Throughout Scripture, God's saving work is never directed only toward isolated individuals. Although He calls people one by one, He gathers them into a covenant people.

From the first covenant family of Adam and Eve, to Noah and his household, to Abraham and his descendants, God consistently forms a people to worship Him and live under His covenant promises (Gen. 1–2; 6–9; 12:1–3; 17:1–8).

Those promises eventually culminated in the nation of Israel. Mount Sinai is when we see Israel gathered to hear Yahweh and ratify the covenant (Exodus 19–24).

From that point onward, Scripture repeatedly describes God's people both as a covenant community and as an assembled people gathered before the Lord.

These covenant assemblies were marked by two recurring features: the public hearing of God's Word and a covenant meal shared before the Lord (Exod. 20:1; 24:11; Neh. 8:1–12; Isa. 2:2–3; 25:6). Therefore, when we observe the New Testament Church and how it functions, we cannot remove it from its biblical and historical context. The Church is the continuation of God's covenant assembly, and its identity and practices must be interpreted in light of the Old Testament foundations upon which they were built.

Old Testament Foundations

The Old Testament employs two primary collective nouns to designate the community of Israel: qahal (קָהָל) and edah (עֵדָה).

• ʿEdah = Who Israel is (the covenant people).
  • The noun ʿedah (עֵדָה) is derived from the root yaʿad ("to appoint" or "to meet by appointment"),. Throughout the Pentateuch, it designates the entire nation of Israel as the people bound together by covenant, ancestry, and the Mosaic Law, regardless of whether they are physically assembled at any given moment. Although the word itself simply means "community" or "congregation," its biblical usage frequently emphasizes Israel's collective identity rather than the act of gathering.
• Qahal = What Israel does (the covenant people assembled).
  • The noun qahal (קָהָל) is derived from the verbal root meaning "to assemble," "to convoke," or "to summon together." It ordinarily refers to the gathered assembly—the actual convocation of people who have been called together for a specific purpose, such as covenant renewal, worship, judicial proceedings, or military mustering. qahal is the covenant community gathered before God.

Though out the giving of the Law, we can see distinctions made between a sin committed by the whole ʿedah and the response carried out by the qahal (Leviticus 4:13–15). Likewise we see in passages like Deuteronomy 23:1–3 that exclude certain individuals from the qahal of Yahweh. Throughout the Old Testament, significant covenantal acts occur when God's people are physically assembled.

The same pattern recurs throughout Israel's history:

Greek Influence

This distinction became foundational for the New Testament. When the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek, qahal was translated as ἐκκλησία (ekklesia), the very word later translated "church.", which literally means "the called-out ones." Meanwhile the Hebrew edah was translated to be synagōgē (συναγωγή).

In classical Greek, ekklēsia designated the official, summoned legislative body of a Greek city-state (such as Athens), composed of all free citizens who had retained their civil rights. The ekklēsia was responsible for declaring war, electing magistrates, directing foreign policy, and judging citizens. It was a democratic assembly summoned by a herald's trumpet to gather in a specific public place. By translating qahal as ekklēsia, the LXX translators emphasized that Israel was not merely a political gathering, but a community summoned by God Himself.

In the late Second Temple period and the first century AD, synagōgē became the standard descriptor for the Jewish people bound collectively under the Law. By contrast, ekklēsia depicted the elect of God called to salvation.

Early Christian Usage

The early Christian community deliberately bypassed the term synagōgē and claimed the term ekklēsia or qahal of the Old Testament. When Jesus (Matthew 16:18; 18:17) and the apostles used ekklēsia, a Jewish audience would have heard echoes of qahal—the covenant assembly of God’s people—now reconstituted around the Messiah as the community of the new covenant.

In the New Testament, ekklēsia never replaces or bypasses physical gathering. While it can refer to the universal body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22–23; Colossians 1:18), its dominant usage describes concrete, local congregations that meet in real places. Such as in The phrase epi to auto ("in the same place" or "together") functions in Acts (2:1, 44; 4:26) and 1 Corinthians (11:20).

This is reinforced by language such as epi to auto (“together/in one place”) in Acts 2:1, 2:44; 4:26 and 1 Corinthians 11:20. Paul further links ekklēsia with synerchomai (“to come together/assemble”), as in 1 Corinthians 11:18 and 14:23.

