Setting the Lord's Table: 1 Corinthians 10:16-23

We have communion every 5th Sunday of the month, which ends up being once a quarter.

Who can participate in communion? Any born again believer.

How are we to participate in it? This message and every one we do when we have the Lord’s supper is all about making sure we participate in it the right way. We set the table so that communion ins’t just something we do but it is done as an act of worship that we do in spirit and in truth.

Read our text for the day:

1 Corinthians 10:16–23 (NASB)

16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? 19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. 21 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.

22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we? 23 All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.

The Lord’s Supper is a reminder of what was SACRIFICED.

The BODY of Christ.

(v. 16) “...the body of Christ...”

Jesus was punched in the face.

He had a crown of thorns smashed down on His head.

He was flogged with the cat of nine tails.

His hands and feet had large metal spikes driven through them.

His side was pierced with a spear.

The BLOOD of Christ.

(v. 16) “...the blood of Christ...”

The blood of Jesus was poured our on the cross, so much so that when the spear pierced His side to ensure His death, blood and water came out.

That is what Jesus sacrificed to the Father for us. His body and His blood.

Who are you sacrificing to?

(v. 19-20) What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.”

(v. 21) 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.

(v. 22) Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?

What are you sacrificing?

The Lord’s Supper is a reminder of what is SHARED.

“sharing” , “sharers”

Salvation.

(v. 16b) “...a sharing in the blood of Christ...”

Have you partaken? (John 6)

Family.

(v. 16c) “...a sharing in the body of Christ...”

Are you a part of the body of Christ?

Blessing.

(v. 16a) “...the cup of blessing which we bless...”

Count your blessings! Name them one by one.

1 Corinthians 11:24–25 (NASB)

24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Memory Verse of the Week:

John 15:5 NASB

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Discussion Questions: (1 Corinthians 10:16-23)

In what ways do we share in the blood of Christ? (v. 16a)

In what ways do we also share in the body of Christ? (v. 16b)

Why do you think Paul was emphasizing “one”? (v. 17)

What does it mean to be a “sharer in the altar”? (v. 18)

Why do you think Paul brings idols up here? (v. 19)

Who or what do we worship with our sacrifices? (v. 20)

Why does Paul point out the two cups and two tables? (v. 21)

How do we make God jealous? (v. 22)

What is the difference between being “lawful” and “profitable”? (v. 23)

Are there lawful things in your life that are not profitable?

What else does this passage tell us about God?

What else does the text teach us about ourselves?

Did anything else in these verses stick out to you?

How do you believe God is leading you to respond to His word?