How can you tell when you’ve moved beyond simple friendliness with someone? How do you know when you’re building a relationship, not just being pleasant? How about this:
“He’s been in my house. I’ve been in his house, his been in mine. We’ve eaten together. I know the names of his wife and children. He knows the name of my wife and kids, I know his likes and dislikes, and he does me.”
Isn’t that more than just friendliness? That’s heading towards friendship. And fellowship is friendship plus something else on top. Fellowship is friendship with a purpose bigger than just the friendship itself. This thing is bigger than just you and me and our relationship. It is a partnership for a purpose. And of course, Christian fellowship is partnership in promoting the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ in our world.
You know, God could have made us like trees. A bit of water, a bit of sunshine, a few nutrients, and we’re good to go. Instead, God has made us to eat. And having a meal together is not just to keep body and soul together. It is to keep us together, body and soul. A meal together is a bonding experience. It is a way people bond and grow close and share intimacy. Shared meals express friendship, oneness, family, and in the Christian church, fellowship. And so we see Jesus in the gospels, eating with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus did this because he came to seek and save the lost. He ate as well with the Pharisees and the religious leaders. He did this for the same reason, because he came to seek and save the lost. And Jesus ate with his disciples, because he came to seek and save them.
We’ve not had a meal with Jesus. That’s a bit sad. But we will, one day. Jesus promises to do the same with us at the end of the age as he did with those he walked this earth with. Here is Jesus’ promise to the churches. Revelation 3:20:
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (NIV)
There used to be an ad for Australian Lamb. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH_Ar2h6Q-U “Julie Rankin, guess what you’ve won dinner with Tom Cruise. When? Tonight. Yes, tonight. Oh, I’m sorry, Mum’s doing a lamb roast.”
Someone might skip dinner with Tom Cruise. But no-one will be doing that with the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus offers to eat and drink with those who persevere to the end in faith.
In fact, Jesus Christ suggests he will serve his people at this great feast (Luke 12:36). Jesus promises us intimacy with him, expressed in the feast in the new heavens and earth. So we read in the book of Revelation:
Blessed are those who invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb! (Revelation 19:9 NIV)
Again and again, the Kingdom of Heaven is described as a wedding banquet. Heaven is a feast to which we are invited (Matthew 8:11-12 22:2-14; Luke 14:13-24). And that invitation is extended to you and me. By persevering in faith and obeying our Lord to the end, we will at the last come to that great feast.
But what do we do for food along the way? What is the waybread, our victuals, to sustain us on our journey? Well, the Lord’s Supper. That is given us to help us on our way. The Lord has instituted a supper for us, a meal in which to partake and share fellowship in Christ’s death until he comes.
In 1 Corinthians 8 to 10, Paul has been dealing with the problem of idolatry. What should Christians do about going to an unbeliever’s house for dinner? What should Christians do about eating meat in the market place that might have been offered to an idol? What about eating meat in an idols temple? All of these questions arose for the young Corinthian church.
And Paul has agreed that an idol is nothing. An idol represents a non-existent god. So if that is all there is to it, eating meat previously offered to an idols does no harm. But that is not all there is to it. There are complications. They are complications caused by the sin in our world, and the weakness of some unbelievers. So there are circumstances when the Christian should not eat. He shouldn’t eat the meat when it would cause a fellow Christian to stumble. And he shouldn’t eat the meat when it involves partaking in idol worship.
And Paul relates the issue of partaking in idolatry to the Lord’s Supper, the richly symbolic sacramental meal that Jesus instituted for his followers to sustain them along their way to heaven.
Dealing with the true and living God is a serious business. We cannot simply toy with God and play with the world. We cannot partake of the Lord’s Supper in church, and also partake in idol sacrifices in pagan society. God never tolerates a foot in both camps. Paul will point this out from the Old Testament. Coming close to God is costly. Later, he will point it out from their own experience with the Lord’s Supper. But he firstly brings them back to the Old Testament. Chapter 10 verses 1 to 4:
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:1-4 NIV)
1400 years before Jesus was born, Jesus was busy. Prior to the incarnation, the Lord Jesus Christ was providing for his Old Testament people. Jesus Christ, the eternal Word, was there in the desert, with Moses and the redeemed people of Israel. And Jesus provided the Israelites with two sacraments, just like he has for us. Israel in the desert had their own type of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And we in our journey to the Kingdom of Godhave baptism and the Lord’s Supper to help us on our way.