The first Christians met in standard household spaces, supper clubs, and local associations. Yet, Paul challenged them to let the Holy Spirit transform them into _into church, into the assembly of God, a local assembly in communion with the other assemblies:

• Their everyday conversations were converted into a hearing of God’s Word.
• Their ordinary meals became the Eucharist, proclaiming Christ’s death and resurrection.

1 Corinthians 11:18
translation: MSB

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18. First of all, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.

1 Corinthians 14:23
translation: MSB

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23. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who are uninstructed or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your minds?

The Gathering Of Christians

The Bible describes the church as a formal institution as a structured and identifiable institution within each city and region like the "church in Jerusalem" (Acts 11:22), Corinth (1 Cor. 1:2), Laodicea (Col. 4:16), and Thessalonica (1 Thes. 1:1).

Each local church is consistently shown to have a plurality of officers, including prophets, teachers, elders, and overseers (Acts 13:1; 14:23; Titus 1:5–7). These officers are not self-appointed, but are recognized and set apart through the involvement of the wider congregation with a vote (Acts 6:1–6; 14:23).

Leaders are ordained (1 Tim. 4:14), given the responsibility to oversee (Acts 20:28) and pastoral care as shepherds of God’s flock (1 Pet. 5:1–3). There even is a connectional court system across institutional city churches, as seen in the Jerusalem council and related gatherings (Acts 15; Gal. 2:1)

In major urban centers like Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome, the "church of God" in that city comprised a network of these smaller assemblies, which periodically gathered together in one place as the "whole church" for the administration of the sacraments and the oversight of the elders. Physical assembly is illustrated in the instructions of Jesus and the apostles:

• Matthew 18:15–20: In the process of church discipline, if a brother refuses to listen to individual witnesses, the grievance must be brought to the ekklēsia. This procedure assumes a physically gathered, visible, and authoritative assembly capable of hearing testimony and executing a collective judgment. The promise of Christ's presence "where two or three are gathered in my name" (v. 20) is in this context of physical judicial action.
• Acts 2:42–47: The post-Pentecost Jerusalem assembly devote themselves to the apostles' teaching, physical fellowship (koinonia), the breaking of bread (the Eucharist), and prayers. They meet daily with one accord in the Temple courts and break bread house by house.
• Acts 20:17–28: Paul summons the elders of the church of Ephesus to Miletus, charging them to *"take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God."

Paul over and over assumes that Sunday worship is “when you come together as a church” (1 Cor. 11:18; cf. 11:17,20,33,34; 14:26). This is the pattern in Acts when “all who believed were together” (Acts 2:44; cf. 2:2). Even saints who were “scattered abroad” (James 1:1) found a place to meet (James 2:2). Sometimes this public assembly was in an open area like the temple (Acts 2:46; 5:42), sometimes it was in a synagogue (James 2:2) and sometimes it was in a “house” (Acts 2:2; 8:3; 12:12; Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Phil. 1:2).

The command to physically assemble

As we already saw in the Old Testament God repeatedly commands believers to "gather" (Deut. 4:10; 31:12; Joel 2:16), "assemble" (Joel 2:16; Acts 11:26), and "call a sacred assembly" (Joel 1:14; 2:15; Num. 29:35; Deut. 16:8; 2 Chron. 7:9; Isa. 1:13; 4:5; Amos 5:21) in both Testaments

Hebrews 10:25 explicitly commands commands believers "not to neglect meeting together (episynagōgē), as is the habit of some," warning that such willful forsaking despises the covenant (Heb. 10:26-39). The Apostle Paul repeatedly grounds his instructions for Sunday worship on the physical gathering of the body, using phrases like "when you come together as a church" (1 Cor. 11:18) and "when you come together in one place" (1 Cor. 11:20; cf. 1 Cor. 11:17, 33, 34; 14:26). This weekly attendance came from the pen of Paul as “orders” which we “must do” (1 Cor. 16:1).

The biblical pattern requires believers to be "numbered" or "added to" the rolls of a local church (Acts 1:41, 47; 4:4; 6:1, 7; 16:5; 1 Tim. 5:9; Ps. 87:6), to be physically committed to that body (1 Cor. 12:12-28; Rom. 12:4-5; Eph. 4:25), and to be under the rule and oversight of shepherds who actually know them (Heb. 13:7, 17-18; 1 Cor. 16:16; 1 Thes. 5:11-14).

