1 Corinthians 11:20

When therefore ye assemble yourselves together, it is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper.

It is not possible to eat the Lord's Supper ... This cannot mean that it was physically impossible, but that it was morally impossible. The abuses of the AGAPE, or love feast, which preceded the holy communion were so grave as to contravene any true participation in the sacred supper.

The Lord's Supper ... Morris said, "[@Kuriakon], translated "the Lord's," is found only here and in Revelation 1:10 in the New Testament."[39] Thus, only here does the expression "The Lord's Supper" appear in the New Testament. There is no doubt, however, that the expression was, at the date of this epistle, the usual manner of referring to this solemn rite. Farrar observed that "The fact that there is no article in the Greek shows the early prevalence of this name for the Eucharist."[40]

It is rather amazing that Barnes made a deduction from this verse to the effect that the Lord's Supper should be observed in the evenings, not in the mornings of the Lord's Days. He said:

It is called SUPPER, indicating the evening repast; it was instituted in the evening; and it is most proper that it should be observed in the after part of the day. Churches have improperly changed to the morning ... a custom which has no sanction in the New Testament; and which is a departure from the very idea of a supper.[41]

Barnes' deduction should be rejected, because there is no hint in the New Testament that the time of day for the observance of this rite was ever the subject of any apostolic decree. "The day" is indicated, but not the time of day. Moreover, Pliny's letter to the emperor Trajan, shortly after the beginning of the second century, stated that the Christians were "accustomed to meet before daybreak."[42] From these considerations, it is clear that "The Lord's Supper" has reference to the hour of its institution, and not to the hour of its observance by Christians.

[39] Leon Morris, Tyndale Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1958), p. 158.

[40] F. W. Farrar, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 364.

[41] Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1949), p. 211.

[42] Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church (New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1947), p. 6.