Israel’s baptism was in the cloud and through the sea. Their spiritual food and drink was manna, the bread from heaven, and water from the Rock. And the Lord Christ provided it all for them.
They had and we have tangible signs of Christ’s presence. These are great benefits. Intimacy with God and Christ is a great benefit. But Christ didn’t give them these visible and tangible signs to keep them safe in their disobedience. Disobedience is dangerous when God and the Christ come close. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 5:
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. (1 Corinthians 10:5 NIV)
Take part in the sacraments, and you’ve got to have the reality as well. The outward sign won’t keep you safe if the inward reality is missing. Sacraments are a sign of faith. But if the signs are taken without faith, they increase the judgment. So God slayed those Old Testament people who took the outward sign but didn’t have hearty faith, issuing in obedience.
And so carelessly taking God’s symbols without faith is dangerous. Unbelievers taking God’s sacraments is dangerous. As article 29 says:
‘The wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as Saint Augustine saith) the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ: but rather, to their condemnation, do eat and drink the sign or Sacrament of so great a thing’.
And so it was in the desert 1400 years Before Christ. For the wicked people of Israel shared in baptism and were fed by Christ. They ate spiritual food and spiritual drink. Yet their bodies were strewn all over the ground. Why? Because of you. Verses 6 to 10:
Now these things occurred as examples[1] to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry[2] [Exodus 32:6]." We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did - and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died[3] [Numbers 25:1-9]. We should not test the Lord [lit, the Christ][4], as some of them did - and were killed by snakes [Numbers 21:5-6]. And do not grumble, as some of them did - and were killed by the destroying angel[5]. (NIV)
What did the Old Testament people of God do?
At the foot of Mount Sinai, they ate and drank as pagan idolators (Exodus 32). The 10 commandments had only just been carved. And the people made a golden calf idol and sacrificed to it (Exodus 32). They ate and drank – note the fellowship activities. And then they engaged in sexual immorality with one another. It was a religious orgy typical of paganism. And consequently, three thousand of them were killed by the Levites’ sword. And more Israelites fell from plague
Later, Israel did something similar with the Moabite women (Numbers 25). Though they had seen all that had happened at Mount Sinai with the golden calf, Israel’s men joined Moabite women in sacrificing to Moabite gods. And then they sat down to eat with them and then to have sex with the daughters of a foreign god. Consequently, the judges were ordered to kill some of them. And the divine plague killed 24,000 more.
The theme was the same in both instances. God’s people engaged in Idol worship, sacrificed to the idol, ate and drank in fellowship to idol service, and then engaged in sexual sin. They tested Jesus Christ, and the Christ rose up and punished them. The Christ that provided for them on the way scattered their bodies over the desert.
Now what is the benefit of going through all these sad stories? Paul is unashamedly warning the Corinthians. If Christ judged his Old Testament people, he will judge us too. If God punished his people for disobedience then, he will punish us now. If they fell, after having shared in the sacraments of Christ, we can fall too. Verses 11 and 12:
These things happened to them as examples [lit, types] and were written down as warnings[6] for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come[7]. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall![8] (1 Corinthians 10:11-12 NIV)
Today we are coming to the Lord’s Supper. It is a good sacrament, preaching good things to us, as we shall see. But it doesn’t magically protect us if we decide to sin.
But Paul doesn’t just show us the stick, but he also waves the carrot before us. For God does not send us tests to bring us down; that’s the devil’s intent. No, God sends us tests so we can pass them. The one event is two things at once: God’s test, and the devil’s temptation.
A good teacher knows his students and prepares them to pass exams, not fail. A good coach knows his players, and strengthens them for the contest. A good boss knows his workers ability, and sets tasks his employees can succeed in. And God sends us tests to bring us through them. Verse 13:
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)
The Corinthians have not gone through any unusual test. The Old Testament shows us that. And the faithful God will send us with the temptation, with the test, an escape hatch, an exit strategy, a way out. It will never be that the only thing we can do is sin. No, there will be a way out, without sinning. And what we have to do, when the temptation comes, is look for God’s big green exit sign. This is the way out without sinning.
