1 Corinthians 10

14. Resuming the argument, 1 Corinthians 10:7 , 1 Corinthians 8:9 1 Corinthians 8:10 .
flee--Do not tamper with it by doubtful acts, such as eating idol meats on the plea of Christian liberty. The only safety is in wholly shunning whatever borders on idolatry ( 2 Corinthians 6:16 2 Corinthians 6:17 ). The Holy Spirit herein also presciently warned the Church against the idolatry, subsequently transferred from the idol feast to the Lord's Supper itself, in the figment of transubstantiation.

15. Appeal to their own powers of judgment to weigh the force of the argument that follows: namely, that as the partaking of the Lord's Supper involves a partaking of the Lord Himself, and the partaking of the Jewish sacrificial meats involved a partaking of the altar of God, and, as the heathens sacrifice to devils, to partake of an idol feast is to have fellowship with devils. We cannot divest ourselves of the responsibility of "judging" for ourselves. The weakness of private judgment is not an argument against its use, but its abuse. We should the more take pains in searching the infallible word, with every aid within our reach, and above all with humble prayer for the Spirit's teaching ( Acts 17:11 ). If Paul, an inspired apostle, not only permits, but urges, men to judge his sayings by Scripture, much more should the fallible ministers of the present visible Church do so.
To wise men--refers with a mixture of irony to the Corinthian boast of "wisdom" ( 1 Corinthians 4:10 , 2 Corinthians 11:19 ). Here you have an opportunity of exercising your "wisdom" in judging "what I say."

16. The cup of blessing--answering to the Jewish "cup of blessing," over which thanks were offered in the Passover. It was in doing so that Christ instituted this part of the Lord's Supper ( Matthew 26:27 , Luke 22:17 Luke 22:20 ).
we bless--"we," not merely ministers, but also the congregation. The minister "blesses" (that is, consecrates with blessing) the cup, not by any priestly transmitted authority of his own, but as representative of the congregation, who virtually through him bless the cup. The consecration is the corporate act of the whole Church. The act of joint blessing by him and them (not "the cup" itself, which, as also "the bread," in the Greek is in the accusative), and the consequent drinking of it together, constitute the communion, that is, the joint participation "of the blood of Christ." Compare 1 Corinthians 10:18 , "They who eat . . . are partakers" (joint communicants). "Is" in both cases in this verse is literal, not represents. He who with faith partakes of the cup and the bread, partakes really but spiritually of the blood and body of Christ ( Ephesians 5:30 Ephesians 5:32 ), and of the benefits of His sacrifice on the cross (compare 1 Corinthians 10:18 ). In contrast to this is to have "fellowship with devils" ( 1 Corinthians 10:20 ). ALFORD explains, "The cup . . . is the [joint] participation (that is, that whereby the act of participation takes place) of the blood," &c. It is the seal of our living union with, and a means of our partaking of, Christ as our Saviour ( John 6:53-57 ). It is not said, "The cup . . . is the blood," or "the bread . . . is the body," but "is the communion [joint-participation] of the blood . . . body." If the bread be changed into the literal body of Christ, where is the sign of the sacrament? Romanists eat Christ "in remembrance of Himself." To drink literal blood would have been an abomination to Jews, which the first Christians were ( Leviticus 17:11 Leviticus 17:12 ). Breaking the bread was part of the act of consecrating it, for thus was represented the crucifixion of Christ's body ( 1 Corinthians 11:24 ). The distinct specification of the bread and the wine disproves the Romish doctrine of concomitancy, and exclusion of the laity from the cup.

17. one bread--rather, "loaf." One loaf alone seems to have been used in each celebration.
and one body--Omit "and"; "one loaf [that is], one body." "We, the many (namely, believers assembled; so the Greek), are one bread (by our partaking of the same loaf, which becomes assimilated to the substance of all our bodies; and so we become), one body" (with Christ, and so with one another).
we . . . all--Greek, "the whole of us."

18. Israel after the flesh--the literal, as distinguished from the spiritual, Israel ( Romans 2:29 , 4:1 , 9:3 , Galatians 4:29 ).
partakers of the altar--and so of God, whose is the altar; they have fellowship in God and His worship, of which the altar is the symbol.