The Scriptures overwhelm us with commands requiring presence, telling believers to: be at peace with (Mark 9:50), love (John 13:24-25; Rom. 13:8; 1 Thes. 4:9; 1 Pet. 1:22; 4:8; 1 John 3:11), be devoted to and honor (Rom. 12:10), live in harmony with (Rom. 12:16), not judge (Rom. 14:13), pursue peace with and build up (Rom. 14:19), accept (Rom. 15:7), admonish (Rom. 15:14; Col. 3:16), serve (Gal. 5:13; 1 Pet. 4:10), bear the burdens of (Gal. 6:1-2), show forbearance to (Eph. 4:1-2), speak truth to (Eph. 4:25), be kind to and forgive (Eph. 4:32; Col. 3:13), be subject to (Eph. 5:21), not lie to (Col. 3:9), teach (Col. 3:16), spur on (Heb. 10:24-25), not complain against (James 4:11; 5:9), confess sins to and pray for (James 5:16), offer hospitality to (1 Pet. 4:9), and show humility toward one another (1 Pet. 5:5). Merely observing a service turns worship into a passive event, ignoring that God does not want His people to isolate themselves (Heb. 10:25; Jer. 23:1; Ezek. 34:6, 12).

how can an excommunicated person be "taken away from among you" (1 Cor. 5:2) if there is no official membership roll?. Even inter-church movements in Scripture required accountability via letters of transfer or commendation (Acts 18:27; Rom. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 3:1; 8:23-24; Philemon; 3 John 6-9, 12; 1 Cor. 16:3).

Even the Apostle John recognized the limitations of remote communication. Though he used "paper and ink" to write to the church, he stressed that it was an inadequate substitute for physical presence, writing: "I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that our joy may be complete".

God’s people are to act as if they truly are a "flock" in need of human shepherds (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 9:7; 1 Pet. 5:2-3).

Here’s a cleaner bullet-point version that preserves the flow of your argument:

• Individual believers scattered throughout the city

• Summoned together by the Spirit

• Gathered “ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό” (“in the same place”)

  • This gathered assembly constitutes the ἐκκλησία (church).

• Liturgy of the Word

• Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

  • Participation in the one loaf.

  • The one body is manifested and expressed in the assembled church.

This emphasis on the local gathering is reflected in the early Christian domestic networks. The New Testament does not refer to "the church" as a dedicated religious building.

Sacraments

sacraments that fundamentally require us to be gathered:

• Baptism (The Bath): We cannot baptize ourselves; the sacrament inherently requires at least one other person to perform the washing. It is a communal event that constitutes joining the assembly and being united with all other baptized people.
• The Eucharist (The Table/Meal): Holy Communion is an action enacted by an entire assembly, not a spiritual commodity to be made by a priest alone or consumed by oneself in front of a computer screen. It requires a communal sharing of bread and wine where each person is served by at least one other.
• Absolution (The Office of the Keys): The act of confession and the pronouncement of forgiveness require a living human voice in our ears, not a recorded message. The biblical authority to bind and loose sins was explicitly given to the gathered assembly, even when that gathering is only two or three people.
• The Laying on of Hands: Used in baptism, confirmation, ordination, and prayers for healing, this physical gesture is a profound sign of prayer for another person that fundamentally belongs in a physical, celebrating assembly.
• Assembly Song: Singing requires the actual breath, life, and shared timing of physical bodies gathered in a room, a communal resonance that cannot be replicated by singing along to previously recorded music.
• Reading the Scriptures (The Book): The Bible is meant to act as the center of a communal gathering. It requires live human voices in a shared space to read, echo, and interpret the ancient texts for the present world, transforming a print event into a living event.

Liturgical and Sacramental Practice in the Early Church (1st–3rd Century)

The pre-Nicene Church confirm that baptism and the Eucharist were administered within the physically gathered assembly under recognized leadership.

The Didache

This early handbook of Christian discipline (c. 120 AD) outlines a highly localized, physically grounded sacramental practice. Chapter 7 commands that baptism be administered in "living" (running) water. If flowing water is unavailable, candidates may be baptized in cold or warm water, or by pouring water three times on the head in the name of the Trinity.

The text mandates that before the baptism, the baptizer, the candidate, and any other members of the assembly who are able must fast for one or two days. This requirement integrates the sacramental act into the corporate, physical discipline of the local congregation.