And so then Paul brings his arguments to their pointy application.
Flee Idolatry (verse 14; compare 6:18)
1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 14:
Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. (NIV)
Run. Fly you fools. Use those feet that God gave you. In chapter 6 verse 18, God tells us what the exit sign looked like. Prostitution, fornication, and opportunities for sexual sin abounded. There were the 1000 temple prostitutes who serve Aphrodite at the Acro-Corinth. And the solution was, run. Get out of there. Take yourself well away from them. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 18:
Flee from sexual immorality. (NIV)
And it is the same general exit strategy to deal with idolatry. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 14:
Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. (NIV)
Don’t go near the idol temple. An alcoholic looks for the exit strategy at AA, not the pub, club or bottle-O. A gambler looks for the way out at GA, not the casino or pokie room. A fat person at weight watchers or the gym, not in McDonalds or an All-You-Can-Eat Meal Deal. And a Christian in Corinth, who was once a fornicator, an adulterer and a practiser of homosexuality, now goes to church, and not to the idols temple. He goes home to his wife and family, not to the prostitute or the mistress. The Christian goes to church for the Lord’s Supper and godly fellowship, not to the pagan temple for the Idol feast and a pagan orgy. And so Paul draws the Corinthian ’s attention away from the idol feasts all around them, to the good food and good fellowship or church, which has life giving food and fellowship.
When our kids were little, we were always telling them ‘don’t touch this, don’t touch that’. ‘Don’t put your hands on her, don’t pull her hair, don’t poke him’. But then we tried a better phrase. ‘Hands on tummy’. Here is somewhere good to put your hands. And Paul is giving the Corinthian Christians the ‘hands on tummy’ phrase. Here is where you should put yourself. In Christian fellowship and in the Lord’s Supper.
1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 16 to 17:
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 partake of the one loaf. (NIV)
Wen we participate in the Lord’s Supper, by faith we really partake and fellowship with Christ, and with his death, and with his people. Christ is bodily risen and now located in heaven at the right hand of God. But by his Spirit Christ dwells in our hearts by faith. Christ promises that when two or three are gathered together in his name, there is he with them. And so he is.
So just like reading the bible or praying, the Supper stimulates our faith. It is a visible word.
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26 NIV)
The Supper proclaims and preaches Christ’s death to us, until Christ comes again. We never graduate from needing Christ’s death preached to us. I resolve to know nothing except Christ crucified. So the supper is a visible word.
The supper preaches Christ and his death. So we commune with the Risen Christ in heaven. It is called Holy Communion because we commune with Christ. We also commune with each other, as we commune with Christ. We commune together horizontally. And we commune with Christ vertically.
The vertical communion with Christ is spiritual, not physical. We spiritually feed on Christ’s flesh and drink his blood.
This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me’. (1 Corinthians 11:24 NIV)
This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ (1 Corinthians 11:25 NIV)
So we feed on Christ. Not literally or physically, as if the bread ceases to be bread and the wine ceases to be wine, but become Jesus’ body and blood. That’s Roman Catholicism. They say that the bread ceases to be bread and the wine ceases to be wine. It has become Jesus’ flesh and blood.
But Paul still calls the ‘bread’, ‘bread’.
Chapter 11 verse 26, for whenever you eat this bread...
Chapter 11 verse 27, whoever eats the bread…
Chapter 11 verse 28, a man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread…
The bread doesn’t cease to be bread. It doesn’t become something other than bread. Rather, the bread represents Jesus’ flesh, and the wine represents his blood.
And so we don’t literally munch on Jesus’ flesh and drink his blood. That is not what is meant. We spiritually and figuratively munch on Jesus. By remembering Jesus death for us, that it was for us, for our spiritual sustenance and survival, our faith is increased. The means of this is the preaching done in the supper.
Even though there is no change in the elements, we still feed on Christ. Just as Christ was the Rock that watered his Old Testament people, the Risen Christ is the heavenly bread and blood that spiritually feeds our faith. We act out, we eat, we drink, we engage in physical and bodily acts that remind us that Christ is our Rock watering us, and Christ is our Passover Lamb, feeding us, and he is the bread from heaven, nourishing us, and his blood is our wine, refreshing us. And by stimulating our faith, increasing our faith, the supper strengthens us. It feeds us along our way.
