Family Worship Guide

Prayer of Thanksgiving: Give thanks to God that since He is immutable (unchanging) his promises have to come true and for being our perfect Shepherd.

Prayer of Supplication: Pray for our expecting mothers and babies and for those in the congregation who are unemployed or underemployed.

Bible reading and commentary:

Read: 1 Corinthians 10:1-22 

Paul’s focus now shifts to the problem of idolatry. Here the question is not whether the Corinthians are free to eat meat purchased in the market, but whether they may participate in religious feasts at pagan temples.

Three truths stand out: (1) as Christians we are united to Christ, and therefore we share in the redeeming power of his death, as represented in the Lord’s Supper (vv 16-17); (2) the appropriate response to such mercy is to honor Christ as our only Lord, not sharing fellowship with him and false gods (vv 20-22); (3) when we do engage in idolatry, warnings of judgment gives us opportunity to repent (vv 12-14). In fact, no matter what sin confronts us, God faithfully provides a means to escape temptation. This is a promise from God that encourages us to resist to the utmost of our “ability” (v 13). We by no means can escape temptations under our own power. It is the power of Christ through the gospel that is our escape from sin.

Throughout the text, Paul interprets the Old Testament in a way that is centered on Christ. Christ is the “Rock” that accompanied and sustained Israel in her wilderness wanderings (vv 1-4, 9). Christ’s “table” (representing his death) fulfills the purpose of Israel’s “altar” (representing the sacrifice of animals; vv 16-21). And Christ, “into” whom believers are baptized (Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27), is the leader of a new exodus, a greater deliverance than the exodus led by Moses (1 Cor. 10:1-2). Therefore the Old Testament provides Christians not only instructive examples (vv 6, 11) but also rich reminders that God’s Son has always been, and will always be, the only means by which sinners (me and you) have access to God’s saving mercies.

John Calvin on verse 13 “But God is faithful.” Just as Paul commanded them (the Corinthian believers), to be of good cheer with respect to the past so as to spur them to repentance, so he also consoles them as to the future with a certain hope, because “God will not permit them to be tempted beyond their strength.” But he warns them to look to the Lord, because a temptation, no matter how small it is, will immediately overwhelm us and finish us off if we depend on our own strength. Paul calls the Lord faithful not only because he keeps his promises; rather his further meaning is this: “The Lord is the sure protector of his people, under whose care you are completely secure, for he never leaves his people destitute. Therefore when he has taken you into his care, you have nothing to fear, provided you depend completely on him.

Martin Luther on the Proper Use of the Lord’s Supper. To signify this fellowship, God has appointed such signs of this sacrament as in every way serve this purpose and by their very form stimulate and motivate us to this fellowship. For just as the bread is made out of many grains ground and mixed together, and out of the bodies of many grains there comes the body of one bread, in which each grain loses its form and body and takes on itself the common body of bread; and just as the drops of wine, in losing their own form, become the body of one common wine, and drink – so it is and should be with us, if we use this sacrament properly. Christ with all the saints, by his love, takes on himself our form, fights with us against sin, death, and all evil. This enkindles in us such love that we take on his form, rely on his righteousness, life, and blessedness. And through the interchange of his blessings and our misfortunes, we become one loaf, one bread, one body, one drink, and have all things in common. O this is a great sacrament, says St. Paul, that Christ and the church are one flesh and bone. Again through this same love, we are to be changed and to make the infirmities of all other Christians our own; we are to take on ourselves their form and their necessity; and all the good that is within our power we are to make theirs, that they may profit from it. That is real fellowship, and that is the true significance of this sacrament.