Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
- 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
As I’ve said many times before and will probably say many times again, when you see a passage that begins with a “therefore,” you need to ask, what is the “therefore” there for? In this situation, it relates this section back to the previous one, which you can read about here. Paul has just given the first-century Corinthian believers a history lesson about the people of Israel, particularly at the time of the exodus from Egypt. The point of that lesson was that the first-century believers should NOT imitate what Israel did, as they did not do a great job of following God.
So, because of that heritage, Paul gives the believers a specific warning to “flee from idolatry” (verse 14). It is a command for them to flee from idolatry. Don’t just ignore it, don’t just stand by while it happens, but actively run away from it. Idolatry is really the pinnacle of all sin, as all sins we commit stem from some form of idolatry – putting something or someone else (including ourselves) in a greater position than God in our lives.
Paul knows that this concept is not difficult for his audience to understand (verse 15). He knows they can reason out what he is saying. It’s no great mystery; God is the one true God, and they have the example of the historical nation of Israel to look at to see how God punishes those who consistently and persistently engage in idolatry.
Paul then brings up the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion in verses 16-17 and relates that to unity in the church. As believers, everyone participates in the same fellowship with Christ that is represented by the cup and the bread. The term “cup of blessing” refers to a specific cup that was part of the Jewish Passover celebration, which Jesus and His disciples were celebrating when He instituted the Lord’s Supper. All believers are united in Christ because we share this cup together, and we are united as one body as we all partake of the body of Christ in this sacred meal.
In verses 18-20, Paul relates this back to the nation of Israel and back to his discussion of eating food that was sacrificed to idols from back in 1 Corinthians 8 (which you can read about here and here). When the Israelites made sacrifices to God, they would eat it, as commanded by God in Leviticus 7:15 and 8:31. They were fully participating in the worship of God through this sacrificial system.
Paul makes it clear that comparing sacrifices for pagan idols to sacrifices to God does not make the idols at all equal to God. Idols and their sacrifices are still nothing. Pagan sacrifices are worshiping demons, not God. That is an important distinction to be made, and Paul is being very clear so the Corinthian people know the consequences of their worship. If they participate in pagan worship, then they are worshiping demons. He does not want them to participate in demon worship as that would obviously pull them away from worshiping God.
Paul’s point in this section comes in verse 21: “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.” A person cannot participate in both the worship of God and the worship of demons; you have to choose your side. Are you focused on serving God and God alone? Or are you focused on the ways of the world and worshipping pagan gods?
The idea of the table was one that the Corinthians would be familiar with. Pagan worship in that area was often associated with having a meal at a table. Participating in the table of demons was a way of worshiping that demon. Similarly, participating in the Lord’s table is a way of worshiping God through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the meal that He instituted. Christians cannot participate in a meal at the table of a pagan god and also participate in the Lord’s table.
If we try to worship at both tables, Paul tells us in verse 22 that we will stir up the Lord’s jealousy. There is precedent for this in Deuteronomy 32:21, Psalm 78:58, and in the Ten Commandments where God says that He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:4-6). God’s jealousy is not a sin because He is the only God who is worthy to be worshiped. As His creation, we are not stronger than God that we could somehow overcome His jealousy of His people worshiping false gods.
Just like the believers in first-century Corinth, we have that same choice to make. Do we participate in the Lord’s table and worship the one true God? Or do we participate in the ways of the world and worship idols – anything that is not God? We need to make that choice all the time in every moment. Every thought, word, or action shows our allegiance either to the one true God or to the sinful ways of this world and its demons. While we will not be perfect at worshiping God at all times, that is the goal that we strive toward. Make the choice today to participate in the Lord’s table!
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