July 19 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 10:15-21 I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

Paul has just concluded telling his readers to "flee from idolatry" (verse 14). Now he is going to expand on that topic. In verse 15 he tells the Corinthians that he is speaking to them as if they had wisdom, and he asks them to make the judgment as to whether or not his teaching is correct. He says this because in verses 16-18 he is going to build a logical argument that will lay the foundation for the principle he is going to teach in verses 20-21.

In verses 16-17 he is speaking about the Lord's Supper. He asks them if, when they take communion, they are not, in fact, communing with Christ? The answer, of course, is "Yes". When we as believers share in the Lord's Supper we spiritually participate in fellowship with Jesus Christ and with other believers. While there certainly is symbolism in communion (the unleavened bread representing Christ's broken body, and the unleavened cup representing His shed blood on the cross) the Lord's Supper is much more than a symbol; it is a celebration of our relationship with Christ. Horatius Bonar wrote,

"He that takes that cup is committed to all that it symbolizes; he is counted as one with it; the possessor of its contents; the partaker of its fullness. He is to reckon himself one with Jesus in His death; and God reckons him such."

"It is 'communion with the body of Christ', a partnership with that body; so that all that is in it of virtue, or health, or strength, or excellence, becomes ours. It is one with us and we with it. The whole fullness of blessing contained in it becomes ours. We reckon ourselves one with it, and God reckons us one with it."

In verse 18 Paul refers back to Old Testament Israel. He says that those who ate the sacrifices that were brought to the altar became "partakers of the altar". In other words, the Israelites who offered sacrifices, and those who partook of those sacrifices, gave proof by doing so that they were Jews, and also were in fellowship with the Jehovah, to Whom the sacrifices had been offered. Deuteronomy 12:27 commanded,

"And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh."

In verses 19-22 Paul uses those two illustrations to make his point. In spite of the fact that believers know that the gods that are allegedly represented by idols do not exist, they still need to avoid participating in feasts dedicated to those pagan deities. Some might question how this can be reconciled with I Corinthians 8 where Paul teaches that believers have the liberty to eat meat sacrificed to idols, but warns that they should be careful not to cause their brother in Christ to stumble. In chapter 8 Paul is speaking simply of eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols, Here he is talking about sitting down to a feast dedicated to the idol and which is being held in the idol's temple. Paul reminds the Corinthians that the sacrifices of the heathen are dedicated to demons, and since believers should not have anything to do with demons, they should not sit down and eat at these meals. The logic is this: if eating the bread and drinking the cup at the Lord's Supper symbolizes the fellowship between the Christian and Christ, and if eating the sacrifices at the Temple symbolizes the fellowship between the Jew and Jehovah, then feasting in the idol's temple symbolizes the fellowship between the participant and demons, and no believer should ever be identified with demons.

We will look into this further tomorrow.