📖WEB · 1 Corinthians 11:18
What does 1 Corinthians 11:18 mean?
"For first of all, when you come together in the assembly, I hear that divisions exist among you, and I partly believe it."
— 1 Corinthians 11:18 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given to her for a covering.
But if any man seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither do God’s assemblies.
But in giving you this command, I don’t praise you, that you come together not for the better but for the worse.
For first of all, when you come together in the assembly, I hear that divisions exist among you, and I partly believe it.
For there also must be factions among you, that those who are approved may be revealed among you.
When therefore you assemble yourselves together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.
For in your eating each one takes his own supper first. One is hungry, and another is drunken.
Explanation
1 Corinthians 11:18 finds Paul opening a new section of correction to the church in Corinth, this time addressing what was happening when they gathered together as a congregation. In plain language, Paul is saying that he has received reports of divisions or factions occurring specifically during their church meetings, and while he doesn't fully accept every detail of what he's heard, he believes there's enough truth to it that it needs to be addressed. His cautious phrase "I partly believe it" shows a pastor's wisdom: he isn't dismissing the report as gossip, but neither is he assuming the worst without reflection. He's taking the matter seriously while still allowing room for the possibility that things aren't quite as bad as described.
To understand the context, remember that Paul wrote this letter to the church he had founded in Corinth, a cosmopolitan and status-conscious Greco-Roman city. Corinthian culture prized social rank, rhetorical skill, and personal reputation, and unfortunately those values had crept into the church's life together. Earlier in the letter, Paul had already addressed divisions over which leader people identified with (chapter 1) and quarrels over spiritual gift status and behavior. Now in chapter 11, he turns to a very concrete and painful example: their observance of the Lord's Supper, which was originally meant to be a shared communal meal reflecting unity, had become an occasion where wealthier members ate well and even got drunk while poorer members, often slaves or day laborers who arrived later from work, went hungry (as verses 20-22 will describe). So
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