The Tale of Two Tables (Abbreviated)

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Intro:

We all hate products that overpromise and under deliver.

Take amazon for example— Here are certain products that promised one thing through the picture displayed and underdelivered when it was ordered. (show photos- KEEP SHORT)

Humans are originally wired and created as worshipers. But after the fall of man.... (expound)

Background of chapter and passage at hand

Unity with Christ and His church becomes impossible when idols are cherished. But God enables us to abandon our idols by our union with and enjoyment of His son Jesus.

Outline:

Paul points out the seriousness of idolatry by...

Giving a Command- Vs 14

Exposition (Read vs 14)

It’s amazing to see during the spring and summer months how people first react to the sight of a rattle snake. Often the first reaction (if they didn’t grow up around them) is to RUN! Why? Because there’s danger. Paul is commanding them to run from idolatry- something that kills.

Fleeing from idolatry is a divine command.

“therefore, my beloved”

If you remember, He has been speaking since chapter 8 about the issue of meat sacrificed to idols.

Back in this time, this was a big deal...

It’s better to love than to exercise liberties in these grey areas for the sake of the gospel. This way we can run this race well, and see people come to Christ.

But also, you may recall that at the beginning of chapter 10

He alludes to The people of Israel in the wilderness in Exodus 32

He says in verse 13 that in God’s faithfulness, now that the power of Christ has been given to us by the Spirit, we can escape the temptation...

Now we have talked about this before, but what does the Bible mean when it says the Word “Idolatry”?

Narrow meaning

But we also see a broad definition. Idolatry can also be defined as replacing God in the heart with something else deemed more preferable. It’s perceiving something as worthy of my trust, allegiance, and affection that I forsake and replace God with that thing.

Idolatry has to do with what we most deeply love- not if you are a worshiper...

Let me illustrate this:

Isaiah 44:9–17 (ESV)

The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint.... Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

But at the core of Idolatry is this

Jeremiah 2:12–13 (ESV)

Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

This is the root of Idolatry- preferring something other than God in the heart.

DELIVER ME!

Now connect it to today.

But think about it, in ancient times there were gods named...

Molech

Aphrodite or Venus for the Romans- the goddess of love, sex and fertility.

The Roman god Bonus Eventus- The god of success.

So our idols can come in the form of...

“Please me, satisfy me, provide for me” or really “Save me.” And who central to this whole picture? Me, myself, and I.

This is all rooted in the place of the heart

Proverbs/Jesus.

Therefore, what the heart wants most, the mind justifies, and the will goes after. And what you give your deepest love and attention to, shapes the kind of person you become— either for restoration or ruin. 1

first of the 10 commandments.

God requires perfect, personal, and perpetual obedience to this if one ought to attain right standing before Him. But no one can do this— our rebels hearts generate more things to worship besides the true God.

Therefore, anyone who does not love God perfectly deserves God’s eternal wrath in hell for all eternity.

If you’re like me, you would feel absolutely crushed by this. Where is the hope found? Thankfully, as Paul continues to warn these believers, he’ll implicitly point us to our hope through the good news of who Christ is and what He has done.

Drawing a parallel between two tables- Vs 15-21

Exposition Read Vs 15-16

Table # 1 The Lord’s Supper- (First the vertical influence)

Paul is trying to reason with them here.

He brings up the first table which is the Lord’s supper- the bread that is eaten and the cup that they drink when the church gathers for worship.

So try to follow his argument- ask yourself, why on earth does He bring up the Lord’s supper?

He’s telling them, you know how you partake of the cup of blessing? (This means, the cup that is set apart and blessed for a particular purpose.) and you know how we partake of the bread? We are participating in something outside of ourselves that has direct influence and implications for our daily lives.

When Paul asks those rhetorical questions “is it not a participation in the blood and body of Christ?” Paul uses that classic greek word κοινωνία- Which has a range of meaning but could be most accurately translated “fellowship” or “communion”- This speaks of a real intimate connection with someone.

When Jesus gave us this sacrament in the gospels, he broke the bread and gave the cup to his disciples and said “this is my body, this is my blood.”

