1 Corinthians 10

Sunday, 12 October 2014

Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?  1 Corinthians 10:18

Paul has been speaking about the Lord’s Supper and our partaking of it. How does that fit in with participating in pagan sacrifices? To do both would be completely contrary to the purpose of partaking in the Lord’s Supper. As an example for them to consider, he now brings in a lesson from the law itself. In this, he begins with, “Observe Israel after the flesh.” This is an unfortunate translation when rendered by the NIV and some other translations which say something like “Consider the people of Israel. In Greek it reads blepete ton israel kata sarka – “Consider Israel according to the flesh.” He is making a statement about Israel who participated in the sacrifices at the Temple, regardless of whether they were really right with God or not, hence the term “according to the flesh.”

All of Israel would go to Jerusalem and offer their offerings to God. Some truly believed and some simply went through the motions, but the sacrifices brought the people together as one. It separated them as a people and showed their united allegiance under the God whom they served. When they went to these sacrifices, they actually participated in most of them. Some, such as the sin offering, were completely burnt up. But most of them were handled differently as Paul notes in the form of a rhetorical question, ” Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?” The question demands an affirmative answer. “Yes, they are.”

A portion of the sacrifice was burned on the altar, a portion of it was given to the priest who conducted the ritual, and the rest of the offering was returned to the one who offered it for him (and his family if applicable) to eat. In this, he participated in what was offered. But it wasn’t mere participation, instead the word Paul uses is koinonoi. It was a communion with the altar, just as we commune in the Lord’s Supper.

Regardless of whether these Israelites were “circumcised in the heart” or merely national Israelites who were only going through the motions, their sacrifices were a communion with the altar and they were thus identified with that altar, with the people of Israel, and with the God to whom the sacrifices were made. If this was the perception by all who saw them as they offered, and if it was also the perception of their fellow Israelites who looked at one another as a corporate body, then doesn’t our participation in the Lord’s supper convey the same concepts? Likewise, what would people think if they saw us at the sacrifice to an idol?

Regardless of whether these Israelites were “circumcised in the heart” or merely national Israelites who were only going through the motions, their sacrifices were a communion with the altar and they were thus identified with that altar, with the people of Israel, and with the God to whom the sacrifices were made. If this was the perception by all who saw them as they offered, and if it was also the perception of their fellow Israelites who looked at one another as a corporate body, then doesn’t our participation in the Lord’s supper convey the same concepts? Likewise, what would people think if they saw us at the sacrifice to an idol?

Regardless of whether the idol is a true god or not (and we know that it isn’t), that is irrelevant to the perception we are giving others by our actions if we participate in such a sacrifice when it is made. Paul shows that our actions have consequences because they produce perceptions in the eyes of others which may become a stumbling-block to them.

Life application: Paul shows us that the conscience of others is an important consideration for us as we conduct ourselves as Christians. We need to be understanding of others in our actions which could cause them to misunderstand our freedoms in Christ. However, this does not include all things that people may find offensive. If someone doesn’t like something we do, like eating meat because they are vegetarians, that is their problem and not ours. Discernment and understanding of what could be considered a stumbling-block to others takes time to learn.

Lord give me discernment in order to know
What actions may harm the faith of another
In this walk with You, it is my desire to show
What is right in order to instruct my brother

Let me not be the cause of him to stumble
But instead help me to be a good guide to show him Jesus
What good is it to the team if I make the ball fumble
That can only harm the goal set before us

And so O God, help me to stick close to Your word
And to always bring honor to Jesus my Lord

Heavenly Father, help my actions to be right and pure in Your eyes. Grant me the wisdom to conduct myself in a way which will keep others from stumbling in their own desire to know if You are God. Likewise keep me from hindering another’s growth in You if they already have faith in You. In all things, let me not diminish You in the eyes of others, but rather exalt You and bring You the glory You deserve. Amen.

Saturday, 11 October 2014

For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. 1 Corinthians 10:17

In this verse, Paul builds upon the thought that, “The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” He just stated this and now begins with “for we” in order to continue and expand upon those words. There is a grand church, filled with many people from many cultures and places. It is filled with men and women, young and old, and from people of every color. And yet, despite this diversity, we “are one bread and one body.” The word “and” is not in the original and so a semicolon shows the thought better – “We are one bread; one body.”

And the reason for this is that “we all partake of that one bread.” Paul just showed that the bread is to be considered “communion” with “the body of Christ.” Bread is made of many individual kernels of grain and yet it becomes one unified substance. Likewise, we are individually many people and yet we are “one bread” when we are in Christ. This brings up an obvious question – “Does the taking of the communion bread result in our being one body?” The question is important because it is the basis for what Paul is writing about in the first place.

