1 Corinthians 11:23–29

Verse 23. I have received of the Lord. That is, by revelation from Christ, as well as from others, who were present with him, that which also I delivered to you by word of mouth, and so forth Here he speaks of the holy sacrament itself, of the words of consecration, as the evangelists had done, and of the real presence of Christ’s body and blood.—Which shall be delivered for you. In the common Greek copies, which is broken for you, to wit, on the cross.—You shall shew the death of the Lord. As often as you receive, it shall be with a devout and grateful remembrance of his sufferings and death for your sake. He puts every one in mind, that whosoever shall eat this bread, (verse 27) so called from the outward appearances, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall, by such a sacrilege, be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. And (verse 29) that he eateth, and drinketh judgment, or condemnation to himself, not discerning the difference betwixt celestial food and other meats, and not considering it to be truly the body of the Lord. See Saint John Chrysostom hom. xxvii. If the words of our Saviour, this is my body, and so forth were to be understood in a metaphorical and figurative sense only, is it probable that Saint Paul, writing twenty-four years afterwards, to the new converted Gentiles at Corinth, would have used words, which full as clearly express a true and real presence of Christ’s body in the eucharist, without one word to signify that this was to be understood in a figurative sense only? Witham.

Verse 24. Juvenius, a native of Spain, and a priest, who flourished under Constantine the Great, about the year 329, has left us the life of Christ in hexameter verse, where speaking of the institution of the eucharist, he says, “Christ taught his disciples, that he delivered to them his own body;” and when he gave them the chalice, “he taught them that he had distributed to them his blood: and said, this blood remits the sins of the people: drink this, it is mine.” Bibl. Max. P. P. Tirinus. iv. p. 74.

Discipulos docuit proprium se tradere corpus,

Edocuitque suum se divisisse cruorem.

Atque ait: Hic sanguis populi delicta remittit:

Hunc potate meum.

Verse 27. Or drink. Here erroneous translators corrupted the text, by putting and drink (contrary to the original, η πινη) instead of or drink.—Guilty of the body, and so forth not discerning the body, and so forth This demonstrates the real presence of the body and blood of Christ, even to the unworthy communicant; who otherwise could not be guilty of the body and blood of Christ, or justly condemned for not discerning the Lord’s body. Challoner.—The real presence in the sacrament is also proved by the enormity of the crime, in its profanation. See Saint John Chrysostom hom. de non contem. ec. and hom. lx. and lxi. ad pop. Antioch. where he shews that the unworthy receiver imitates the Jews in crucifying Jesus, and trampling under foot his sacred blood. Hence the dreadful punishments we read of in verses 27 and 30.

Verse 28. Drink of the chalice. This is not said by way of command, but by way of allowance, that is where and when it is agreeable to the practice and discipline of the Church. Challoner.