But God is a jealous God. Christ is a husband who tolerates no rivals. And to engage in idol worship while coming to the Lord’s Table is to provoke the Lord’s jealousy. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 20 to 22:
[T]he 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? (NIV)
Christians cannot engage in the worship of other gods. We cannot be syncretistic, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. We cannot worship Allah. We worship the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We cannot worship the many gods of Hinduism representing the one god of Hinduism.
We cannot worship the bread or wine as the Roman Catholics do in the Mass. We believe the bread and wine are symbols and signs of Christ’s body and blood, not the actual body and blood of Christ which is in heaven at the right hand of God, though it looks like bread, smells like bread, tastes like bread, and mice eat it and think it is bread. That is why I do not take communion in the Roman Catholic church, nor could I either in the Orthodox church.
Nor can we worship at the idols of our culture. The titilations of Hollywood or our own TV or movies. I enjoy movies and tv shows. But we cannot come to both the Lord’s Supper, and a strip show, whether live or internet or televised. We have a jealous Lord and a jealous Christ. We are not stronger than him.
We live in this world, but lines need to be drawn. Think of sport. I enjoy sport, both playing and watching. And there is nothing wrong with exercise and team sport. But when you are next watching a sporting match, consider the near religious language they use about it. ‘The hallowed turf, the devotion of the fans. They used to call Gary Abblet, the AFL player, ‘God’. The fans on the hill used to bow down to Merv Hughes.
But we are Christian. And Christ will not tolerate rivals. Are we trying to arose the Lord Christ’s jealousy? He made his Old Testament people pay. He also made his New Testament people pay for their folly, as we shall see.
For it was not just syncretism that caught the Corinthians, but schism. Not only was some perhaps taking the liberties with idol worship. But some were divisive and showing favouritism in the church. They were disdaining the poor amongst them. And so bad is it, that Paul can’t bring himself to call what they are doing ‘the Lord’s Supper’. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 20 to 22:
When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? (NIV)
Apparently, when the early church in Corinth met, they ate together. They had a real substantial meal, or at least some of them did, probably before the Lord’s Supper. Perhaps they had a substantial meal first, and then Communion, with a small amount of bread and wine for each person. It would be a bit like how we have morning tea after church, except in reverse order. Christ is the host of both meals. Because they fellowshipped with each other, the body of Christ. And they fellowshipped with Jesus Christ, who dwelt in their hearts by faith.
But of course, everything can be distorted by sin. And sadly, it seems the rich were eating their food that they brought, and didn’t wait for the poor, or share their food with them. And all the poor seems to have is the little amount of bread and wine that was shared in the Lord’s Supper part of their meeting. Perhaps we would have the same effect by saying, ‘OK, everyone can come to the Lord’s Supper today, but only those who brought food can have morning tea! The reality would be, that those who couldn’t afford food, could go hungry.
As an aside, I am not aware of the poor in our society not having enough food. The poor in our country tend to have enough food, but clearly those in Corinth didn’t.
Paul is angry about this, of course. But Paul’s anger is not the most important. It is God and his Christ’s anger that is most scary. 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 27 to 32:
Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognising the body [of the Lord][9] eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world. (NIV)
Christ is Lord of his Supper. And those who sin against the Church, Christ’s body, eats and drinks judgment on themselves. I take it that the ‘body’ referred to in verse 29 is the church (compare Chapter 12 verse 29). The church is the body of Christ. Literally, they are not discerning the body. They spurn the poor church members. And some Corinthian Christians got sick and died after having shamed the poor in church. Christ was disciplining those who sinned in this way. Christ executed judgment on them, and that’s why they died. It doesn’t necessarily mean they went to hell. It means that Christ disciplined them so they would not be condemned with the world. If we don’t judge ourselves, the Lord Jesus will. And that’s why we confess our sins before the Lord’s Supper.
