1 Corinthians 11:17-22
As I've mentioned before, 1 Corinthians doesn't have any sort of central theme and not much of a structure or organization beyond the list of problems around which the book is built. However, Barclay points out that all the sections of chapters 11-14 deal with church worship in one way or another. And here we deal with the heart of church worship: this is the problem of communion. In these first few verses, Paul lays out the problem. Before we get to the subject of this passage, we need to stop and talk about the word 'church.' The word translated 'church' in this passage (and throughout the NT) is the Greek word ekklesia . It refers to a group or meeting; it can be translated 'assembly' or 'congregation'. In Christianity, it refers either to a particular gathering of Christians in a particular place for religious service or, more generally, to the organic whole of redeemed humanity. We can also note another word here. In verse 20, when speaking...
