What does the cup and the bread of the Lord's Table represent according to 1 Corinthians 10:16?
According to 1 Corinthians 10:16, the cup of blessing that we bless represents the communion or fellowship of the blood of Christ, while the bread that we break represents the communion or fellowship of the body of Christ. The many believers are therefore one bread.
Les explains that the Corinthians had made the Lord's Table, or communion service, a problem, with things going on that should never have taken place in the church, so Paul had to address it. Coming out of the discussion about meats offered to idols, Paul turns to the Lord's Table in verse 16. The cup of blessing we bless is the communion, or fellowship, of the blood of Christ. The bread which we break is the communion, or fellowship, of the body of Christ. Paul then says, "For we being many are one bread." Later, in chapter 12, Les notes that Paul uses the analogy of the body of Christ being put together like the human body, with various functions of fingers and toes, yet under one central nervous system centered in the head.
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
What does 1 Corinthians 10:16 mean by the cup of blessing which we bless?
The cup of blessing which we bless points to the Lord’s communion table. Paul identifies it as the communion of the blood of Christ, placing it within the Lord’s Supper. The context moves from resisting temptation and fleeing idolatry to the ordinance first practiced in the Lord’s upper room with the cup and broken bread.
How can many believers be one body, according to the bread of the Lord's Table?
Many believers are one body because, just as many individual wheat kernels are ground into flour and baked into a single loaf, believers are made a composite of individual members in the body of Christ. Being many, they are one bread, sharing the fellowship of the body of Christ.
More Questions
How does the one loaf of bread in 1 Corinthians 10 picture the unity of the body of Christ?
The single loaf of bread, which can be a composite of wheat shipments from many states ground together at one mill, illustrates that the one body of Christ is made up of believers drawn from many places.
Why did Paul have to address the Lord's Table with the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10?
The Corinthians had turned the Lord's Table (communion service) into a problem, with practices in the church that should never have taken place, so Paul had to address it.
What does 'the cup of blessing which we bless' mean in 1 Corinthians 10:16?
In 1 Corinthians 10:16 the cup of blessing which we bless is the communion of the blood of Christ, so Paul there is speaking of the Lord's table.