a lack of proper respect for the things of the Lord. I must think that this self-centered attitude generated a coldness of heart toward the remembrance of the Lord, because I cannot see how one can participate in the Lord’s Supper after focusing on self-indulgence in carnal pleasures, and with such ungodly behavior. I believe that the Lord’s Supper should be a most solemn meeting, waiting upon the Spirit of God to bring out the thoughts and praises of Him who gave Himself for us on Calvary’s cross, and this meeting must never be approached in a callous or carnal manner. I believe that 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 speaks to the high importance of maintaining God’s order when Christians gather together in an assembly meeting to remember the Lord, and it speaks to the damage to our collective testimony (the church being one body, with Christ as our Head) when we do not follow the order which Scripture gives us. When Christians meet together on the 1st day of the week, it is of central importance for us to focus on remembering the Lord Jesus Christ in His death for us. We call this the “remembrance meeting,” or “the Lord’s Supper”.

The bread reminds us of the body of the Lord Jesus given for us, and I believe the one loaf also points to the fact that we are one body in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). The Corinthians were forming factions within their local assembly, and  were preceding the Lord’s supper by a time of carnality, and thus were both denying the truth of the one body in their very callous behavior towards one another, and were actually dishonoring the Lord rather than focusing on what Christ Jesus had done for them at the cross. Thus, they were meeting to their shame and hurt rather than to the glory of the Lord. This, I believe, is the reason why Paul is rebuking the Corinthians in this section, and why he goes on to describe how the Lord’s Supper should actually be approached. Hamilton Smith in his Bible Commentary on 1 Corinthians 11 speaks to all of this very clearly, and I quote him here: “(Verses 18-19). First, the coming together in assembly, instead of expressing their unity, as members of the one body, as set forth in the one loaf, only manifested the spirit of division that existed among them. There were divisions (or “schisms”) amongst them, which were leading to heresies (or “sects”) being formed in the assembly. The two words are distinct, conveying different ideas. The division, or schism (Gk. Schisma), is a difference of opinion, thought and feeling existing within the assembly. A heresy (Gk. hairesis) is a sect, or party, formed among the saints to maintain a particular opinion, or to follow a chosen teacher. At Corinth both apparently existed within the assembly; but division or schism within, if unjudged, will soon lead to a heresy or sect without, or even the entire breaking up of the assembly into different sects. The condition of the assembly had apparently become so bad that God had allowed these divisions to work out into sects or parties, in order to make manifest those who stood for the truth, here called “the approved”. The evil had reached such a pass that there was no other way of maintaining a witness for the truth. It was necessary to allow the evil to declare itself, so that the truth might be made manifest. (Compare Titus 3:10, where the heretic is to be rejected.) (Verses 20-22). When they came together, it was professedly to eat the Lord’s Supper; practically it was to indulge in a feast of their own. The Apostle says, “Each one in eating takes his own supper”. The Supper was instituted by the Lord at the end of the paschal feast. The Corinthians, apparently taking this as their example, came together for a preliminary social feast, at the end of which they partook of the Lord’s Supper. Moreover, at this preliminary feast the poor were allowed to go hungry, while some were drinking to excess. But, apart from these excesses, the assembly was no place for social feasting. “Have ye not houses to eat and to drink in?”, asks the Apostle; or were they putting to shame the poor, and despising the assembly of God, which embraces rich and poor? For the second time the Apostle has to say, “I praise you not”. That they remembered the Apostle and heeded his directions called forth his praise. For their divisions and abuse of the Lord’s Supper he can only condemn them. They introduced into the assembly the social element which led to social distinctions and fleshly indulgence. Their coming together was thus a practical denial both of the Lord’s Supper and the assembly of God.”  (SF)  (649.2)