14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 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? 17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. 18 Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
Commentary
Vs. 14 "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry."
In light of the end of ages coming upon us, the Apostle now warns us all to flee from idolatry. That is the worship, the rituals, and or the sacrificial meals and drink associated with an idol/s. Something that was rampant in the ancient world, and still exists today in various forms and manifestations, just as it will exist at the end (see Rev. 13:11-18, vs. 14). And so we are all told to flee from idolatry, to have nothing to do with it, because partaking in an idol's worship, feast, or "festival" is akin to practicing spiritual adultery towards God. For that is how God viewed O.T. Israel's doing so, and that is how He will view our doing so, if we are so careless to do so. Therefore all who are in church, who name Jesus Christ as Lord, must flee from idolatry (consider 2 Cor 6:14-7:1).
Vs. 15 "I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say."
The Apostle Paul knew the Corinthians were not devoid of discernment. By their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ they themselves were now born-again by the Spirit of the Living God, and thus their eyes had been opened and spiritual senses awakened. Thus the Apostle Paul will now through rhetorical questions ask them to use their God given wisdom and judge what he is about to say.
Vs. 16 "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?"
The cup of blessing, which we bless, refers to the Lord's cup, and thus it represents our communion with God and each other through the blood of Christ. Similarly the bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ. Now these things are symbols of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us all through His shed blood and broken body. Thus when we partake of the cup we are gratefully acknowledging our communion with Christ (and by default each other) through His blood. Same with the bread which we break; for it was our sins and transgressions which broke Christ's body; yet it was through Christ's shed blood and broken body that we have been redeemed from sin and death, and restored to God Himself by Christ Himself. And so when we partake of these material things we are in fact declaring the Spiritual realities of all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus our Communion with God and Christ and each other in One Body. Therefore to have, or seek to have communion with any other so called "deity" is unconscionable and utterly unthinkable.
Vs. 17 "For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread."
The Apostle Paul now draws a metaphor for us using the Communion bread of Christ to make us see that we are all one people In Christ. For we all share in the same Communion bread of Christ because of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the Communion bread we partake of, wherever and whenever we partake of it, speaks not only of our mutual redemption, but also our mutual fellowship In Christ. There is then only one bread and one body, and thus one Communion, for all who exclusively believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore our partaking of the cup and the bread of Christ makes our partaking of anothers "cup" or "bread" or table impossible. Now to make this point the Apostle Paul will now briefly look at Israel.
Vs. 18 "Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?"
The Apostle Paul having clearly established our Communion with God and Christ and each other through Christ's blood and body symbolized by the Communion cup and the bread, now moves to strengthen his point by drawing for us an example from Old Covenant Israel (refereed to here as "Israel after the flesh"). And so when the Israelites offered their sacrifices to God through the priests on the altar of God, a portion of it was laid aside for the priest, and a portion for the worshippers, and thus when they ate of their sacrifices they all became partakers of the altar. That is they all identified themselves as God's people through it. And thus so do we by exclusively partaking of the Lord's table just as He commanded us, not by practicing Lent or Advent or any other man-made religious day/s.
Vs. 19-22 19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
The Apostle Paul had already stated that idols were in of themselves nothing, that they themselves have no power to do good or to do evil. However demon spirits are associated with idols/idolatry and these can do very real spiritual and or psychological harm. Therefore Apostle Paul is warning all believers that we cannot have fellowship with Christ and demons, we cannot partake of the Lord's table and then partake of an idols feast (consider Rev 18:1-4).
Additional Resources Consulted
Hindson, Edward E., and Woodrow Michael Kroll, eds. KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994.
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
In light of the end of ages coming upon us, the Apostle now warns us all to flee from idolatry. That is the worship, the rituals, and or the sacrificial meals and drink associated with an idol/s. Something that was rampant in the ancient world, and still exists today in various forms and manifestations, just as it will exist at the end (see Rev. 13:11-18, vs. 14). And so we are all told to flee from idolatry, to have nothing to do with it, because partaking in an idol's worship, feast, or "festival" is akin to practicing spiritual adultery towards God. For that is how God viewed O.T. Israel's doing so, and that is how He will view our doing so, if we are so careless to do so. Therefore all who are in church, who name Jesus Christ as Lord, must flee from idolatry (consider 2 Cor 6:14-7:1).
Vs. 15 "I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say."
The Apostle Paul knew the Corinthians were not devoid of discernment. By their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ they themselves were now born-again by the Spirit of the Living God, and thus their eyes had been opened and spiritual senses awakened. Thus the Apostle Paul will now through rhetorical questions ask them to use their God given wisdom and judge what he is about to say.
Vs. 16 "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?"
The cup of blessing, which we bless, refers to the Lord's cup, and thus it represents our communion with God and each other through the blood of Christ. Similarly the bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ. Now these things are symbols of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us all through His shed blood and broken body. Thus when we partake of the cup we are gratefully acknowledging our communion with Christ (and by default each other) through His blood. Same with the bread which we break; for it was our sins and transgressions which broke Christ's body; yet it was through Christ's shed blood and broken body that we have been redeemed from sin and death, and restored to God Himself by Christ Himself. And so when we partake of these material things we are in fact declaring the Spiritual realities of all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus our Communion with God and Christ and each other in One Body. Therefore to have, or seek to have communion with any other so called "deity" is unconscionable and utterly unthinkable.
Vs. 17 "For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread."
The Apostle Paul now draws a metaphor for us using the Communion bread of Christ to make us see that we are all one people In Christ. For we all share in the same Communion bread of Christ because of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the Communion bread we partake of, wherever and whenever we partake of it, speaks not only of our mutual redemption, but also our mutual fellowship In Christ. There is then only one bread and one body, and thus one Communion, for all who exclusively believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore our partaking of the cup and the bread of Christ makes our partaking of anothers "cup" or "bread" or table impossible. Now to make this point the Apostle Paul will now briefly look at Israel.
Vs. 18 "Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?"
The Apostle Paul having clearly established our Communion with God and Christ and each other through Christ's blood and body symbolized by the Communion cup and the bread, now moves to strengthen his point by drawing for us an example from Old Covenant Israel (refereed to here as "Israel after the flesh"). And so when the Israelites offered their sacrifices to God through the priests on the altar of God, a portion of it was laid aside for the priest, and a portion for the worshippers, and thus when they ate of their sacrifices they all became partakers of the altar. That is they all identified themselves as God's people through it. And thus so do we by exclusively partaking of the Lord's table just as He commanded us, not by practicing Lent or Advent or any other man-made religious day/s.
Vs. 19-22 19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?
The Apostle Paul had already stated that idols were in of themselves nothing, that they themselves have no power to do good or to do evil. However demon spirits are associated with idols/idolatry and these can do very real spiritual and or psychological harm. Therefore Apostle Paul is warning all believers that we cannot have fellowship with Christ and demons, we cannot partake of the Lord's table and then partake of an idols feast (consider Rev 18:1-4).
Additional Resources Consulted
Hindson, Edward E., and Woodrow Michael Kroll, eds. KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994.
Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
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