Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.

But in giving you this charge, I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better but for the worse.

Now this I ordain: not praising you, that you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

But in prescribing to you on this which I now enter on, I do not praise, namely, that ye come together, not for the better, but for the worse.

Now in this that I declare to you, I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.

And this declaring, I give no praise, because not for the better, but for the worse ye come together;

Now in this that I declare to you I praise you not, that you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

But while giving you these instructions, there is one thing I cannot praise - your meeting together, with bad rather than good results.

But in giving you this order, there is one thing about which I am not pleased: it is that when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.

Now I caution you, without praising, about this: that you assemble together, and not for better, but for worse.

In giving directions on the next subject, I cannot praise you; because your meetings do more harm than good.

But, in warning you as to this, I do not praise. [1] For I translate it in this way, because Paul appears to have made the participle and the verb change places. [2] I am also not satisfied with the interpretation of Erasmus, who takes parangellein as meaning to command The verb to warn would suit better, but as to this I do not contend. There is an antithesis between this clause and the beginning of this chapter. "While I have praised you, do not think that it is unqualified commendation; for I have something to find fault with, as it is worthy of severe reproof." This, however, in my opinion, does not refer exclusively to the Lord's Supper, but also to other faults of which he makes mention. Let this then be taken as a general statement, that the Corinthians are reproved, because they came together not for the better but for the worse. Particular effects of this evil will be brought forward afterwards. He finds fault with them, then, in the first place, because they come not together for the better, -- and secondly, that they come together for the worse The second, it is true, is the more serious, but even the first is not to be endured, for if we consider what is transacted in the Church, there ought never to be a coming together without some fruit. There the doctrine of God is listened to, prayers are offered up, the Sacraments are administered. The fruit of the Word is, when confidence in God and fear of him are increased in us -- when progress is made in holiness of life -- when we put off more and more the old man, (Colossians 3:9) -- when we advance in newness of life, etc. (Romans 6:4.) The Sacraments have a tendency to exercise us in piety and love. The prayers, too, ought to be of use for promoting all these purposes. In addition to this, the Lord works efficaciously by his Spirit, because he wills not that his ordinances should be vain. Hence if the sacred assemblies are of no benefit to us, and we are not made better by them, it is our ingratitude that is to blame, and therefore we deserve to be reproved. For the effect of our conduct is, that those things, which, from their own nature, and from God's appointment, ought to have been salutary, become unprofitable. Then follows the second fault -- that they come together for the worse. This is much more criminal, and yet it almost always follows the other, for if we derive no advantage from God's benefits, he employs this method of punishing our carelessness -- that we are made worse by them. It usually happens, too, that negligence gives birth to many corruptions, especially on this account, that those who do not observe the natural use of things usually fall erelong into hurtful inventions. [3]

Footnotes

1 - "Or ie vous rememore ceci, non point eu louant. I1 y a au Grec mot; a mot. Or rememorant ie ne loue point;" -- "But I put you in, mind of this, not praising you for it. It is literally in the Greek: But putting you in mind I do not praise."

2 - In explanation of this remark, let it be observed that the reading in the Alexandrine MS. is as follows: Touto de parangello ouk epainon -- But I warn you as to this, not praising. This reading is followed in the Latin and Syrian versions. In Wiclif (1380) the rendering is: "But this thing I comaunde, not preisynge." In Rheims (1582) -- "And this I commaund; not praising it." -- Ed

3 - "Principalement pource que ceux qui ne regardent pas a tenir le droit et naturel usage des choses, sont suiets a tomber incontinent en beaucoup d'inuentions peruerses et dangereuses;" -- "Chiefly because those who do not take care to observe the right and natural use of things, are liable to fall straightway into many perverse and dangerous inventions."

Now in this that I declare - In this that I am about to state to you; to wit, your conduct in regard to the Lord's Supper. Why this subject is introduced here is not very apparent. The connection may be this. In the subjects immediately preceding he had seen much to commend, and he was desirous of commending them as far as it could be done. In 1-Corinthians 11:2 of this chapter he commends them in general for their regard to the ordinances which he had appointed when he was with them. But while he thus commended them, he takes occasion to observe that there was one subject on which he could not employ the language of approval or praise. Of their irregularities in regard to the Lord's supper he had probably heard by rumor, and as the subject was of great importance, and their irregularities gross and deplorable, he takes occasion to state to them again more fully the nature of that ordinance, and to reprove them for the manner in which they had celebrated it.
That ye come together - You assemble for public worship.
Not for the better, but for the worse - Your meetings, and your observance of the ordinances of the gospel, do not promote your edification, your piety, spirituality, and harmony; but tend to division, alienation, and disorder. You should assemble to worship God, and promote harmony, love, and piety; the actual effect of your assembling is just the reverse. In what way this was done he states in the following verses. These evil consequences were chiefly two, first, divisions and contentions; and, secondly, the abuse and profanation of the Lord's Supper.

