February 18, 2024
1 Corinthians 10:14-22
“Sacrament Assessment”
Service Overview: Here, Paul continues to warn about the dangers of idolatry and elevates the church’s understanding of the sacrament of communion because to Paul, allegiances matter, and ultimate allegiances matter most because the world is not just stuff.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” 1 Corinthians 10:14 (NIV)
Background Insights:
- In Old Testament days, when Jews offered a sacrifice, they ate a part of that sacrifice as a way of restoring their unity with God, against whom they had sinned (Deuteronomy 12:17-18; 14:22-27). By offering the sacrifice and then eating a portion of the gift that had been offered, they were participating in the altar—that is, they were fellowshiping with God, to whom they had brought their gifts. (Grant R. Osborne, Life Application Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Corinthians, 142)
- [For many in Corinth…] Participating in cultic rites for one deity did not by any means preclude participating with equal piety in the rites for another; the pantheon was infinitely inclusive. Indeed, it was probably a good bet to worship several gods as a way of diversifying one’s spiritual investments. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 169)
- First Corinthians 10:1–22 is the passage from which Protestants derive the idea that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two distinctive “sacraments” or “ordinances” of Christian worship. Incidental evidence appears for the corporate meaning and practice of these two rites. Baptism is fundamentally an initiatory rite into a covenant community, based on one’s allegiance to Christ. Early Christians followed Jesus’ practices of breaking pieces of bread off a common loaf and passing around a common cup to stress the corporate significance of Communion as well, though no text anywhere commands that it must always be so. But in general, 10:1–22 is not about the sacraments or ordinances at all. Paul is not arguing from Jewish and pagan practices to draw conclusions about these Christian rituals, but from the aspect of fellowship inherent in the Christian and Jewish rites to demonstrate the communion with demons that takes place in the pagan idol feasts. (Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, 260)
- Christians participate in Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice when they share the cup of thanksgiving (symbolizing Christ’s blood) and eat the bread (symbolizing his body). The “cup of thanksgiving” or “cup of blessing” probably referred to the third cup drunk at the Passover meal. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and spoke of this communion with him through the cup and the bread in Matthew 26:17-30 (see also Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-23). (Grant R. Osborne, Life Application Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Corinthians, 142)
What would Paul have us mind-meld with him on here?
- Idolatry is nothing to take lightly because there’s more to the world than mere physicality.
(vv. 14, 20-21 | Exodus 20:3-6; Jonah 2:8; Luke 8:30; 1 Timothy 4:1; James 2:19; 1 Pet. 5:8)
There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist and a magician with the same delight. (C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, 3)
“Idolatry” is the practice of seeking the source and provision of what we need either physically or emotionally in someone or something other than the one true God. It is the tragically pathetic attempt to squeeze life out of lifeless forms that cannot help us meet our real needs. (Scott Hafemann, The God of Promise and the Life of Faith, 35)
- Communion is nothing to take lightly because in it we participate in something profound and sacred.
(vv. 16-17 | Mat. 26:26-28; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:26-29; 1 Peter 3:18)
Partaking of the elements of the Lord’s Supper—the bread and the wine—involves a “participation” (Gk. koinonia—“fellowship”) with the risen Lord and an appropriation of the benefits of his shed blood and broken body. “Participation” in verses 15–16 includes both communion with fellow believers and partnership in Christ. The common loaf reminds the Corinthians of their unity in Christ, which should also separate them from false religion. So too in ancient Judaism, those who ate sacrificial meat in the temple communed with Yahweh and appropriated the temporary forgiveness associated with those animal sacrifices. (Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, 258)
Because both Christian communion and the Jewish system of sacrifice provided a mystical relationship between God and the participants, then, by extension, to take part in a pagan sacrificial feast would provide a similar mystical union—not with idols (for they are nothing but wood and stone), but with the demons that the idols represent (see commentary on 8:5-6). (Grant R. Osborne, Life Application Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Corinthians, 143)
- Loyalties are nothing to take lightly because God alone deserves our ultimate allegiance.
(vv. 20-22 | Mat. 10:28; Luke 16:13; John 14:6; Acts 5:29; Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:18; Heb. 1:2)
Paul’s use of Israel’s story is crucial to his case: the God with whom we have to do, he insists, is not merely some abstract divine principle that sets us free from polytheistic superstition. The God with whom we have to do is the God of Israel, a jealous God who sternly condemns idol-worship and punishes all who dare to dabble in it. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 159)
Conclusion… How can we live counter-culture in light of what God’s Word communicates here?