19, 20. What say I then?--The inference might be drawn from the analogies of the Lord's Supper and Jewish sacrifices, that an idol is really what the heathen thought it to be, a god, and that in eating idol-meats they had fellowship with the god. This verse guards against such an inference: "What would I say then? that a thing sacrificed to an idol is any real thing (in the sense that the heathen regard it), or that an idol is any real thing?" (The oldest manuscripts read the words in this order. Supply "Nay") "But [I say] that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils (demons)." Paul here introduces a new fact. It is true that, as I said, an idol has no reality in the sense that the heathen regard it, but it has a reality in another sense; heathendom being under Satan's dominion as "prince of this world," he and his demons are in fact the powers worshipped by the heathen, whether they are or are not conscious of it ( Deuteronomy 32:17 , Leviticus 17:7 , 2 Chronicles 11:15 , Psalms 106:37 , Revelation 9:20 ). "Devil" is in the Greek restricted to Satan; "demons" is the term applied to his subordinate evil spirits. Fear, rather than love, is the motive of heathen worship (compare the English word "panic," from PAN, whose human form with horns and cloven hoofs gave rise to the vulgar representations of Satan which prevail now); just as fear is the spirit of Satan and his demons ( James 2:19 ).

20. I would not that ye . . . have fellowship with devils--by partaking of idol feasts ( 1 Corinthians 8:10 ).

21. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord--really and spiritually; though ye may outwardly ( 1 Kings 18:21 ).
cup of devils--in contrast to the cup of the Lord. At idol feasts libations were usually made from the cup to the idol first, and then the guests drank; so that in drinking they had fellowship with the idol.
the Lord's table--The Lord's Supper is a feast on a table, not a sacrifice on an altar. Our only altar is the cross, our only sacrifice that of Christ once for all. The Lord's Supper stands, however, in the same relation, analogically, to Christ's sacrifice, as the Jews' sacrificial feasts did to their sacrifices (compare Malachi 1:7 , "altar . . . table of the Lord"), and the heathen idol feasts to their idolatrous sacrifices ( Isaiah 65:11 ). The heathen sacrifices were offered to idol nonentities, behind which Satan lurked. The Jews' sacrifice was but a shadow of the substance which was to come. Our one sacrifice of Christ is the only substantial reality; therefore, while the partaker of the Jew's sacrificial feast partook rather "of the altar" ( 1 Corinthians 10:18 ) than of GOD manifested fully, and the heathen idol-feaster had fellowship really with demons, the communicant in the Lord's Supper has in it a real communion of, or fellowship in, the body of Christ once sacrificed, and now exalted as the Head of redeemed humanity.

22. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?--by dividing our fellowship between Him and idols ( Ezekiel 20:39 ). Is it our wish to provoke Him to assert His power? Deuteronomy 32:21 is before the apostle's mind [ALFORD], ( Exodus 20:5 ).
are we stronger?--that we can risk a contest with Him.

23. All things are lawful for me, &c.--Recurring to the Corinthian plea ( 1 Corinthians 6:12 ), he repeats his qualification of it. The oldest manuscripts omit both times "for me."
edify not--tend not to build up the spiritual temple, the Church, in faith and love. Paul does not appeal to the apostolic decision ( Acts 15:1-29 ), which seems to have been not so much regarded outside of Palestine, but rather to the broad principle of true Christian freedom, which does not allow us to be governed by external things, as though, because we can use them, we must use them ( 1 Corinthians 6:12 ). Their use or non-use is to be regulated by regard to edification.

24. ( 1 Corinthians 10:33 , 1 Corinthians 13:5 , Romans 15:1 Romans 15:2 ).

25. shambles--butchers' stalls; the flesh market.
asking no question--whether it has been offered to an idol or not.
for conscience' sake--If on asking you should hear it had been offered to idols, a scruple would arise in your conscience which was needless, and never would have arisen had you asked no questions.

26. The ground on which such eating without questioning is justified is, the earth and all its contents ("the fulness thereof," Psalms 20:1 , 50:12 ), including all meats, belong to the Lord, and are appointed for our use; and where conscience suggests no scruple, all are to be eaten ( Romans 14:14 Romans 14:20 , 1 Timothy 4:4 1 Timothy 4:5 ; compare Acts 10:15 ).

27. ye be disposed to go--tacitly implying, they would be as well not to go, but yet not forbidding them to go ( 1 Corinthians 10:9 ) [GROTIUS]. The feast is not an idol feast, but a general entertainment, at which, however, there might be meat that had been offered to an idol.
for conscience'

28. if any man--a weak Christian at table, wishing to warn his brother.
offered in sacrifice unto idols--The oldest manuscripts omit "unto idols." At a heathen's table the expression, offensive to him, would naturally be avoided.
for conscience' sake--not to cause a stumbling-block to the conscience of thy weak brother ( 1 Corinthians 8:10-12 ).
for the earth is the Lord's, &c.--not in the oldest manuscripts.