Furthermore, the Didache’s instructions on the Eucharist (Chapters 9–10) require that only those who have been baptized in the name of the Lord may partake, establishing a clear sacramental boundary guarded by the community's leadership.

The Letters of Ignatius of Antioch

Writing on his way to martyrdom in Rome (c. 110 AD), Ignatius of Antioch presents an uncompromising defense of the bishop (episkopos) as the essential center of sacramental authority and congregational unity. In his Epistle to the Smyrnaeans (Chapter 8), Ignatius states:

"See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; ...source."

For Ignatius, the physical co-presence of the bishop and the congregation is the antidote to the docetic and gnostic heresies of his day, which sought to spiritualize and disembody the physical reality of Christ's flesh and the historical, gathered reality of His Church.

He explicitly links pastoral oversight with sacramental validity, asserting that "it is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast."

The First Apology of Justin Martyr

Writing to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius (c. 150–155 AD), Justin Martyr provides a detailed account of early Christian initiation and Sunday liturgy in Rome.

In Chapter 65, Justin explains that after the candidate has been "washed" (baptized), they are brought directly to "the place where those who are called brethren are assembled" to offer common prayers, exchange the kiss of peace, and celebrate the Eucharist.

In Chapter 67, Justin outlines the standard Sunday liturgy:

"And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits... then we all rise together and pray, and... bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying, Amen; and there is a distribution to each... and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons."

This passage demonstrates that the celebration of the Eucharist was fundamentally a corporate, physically gathered event. The practice of deacons carrying a portion of the consecrated elements to those who were absent was not an endorsement of private, independent sacramentality.

Rather, it was a physical extension of the single, gathered assembly's altar to those prevented from attending due to illness, imprisonment, or labor. It served as a material link to preserve their connection with the physically gathered, unified body.

The Apostolic Tradition

This text, historically attributed to Hippolytus of Rome (c. 215 AD), outlines a highly structured, communally monitored process of Christian initiation. Entrance into the ekklēsia required a multi-year catechumenate during which the candidate's moral conduct, occupational choices, and lifestyle were examined by teachers and sponsors.

The baptismal liturgy itself was a tactile, embodied drama. At the hour of the cock crow, the water is blessed; candidates remove all clothing and jewelry; children and adults undergo exorcism with the Oil of Exorcism; they make a triple profession of the Trinitarian faith while standing in flowing water; they are immersed three times; and upon emerging, they are anointed with the Oil of Thanksgiving by a presbyter and sealed on the forehead with chrism by the bishop before being led to join the assembled congregation for their first Eucharist.

This pre-Nicene evidence demonstrates that the sacraments were structurally inseparable from physical presence, liturgical form, and direct episcopal or presbyteral oversight.

Contemporary Sacramental Theology and Gathered Worship

Modern sacramental theology has sought to reclaim the physical assembly as the primary locus of liturgical theology, moving away from scholastic models that isolated the consecration of the elements from the gathered body.

Judith Kubicki: The Presence of Christ in the Gathered Assembly

Drawing on contemporary semiotics, phenomenology, and the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council (specifically Article 7 of Sacrosanctum Concilium), Judith Kubicki argues that the physical assembly is not a passive audience, but an active, symbolic medium that discloses and manifests the presence of the Risen Christ.

Kubicki shifts the theological focus from a solitary concentration on the consecrated species to the manifold presence of Christ realized through the bodily actions of the gathered assembly.

The architectural design of the worship space, the communal gestures and postures (such as the ancient orans posture), and the physical act of singing together are not merely functional or aesthetic; they are performative actions that physically unify the fragmented individuals into the single, visible Body of Christ.

Without the physical, corporeal gathering of the assembly, the primary symbol of Christ’s presence in the world is obscured.

John Zizioulas: Being as Communion

In Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology, Metropolitan John Zizioulas establishes a relational ontology where the local church, gathered around its bishop, presbyters, deacons, and faithful for the celebration of the Eucharist, is the full manifestation of the Catholic Church in that place.

Zizioulas argues that being is simultaneous with relationship; therefore, the Church does not first exist as an institution and then gather. Rather, the Church is constituted and brought into being through the event of the eucharistic gathering.

The bishop serves as the essential, visible personal focus that unites the local assembly with the universal, eschatological Church.

For Zizioulas, the physical gathering in one place (epi to auto) is an absolute ontological requirement.

