26 Order at The Lord's Table

The church was divided at a celebration, which was meant to express unity. If these schisms were related to those noted earlier (1:10-4:21), then one factor contributing to those divisions is evident here, namely, economic differences in the church (11:21). This is a terrible division to endure in a congregation. It appears as class envy and begins to divide. God has blessed us all differently and we must realize this. We must give to God’s work as he has provided to us (I Tim 6:17-19). For those who had less their instructions from the OT was that they had to give an equal percentage of their income. In other words all were to be equal under the eyes of the Lord (Exod. 30:15; Ps 49:2; Prov. 22:2).
Paul did not want to believe the report about their divisions (v. 18b), but he knew that sin was inevitable (Luke 17:1) and would not pass unnoticed by God. God’s approval resumed a point Paul had discussed earlier (1 Cor. 9:27-10:10), where he used in 9:27 the contrasting word “disqualified.” It should be noted that God allows divisions in the body of believers to bring to light those who will defend the truth. He puts His people to the test for them to see how they respond in defending truth and resisting heresies.