A. By keeping earthly allegiances in check lest they grow to become idols.
(Ex. 20:3-6; Lev. 19:4; 1 Sam. 15:23; Is. 45:20; Gal. 5:19-21; Colossians 3:5; 1 John 5:21)
What may be good and beautiful under the authority of God, becomes a damning god if you love it more than Christ. (Jim Elliff, “The Change of Mind”, CCWtoday.org)
An idol is anything, any attitude, any belief, or any god that so captures a person’s attention and allegiance that God does not have pre-eminence. (Richard Mayhue, First and Second Thessalonians, 57)
You don’t have to go to heathen lands today to find false gods. America is full of them. Whatever you love more than God is your idol. (D. L. Moody, On The 10 Commandments, 22-23)
Our modern idols are those symbols of power, pleasure, or prestige that we so highly regard. When we understand contemporary parallels to idolatry, Paul’s words “flee from idolatry” reveal a choice we must make every day. (Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 142)
B. By revering communion as the sacred thing it is; a profound participation in Christ’s sacrifice, and a deeply unifying act with our faith family.
(Isaiah 53:5; Mark 14:22-25; John 6:33, 53-58; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:26-29; 1 Peter 3:18)
Nowhere is God so near to man as in Jesus Christ; and nowhere is Christ so familiarly represented to us, as in this holy sacrament. (Richard Baxter, Quoted by Packer, Puritan Idea of Communion with God, 116)
At the Supper a believer’s relationship and communion with Christ are deepened, and the solidarity between believers and Christ is attested” (Tom Schreiner, 1 Corinthians, 210)
Religious meals are more than taking in physical nourishment. They have great spiritual value and significance. At Communion we draw near to our God as a community, a family of faith. (Daniel L. Akin, 1 Corinthians, 203)
Paul’s brief but suggestive remarks about the Lord’s Supper highlight the fact that when we eat the bread and drink the cup together, we are bonded together in community with Christ and with one another. … authentic Christian worship draws us together around the table of the Lord in such a way that we become a covenant people, receiving the blessings of fellowship with God and sharing our lives with one another. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 173)
Gospel Connection…
Jesus alone deserves our ultimate allegiance because he alone paid the ultimate price for it.
(Mat. 7:21; John 3:36; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:8-9)
In the celebration of this sacrament we receive the renewed assurance of the forgiveness of our sins, and of our fellowship with Christ; unite with one another as members of His Body, and rejoice in the hope of His return to glory. Therefore, we will commune faithfully and thus renew our pledge of allegiance to Him. (Moravian Covenant for Christian Living.)
We should remember that it is through Christ’s death that we are reconciled to God and each other. He has made us one, and we set our hearts on pursuing unity in love. The Lord’s Supper is a great time to pray and plan for oneness with our brothers and sisters. It is a time to explore new ways to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving. (Edward Welch, When People are Big and God is Small, 206)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- Instead of fleeing idolatry, how do Christians sometimes treat idolatry and sin?
- What divisions or issues could be solved if Christians would remember that they share one bread and one cup in the Lord’s Supper?
- Why do Western Christians often dismiss or ignore the presence of demonic work?
- Why is it dangerous to ignore spiritual warfare and the reality of demons?
- How is demonic activity portrayed in movies and pop culture? How do these images contrast with the biblical portrait of demonic work?
- Although Christians should be fighting against demonic work and false worship, Christians do not need to be afraid of demons. Why?
Quotes to note…
The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ’s death. To those who rightly, worthily and with faith receive it, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ; and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ. The supper is also a sign of the love and unity that Christians have among themselves. Christ, according to His promise, is really present in the sacrament. But His body is given, taken and eaten only after a heavenly and spiritual manner. No change is effected in the element; the bread and wine are not literally the body and blood of Christ. Nor is the body and blood of Christ literally present with the elements. The elements are never to be considered objects of worship. The body of Christ is received and eaten in faith. (Free Methodist Book of Discipline ¶125)
The devil’s cleverest ruse is to make men believe that he does not exist. Or to give us the false impression that he is a silly old character in a red suit with little horns and a forked tail. Or to convince us that his devilish powers are so overwhelming that we are helpless to resist. (Philip Graham Ryken, When You Pray, 163)
Idolatry may not involve explicit denials of God’s existence or character. It may well come in the form of an over-attachment to something that is in itself perfectly good… An idol can be a physical object, a property, a person, an activity, a role, an institution, a hope, an image, an idea, a pleasure, a hero, anything that can substitute for God. (Os Guinness, No God but God, 32-33)
Nothing makes God more supreme and more central in worship than when a people are utterly persuaded that nothing – not money or prestige or leisure or family or job or health or sports or toys or friends – nothing is going to bring satisfaction to their sinful, guilty, aching hearts besides God. (John Piper, God’s Passion for His Glory, 41)
The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to receive from Christ the nourishment and strength and hope and joy that come from feasting our souls on all that He purchased for us on the cross, especially His own fellowship. (John Piper, Idolatry, the Lord’s Supper, and the Body of Christ, 1 Cor. 10:14-22, Sermon)
The devil has three ways by which he makes men seek after him. First, commonly he covers holiness with other names. Secondly, he persuades men that sins are but little. Thirdly, that they may be repented of hereafter. (John Collins, A Puritan Golden Treasury, 76)
[Satan] can make men dance upon the brink of hell as though they were on the verge of heaven. (C. H. Spurgeon, Sermons, 11.75)
We were made in His image, but we must not think of Him existing in ours. (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, 47)