The Lord's Supper

1 Cor.10:1-33 Paul warns against worshipping idols and contrasts the blood-soaked rituals of sacrificing meat to idols with the substitution of wine for blood and bread for meat in Christian fellowship. “We give thanks for the cup of blessing, which is a sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:16).

 

Bread & wine on a stained glass window at St Michael the Archangel, Findlay, Ohio, US (Nheyob)

Wine and bread on a stained glass window   (Nheyob)

 

1 Cor. 11:1-18 Paul advises women who are believers not to behave seductively, but to dress modestly according to the accepted norms of the society in which they live. (In Paul’s day, all respectable women covered their head and wore a veil in public. They only let their hair down at home in the presence of their husband.)

1 Cor. 11:17-34 Paul criticises some of the believers for getting drunk when they meet as a church to share a meal. He lays down guidelines for the communal meal during which they remember the Lord’s Supper together (see also Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25 & Luke 22:14-20). “Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

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