“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Corinthians 10:14-22)

For reasons I’ve never really understood, 1 Corinthians 10 is often overlooked in discussions of the Lord’s Supper. Verses 14-22 are one of the most important expositions about the Lord’s Supper that we have. Let’s look at this chapter.

In the first 13 verses, Paul connects the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness with that of the Corinthians. Then, in verses 14 through 22, he connects the Lord’s Table to the table of sacrifices, both pagan and sacred. Paul wants the Corinthians to see that the table is related to the altar, that participation at the table brings fellowship with the sacrifice. Those who participate in the table of the Lord participate in Him (just as those who ate of sacrificed meat participated in the altar). By eating of the Lord’s Supper and becoming one with the Lord, we pledge ourselves to Him and only to Him.

There’s another aspect. Those who eat and drink are united with one another. The emphasis in this passage is communion, common union as my father-in-law used to say. We are joined to Christ, but we are also joined to one another. Taking the Lord’s Supper is not an individual act. It is something we do together, as a body. Paul says much more about this in 1 Corinthians 11. Participating in the Lord’s is a time of connecting with our Lord, but it is also a time of connecting with one another. This is not the time to close our eyes and ignore those around us! It is the time in the service when we should be most aware of those around us. This is communion. Sharing. Fellowship. We don’t have to wait until the potluck to have our fellowship meal. The Lord’s Supper is our true fellowship meal.

The Bible never speaks of taking the Lord’s Supper with sadness. Just as the meals following sacrifices were times of rejoicing, so should be our time at the table of the Lord.