In fact, in both our Green Prayerbook and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (BCP), there were extensive warnings for people not to come to the supper unprepared. In the BCP, there are two exhortations that the Minister could read on the Sunday before the church was to have the Lord’s Supper. The first one was to make sure that those who come to communion are not blasphemers, slanders of God’s word, adultery, malicious, envious, or guilty of some other grievous crime. The idea was they would put right any serious sins they had committed against God and neighbor before communion, and repent.
The second exhortation urges the people to come to communion and not to make excuses, but instead to repent.
Yes, communion is serious. And that is why we confess our sins. We are sinners, and sinners we remain, until the Lord changes us in the blink of an eye. So we confess our sins. We also must do what we can to put them right. And we then we must remember the death of Christ for our sins. That is what we do, until Christ comes. We proclaim his death for our sins until he comes again. Come, Lord Jesus.
Let’s pray.
[1] Lit, now these things have become types for us
[2] Lit, and they arose to play
[3] Lit, fell. Numbers 25:1-9 records both the idol sacrifices and sexual immorality with the Moabites, together with ‘The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshipping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them’: Numbers 25:2-3. Israel's judges put some to death. However, those who died in the plague numbered 24,000 (Numbers 25:9). This raises the problem of the ‘Missing Thousand’, that the Apostle Paul, however, says that in one day 23,000 died. Several solutions have been proposed, beyond saying that one figure is correct and one mistaken. Both Exodus and the Apostle could be using round numbers, Paul giving below the actual number, Moses above it: Calvin, Comm 1 Cor 10:8, in CC, 20:324. Alternatively, Paul could be making some allowance for those killed by the judges, reserving his round figure of 23 thousand for those killed by the plague: Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians: TNTC, 141. Perhaps the 23,000 died on the same day while the ‘missing thousand’ died subsequently: cited in Ciampa & Rosner, 1 Corinthians: Pillar, 460. Paul might have avoided the risk of exaggeration by under reporting: Godet cited in Garland, 1 Corinthians: BECNT, 462. Paul could be referring to Exodus 32 only, first to the 3000 slaughtered by the Levites, and then the twenty thousand are those killed by the plague, being additional information Paul had but we do not: Gleason Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, 401. It is very possible that Paul may have had more detailed information than us. However, Garland, Ciampa & Rosner have all argued that most likely Paul was fusing Numbers 25 with Exodus 32, bringing the 3 thousand of Ex 32 with a rounded twenty thousand of Numbers 25, and indeed, bringing the two incidents into much closer relation: see Garland, 1 Corinthians: BECNT, 462-3. A few mss read twenty four thousand: tol syrp txt (non itemmg nec syrsch) arm
[4] The reading Cristo,n {B} best explains the origin of the others. It is attested by the oldest Greek manuscript (î46) as well as by a wide diversity of early patristic and versional witnesses (Irenaeus in Gaul, Ephraem in Edessa, Clement in Alexandria, Origen in Palestine, as well as by the Old Latin, the Vulgate, Syriac, Sahidic and Bohairic). The difficulty of explaining how the ancient Israelites in the wilderness could have tempted Christ prompted some copyists to substitute either the ambiguous ku,rion or the unobjectionable qeo,n. Paul’s reference to Christ here is analogous to that in verse 4: Metzger, Textual Commentary.
[5] Lit, and they perished by the destroyer. Probably references to Numbers 11:1, 33-34, where the people craved meat and were killed, and Numbers 14:1-2, 27-38.
[6] Lit, and they were written for our admonition
[7] Lit, for whom the end of the ages have arrive.
[8] Lit, Therefore, the one who thinks [he] stands, he should watch in case he falls
[9] The shorter text is preserved by the best witnesses (î46 a* A B C* 33 1739 copsa, bo al), but tou/ kuri,ou was added after sw/ma for clarification by ac C3 D G K P most minuscules it syrp, h, pal goth arm al). Metzger gives the shorter text an [A] reading.