In the coming verses, Paul is going to tell the Corinthians (and thus us) “I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.” He will say this in relation to participating in sacrifices to idols and then he will build on that by saying, “… you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” If thought through logically then, the actual bread is not what makes us “one bread.” Rather it is the reception of Jesus Christ as Savior that unites us. The bread then is a symbolic representation of this. It is our way of remembering this bond and communing with the Lord in that remembrance.

And so why is this important? The answer is that 1) It makes no sense for a non-believer to participate in the Lord’s Supper. 2) The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic participation only; it is not literally the Body of Christ (Roman Catholicism), nor does it mean that we are “spiritually” united with Christ when we take the elements (Calvin). If these were so, then anyone who was a non-believer would be either literally or spiritually communing with the Lord during the reception of the elements. Paul excludes this.

His words here are intended to instruct us that communion is a public demonstration of an inward reality, just as baptism is to be an outward proclamation of a change that has been rendered in one’s life. Both are after-the-fact pictures and remembrances of the work of the Lord. Therefore, if we were to eat at the sacrifice of an idol (not the meat itself, but at the ritual of the sacrifice) then we are indicating to those around us that we are willing participants in that particular society or religion, including everything that it constitutes. And yet, if we are truly saved Christians, that participation has no true bearing on our position in Christ. Therefore, the consumption of the meat of the sacrifice cannot be the actual participation with that demon to which it is offered.

This may seem to be splitting hairs, but to Paul it is an immensely important theological distinction that he will explain in detail in verse 23-33. We can eat (as Paul clearly states and allows) the meat that was sacrificed to an idol without any worry that it will defile us because it cannot defile us. In the same way, a person who is not saved and yet takes the elements of the Lord’s Supper cannot be made holy through those elements. It is the participation in the ritual that Paul is especially concerned with, not the actual element that is used.

Life application: The careful evaluation of the details which build into a biblical doctrine are important for many reasons. If they are misinterpreted or misunderstood, then further departures from the truth of Christ are inevitable. Eventually, entire systems of improperly administered teachings will prevail. As Paul said earlier in 1 Corinthians “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” He repeats this in Galatians 5 and equates it directly with proper doctrine.

Lord God, help my doctrine to be pure and undefiled. Give me wisdom to understand Your word and not to depart from it, such as adding anything to it which You have not ordained, or  such as taking away from it something which You require of us. Seeing how just a small departure can lead to enormous heresy, I would ask that You send me proper teachers who will exalt Your word alone and who would rightly divide it and carefully present it. Thank You for responding to this most important matter. Amen.

Friday, 10 October 2014

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? 1 Corinthians 10:16

Paul’s previous words asked for us to flee from idolatry and then he immediately asked us to judge his words, as to whether they truly are words of wisdom (he said to them “I speak as to wise men.”). In this then he is asking us to use wisdom and grow in wisdom by reflecting on his words of instruction. And so he begins with, “The cup of blessing which we bless.” Three thoughts on what this may mean arise. The first is that the cup is the means by which we receive a blessing. In other words, we are blessed as we partake of the cup. The second is that the cup is a cup by which we bless the Lord. And the third is that the this is a Hebraism (a Hebrew term) which describes the cup.

Scholars argue over which is intended by Paul, but in actuality all three ideas have merit. The first is certainly true in one sense. We have been blessed (past tense) through receiving Christ, but yet we are commanded to participate in the Lord’s Supper as well. Paul will note this in the coming chapter. The Lord surely looks with favor upon those who partake of this holy sacrament as He instructed us to do. The second concept has merit also. We offer our praise and thanks back to the Lord when we are obedient to His directive. Our taking of the cup is an act of blessing toward Him in this regard. And finally, the term “the cup of blessing” is comparable to what is mentioned in Psalm 116 –

“I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord.” Psalm 116:13

In this psalm, the term cos yeshuot, or the “cup of salvation” is used. This actually then forms a pun on the name of Jesus, which is Yeshua. The “cup of Yeshua” was anticipated in the 116th Psalm. In other words –

“I will take up the cup of Jesus,
And call upon the name of Jehovah.”

It is an Old Testament picture of the incarnation of Jehovah in the Person of Jesus. Paul then is using the “cup of blessing,” or cos haberakha, as a Hebraism – the cup stands in regard to the “state of blessing” just as the psalm’s cup stood in regard to the “state of salvation.” It is this “cup of blessing which we bless” that Paul equates to “the communion of the blood of Christ.” This brings to remembrance the words of the Lord (which Paul will explain in the coming chapter) that the cup is His blood. But what does that exactly mean?

