1 Corinthians 11:17 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

1 Corinthians 11:17.— We may observe from several passages in this epistle, that many Judaical customs had crept into the Corinthian church: this church being of St. Paul's own planting, who spent two years at Corinth in forming it, it is evident that these abuses had their rise from some other teacher, who came to them after St. Paul's leaving them, which was about five years before he wrote this epistle. These disorders therefore may, with reason, be ascribed to the head of the faction which opposed St. Paul, and who, as has been remarked, was a Jew, and probably judaized; and this, it is likely, was the foundation of the great opposition between him and St. Paul, and the reason why St. Paul laboured so earnestly to destroy his credit among the Corinthians; this sort of men being very busy, very troublesome, and very dangerous to the Gospel, as may be seen in other of St. Paul's Epistles, particularly that to the Galatians.—The celebrating the passover among the Jews, was plainly the eating of a meal distinguished from other ordinary meals by several peculiar ceremonies. Two of these ceremonies were, eating of bread solemnly broken, and drinking a cup of wine, called "the cup of blessing." These two our Saviour transferred into the Christian church, to be used in their assemblies, for a commemoration of his death and sufferings.In celebrating this institution of our Saviour, the judaizing Corinthians followed the Jewish custom of eating their passover. They ate the Lord's supper as a part of their meal, bringing their provisions into the assembly, where they ate, divided into distinct companies, some feasting to excess, whilst others, ill provided, were in want. Their eating thus in the public assembly, and mixing the Lord's supper with their ordinary meal, as a part of it, with other disorders and indecencies accompanying it, is the subject matter of what remains in this chapter. The Apostle tells them, that he blames them for these innovations as much, as in the beginning of the chapter he commends them for keeping to his directions in other particular