1 Corinthians 10:21-22 (ESV)
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
The Corinthian believers are such a great example to us in regard to both the victories and the struggles in the lives of believers and the church. They were, in some respect, the most gifted and giant believers of the church. Paul tells them they were superior in the giftedness the Spirit of God had poured upon them (1 Corinthians 1:7). But, they also are an example of a lot we are NOT supposed to do in our walk with Christ and our corporate belief in church community. The above passage is one of those “correcting” sections where Paul is trying to get them back on track. In chapter 11 he is going to address the Lord’s table. The Corinth church was not coming to the table in holiness and pure worship. They were coming to the table in the flesh and selfishness. Notice what he will say to them about their current conduct:
1 Corinthians 11:27-32 (ESV)
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
The church members were in such a state of the flesh that some of them actually lost their lives as a result of their failing to worship in the Lord’s Table in Spirit and Truth. We are not to worship in the flesh. Paul calls that the “cup of demons.” God is a jealous God and wants us to worship Him in holiness.
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