10:1 For I do not want you to be unaware [literally, unknowing, ignorant, ironic given their claim to knowledge], brothers [10:1Οὐ θέλω γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ignorant, ἀδελφοί,], that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea [ὅτι οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν πάντες ὑπὸ τὴν νεφέλην ἦσαν καὶ πάντες διὰ τῆς θαλάσσης διῆλθον], 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea [2καὶ πάντες εἰς τὸν Μωϋσῆν ἐβαπτίσθησαν ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ], 3 and all ate the same spiritual food [καὶ πάντες τὸ αὐτὸ πνευματικὸν βρῶμα ἔφαγον], 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink [καὶ πάντες τὸ αὐτὸ πνευματικὸν ἔπιον πόμα]. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ [ἔπινον γὰρ ἐκ πνευματικῆς ἀκολουθούσης πέτρας, ἡ πέτρα δὲ ἦν ὁ Χριστός.]. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown [strewn on the ground] in the wilderness. [5Ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐν τοῖς πλείοσιν αὐτῶν εὐδόκησεν ὁ θεός, κατεστρώθησαν γὰρ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.]
10:6 Now these things took place as examples for us [10:6Ταῦτα δὲ τύποι, types, ἡμῶν ἐγενήθησαν, have become], that we might not desire evil as they did [εἰς τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἐπιθυμητὰς κακῶν, καθὼς κἀκεῖνοι ἐπεθύμησαν]. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were [7μηδὲ εἰδωλολάτραι γίνεσθε καθώς τινες αὐτῶν]; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play [ἐκάθισεν ὁ λαὸς φαγεῖν καὶ πεῖν καὶ ἀνέστησαν παίζειν.].” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did [μηδὲ πορνεύωμεν, καθώς τινες αὐτῶν ἐπόρνευσαν, just as some of them sinned sexually], and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day [8 καὶ ἔπεσαν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ εἴκοσι τρεῖς χιλιάδες.]. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did [μηδὲ ἐκπειράζωμεν τὸν Χριστόν, καθώς τινες αὐτῶν ἐπείρασαν, just as some of them tested], and were destroyed by serpents [καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ὄφεων ἀπώλλυντο] 10 nor grumble, as some of them did [μηδὲ γογγύζετε, καθάπερ τινὲς αὐτῶν ἐγόγγυσαν, even as some of them grumbled] and were destroyed by the Destroyer [καὶ ἀπώλοντο ὑπὸ τοῦ ὀλοθρευτοῦ.].
10:11 Now these things happened to them as an example [11ταῦτα δὲ τυπικῶς συνέβαινεν ἐκείνοις, befalling these people as types], but they were written down for our instruction [ἐγράφη δὲ πρὸς νουθεσίαν ἡμῶν], on whom the end of the ages has come [εἰς οὓς τὰ τέλη τῶν αἰώνων κατήντηκεν]. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall [12Ὥστε ὁ δοκῶν ἑστάναι βλεπέτω μὴ πέσῃ]. 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man [13πειρασμὸς ὑμᾶς οὐκ εἴληφεν εἰ μὴ ἀνθρώπινος]. God is faithful [πιστὸς δὲ ὁ θεός], and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [ὃς οὐκ ἐάσει ὑμᾶς, who will not permit you, πειρασθῆναι ὑπὲρ ὃ δύνασθε], but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it [ἀλλὰ ποιήσει σὺν τῷ πειρασμῷ καὶ τὴν ἔκβασιν τοῦ δύνασθαι ὑπενεγκεῖν.]. Ten 14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry [Διόπερ, For this very reason, stronger conjunction?, ἀγαπητοί μου, φεύγετε ἀπὸ τῆς εἰδωλολατρίας].
