1 Corinthians 11:20 Meaning: When the Supper Isn't the Supper
When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.
When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.
When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord’s supper:
ye, then, coming together at the same place--it is not to eat the Lord's supper;
When ye come therefore together into one place, it is not to eat [the] Lord's supper.
Meaning in one sentence
What does Paul mean by 'it is not the Lord's supper'? Discover how selfish divisions can empty the sacrament of its true meaning.
Context
The Corinthian church met in homes, and their gatherings included a shared meal alongside the Lord's Supper. It was called a love feast, a chance for the community to eat together, with wealthier members bringing extra food for those who had little. But something had gone wrong. Instead of sharing, people ate their own food without waiting for others. The rich went ahead and indulged while the poor went hungry. Some even drank too much. Paul had heard about the divisions in their assembly, and now he gets to the heart of the problem. When you gather like this, he says, you are not really eating the Lord's Supper. Your behavior has emptied the meal of its meaning.
Key Words
Two words carry the weight of Paul's rebuke. The first is kuriakon, the Greek adjective behind “Lord’s.” It means something that belongs to the Lord, that bears his character and authority. Paul uses it only here and in Revelation 1:10 (“the Lord’s Day”). The Corinthians had turned a meal that should bear Christ’s name into something that bore only their own selfishness. It was no longer his supper.
The second is the verb sunerchomai, “assemble together.” It means more than just showing up in the same room; it pictures coming together as one body, united in purpose. But their divisions mocked that unity. They assembled in the same place but did not come together in any real sense. When Paul says ouk estin, “it is not”, he uses a strong negation. Not just “that’s a bad way to do it,” but: what you are doing simply cannot be called the Lord’s Supper.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians across traditions agree that Paul is calling out a serious corruption of the sacrament. Where they differ is in exactly what he means by “it is not the Lord’s supper.” Many Reformed and Protestant commentators, following Calvin and the Geneva Bible, read Paul as saying the Corinthians’ irreverent behavior made a true celebration impossible, the abuse profaned the sacrament to the point that it ceased to be what Christ intended. Others, including some Anglican and Methodist interpreters, emphasize that the divisions themselves prevented the community from partaking together, so the supper they ate could not truly be called the Lord’s. Both readings call attention to the same danger: that outward ritual can become empty when the heart is divided.
A common misunderstanding
A common misreading takes this verse to mean that any imperfect or distracted participation in Communion invalidates the sacrament. In fact, Paul is not describing a believer who comes with wandering thoughts or unconfessed sin. He is confronting a deep, public division, the wealthy feasting while the poor go hungry. The problem is not a distracted heart but a broken community that has turned the Lord’s meal into a display of selfishness. His rebuke targets a specific pattern, not every ordinary struggle.
Living This Out
Before you take Communion this week, consider who might be missing from the table. The Corinthians’ sin was that they let their own appetites crowd out concern for others. You may not be feasting while someone goes hungry, but are there divisions you are carrying into worship, grudges, judgments, people you have stopped speaking to? Paul does not ask you to feel guilty; he asks you to look around. The Lord’s Supper was meant to gather, not divide. Ask yourself: am I coming to this table as part of a body, or am I eating alone in a crowded room?
Main takeaway: When the body of Christ is divided and selfish, even the bread and cup cannot heal what the heart refuses to share.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
When we share a meal, it is good to wait for everyone. The Corinthians ate their own food without sharing. Jesus wants us to share and love each other when we take Communion.
For ages 9, 12
The Corinthians turned the Lord’s Supper into a regular dinner where the rich ate too much and the poor went hungry. Paul said that was not really the Lord’s Supper at all, it was just their own meal, because they forgot to care for each other. When you take Communion, remember you are part of a family, not just on your own.
Questions People Ask
What does Paul mean by 'it is not the Lord's supper'?
Paul means the Corinthians’ behavior had ruined the celebration. They were eating and drinking selfishly, some getting drunk, others going hungry, so the meal they shared could not truly be called the Lord’s Supper. It was a corrupted version that had lost the meaning Jesus gave it.
Was the Lord's Supper combined with a regular meal in the early church?
Yes. In the early church, the Lord’s Supper was often celebrated as part of a larger communal meal called a love feast or agape feast. Each person brought food to share. Over time, this practice was separated from the sacrament to avoid exactly the kind of abuse Paul describes here.
Does this verse mean Communion is invalid if our church has divisions?
Paul is not saying that any tension in a church makes Communion meaningless. He is addressing a specific, selfish behavior, the wealthy feasting while others go hungry, that directly contradicted the meaning of the Lord’s Supper as a shared meal of unity and remembrance.
What does the word 'Lord’s' mean in 'the Lord’s supper'?
The Greek word is kuriakon, an adjective meaning “belonging to the Lord.” Paul uses it to emphasize that this meal belongs to Christ and carries His authority. The Corinthians had turned it into their own meal, no longer shaped by what Christ commanded.
Why were divisions in the Corinthian church so serious at the Lord's Supper?
The Lord’s Supper is meant to express and deepen the unity of Christ’s body. When the Corinthians came together divided, rich ignoring poor, people eating separately, their actions denied the very thing the sacrament was supposed to create. The meal that should have united them became a sign of their disunity.
For pastors & researchers
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