The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 11:26 Explained

1 Corinthians 11:26

KJV: For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

YLT: for as often as ye may eat this bread, and this cup may drink, the death of the Lord ye do shew forth -- till he may come;

Darby: For as often as ye shall eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye announce the death of the Lord, until he come.

ASV: For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death till he come.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  as often as  ye eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup,  ye do shew  the Lord's  death  till  he  come. 

What does 1 Corinthians 11:26 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Paul continued Jesus" explanation. Participation in the Lord"s Supper dramatizes the gospel. The service becomes a visual as well as an audio setting forth of the death of Christ and its significance.
"The Eucharist is an acted sermon, an acted proclamation of the death which it commemorates; but it is possible that there is reference to some expression of belief in the atoning death of Christ as being a usual element in the service." [1]
Paul may have referred to "the cup" rather than "the wine," which would have been parallel to "the bread," to avoid the direct identification of the wine in the cup with blood. The idea of drinking blood was revolting to most people in the ancient world, particularly the Jews. [2] On the other hand, he may have viewed both elements symbolically, the cup being a symbol of one"s lot in life, particularly judgment, and the bread a symbol of what sustains life.
The Lord"s Supper is not only a memorial celebration looking back to Jesus Christ"s first advent. It is also an anticipatory celebration looking forward to His second advent. Evidently when the Lord returns to set up His earthly kingdom He will establish a new form of worship that will include the offering of certain animal sacrifices ( Ezekiel 40-46). These will be similar to the animal sacrifices the Jews offered under the Old Covenant. However since Jesus Christ has made a final sacrifice these animal offerings will evidently be memorial and entirely for worship, not for the expiation of sin. Another possibility is that they will have some role in restoring fellowship with God then. [3]
"The Communion is not supposed to be a time of "spiritual autopsy" and grief, even though confession of sin is important. It should be a time of thanksgiving and joyful anticipation of seeing the Lord!" [4]
In this section Paul reviewed and expounded the significance of the Lord"s Supper so his readers would value and celebrate it appropriately.
"In short, Paul is doing one thing and one thing alone. He is impressing on the Corinthians the tremendous importance of doing just this: eating this bread and drinking this cup. It Isaiah , after all, a matter of celebrating the Lord"s death." [5]

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 11:23-34 - Observing The Lord's Supper
There was much disorder in the Corinthian church, because the love-feast, which preceded the Holy Supper, was the scene of riot and conviviality, of ostentation and jealousy. In the love-feast of the early Church each brought his own supply of food, which was put into a common stock and shared by all alike; but at Corinth each family or group retained their own provisions, and a great distinction was thus made between rich and poor. This caused much heart-burning and was unworthy of Christians.
Note that the Apostle received the words of institution by direct revelation. The Lord's Supper is intended not only to commemorate the supreme act of Calvary, but to enable us spiritually to incorporate into ourselves the very life and death of Jesus, so that we may truly be crucified with Him and nevertheless live. "That I may know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings." We are liable to condemnation if we do not recognize the Body of Christ-that is, the Church-the unity of which is disturbed and obscured when there is dissension. If we judge ourselves, we escape the judgment and chastisement of the Almighty. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 11

1  He reproves them, because in holy assemblies,
4  their men prayed with their heads covered,
6  and women with their heads uncovered;
17  and because generally their meetings were not for the better, but for the worse;
21  as, namely, in profaning with their own feast the Lord's supper
25  Lastly, he calls them to the first institution thereof

Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 11:26

Till he come [αχρι ου ελτηι]
Common idiom (with or without αν — an) with the aorist subjunctive for future time (Robertson, Grammar, p. 975). In Luke 22:18 we have εως ου ελτηι — heōs hou elthēi The Lord‘s Supper is the great preacher (καταγγελλετε — kataggellete) of the death of Christ till his second coming (Matthew 26:29). [source]
Ye do shew [καταγγέλλετε]
Rev., better, proclaim. It is more than represent or signify. The Lord's death is preached in the celebration of the Eucharist. Compare Exodus 13:8, thou shalt shew. In the Jewish passover the word Haggadah denoted the historical explanation of the meaning of the passover rites given by the father to the son. Dr. Schaff says of the eucharistic service of the apostolic age: “The fourteenth chapter of first Corinthians makes the impression - to use an American phrase - of a religions meeting thrown open. Everybody who had a spiritual gift, whether it was the gift of tongues, of interpretation, of prophecy, or of sober, didactic teaching, had a right to speak, to pray, and to sing. Even women exercised their gifts” (“Introduction to the Didache”). See, further, on 1 Corinthians 14:33. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 11:26

1 Corinthians 11:25 The new covenant [η καινη διατηκη]
For διατηκη — diathēkē see note on Matthew 26:28. For καινος — kainos see Luke 5:38 and note on Luke 22:20. The position of εστιν — estin before εν τωι αιματι — en tōi haimati (in my blood) makes it a secondary or additional predicate and not to be taken just with διατηκη — diathēkē (covenant or will). As oft as ye drink it (οσακις αν πινητε — hosakis an pinēte). Usual construction for general temporal clause of repetition (αν — an and the present subjunctive with οσακις — hosakis). So in 1 Corinthians 11:26. [source]
1 Corinthians 11:25 As oft as ye drink it [οσακις αν πινητε]
Usual construction for general temporal clause of repetition So in 1 Corinthians 11:26. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 11:26 mean?

As often as for if you may eat the bread this and the cup may drink death of the Lord you proclaim until that He should come
ὁσάκις γὰρ ἐὰν ἐσθίητε τὸν ἄρτον τοῦτον καὶ τὸ ποτήριον πίνητε θάνατον τοῦ Κυρίου καταγγέλλετε ἄχρι οὗ ἔλθῃ

ὁσάκις  As  often  as 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὁσάκις  
Sense: as often as, as often soever as.
ἐσθίητε  you  may  eat 
Parse: Verb, Present Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: ἐσθίω 
Sense: to eat.
ἄρτον  bread 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄρτος  
Sense: food composed of flour mixed with water and baked.
τοῦτον  this 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: οὗτος  
Sense: this.
ποτήριον  cup 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: ποτήριον  
Sense: a cup, a drinking vessel.
πίνητε  may  drink 
Parse: Verb, Present Subjunctive Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: πίνω  
Sense: to drink.
θάνατον  death 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: θάνατος 
Sense: the death of the body.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Κυρίου  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
καταγγέλλετε  you  proclaim 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: καταγγέλλω  
Sense: to announce, declare, promulgate, make known.
ἄχρι  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἄχρι  
Sense: until, unto, etc.
οὗ  that 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
ἔλθῃ  He  should  come 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.