10:15 I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say [ὡς φρονίμοις λέγω· κρίνατε ὑμεῖς ὅ φημι]. Ten 16 The cup of blessing that we bless [Τὸ ποτήριον τῆς εὐλογίας ὃ εὐλογοῦμεν], is it not a participation in [of] the blood of Christ? [οὐχὶ κοινωνία ἐστὶν τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ;] The bread that we break [τὸν ἄρτον ὃν κλῶμεν,], is it not a participation [of] in the body of Christ? [οὐχὶ κοινωνία τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐστιν;] 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body [ὅτι εἷς ἄρτος, ἓν σῶμα οἱ πολλοί ἐσμεν], for we all partake of the one bread [οἱ γὰρ πάντες ἐκ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἄρτου μετέχομεν]. Ten
10:18 Consider the people of Israel [βλέπετε, look at, τὸν Ἰσραὴλ κατὰ σάρκα, according to flesh]: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? [οὐχ οἱ ἐσθίοντες τὰς θυσίας κοινωνοὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου εἰσίν;] 19 What do I imply then? [Τί οὖν φημι;] That food [something] offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? [ὅτι εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν ἢ ὅτι εἴδωλόν τί ἐστιν;] 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God [ἀλλ’, rather, ὅτι ἃ, that which, θύουσιν, δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ [θύουσιν]]. I do not want you to be participants with demons [οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς κοινωνοὺς τῶν δαιμονίων γίνεσθαι]. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons [οὐ δύνασθε ποτήριον κυρίου πίνειν καὶ ποτήριον δαιμονίων,]. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons [οὐ δύνασθε τραπέζης κυρίου μετέχειν καὶ τραπέζης δαιμονίων]. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? [ἢ, or, παραζηλοῦμεν τὸν κύριον;] Are we stronger than he? [μὴ ἰσχυρότεροι αὐτοῦ ἐσμεν;, question expecting no, We are not stronger than he, are we?]
10:23“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful [Πάντα ἔξεστιν ἀλλ’ οὐ πάντα συμφέρει,·profitable]. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up ; [πάντα ἔξεστιν ἀλλ’ οὐ πάντα οἰκοδομεῖ; cf. 6:12]. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbour [μηδεὶς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ζητείτω ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῦ ἑτέρου, other]. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience [Πᾶν τὸ ἐν μακέλλῳ πωλούμενον ἐσθίετε μηδὲν ἀνακρίνοντες διὰ τὴν συνείδησιν·]. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof” [τοῦ κυρίου γὰρ ἡ γῆ καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς, the earth and all its fullness is the Lord’s].
10:27 If [some] one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go [εἴ τις καλεῖ ὑμᾶς τῶν ἀπίστων καὶ θέλετε πορεύεσθαι], eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience [πᾶν τὸ παρατιθέμενον ὑμῖν ἐσθίετε μηδὲν ἀνακρίνοντες διὰ τὴν συνείδησιν.]. 28 But if someone says to you [ἐὰν δέ τις ὑμῖν εἴπῃ·], “This has been offered in sacrifice, [τοῦτο ἱερόθυτόν ἐστιν, this is an idol’s sacrifice’]” then do not eat it [μὴ ἐσθίετε], for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience [δι’ ἐκεῖνον τὸν μηνύσαντα καὶ τὴν συνείδησιν, account of this disclosure and conscience]— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his [συνείδησιν δὲ λέγω οὐχὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ ἑτέρο, but I say not his own conscience but the conscience of the other person]. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? [ἱνατί γὰρ ἡ ἐλευθερία, freedom, μου κρίνεται ὑπὸ ἄλλης συνειδήσεως;] 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? [εἰ ἐγὼ χάριτι μετέχω, τί βλασφημοῦμαι ὑπὲρ οὗ ἐγὼ εὐχαριστῶ; , For if I partake by grace, why am I blasphemed for that for which I give thanks?]
10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do [Εἴτε οὖν ἐσθίετε εἴτε πίνετε εἴτε τι ποιεῖτε,], do all to the glory of God [πάντα εἰς δόξαν θεοῦ ποιεῖτε]. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God [ἀπρόσκοποι καὶ Ἰουδαίοις γίνεσθε, be blameless, καὶ Ἕλλησιν καὶ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ], 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do [καθὼς κἀγὼ πάντα πᾶσιν ἀρέσκω], not seeking my own advantage [profit], but that of many [μὴ ζητῶν τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ σύμφορον ἀλλὰ τὸ τῶν πολλῶν], that they may be saved [ἵνα σωθῶσιν]. 11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ [μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε καθὼς κἀγὼ Χριστοῦ].
