Practical application now follows theological explanation.
11:33 Rather than disregarding the members of the congregation who had little or no food to bring to the love feasts, those who had plenty should share what they had. They should also wait to eat until all had been served.
Many churches these days have pot luck suppers periodically that provide a modern counterpart to the first century love feast. A few Christians have felt that we should practice the love feast whenever we observe the Lord's Supper today. Most have concluded that the love feast was just the setting in which the Lord's Supper took place in the early church. Jesus did not specifically command His disciples to observe the love feast as He urged them to eat the Lord's Supper. Therefore most Christians believe the love feast is not an ordinance of the church and we do not need to perpetuate it as the early church practiced it.
11:34 If some of the Corinthian Christians were too hungry to wait to eat, they should eat something before they came to the service. Otherwise their unloving selfishness might result in the Lord's judgment. It is very important to the Lord that we put the needs of others before our own needs (cf. Phil. 2:3; et al.).
Evidently there were other details of how the Corinthians were behaving when they congregated that Paul did not want to comment on in this letter. Perhaps they were of local importance only. He planned to address these issues when he visited Corinth again (cf. 4:18-21; 16:2-3, 5-7).
The selfish attitude that marked the Corinthian church comes through strongly in this section of the epistle. It manifested itself in a particularly ugly display at the Lord's Table. Paul dealt with it severely for the sake of the reputation of the Savior and for the welfare of the saints.