The substance of the bread and juice or wine doesn’t become the body and blood of Christ like the catholics teach- so that through some magical act by a priest Christ literally comes down and is re-sacrificed again, but rather Spiritually, they are ordinary signs that point us to extraordinary grace. We feast at the table with the Lord Jesus Himself by the presence of His Holy Spirit.

If we take the supper in a worthy manner which is with a believing heart, actually have κοινωνία with the Lord jesus at His table and we are feasting upon His goodness, love, and redemption. So we are actually fellowshipping, communing with Jesus when we take the Lord’s supper— these ordinary signs are like contact points our faith has with the gospel and our souls are nourished as we are oriented back to christ. There’s a vertical influence that takes place

Then Paul points to the horizontal results (Read vs 17-18)

Paul points then to the one loaf of bread eaten by the church- just as there are many pieces taken from the one loaf of bread, we also are many members but one body- Christ is our head. The communion points us to the fact that though we are all diverse, since we are united to Jesus Christ in an inseparable union and relationship, we are all united together. Ever wonder why its called communion? Look at the english word itself- we all have a common union and we are all united to Jesus. That’s why i like to call it a “family meal”.

So not only is the supper an expression of our unity in the gospel, it is something that strengthens our unity because we are all feasting on Christ together (spiritually speaking).

Just like the people of Israel participated in the altar when they ate the sacrifices.

Unity with Christ and His church becomes impossible where idols are cherished.

Now hopefully the next part of Paul’s argument makes sense after he uses the illustration of the Lord’s supper which we’ll tie back in in a moment. (Read vs 19-20)

Paul is essentially drawing stating his main point in saying what he said about communion— Just as the corinthian church fellowships with Christ when they feast at His table since the bread and wine point us to Him and are therefore influenced, when they go to these pagan feasts where there is meat offered to idols and people are doing these rituals, you are not participating in idols because they really are nothing, you are participating with and being influenced demons.

Who is behind idolatry? Satan. The demonic dark spiritual realm is behind these feasts where idols are worshiped and behind all forms of idolatry today. Satan presents a wonderful picture to lead us to these idols, but they never can actually save and never can deliver on their promises.

The corinthians here were compromising. Trying to live in a pagan culture and become like the culture in the name of “liberty” they were potentially opening themselves up to demonic influence.

I’m not sure if Paul suspected that the corinthians were actually worshiping these gods in their heart of hearts and therefore forsaking God altogether, but simply by these outward practices that they partook in to look like the culture, they were committing idolatry because they were not honoring the true God— they were taking away from the honor that was due to him alone.

So he goes on to warn them and show how absurd this is:

(Read vs 21)- Look at those words: You CANNOT.

Our communion with Jesus is only real because we have union with Jesus- Union and Communion inseparable. If someone never has any communion with Jesus, it’s indicative of the fact that they don’t have union with Jesus.

So Paul is effectively saying you cannot have communion with Demons because you’re no longer under in bondage or in union with Satan and the kingdom of darkness.

The Word CANNOT- implies the impossibility of the situation at hand. Listen, a genuine Christian, will not go on in unrepentant service to the kingdom darkness. It’s just impossible.

Jesus says this can’t happen- it’s impossible. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”

So if this is our natural tendency as humans, then where is our hope?

Look how Paul in his writings often points to our union with Christ through the gospel as that which gives rise to the reality that it is impossible for someone who has been declared righteous by God to still have a close bond or tie or union with this world.

It doesn’t mean we don’t have indwelling sin and struggle. We all do. But the grace of God doesn’t free someone up TO engage in unrepentant idolatry. Sin is what The grace of Christ through the gospel is what frees us FROM. Even though we struggle, it’s power is broken.

They want to come to the Lord’s supper, and perhaps mix their worship of God with practices of the surrounding world.

They want to feast on God’s grace and feast at idolatrous pagan tables where demons influence people. But how can you feast at both tables if one frees you from the other? The Table of God’s grace points you to your freedom from the table of idolatry. It doesn’t work.

To tie it back around, this is why i love that he brings up the Lord’s supper. It’s the sign that points us to Christ and seals his promises in our own souls. The gospel is our solution for idolatry.

