1 Corinthians 10:14-22·~1 min

Flee from Idolatry

Because of all this, Paul tells his beloved readers to flee idolatry and asks them to judge his words carefully. The cup and bread of the Lord are a participation in Christ's blood and body, and because the church shares one loaf it is one body; likewise, those who eat Israel's sacrifices share in the altar.

T¹⁴herefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. ¹⁵I speak to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one loaf. ¹⁸Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar?

Paul clarifies that he is not granting reality to idols themselves, but he does say that pagan sacrifices are offered to demons and not to God. For that reason believers cannot share both the cup and table of the Lord and the cup and table of demons without provoking the Lord's jealousy.

¹⁹Am I suggesting, then, that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? ²⁰No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons. ²¹You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons too. ²²Are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

Section summaryPaul turns from example to command and tells the Corinthians to flee idolatry. By comparing the Lord's Supper, Israel's altar meals, and pagan sacrificial meals, he argues that participation joins a person to the reality behind the act, which means the Lord's table cannot be shared with the table of demons.

Role in the chapterThis section gives the sharpest boundary in the whole idol-food discussion. It shows that the issue is not abstract knowledge about idols, but actual participation and loyalty.