1 Corinthians 10:14-22
Chapter 10
Idolatrous Meals and Christian Freedom
Therefore, dear friends, avoid worshiping idols.I speak to you as intelligent people; judge what I say.
Is the cup of blessing that we bless not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share that one bread.
Consider the Israelites. For them, eating the sacrifice means entering into communion with its altar.
What does all this mean? Is it that the meat is truly dedicated to the idol, or that the idol is a being?
However, when pagans make offerings, those sacrifices are made to demons, not to God. I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons at the same time. You cannot partake of the Lord’s table and the table of demons.
Or are we provoking the Lord to jealous anger? Are we stronger than he is?
Commentaries
Idolatrous Meals and Christian Freedom.
Paul addresses a specific issue: participating in pagan cultic banquets. Confronted with the possible claim that idols are nothing and that these banquets are therefore harmless (8:4), Paul strongly responds: “I do not want you to enter into communion with demons” (20). He was well aware that these banquets were not innocent community or cultural gatherings that a confident and “liberated” Christian could attend without risking their faith. The “demons” worshipped there, represented in the images and idols overseeing the banquets, symbolized injustice and the exploitation of the poor. These “demons” are the ones that compete with and provoke God’s jealousy. Additionally, he suggests that the guiding principle for decision-making in these situations should be respect for the conscience of the weaker brother, with the aim of also bringing glory to God.