Because He held a cup of wine in His hand when He said that, it is intended to mean that it is a picture of His death, not a literal nor a spiritual drinking of His blood. Paul confirms this in his words of chapter 11 when he says that in the meal “you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” It is a picture of the suffering of the Lord; a remembrance of His work.

After this, Paul notes that, “The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ.” Again, this is a pictorial remembrance of the broken body of Christ. Jesus held the bread in His hands and said, “This is my body.” It is not His literal body, nor is it a spiritual body. Instead, it is a symbolic representation of His death. And in that death we share “the communion.” The Greek word for “communion” is koinōnia. It is a “participation” or a “fellowship” in this wondrous act. As Vincent’s word studies notes concerning the Passover observed by the Jewish people in relation to the Lord’s Supper, “The Passover was celebrated by families, typifying an unbroken fellowship of those who formed one body, with the God who had passed by the blood-sprinkled doors.”

There is no reason to assume that we either literally eat the body of Christ (Catholic transubstantiation), nor that we somehow spiritually partake of the blood of Christ, becoming sharers in His divine life (Calvinist doctrine). When we call on Christ, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit and it is in that act that we share in His divine life. The cup and the bread as noted by Paul here are symbolic representations of that awesome position in which we stand.

Finally, there is curiosity by many as to why Paul places the cup first in this verse instead of the bread first as other verses place it. The most likely reason is that Paul took the extra time to deal with and explain the bread (verse 17) and so he dispensed with the matter of the cup first.

I will take up the cup of salvation in my hand
And I will call upon the name of the Lord
It is in the name of Jesus where I take my stand
And in His name I am attentive to God’s word

For He is the very Word of Life, this I know
And in Him alone can I live and grow

I will take up the cup of blessing in my hand
And in the name of Jesus will I ever bless my God
It is in His name alone where I take my stand
And in Him alone will I fellowship in the path I trod

How can it be, O great and awesome God, that You have come and united with Your own creation in order to redeem Your fallen children? It is beyond my comprehension and yet it is what Your word proclaims. And so I place my faith, my trust, my hope, and my eternal soul in the Lamb who was slain to ransom me from the grasp of the devil. I thank You and I praise You for all You have done. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Wednesday, 8 October 2014

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 1 Corinthians 10:14

“Therefore” is given to lead us to a summary thought concerning the previous words of instruction. In verses 1-5, Paul showed how the Israelites had actually partaken of the spiritual goodness of the Lord – the cloud and the sea, the spiritual food, and the spiritual rock (from which the water issued forth). These were there for the people and sustained them as they travelled. And yet, instead of clinging to that which gives life, they turned their backs on Christ and followed a different path. In verses 6-10, we were shown that some fell into idolatry, some into sexual immorality, some into tempting Christ through their speaking out against Him as if He were incapable of properly providing for them, and some merely complained about their circumstances instead of being grateful for His provision. Paul showed that their lives were given as examples for us to learn from. He also instructed us that we should take heed of these things because we all share in humanity and are susceptible to falling as they did. But in a note of encouragement, he said that God will always provide a way out when we are tempted. This is where his thoughts have led to and they bear directly on his previous discussion about foods sacrificed to idols which was seen in chapter 8.

Eating foods is a neutral matter, even foods sacrificed to idols – because idols are nothing. However, idolatry is harmful and sinful. It is also tempting and destructive as his examples have shown. Idolatry leads to barriers between God and us and destroys our intimate fellowship with Him. Therefore, we shouldn’t see how close we can get to it without going over the line. Instead we should turn our backs to it and run from it. The Apostle John has the same word of admonition for us. As the final thought of his first epistle, he closes the letter with, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen” (1 John 5:21).

In spiritual matters, we are to remain in fellowship with God in ways which He has personally authorized such as reading and studying His word; praising, worshipping, and praying to Him; and fellowshipping with other believers. In doing these things, we will be kept safe from the sins which we can so easily fall into.

Life application: An idol is not necessarily a piece of stone, wood, or metal that is set up to worship, but rather it is anything which replaces devotion to God in our hearts. Sex, money, over-indulgence, etc., are things which tear our hearts and minds away from the Lord. Let us continually walk with Him and purposely flee from idolatry.

Lord God, keep me free from the things which take my heart and eyes away from You. A million temptations come my way each day and some of them are more difficult to face than others. You know the ones which will try me the most, so remind me to put on the armor which will protect me from them. I know that You will always be with me and provide a way out of the temptations I face. And so I ask in advance for eyes to see those paths of exit and to be strong enough to take them when those temptations arise. Thank You for hearing my prayer. Amen.