Because the Eucharist is an icon of the final gathering of the Kingdom of God, it cannot be spiritualized, individualized, or disembodied without destroying the very nature of ecclesial being.

Reformed and Presbyterian Confessional Theology

Classic Reformed and Presbyterian theology, grounded in the teaching of John Calvin, rejects any physical localization of Christ's body in the bread and wine (such as Catholic transubstantiation or Lutheran sacramental union).

Instead, Calvin proposed a "real spiritual presence" mediated by the Holy Spirit.

During the eucharistic action, when the congregation "lifts up their hearts" (sursum corda), the Holy Spirit bridges the spatial distance between earth and heaven, spiritually nourishing the souls of believers with the true body and blood of the glorified Christ seated at the right hand of the Father.

However, this pneumatic feeding is tied to the physical preaching of the Word and the physical gathering of the covenant community.

Reformed confessional standards, such as the Church Order of the Synod of Dort (1619), mandate that the sacraments must only be administered under the active oversight of lawfully ordained ministers and elders, and within the context of the gathered congregation.

This ensures that the "visible word" of the sacrament is never separated from the audible Word of Scripture, guarding the Table from private, superstitious, or undisciplined use.

Comparative Synthesis of Historical and Sacramental Paradigms

To understand the historical consensus and the points of divergence regarding the necessity of physical assembly and pastoral oversight, a comparison of the major ecclesial and theological paradigms is required.

The Digital Horizon: Theological Critique of Virtual Sacraments

The suspension of physical gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a debate regarding the theological validity of virtual communion and virtual baptism. This controversy exposes a fundamental disagreement over the role of embodiment, spatial mediation, and pastoral authority in a digital age.

The Case for Virtual Communion

Proponents of virtual communion (such as progressive Baptists, United Methodists, and elements within the Presbyterian Church USA) argue that physical proximity is not an absolute constraint for the transmission of divine grace or the experience of communal unity. They contend that technology is not inherently non-physical; human interaction online remains mediated through physical bodies (using eyes to read screens, fingers to type, and ears to hear audio) and physical infrastructure (silicon, fiber-optic cables, and electricity).

Advocates argue that in virtual communion, when a scattered congregation gathers simultaneously via a live video stream (such as Zoom or Facebook Live), a genuine temporal synchronization occurs. When believers prepare their own elements at home (such as standard crackers, bread, grape juice, or domestic substitutes like coffee or cookies) and receive them in response to the pastor’s digital blessing, they are physically eating and drinking in their respective locations while spiritually participating in the unified body of Christ.

This view emphasizes that the essence of communion is the vertical remembrance of Christ's sacrifice and the horizontal intent to be united with the global body of saints, which transcends physical proximity.

The Incarnational Critique of Virtual Sacraments

A rigorous theological critique from traditional Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, and traditional Baptist perspectives rejects virtual communion as a contemporary manifestation of Gnosticism.

The primary critique is based on the doctrine of the Incarnation: the eternal Word did not save humanity through a disembodied transmission, but by becoming actual, physical human flesh (John 1:14).

The sacraments are intentionally material, physical signs designed to be administered within an physically gathered community.

In virtual communion, the essential signs of the sacrament are compromised:

1. The Sign of the One Loaf: In 1 Corinthians 10:16–17, Paul states that because there is one bread, the gathered community—though many—constitutes one body, because they all partake of the single loaf. In a virtual setting, where individuals consume isolated, self-selected items in their own homes, the material sign of corporate unity is lost.

2. The Context of the Shared Meal: The Lord's Supper was instituted within the physical context of a shared covenantal meal. When it is reduced to a screen-mediated broadcast, it is transformed from a corporate liturgy (qahal) into an individualized, consumer-oriented performance.

3. The Violation of Synerchomai: The New Testament explicitly links the administration of the Lord's Supper with the physical gathering of the whole church in one place. A livestream does not constitute an ekklēsia because it lacks physical co-presence, bi-directional relationality, and the capacity for mutual pastoral care.

Furthermore, virtual communion undermines the biblical practice of "fencing the table". Historically, pastors and elders were charged with guarding the table from unworthy participation (1 Corinthians 11:27–29) through personal interviews, pastoral visitation, and local church discipline.

In a public livestream, the table cannot be fenced; the elements are taken without pastoral oversight, and the relational accountability of local church membership is bypassed.

Consequently, traditional theologians argue that when a church cannot gather physically, the biblically and pastorally faithful action is to engage in a "sacramental fast," waiting in lament until the physical body can be restored.