Now in this - I praise you not - In the beginning of this epistle the apostle did praise them for their attention in general to the rules he had laid down, see 1-Corinthians 11:2; but here he is obliged to condemn certain irregularities which had crept in among them, particularly relative to the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Through some false teaching which they had received, in the absence of the apostle, they appear to have celebrated it precisely in the same way the Jews did their passover. That, we know, was a regular meal, only accompanied with certain peculiar circumstances and ceremonies: two of these ceremonies were, eating bread, solemnly broken, and drinking a cup of wine called the cup of blessing. Now, it is certain that our Lord has taken these two things, and made them expressive of the crucifixion of his body, and the shedding of his blood, as an atonement for the sins of mankind. The teachers which had crept into the Corinthian Church appear to have perverted the whole of this Divine institution; for the celebration of the Lord's Supper appears to have been made among them a part of an ordinary meal. The people came together, and it appears brought their provisions with them; some had much, others had less; some ate to excess, others had scarcely enough to suffice nature. One was hungry, and the other was drunken, μεθυει, was filled to the full; this is the sense of the word in many places of Scripture. At the conclusion of this irregular meal they appear to have done something in reference to our Lord's institution, but more resembling the Jewish passover. These irregularities, connected with so many indecencies, the apostle reproves; for, instead of being benefited by the Divine ordinance, they were injured; they came together not for the better, but for the worse.

(14) Now in this that I declare [unto you] I praise [you] not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
(14) He passes now to the next treatise concerning the right administration of the Lord's supper. And the apostle uses this harsher preface, that the Corinthians might understand that whereas they generally observed the apostle's commandments, yet they badly neglected them in a matter of greatest importance.

Now in this that I declare unto you,.... The Syriac version reads, "this is what I command"; which some refer to what he had been discoursing of, adding to his arguments, and the examples of the church, his own orders and command, that men should worship God publicly, uncovered, and women covered; though it seems rather to respect what follows, what the apostle was about to declare unto them; concerning which he says,
I praise you not; as he did in 1-Corinthians 11:2 that they were mindful of him, remembered his doctrines, and kept the ordinances in the manner he had delivered them to them: and it should seem by this, that the greater part of them were not to be blamed, though some few were, for their irregular and indecent appearance in public worship, men with a covering on their heads, and women without one; but in what he was about to say, he could not praise them at all:
that you come together; to the house of God, to pray unto him, to sing his praises, to hear his word, and attend his ordinances, particularly the Lord's supper:
not for the better; for edification and instruction, for the quickening and comforting of your souls; that you may grow in grace and knowledge, become more holy, zealous, fruitful, and useful:
but for the worse; to indulge luxury and intemperance, to encourage heresies, schisms, and divisions, and so grow more carnal, scandalous, and useless.

The apostle rebukes the disorders in their partaking of the Lord's supper. The ordinances of Christ, if they do not make us better, will be apt to make us worse. If the use of them does not mend, it will harden. Upon coming together, they fell into divisions, schisms. Christians may separate from each other's communion, yet be charitable one towards another; they may continue in the same communion, yet be uncharitable. This last is schism, rather than the former. There is a careless and irregular eating of the Lord's supper, which adds to guilt. Many rich Corinthians seem to have acted very wrong at the Lord's table, or at the love-feasts, which took place at the same time as the supper. The rich despised the poor, and ate and drank up the provisions they brought, before the poor were allowed to partake; thus some wanted, while others had more than enough. What should have been a bond of mutual love and affection, was made an instrument of discord and disunion. We should be careful that nothing in our behaviour at the Lord's table, appears to make light of that sacred institution. The Lord's supper is not now made an occasion for gluttony or revelling, but is it not often made the support of self-righteous pride, or a cloak for hypocrisy? Let us never rest in the outward forms of worship; but look to our hearts.

in this--which follows.
I declare--rather, "I enjoin"; as the Greek is always so used. The oldest manuscripts read literally "This I enjoin (you) not praising (you)."
that--inasmuch as; in that you, &c. Here he qualifies his praise (1-Corinthians 11:2). "I said that I praised you for keeping the ordinances delivered to you; but I must now give injunction in the name of the Lord, on a matter in which I praise you not; namely, as to the Lord's Supper (1-Corinthians 11:23; 1-Corinthians 14:37).
not for the better--not so as to progress to what is better.
for the worse--so as to retrograde to what is worse. The result of such "coming together" must be "condemnation" (1-Corinthians 11:34).

Now in this . . . I praise you not. That their church assemblies were not orderly.
When ye come together in the church. In a meeting of the church.
There be divisions. He had spoken in chapters 1-3 of the divisions in the congregation. He now tells them that he had heard that these divisions were manifest at their church meetings.
There must needs be heresies. Heresies were false opinions which led to divisions. In the state of the human mind they were unavoidable, and would sift the church.
When ye come together, therefore. When they assembled these heresies and divisions were manifest. There was a Paulite group, an Apolloite group, and a Petrine group, who sat apart from each other.
It is not to eat the Lord's supper. Coming in such a spirit they were in no fit mind to eat the Lord's supper.
For every one partaketh before others his own supper. It was customary in Corinth to eat a meal together as did Christ and his disciples the night of the Lord's supper. After this came the Lord's supper. At this meal each party in Corinth sat apart and ate when it was ready. The result was that some began before the others. One would be hungry, and another drunken. This last clause means that he had eaten and was satisfied.
What! Have you not houses to eat and drink in? The practice is rebuked. The place to eat their feasts was at home.
Despise ye the church of God? By a selfish feast, where some ate luxuriously, and put to shame others, perhaps the poor, who had nothing.