11:17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you [Τοῦτο δὲ παραγγέλλων, declaring, οὐκ ἐπαινῶ, praise], because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse [ὅτι οὐκ εἰς τὸ κρεῖσσον ἀλλ’ εἰς τὸ ἧσσον υνέρχεσθε]. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church [πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ συνερχομένων ὑμῶν ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ], I hear that there are divisions among you [ἀκούω σχίσματα, schisms, ἐν ὑμῖν ὑπάρχειν, exist]. And I believe it in part [καὶ μέρος τι πιστεύω.], 19 for there must be factions among you [δεῖ γὰρ καὶ αἱρέσεις ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι,] in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized [ἵνα [καὶ] οἱ δόκιμοι, approved after testing, φανεροὶ γένωνται ἐν ὑμῖν]. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat [Συνερχομένων οὖν ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ, when you come together at the same place, οὐκ ἔστιν κυριακὸν δεῖπνον φαγεῖν, it is not to eat the Lord’s dinner]. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal [ἕκαστος γὰρ τὸ ἴδιον δεῖπνον, dinner, προλαμβάνει ἐν τῷ φαγεῖν,]. One goes hungry, another gets drunk [καὶ ὃς μὲν πεινᾷ ὃς δὲ μεθύει]. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? [μὴ γὰρ οἰκίας οὐκ ἔχετε εἰς τὸ ἐσθίειν καὶ πίνειν;, question expecting no answer] Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? [ἢ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ καταφρονεῖτε, καὶ καταισχύνετε, shame, τοὺς μὴ ἔχοντας;, the ones who do not have] What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not [τί εἴπω ὑμῖν; ἐπαινέσω, praise, ὑμᾶς; ἐν τούτῳ οὐκ ἐπαινῶ, praise].
·
11:23 For I received from the Lord [Ἐγὼ γὰρ παρέλαβον ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου,] what I also delivered to you [ὃ καὶ παρέδωκα, handed over, ὑμῖν,], that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread [ὅτι ὁ κύριος Ἰησοῦς ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ ᾗ παρεδίδετο ἔλαβεν ἄρτον], 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said [καὶ εὐχαριστήσας ἔκλασεν καὶ εἶπεν], “This is my body, which is for you [τοῦτό μού ἐστιν τὸ σῶμα τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν]. Do this in remembrance of me [τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν].” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying [ὡσαύτως καὶ τὸ ποτήριον μετὰ τὸ δειπνῆσαι, after the dinner, λέγων], “This cup is the new covenant in my blood [τοῦτο τὸ ποτήριον ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ αἵματι]. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me [τοῦτο ποιεῖτε, ὁσάκις ἐὰν πίνητε, εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν].” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup [ὁσάκις γὰρ ἐὰν ἐσθίητε τὸν ἄρτον τοῦτον καὶ τὸ ποτήριον πίνητε], you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes [τὸν θάνατον τοῦ κυρίου καταγγέλλετε ἄχρι οὗ ἔλθῃ].
11:27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner [Ὥστε ὃς ἂν ἐσθίῃ τὸν ἄρτον ἢ πίνῃ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ κυρίου ἀναξίως] will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord [ἔνοχος ἔσται τοῦ σώματος καὶ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ κυρίου]. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup [δοκιμαζέτω, approve himself after testing, δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἑαυτὸν καὶ οὕτως ἐκ τοῦ ἄρτου ἐσθιέτω καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ποτηρίου πινέτω]. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself [ὁ γὰρ ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων κρίμα ἑαυτῷ ἐσθίει καὶ πίνει μὴ διακρίνων τὸ σῶμα]. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some [considerable numbers] have died [διὰ τοῦτο ἐν ὑμῖν πολλοὶ ἀσθενεῖς καὶ ἄρρωστοι καὶ κοιμῶνται, are falling asleep, ἱκανοί]. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged [εἰ δὲ ἑαυτοὺς διεκρίνομεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐκρινόμεθα]. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world [κρινόμενοι δὲ ὑπὸ [τοῦ] κυρίου παιδευόμεθα, ἵνα μὴ σὺν τῷ κόσμῳ κατακριθῶμεν].
11:33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another [Ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου, συνερχόμενοι εἰς τὸ φαγεῖν ἀλλήλους ἐκδέχεσθε.]— 34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home [εἴ τις πεινᾷ, ἐν οἴκῳ ἐσθιέτω,]—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment [ἵνα μὴ εἰς κρίμα συνέρχησθε]. About the other things I will give directions when I come [τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ὡς ἂν ἔλθω διατάξομαι].