1 Corinthians 10:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

But you Corinthians, he says, do you not act in the opposite way? While blessing God because He delivered you from idols, do you again run to their tables?

He spoke with great truth and awe. The meaning of his words is this: what is in the cup is the very thing that flowed from the side of the Lord. It is this that we partake of.

He called it the cup of blessing because, holding it in our hands, we glorify Him. We marvel and stand amazed at the ineffable gift, blessing Him because He poured it out to deliver us from error. He not only poured it out, but gave it to us all.

Therefore, He says, if you desire blood, do not stain the altar of idols by shedding the blood of irrational beasts. Stain My altar with My Blood. Tell me, what is more fearful than this? What is more full of love?

Those who love act in this way. When they see that those whom they love desire what belongs to another and turn away from what is their own, they give them their own, in order to draw them away from the other.

Yet those who love show such generosity in money, clothing, and possessions. No one ever does so with blood. But Christ proved His care and burning love for us even by His Blood.

In the Old Testament, when men were imperfect, He consented to receive the same kind of blood that the pagans offered to idols, so as to turn them away from idols. This too showed His ineffable love.

Now He has given a more fearful and perfect sacred rite. He changed the sacrifice and commanded that, instead of the slaughter of irrational beasts, He Himself should be offered.

"The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the Body of Christ?" Why did he not say "participation"? Because he wished to express something greater and to show the great union.

By partaking, we do not merely become participants and sharers. We are united with Christ. As the Body of Christ is united with Christ, so through this bread we are united with Him.

Why did he add, "which we break"? Because this takes place in the Eucharist. On the Cross this did not take place, but rather the opposite. Scripture says, "A bone of Him shall not be broken" (Jn 19:36).

What He did not suffer on the Cross, He suffers in the offering for your sake. He permits Himself to be broken, that He may fill all.

Then he said, "a communion of the Body." Since the one who partakes is distinct from that of which he partakes, he removes even this seemingly slight distinction.

Having said, "a communion of the Body," he wishes to express a still closer nearness, and says, "For we, being many, are one bread and one body" (1 Cor 10:17).

What do I mean, he continues, by communion? We constitute His very Body. What is this bread? The Body of Christ. What do those who receive Communion become? The Body of Christ, not many bodies, but one Body.

As bread, made up of many grains, becomes one, so that the grains are present but not visible, and their distinction is imperceptible because of their union, so we are united both with one another and with Christ.

One person is not nourished by one body, and another by another. We are all nourished by one and the same Body. Therefore he adds, "for we all partake of the one bread."

If we are nourished by one thing and all become one, why do we not show the same love? Why do we not become one in this respect also?

In ancient times, among our fathers, this was precisely so. Scripture says, "The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul" (Acts 4:32).

But now it is not so. It is entirely the opposite. Among all there are many wars of various kinds. We, who are members, are disposed toward one another worse than wild beasts.

Christ united you to Himself, though you had been so greatly separated from Him. Yet you are unwilling even to be united properly with your brother. You separate yourself from him, though you have been deemed worthy of such love and life from the Master.

He did not simply give His Body. In place of the former flesh, which by nature came from the earth, was slain by sin, and was deprived of life, He brought in, so to speak, another composition and another leaven.

This is His own flesh. Though it is the same by nature, it is foreign to sin and full of life. He gave it to all, so that, nourished by it and putting off the former deadened flesh, we might be prepared through this table for immortal life.

Since the original nature of the flesh was damaged by sin and lost life, He gave us His own flesh, sinless and life-giving, yet like ours. Thus, by partaking of it, we may be commingled with it and live, as far as possible, without sin.

This is the Body whose Mystery the faithful customarily receive from the altar in communion. Hence heretics and schismatics, separated from the unity of this Body, may also receive this Mystery. But they do so not to their benefit, but to their harm. For this they will not receive mercy in the future. On the contrary, they will be judged still more severely.

This is already an authoritative decree. Earlier he had said, "Judge for yourselves," as though offering counsel. But when he has set before them the whole danger of tables of things sacrificed to idols, he no longer leaves room for their reasoning. He writes a decree: "Do not dare any longer to touch these demonic sacrifices" (Bishop Theophan).

Likewise all who partook of Old Testament sacrifices entered into spiritual communion. Therefore the participants in idol sacrifices also undoubtedly enter into communion. But in whose name does this communion occur? In the opinion of the heathen, it occurs in the name of gods. In Christian consciousness, it does not occur in God’s name. Therefore it occurs in the name of His adversary, and the supreme adversary of God is the devil. Consequently, whoever serves many gods serves demons, or devils generally. But the Apostle states this conclusion more positively. First he affirms that the heathen sacrifice to demons, and only then adds, "and not to God." Thus the thought that idolatry is service to demons is not merely an inference. It is a revealed truth, casting great light on the whole pitiful history of heathen superstitions and sacrifices. These often consisted of human victims: innocent children and chosen youths and maidens. Truly this was a demonic suggestion. Speaking briefly and almost in passing about the Mystery of Communion, the Apostle nevertheless did not fail to speak of its deepest meaning and significance. In this meaning it differs essentially from all sacrifices. By calling it the Eucharist, he showed that here, through the sacred blessing, there is a mystical change of the bread into the Lord’s Body and of the wine into His Blood. Therefore those who commune enter into the closest union with the Lord. They themselves constitute one body of the Church, whose head is Christ. And all this is presented as a truth known to all Christians and as a generally accepted matter. Noting the Apostle’s thought about the union of Christians, Chrysostom says: "As bread, composed of many grains, becomes one, so that although grains are in it, they are not seen, and their difference is imperceptible because of their union, so we are united with one another and with Christ. For we are nourished by one and the same Body, that, having put off the former dead flesh, we might be prepared through this table for immortal life."

He raised the dead and restored health to the hopelessly sick. O, His might is boundless, like the might of the Creator of the universe (Jn 1:3). The Son of God, having loved His own, loved them to the end. Leaving them on earth amid the troubles and disturbances of the world, He left the wonder-working sign of His power and might. This sign confirms the divinity of His teaching and works. He left such a supper at which, until the end of the world, the faithful will communicate with the life-giving power of heavenly love. Therefore they will find rest for a conscience wounded by sin, strength in their infirmities, consolation in sorrows, and protection from enemies. O, how fitting this is to the boundless love of the Son of God! Praise and glory to Thee, boundless Love. Amen.

For what is this bread? The Body of Christ. What do those who partake become? The Body of Christ, not many bodies, but one Body. As bread, composed of many grains, becomes one, so that although grains are in it, they are not seen, and their difference is imperceptible because of their union, so we are united with one another and with Christ. For we are not nourished, one by one body and another by another, but all by one and the same Body. Therefore the Apostle adds, 'For we all partake of the one bread.' Christ united to Himself you, who were so far removed from Him. See what life you are counted worthy of. For He did not simply give His Body. Instead of the former flesh, which by its nature came from the earth, was slain by sin, and was deprived of life, He introduced, so to speak, another composition and another leaven: His own flesh. Although by nature it is the same, it is alien to sin and full of life. He gave it to all, so that, being nourished by it and putting off the former dead flesh, we might be prepared through this table for immortal life."