When we see Jesus Christ and him crucified and risen we see the supremely valuable God who’s love is truly better than life.

You come to the Lord’s table and you behold Him. Communion is a set apart for that reason.

Our idols— whether that’s our jobs, our families, our material things— promise relief and deliverance. But then they demand everything from us and leave us feeling completely empty. The reason you sinned was because you believed an empty promise that an idol gave to you. You sacrifice everything thinking that it’ll love you back but yet, you’re left in the dirt. Idols over promise, and under deliver.

But The gospel says you’re saved by grace. You’re saved by a Savior who doesn’t demand from you your efforts and hard work to earn his love and benefits. Christ offered up His own works before the Father. He was the only true Worshiper who never commited idolatry- and yet, he was treated as an idolater on the cross, receiving the cursings for idolatry so that we can receive His every saving benefit. God’s grace means your identity, satisfaction in God, is not achieved, but received. You don’t work to achieve it, you receive it by faith alone.

The law of God demands everything- demands perfect allegiance to God alone- but it doesn't give us any power to carry this out. It only reveals the sin of idolatry that we’re enslaved to.

The gospel issues no demands and yet, give us Christ- and when we have Christ, we have everything we need, including the power to flee from our idols.

You run to idols because you believe you lack something— Satan manages to convince fully satisfied people that they are starving to death— it’s a lie. If you have Christ, you have all you could ever need.

Why would you run to the table of this world and look to sex, money, power, possessions as your ultimate satisfaction? At His table, you find true salvation and satisfaction. You’re seated where you don’t belong- You are unworthy to sit there. But He carries you there, cleanses you, and you feast upon all that His is FOR you.

Why on earth would you miss such a gift? Feasting on God’s goodness at the table of the Lord will fill you with strength to resist the seduction of the table of demons and enable you to pursue unity with the body of Christ.

Issuing a warning and a word of hope- Vs 22

Read vs 22- Paul issues a warning here— By asking this rhetorical question, he’s saying- God takes idolatry in our lives seriously because idolatry makes war on God.

We’ll always struggle, we’ll all struggle to kill our passions for this world. But why would we not aim the gospel at our hearts and kill the idols in our lives?

You’re either killing sin, or being killed by sin— You’re either actively (although imperfectly) working toward being set apart from this world or you’re being sucked into the world— there’s no middle ground.

Here’s the reality, the corinthians wanted to have God and perhaps live in unrepentant idolatry and compromise. But God love His children too much to allow this. He will rise up to kill whatever might be killing us.

This is a warning— we’re not stronger than God. We ought not think we can make war with him and win. God will perhaps in His fatherly discipline give us over to the destruction of our sin for a time, but the regenerate part of us will overcome and He by His Spirit will draw us back.

Let me make it plain, if you live in unrepentant idolatry God will discipline you. It will hurt. But it’s purpose is not to harm you- it’s to redeem you from yourself. It’s purely restorative discipline.

God doesn’t discipline those who aren’t His own. So if you are here, living in unrepentant sin— disagreeing with God about your sin, and no longer siding with God against your sin, and you NEVER feel His discipline in your life, the book of Hebrews makes it very clear, then you are not a child of God.

But the hope found in this text is that God is provoked to Jealousy. That’s actually good news! He goes after us and retrieves his own children when we run after other lovers.

And when he brings us back, he reminds us of His love. He brings us back to His banquet at His table and we behold the cross so that we never lose sight of His love— it becomes fixed in our minds and hearts. This is God’s very means to keep us close to Himself in true worship and He promises that He will keep us till the end.

Conclusion

Let us see the command, let us avoid the table of demons and come to the table of the Lord— seeing the gospel as the power we need, and let us avoid making war on God.

The command is not JUST flee from Idolatry, but flee from Idolatry and come to Christ

After all, Christ made war on on our sin and won when he died for us at the cross- He rose again rendering all our idols defeated.

Let us run to Him— the righteous one who doesn’t make us work for our satisfaction and identity, but the one who worked on our behalf so that we could enjoy Him for eternity.

Unity with Christ and His church becomes impossible when idols are cherished. But God enables us to abandon our idols by our union with and enjoyment of His son Jesus.