The Critique of Virtual Baptism

The practice of "virtual baptism" within virtual reality (VR) environments (where an individual's digital avatar is immersed in a simulated body of water by a pastor's avatar) represents a major point of theological departure.

Proponents argue that virtual baptism is a symbolic extension of the ordinance, particularly useful for individuals with severe medical conditions that prevent physical immersion.

However, systematic theology rejects this practice as an ontological category error.

Baptism, by biblical definition and historical consensus, is a physical wash of initiation that requires literal water and the physical presence of both the baptizer and the candidate.

The physical elements of the sacrament—water, flesh, and breath—are not arbitrary symbols that can be translated into digital code.

A simulated immersion in virtual reality operates in a sphere of digital representation, not corporeal reality.

Because the candidate's physical body never touches water, and because the act occurs outside the physical, geographical bounds of the local ekklēsia, a virtual baptism does not initiate the believer into the concrete, local body of Christ.

It represents a disembodied simulation of a physical sacrament, divorcing the spiritual sign from its material reality.

Systematic Conclusions

A comprehensive evaluation of the biblical, historical, and sacramental evidence demonstrates that the ekklēsia of God is fundamentally an embodied, physically gathered community.

The transition from the Old Testament qahal—defined by physical assembly for covenantal ratification—to the New Testament ekklēsia—defined by physical co-presence (epi to auto) and corporate coming together (synerchomai)—establishes that physical presence is not a secondary, optional attribute of the church, but its primary and indispensable mode of existence.

The historical consensus of the early Church and the major Christian traditions confirms that the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper are corporate actions.

They are designed to be administered within the physically gathered local assembly under recognized pastoral oversight.

The pastoral oversight of bishops, presbyters, and elders is required to preserve the theological integrity of the sacraments, to guard the boundaries of the local covenant community, and to execute church discipline.

Regarding the central research question: Scripture and the earliest Christian traditions present the Church primarily as God’s physically gathered covenant assembly.

Because the sacraments are material, corporeal, and relational actions, baptism and the Lord's Supper belong to the physically gathered local body under recognized pastoral oversight.

They cannot be faithfully or validly administered within an online-only or virtual setting.

To attempt to perform them digitally alters their ontological and semiotic character, replacing the embodied koinonia of the one body with a disembodied, individualistic simulation.

While digital media remain valuable tools for teaching and evangelism, the administration of the sacraments requires the physical gathering of the qahal of God in a specific geographic space.

You are 100% right about the historical context of Corinth, the whole passage is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.

it's an unloving and gluttonous manner excluding others as is the context of that part of corinthians.

Some believers were eating ahead of others and humiliating the poor. We definitely see that, which is why Paul says in v.29 they were "not discerning the body." which is:

• Recognizing the sacrifice of Christ’s physical body on the cross.
• Recognizing the unity of Christ’s spiritual body (the Church).

you can tell that it's believers that are dying from taking communion in this unworthy manner because it says that they fall asleep the term fell asleep only applies to Christians in the New Testament so if it was unbelievers dying from taking communion in an unworthy manner it would say they died not that they fell asleep.

Yes, that is right. The NT primally uses this language for believers and the letter itself is written to Corinth. The Lord's Supper is a covenant meal. It is both a memorial and a participation in Christ and His covenant promises (1 Corinthians 10:16).

• The meal was for sinners saved by grace. “This is my body, which is for you.” Jesus connected the Supper directly to forgiveness: “This is my blood of the covenant... poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:27–28).
• As Paul says, we all eat of one bread; therefore, we who are many are one body (1 Corinthians 10:17).
• One of the first things we see Jesus do is give thanks, which is why many Christians call it the Eucharist ("thanksgiving").

The passage also includes a call to self-examination. Paul explicitly writes that eating and drinking without faith and self-examination brings "judgment to himself"

• "Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 11:27).
• "For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body" (1 Corinthians 11:29).

So the unworthy manor is not just that some were greedy. We can see other warnings throughout the Bible of being sure to be careful of how we treat Christ and His sacrifice.

• Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5
• Hebrews 10:29 and Malachi 1:7
• Uzzah’s irreverent touch of the ark 2 Samuel 6:6-7

My point is simply that communion is incredibly serious and not something to be taken lightly, that was all.

the single loaf broken epi to auto (in the same place).